We Met in the Dark | Sam Pottorff

chapter 3

I stabbed my roasting stick through a marshmallow and walked over to the fire pit. Entering it into the flames, I noticed how un-fun everyone looked. Turns out, I suck at hosting parties. The three of my friends that came formed a little clique without me and were sitting in the chairs I set out earlier. Since no one was paying attention to me anyway, I walked down to the water and stood with the cool water running over my feet with every little wave. I could hear the girls laughing and wondered if they were talking about me. Why aren't they talking to me? I'm the one who invited them. And they just got here twenty minutes ago. It wasn't even completely dark yet. Anyone could still show up. Feeling excluded, I backed up a few steps to where the sand was no longer wet and took a seat on the beach. I took my marshmallow off the stick with my mouth and ate it, wiping my mouth of the stickiness.

Hearing foot steps behind me, I turned to see Erin walking over. She must have just got here.

"Why are you over here all alone?" She asked. "Well if you haven't noticed, I kind of kicked out of my own gathering I guess." She sat down

next to me in the sand. "Not to say I told you so, Mags, but I told you so. I knew this night would suck." Hearing someone else say that this sucked made me feel even worse.

"Should I just tell them all to leave? I don't understand what their problems are." I said worriedly. "If I were you, I would just sit down here with my best friend named Erin by the water and wait for them to go while we talk about boys. Sounds good, huh?" She waited for me to reply. Even though I wanted to go back up to the pit to try and sort things out and make everything more entertaining, Erin's offer sounded pretty good. "Yeah, that sounds pretty good."I laughed.

Around 2 minutes later, I couldn't help but mention Sam. "AND HE IS WITH KIAN RIGHT NOW?" Erin asked excitedly. I couldn't believe she was actually happy for me for once. "Yeah I guess. They-"

"HEY!" Kian and Sam popped out behind us yelling in our ears. "Oh my god!" Erin and I both screamed. "What are you doing?!" She yelled at Kian. "Coming to the best-neighbor-ever's fire! Duh! Wow Maggie, this really looks like a lot of fun." Kian said sarcastically. "I see a ton of people showed up." What an ass. "Yeah well everyone was busy so... this was the outcome. Everyone else is up by the fire pit. You should go hang out with them." I said back coldly. That must of come out way more harsh than I expected because he then he said "Okay then. How about Erin and I go up there so she can introduce me to your friends, and Sam here can stay with you to keep you company." "Um, I'm fine with that." Erin remarked, winking at me. "How about you Sam, can you stay with Maggie?" asked Kian. "Yeah why not." Sam answered.

Could this finally be my time to talk with Sam? The person I practically fell in love with at first sight? I guess it is.

While Erin and Kian walked away to the other guests, Sam took a seat next to me. "So... why aren't you up there with all your other friends?" Sam asked kind of shyly. I feel like he wouldn't be the type of person to be shy, but he has been pretty quiet every time I see him. "Honestly, I don't know. They all came together and kept excluding me so I just came down to the water until Erin showed up." I explained. Sam looked confused. "Why would they exclude you?" He said wonderingly. "Ask them. I don't know why." And then we both looked out to the water. By now it was pitch black outside and all you could see and hear was the crackling fire and the ocean. And I know this sounds weird, but that's just what we did. Sat staring out at the ocean and the stars ... for almost an hour. We talked here and there, but eventually we noticed everyone else had left and that Kian was coming down the beach to get Sam. We both stood up.

"Hey I'll meet you back at your house in a few, I'm gonna stay and help Maggie clean up." Sam said to Kian. "Okay.... I'll see you later then..." Kian replied suspiciously. He walked away looking back multiple times and staring at Sam weirdly. Great, now he thinks something's up between us. Maybe there was though. Or maybe that's what I was imagining because I wanted it so badly.

Sam and I started to walk up the beach to the now dimming fire and saw all the trash around the pit. "How could they make this big of a mess in such little time?" I asked the air. I grabbed the outdoor garbage can we keep on the patio and brought it over to all the trash. Sam had already picked up an armload of garbage and dumped it into the can. While he was doing that, I grabbed a bucket from the shed and filled it up with water from the hose. I'm really glad he stayed with me not only because I like him, but it was really dark out and to be honest, quite scary. Bringing the bucket back to the fire pit, I set it down on the ground to get a better grip on it before I dumped it onto the fire. As I was about to pick it back up, Sam came over, took a handful of water, and splashed it onto me. "Sam!" I gasped. He laughed loudly with that unbearable, contagious laugh of his. I took this moment that he had is head thrown back in laughter to cup some water into my own hands and throw it at him. We both started cracking up and throwing water at each other. Sooner or later, there was hardly any water left in the bucket, and we stopped and sat in the beach chairs.

"You know what would be nice right about now?" I said. "Some towels. I'll be right back." "Okay." Sam acknowledged and I went to my patio closet and took two towels. As I was walking back, I noticed that Sam had brought the bucket over to the hose and was filling it with water. I really don't know how much better this guy could get. He was seriously perfect in every way. He was tall (well, taller than me, I'm only 5'2), attractive, kind, and he hasn't said one mean thing to me yet. Not even in front of Kian, as most guys act differently when they're with their friends. Even though I just met him a few hours ago, I really like him. A lot.

He brought the bucket of water back over and dumped it on the fire. There were still some red embers and ash so he walked back to the hose to fill up the bucket again. I went over to him. "Thanks for helping me Sam." I said handing him a towel. "I would have been out here a lot longer if you didn't stay." "No problem." he said taking it. He looked down at the bucket to see if it was full yet and looked back up at me. "We should hang out sometime. If you want to." He said trying to dry his clothes. Did he actually just ask me to hang out? Is this real life? "Yeah we should." I replied with a smile. I turned to him to see a grin spread across his face. Knowing that I made him happy was the best feeling ever. "Great! Um, do you have a cell phone? I'll give you my number." He said. "Yeah, its inside my house though. Give me yours and I'll put my number in it." I said bravely. He handed his phone to me. He had an iphone, same as me. I added myself as a contact and gave his phone back to him. "There you go. Just text me anytime." I asserted.

I'm usually shy but I knew this was my only chance to see him again.

"Yeah sure." Sam brought the bucket over to the remainder of the hot ash and dumped the water on it. "Is there anything else you need help with? Where does this bucket go?" He asked. I pointed to the shed. "In the shed. And no, I think that's it. Thanks again." He handed me his towel. "You're welcome. I'll talk to you later." he stated as he started to walk in the direction of my shed. "Okay, night." I said to him. "Night Maggie." He said as he walked away. He opened the shed door and set the bucket inside, then came back out and continued walking back to Kian's house.

I looked over at the clock on my nightstand. Seeing it was one in the morning, I turned over in my bed and closed my eyes. What even had just happened? The boy that was super cute on that penny board actually just asked me to hang out with him. This night may not have turned out the way I wanted it to, but it sure as hell turned out pretty damn good. Now I just have to wait for Sam to text me... which will hopefully be soon. He is so funny and nice and hot and oh my lordy lord. I turned around onto my stomach to get more comfortable before falling asleep for a much needed rest.