Saturday afternoon Sam and Jay head to Dana's party at her and Matt's house. They arrive early, which is expected of the always punctual Sam. Matt greets Sam and Jay at the door and lets them in.
"Now why did I know it was going to be you at the door?" Matt jokes when he answers.
"Because you know me." Sam giggles. "Jay is here too." She adds and nudges Jay standing next to her.
"I figured as much." Matt nods. "Come on in, Dana is dying to see you, Sam." He steps away from the door and lets the pair inside. "And I'm sure she's eager to meet you too, Jay."
"Right. Thanks for letting me come, Matt." Jay nods.
The trio makes their way through the house and to the kitchen where Dana is taking drinks out of their cardboard box and setting them on ice to get cold. She stops when she sees Sam come through the door and rushes over to her with a wide smile.
"Samantha!" Dana rushes Sam.
"Dana! Happy birthday, sweetie." Sam opens her arms to Dana for a hug.
Sam and Dana are incredibly close for in-laws. Sam's always found Dana sweet and kind, a perfect match for Matt. So she always paid attention to make sure Matt didn't mess it up before he got to marry her.
"Thank you. I am so glad that you could make it." Dana lets Sam go. "And you must be Jay. Nice to finally meet you." She moves on to Jay standing behind Sam.
"Pleasure is all mine, Dana." Jay flashes her a dashing smile.
"Hey! Watch it, White." Matt intervenes.
"Oh, he was kidding." Sam rolls her eyes.
"Matt honey, it's fine." Dana laughs, agreeing with Sam.
"So, what can we help with?" Sam claps her hands together.
The group gets back to work and waits for guests to arrive at the party. Everyone falls into a task that Dana gives them so everything is ready by the time the party starts. About an hour later Adam is the first one to arrive besides Sam and Jay.
"Guys, Adam is here!" Nick shouts from the front door when Adam arrives.
"Hey, Nick." Adam greets him. "Who's all here already?" He asks as he comes inside.
"Let's see," Nick replies and shuts the door. "Matt and Dana are here, of course, then Sam and Jay got here about an hour ago to help out with stuff." He rattles off a few names. "Those two are in the kitchen helping Dana. And Matt is out back cleaning the grill."
"Great, thanks." Adam nods and heads for the kitchen. "Dana! Happy birthday, so good to see you." He walks into the kitchen and over to Dana.
"Adam!" Dana stops working and hugs Adam. "Thank you, and it's good to see you."
Adam and Dana hug and then chat for a moment before Adam walks over to Sam and Jay standing by the far counter. He wedges himself between Sam and Jay and turns to Sam.
"I love the dress, Sam." Adam eyes Sam's gold dress.
"Thanks!" Sam grins and does a little twirl. "You can set that gift over on that counter." She points to an empty counter where her gift is already sitting. "Then you can find something to help out with if you want."
"Yeah, no problem." Adam nods and does as told. "I'm happy to help out."
Everyone falls back into work for a while and it isn't long until Jay walks away from Sam for a bit to help Nick with something. Adam jumps at the opening and slides over to Sam so they can talk without Jay being around.
"Sam, hey." Adam slides next to Sam.
"Hello again." Sam giggles. "What's up, Adam?" She asks him.
"Yeah, I was wondering if you had a minute to talk?" Adam asks Sam in a slightly nervous tone.
"Sure, about what?" Sam nods, focusing more on her task than Adam at the moment.
"Sam." Adam gets her attention. "It's kind of important." He clarifies himself.
"Oh." Sam nods and turns fully to Adam. "Okay." She nod. "What's up? Is there something wrong?"
Adam goes to speak, pour his heart out to the girl he loves. But Dana calls Sam over before he can get a word out. Sam dismisses herself with an apology and leaves Adam's side to go see Dana. Adam curses himself on the inside for missing a perfect chance and watches Sam walk away.
Guests start to arrive soon after Sam walks over to Dana and Adam's chance slips away. Sam manages to somehow always be talking to someone or busy with something so he can't get the chance to talk to her.
"You sure managed to score there, Sam." Dana chats with Sam later into the party, both of them watching Jay mingle with Matt and Nick. "He's handsome, and that accent. Wow."
"Easy now, Dana." Sam laughs. "Don't like Matt hear you talking like that."
"Oh, there's no harm in looking," Dana replies with another laugh. "So, are you two dating?" She asks Sam. "Matt told me that you two are awfully close."
"You know I'm not really sure I'd call it dating." Sam shrugs. "He's been staying at my place while he's in the states. And we've been fooling around for a while."
"Is there a reason that you haven't made it official?" Dana asks Sam curiously. "You two seem like a good fit from what I've seen. And it's obvious that you don't plan on doing anything with Adam." She adds.
"What about Adam?" Sam furrows her brows.
"Oh, sweetie," Dana replies with a small laugh. "Nevermind." She shakes her head. "You'll figure it out yourself."
"Dana!" Sam protests but Dana walks off to find Matt.
Sam watches Dana walk away from her side and she glances around for Jay now away from Matt and Nick. Maybe she should have a conversation with him about what's going on between them. She spots Jay grabbing a drink from the kitchen and goes to meet him in there when Adam happens by and catches her.
