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The next day, the sun rose shyly over Los Angeles, and I found myself lost in thought, the emptiness of loneliness weighing on my chest. "So I'm definitely single, huh…" I murmured, my voice filled with a soft melancholy.
Riiing, riiing, riiing. The ringing of the phone cut through the silence, and I looked at the number on the screen, my heart giving an unexpected leap. "Sam?"
"Clark…" His voice sounded on the other end, hesitant but warm, like a ray of light piercing a dark cloud. "Can I talk to you?"
"Sure," I replied, my pulse quickening. "Where are you?"
"I'm…" she began, but I interrupted her, already made up my mind.
"I'll be right there," I said, urgency tinging my voice.
"Okay, I'll wait for you," she agreed, and I felt the echo of a hope I didn't know I still carried.
I drove to a nearby coffee shop, the roar of the engine filling the void I was trying to ignore. There she was, sitting alone, her gaze lost somewhere in the distance. When she saw me, she waved with a shy smile, and something inside me warmed. I parked, got out of the car, and walked over to her, my heart beating a little faster with each step.
"Hi," I said, and she stood up, shaking my hands with a gentleness that seemed to carry a thousand unspoken words.
"Hi…" she replied, and we sat down, the air between us vibrating with a sweet, uncertain tension. "Clark, I called you here… to talk to you. It was a mistake for me to break up with you."
"It's okay, Sam," I began, trying to reassure her despite the lump in my throat. "I was so far away, and we couldn't talk in person. It's normal, everything's okay…"
"No, you don't understand," she interrupted, her eyes shining with an intensity that caught me off guard. "I told you it was a mistake to break up with you…"
I frowned, my heart racing as I tried to decipher his words. "Are you saying you didn't want to break up with me?"
"Yes," she confessed, her voice shaking with raw emotion. "I was angry about what you did to Tory, but yesterday I realized something… I can't forget you. Those feelings inside me that were boiling came flooding back when I saw you in the audience…"
I smiled, warmth rising in my chest, and stood up from my chair, holding out my hand. "Come on, let's go for a ride." I led her to the car, the gleam of metal reflecting the daylight like an invitation to freedom.
"Huh? A car ride? Why?" she asked, surprised, her eyes wide.
"What's better for clearing your mind than hitting the road?" I replied, with a mischievous smile. "Want to drive?"
She stared at me, shock giving way to shy excitement. "Yes, I do…"
"Let's go then," he said, opening the door for her. "The car is a little faster than normal, but don't worry, everything will be fine."
"Okay," she replied, getting behind the wheel with a mixture of nervousness and excitement. As she drove, she asked, her soft voice cutting through the purr of the engine, "Where did you go? Why did you go to Louisiana?"
"I went to sort out some problems with some acquaintances," I replied evasively, my thoughts spinning. I can't tell her I got a woman pregnant… That would destroy her.
"I see…" she said, relaxing a little. "This car is so nice to drive. You were right, it really does clear your mind…"
I turned on the radio, and a voice announced: "Now, the best of the 90s… Bon Jovi - Always." The soft melody flooded the car, enveloping us like an invisible hug.
"Oops… now it's calmer," I joked, reaching out the window and tapping lightly on the bodywork, following the rhythm of the music. The wind danced between my fingers, carrying away some of the tension I didn't even know I was holding.
"This song is great…" Sam said, his eyes shining with a small but genuine smile.
"Yeah, they don't make music like they used to," I commented nostalgically.
She laughed, a soft sound that echoed in my chest. "You sound like my father, talking about how the old songs are better than the new ones…"
"Your father is a man of culture," I replied, laughing along. "He knows what's good. Do you want to come back?"
She hesitated, the light in her eyes flickering for a moment. "Back… like, dating again?"
"That's it," I confirmed, my heart pounding as I waited for his answer.
"Yes," she said, her voice steady now, filled with newfound certainty. "Like I said, it was a mistake to break up with you. I was angry…that's why I did it."
"I see…" I murmured, relief mixed with quiet joy. "Do you want to come to my place?"
Her eyes widened, a look of shock crossing her face, but after a moment of thought, she nodded. "Yes…"
I smiled, the warmth of that "yes" warming something inside me that I thought was dormant. I plugged my address into the GPS, the electronic voice guiding it as I said, "Just follow…"
"Okay…" she replied, her fingers tightening on the steering wheel with a mixture of determination and nervousness, but also a hint of hope that mirrored my own.