Big Time Love

Chapter 28 - SURPRISE!

I slept until noon. I figured the less time I spent fully functional, the better. I didn’t worry when I slept, and that was enough to keep me from setting an alarm.

I got up to brush my teeth and went to the kitchen right afterwards because my stomach was beginning to sound like a bear. A note on the fridge caught my eye and I saw it was from Carlos.

“Hey, Sammy!

I came over to drop off some lunch but you were still asleep. I left it in the fridge.

Just take it out and it’s ready to eat!

Love you, Carlos”

I smiled to myself. He was always looking out for me.

I pulled out the container and opened it up to find a fresh cobb salad. I munched in front of the TV and when I finished, I got in the shower.

My stomach was all swirly from thoughts of tomorrow’s concert, and I knew, I KNEW, I had to make it good to win Kendall back. I didn’t know how exactly, I just knew I had to. I stood there soaping up my hair for maybe ten minutes before I realized what I was doing.

I wrapped myself up in a towel and went out to the kitchen to get a glass of water. A car door slammed and because I wasn’t worried, I walked to the front door to see if it was Carlos. My heart almost stopped.

It was James. Here I was thinking that nothing else could possibly go wrong – right.

“Crap, crap, crap.” I mumbled to myself. I was looking for somewhere to hide when he opened the door.

He yelled. “Shit! Sam!? What the hell are you doing here!?”

I clutched at my towel and pointed a finger at him. “Better yet, what are YOU doing here?”

His eyebrows were all furrowed. “What do you mean? I…this is my condo!”

I sat on the couch, pretty much defeated. “Please don’t tell Kendall. Please, please, please.”

He sat on the coffee table in front of the couch and looked at me. “Sam, what’s going on?” When I finally caught my breath, I told him the entire story. At the end, he looked like something that he’d been trying to explain had finally clicked. “So that’s why Logan and Carlos have been disappearing! Oh, okay. I get it now.” He rested a gentle hand on my knee and gave me a small smile. “I’m glad you’re back.” He said.

“Me too. Listen, do you mind if I…put clothes on?” I said, embarrassed.

He moved away from me, as if he hadn’t noticed. “Oh yeah, sure. Sorry.”

I ran to the room and threw on panties, a bra, sweats, and a t-shirt.

“So, you didn’t tell me why you’re here all random.” I said as I came back into the living room. James grinned and walked over to the coat closet in the entryway. He opened it up and pulled out a hockey stick. “I came for this. I left it here the last time we came and I’ve been wanting to come get it, ‘cept I never have the time. I was the only one that didn’t have rehearsal today so I figured I might as well.”

I rolled my eyes and threw my hands up in the air. “All for a hockey stick,” I said jokingly. “Isn’t that just fine and dandy.”

He laughed. “I didn’t know you were here! Don’t go and blame me.”

I smiled, but it faded as quickly as it came. “You aren’t going to tell Kendall, right?”

James shrugged. “I don’t think I need to. Concert’s tomorrow. And anyways, you don’t want me to. So I won’t.” He reached over and hugged me. “I gotta go. Katie might get worried.”

“Awh, you guys still going strong?” I asked, happily.

He smiled super wide and said, “Yeah, definitely. She’s…perfect.”

I pushed him playfully. “Then get out of here and go with her!” He grinned and walked out the door. When he got in his car, he waved goodbye and drove off.  

I fell into the couch and took a deep breath. I couldn’t take any other surprises. I sat there hoping that that would be the last one for a very long time.

 It was 7:30 in the evening when Logan showed up with a box of pizza and soda. I let him in and told him all about James showing up as I shoved the food into my mouth. At first, I could tell he was a little worried, but at the end, he was laughing. “Yeah, he’s been wanting that hockey stick for forever.” He said through small chuckles. We sat there talking and watching TV until he announced that he had to go.

“So you’re ready for tomorrow?” he asked as we stood out on the front porch. I nodded. “Ready as I’ll ever be, I guess. I just…I’m ready to see him. I miss Kendall so bad. I just hope he missed me too. And if he did, I hope it’s enough for him to take me back.”

“He wouldn’t be all mopey if he didn’t, Sam. So you have the VIP pass, right? How are you going to get to the venue?”

“I’m gonna catch a cab. Carlos already gave me the pass, so yeah. I’ll get there on my own.” Logan nodded. “Okay, good. Well, concert starts at 6:30, so don’t be late.”

When he was gone, I tucked myself in, and set an alarm for 9:30 in the morning. My heart was pounding and my head was killing me.

I wasn’t sleeping tonight.