"Sam, hey." Adam greets her with a friendly smile. "You mind if we talk for a minute, now?" He asks her.
"Yeah, sure." Sam nods and gives Jay one last glance before she turns her attention to Cole. "What's up, Adam? You seem like you've got something on your mind."
"Yeah, I do." Adam chuckles.
Sam stands and waits for Adam to muster up the courage to get the right words out. And she can tell that he's struggling a bit. But she remains patient while he fidgets with his drink.
"Adam, are you alright?" Sam asks him after a moment of silence. "You seem nervous, which isn't like you at all." She points out.
"I know." Adam sighs. "But what I've got to say is really important and I'm trying to find the right way to say it." He rubs the back of his neck.
"Just say it, Adam," Sam replies. "Come on, it can't be that bad." She encourages him.
"Right." Adam nods and takes one last deep breath. "Sam, I'm in love with you." He swallows once and finally blurts it out.
Sam's eyes widen a bit at Adam's words and the sincerity on his face. He looks as if a weight lifts off his shoulders as he speaks.
"Adam I..." Sam replies with a slight stutter.
"I know." Adam sighs again. "I'm about ten years late to be telling you this." He chuckles nervously. "But that doesn't make it any less true. I'm in love with you. I have been for a long time. And seeing you with Jay these past couple of weeks has been like hell for me." He explains.
"Adam." Sam replies again. "Just...slow down." She asks him, her heart pounding in her chest.
"Okay." Adam nods and stops talking for the moment.
"I...just...I need a minute." Sam shakes her head and turns around.
Sam hurries out of the room and Adam's heart sinks. But he can't give up now. Not when he's so close. He hurries after Sam to catch up with her. Sam hurries through the house and passes Jay who notices that she looks visibly upset. He dismisses himself from Nick's side and hurries after her as well.
"Sam?" Jay pops into one of the empty rooms in the house. "Samantha, doll, what's the matter?" He comes into the room quietly.
"Jay?" Sam lifts her head up from looking at the floor.
"Yeah, it's me." Jay nods. "Are you alright? You looked pretty upset back there." He comes further into the room.
"I don't know." Sam sighs. "Adam he...he told me that he was in love with me." She explains in an exasperated tone.
"He what?" Jay snaps back. "At your family's birthday?" He scoffs. "Little prick just couldn't keep it to himself could he?" He advances toward Sam to comfort her.
"You knew?" Sam replies and takes a step back.
"Well yeah." Jay nods. "It was kind of obvious, love." He shrugs.
"And you didn't think to tell me?" Sam huffs.
"No, why would I?" Jay replies. "Adam's a grown man. If he has a thing for you then it's his responsibility to tell you that. Not mine."
"Oh my god." Sam shakes her head. "That's why he's been acting so weird as of late!" She finally realizes what's been going on.
Sam takes a second to compose herself, all of her thoughts and the events of the past few weeks coming together. The door slowly swings open and Adam comes through the door in search of her. He shoots Jay a hint of aglare when he sees him but then turns back to focusing on Sam.
"Sam? Are you alright?" Adam comes into the room with concern.
"You!" Sam snaps back at him. "I cannot believe you right now Adam!" She gets right to the point. "How selfish can you be? Dropping that on me at Dana's party?" She points an accusing finger at Adam.
"I'm sorry." Adam is quick to apologize. "But I couldn't just stand by and watch Jay take you from me." He pleads.
"Excuse me?!" Sam raises her voice. "First of all, I am not yours Adam! I am my own person so get that through that thick skull of yours right now." She glares at him. "Second of all, what in the hell gives you the right to try and convince yourself that any of this was okay? If you were in love with me Adam, then you should have said something a long time ago."
"Sam, I." Adam goes to reply.
"No!" Sam cuts him off. "Don't even start." She warns him. "You're not in love with me, Adam. You just hate the idea of seeing me with some other than you." She sneers at him.
"I-" Adam goes quiet.
Jay stands off to the side and waits for Sam to cool down for a second before he tries to speak his piece. He takes a step over to Sam and sets a hand on her shoulder which she promptly shrugs off.
"And you!" Sam sets her sights on Jay. "Don't think that you're off the hook Jay." She cuts into him as well. "Shame on you for not saying anything about Adam before now. You asshole." She grits her teeth.
"Yeah, I'm sorry." Jay nods, genuinely sorry at this point. He honestly didn't think that things would get this out of hand.
"Both of you, leave me alone for the rest of the night." Sam sighs, her anger slowly fading away. "And I mean that. And Jay, we'll talk in the morning. I'll stay with Matt and Dana tonight." She rubs her temple and storms out of the room.
"Okay." Jay nods and watches her leave.
Sam exits the room in a huff and the room goes silent for a moment. Jay and Adam glance at one another but it takes some time for either of them to speak.
"Nice going, moron." Jay shakes his head. "You had to open your big mouth and now she's pissed off at both of us."
"Yeah, like it's my fault you couldn't keep it in your pants." Adam scoffs and exits the room.
He's got to find a way to fix this.