Never 'Til Now

Chapter 1

The woman rolled her eyes and set her wine glass with enough force to break it nearly. She stood from her seat and pulled the hem of her dress that had ridden up to her crotch and gave a hint that she wasn't wearing any panties. She grabbed her clutch that was sitting on the table before coming to stand in front of Sam. "You're nothing like your profile described you. You're just a middle-aged douche that probably can't even get it up."

That was the breaking point for Sam. He stood up from his seat, his eyebrows furrowed and his face covered in frustration. He sighed deeply and shook his sleeves before grabbing his jacket off the back of his chair and resting it over his arm. "Listen." He started; his voice was now more profound in his chest. "I may be middle-aged, but you're only partly correct; I can get it up, but not for an ignorant, vapid, and immature little girl like you."

Sam stepped out of the way and made his way to the door. He heard a stomp from her heel and a frustrated groan, but he kept walking. He took his keys out of his pant pocket and hit the unlock button for his pickup truck.

Just as he reached for the door, his right arm was pulled, making his body turn to face the woman again. He immediately peeled his body away from her. "Please don't touch me."

"There's no reason why we can't make the best of what's left of the night." The woman batted her eyelashes and gave her best kittenish smile.

Before Sam could respond, the Uber pulled up beside his vehicle. Sam once again left her where she stood to open the door. "Have a good night." He said curtly, once again keeping his composure.

The woman angrily walked to the car, heels clicking on the stone driveway, and sat in the back seat. Just as she opened her mouth to speak again, Sam closed the door and tapped the top of the car, signaling it was ok to go.

Sam didn't wait until the car had pulled entirely away before he went to his car and started it up. Before he backed out of the parking spot, he pulled up the app on his phone and deleted it. "Fuck that shit." He muttered to himself before tossing it in the seat beside him.

Sam quickly turned into a grocery store parking lot a few blocks later. He figured he would stop for a case of beer and pick up a treat for Bear on the way home.

When Sam parked the car and walked up to the door, pausing to see the store hours posted on the door, letting him know they were closing in 30 minutes.

Sam walked down the front of the aisles while looking overhead to determine which one he needed to go down. He found pet supplies in aisle seven, and further down in aisle 9 were wine and beer.

Sam quickly picked out a large bone for Bear before moving on to why he stopped. Next, his eyes searched the row for his drink of choice, but he was disappointed when it wasn't there. He considered going to another store but wondered if he'd make it to the one closest to his house before it closed, too.

Sam stood with his hands on his hips as he scanned the variety in the cooler for the next best thing. IPAs were too bitter, Ciders were too sweet, and the seltzer beers just made him laugh, but the wheat beer seemed like a safe choice. He grabbed a case before turning to walk away.

As Sam looked down the end of the row and noticed a woman struggling to reach the top shelf of the wine section. From his guess, he assumed she was around 5'3. He could see she had golden honey skin and curly hair that fell to the center of her back. The cropped denim jacket was over a yellow t-shirt, and the leggings accentuated her lower half.

Sam tucked his six-pack under his arm and started approaching her. As he got closer, he admired her determination to grab the bottle she was reaching for. Her fingers would graze the top, but it was never enough to move it from its spot. "Do you need help?"