7. The number of dates Sam had gone on in the last two weeks. Seven dates and not one gave him hope that he would find a connection with any of the women he matched with on Bumble. This one's name was Jessica? or Rachel? At this point, they all mixed together.
Sam had never been concerned with his dating life before. He always kept it light and never got too close. He figured he was young and had time to settle if that's what he chose to do. Tinder had always been the perfect go-to site to browse, but being "more serious," he thought he'd try one meant for dating seriously.
"So, what do you do for fun?" Sam picked an easy question to find some common ground, hopefully.
"Well, there's shopping, traveling, partying with my friends, and reading." Said the blonde woman who sat across from him. As she talked, she held the glass of wine in her hand and swirled it around the same way someone would speak with their hands.
"Reading. I like reading. What's the last book you read." Sam asked, latching on to something that they could connect on.
"Lately, I've been reading a lot of Colleen Hoover. Her stories are so good." She said as she finished the last bit of her drink and immediately grabbed the nearly empty bottle to finish the rest.
"And what kind of books does she write?" Sam asked, curious if it would be something he might be interested in, too.
"Well, her most popular book is 'It Ends with Us'..."
Sam stared blankly at her, blinking his eyes and searching for the politest thing to say. He had listened to her ramble on for the past 5 minutes about a story that gloried abuse.
"Wow, that sounds...interesting."
"What things do you like to do?" The woman asks the first question about him, which surprised the hell out of him.
"Oh...uh," Sam racked his brain, searching for what to say; he wasn't prepared to talk about himself when she always seemed to bring the conversation back to herself. "I like riding my motorcycle, I spend a lot of time with my family and my dog bear, I like camping, and I spend time with my godson as much as I can, just to name a few."
"OK, but what do you do for fun?" The woman asked as if she were annoyed her question had yet to be answered. She didn't realize there were other things to do for fun out of her interests.
Sam couldn't take it anymore. He had other things he would rather do at that moment, and he didn't see a reason to avoid doing those things instead of entertaining this wish version of Paris Hilton. "I just remembered I have a huge piece that needs to be finished by Monday morning, and I've barely started. Do you mind if I order you an Uber?"
"Oh. I thought you'd want me to come back to my house?" The woman reached across the table to run her fingers over his.
"Uh. Maybe next time. I have to be up at 5 am, and it's already 9. Oh, and my dog. I have to get home to my dog." Sam scrambled to devise an excuse as he pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket and brought up the ride-share app.
"I can always go to your house. I'd love to meet Bear." The woman refuted his objection. This time she leaned forward with her elbows on the table, just forward enough to show off her boobs that were threatening to spill out of her dress.
Sam leaned further into his chair as he confirmed the request for a car. "I don't think this is the best time. This has been quite the experience." He paused to look down at his phone and was relieved to see the driver was down the street. "Your Uber is pulling up. If you'd like, I'll walk you out." Sam did his best to remain the gentleman his mother had raised him to be, but his patience was wearing thin. He pulled out a 100-bill and put it in the center of the table, knowing it would more than cover the cost of the meal and the drinks they had.
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?"
His voice startled the woman, who jumped to the side and looked at him cautiously. Sam immediately recognized the frustrated pixie in front of him. "Olivia?"
"What the hell are you doing here?" Olivia paused to step back and inquire. Of all the people in the world she could run into, it was him. "Don't you live on the opposite side of town?"
"Yes, but I was on a date, and it ended early." Sam begrudgingly explained his presence. It wasn't a secret that they sometimes didn't get along. They were associates through mutual friends and shared the role of Godparents to a six-year-old boy named Josiah.
"Lucky girl," Olivia commented with a snarky tone before she turned back around to continue trying to grab the bottle she had her sights on.
"It's really no problem at all. I can grab it for you." Sam offered, brushing off her hidden insult. "It's one of the perks to being over 6ft tall. I can reach the top shelf."
"Aren't you special?" Olivia continued in a sarcastic tone. "God damn it." She said under her breath as she still couldn't quite reach it.
Sam smirked at her stubbornness. He'd be lying if he said it didn't turn him on a little. He stood back and watched Olivia a moment more and chuckled to himself because no matter how far she stretched on her toes, it still wasn't enough.
"Here." Sam took pity on her and grabbed the bottle.
Olivia turned around to accept the bottle. She sighed and rolled her eyes at the same time. "You did not have to do that..." she started out roughly but softened her voice. "But thank you. You have no idea how much I need this." She said as she took the bottle from his hand.
"Me too." he lifted the case to show that he was there for the same reason.
"The store is closing in 10 minutes. Please collect your final items and come to the front." A voice on the overhead speaker came on to announce, breaking their silent moment.
"Ladies first." Sam pointed his arm in the direction of the front of the store.
"Thanks." Olivia nodded her head and moved in front of him to walk down the aisle, with Sam following closely behind.
Olivia was first to check out, trying to make small talk with the cashier named Jamie-Lynn, who didn't seem the slightest bit interested while she scanned and entered numbers on the small computer.
"That will be $20.37."
Olivia took her purse from her shoulder and reached her hand in to grab her wallet. When she didn't immediately feel it with her fingers, she freaked out. "I know it's in here." She mumbled to herself as she pulled out a small notebook, a pen, and a hand sanitizer. "Fuck. I must've left it at home."
The cashier grabbed the bottle and put it behind the counter as Olivia put the items back in her purse. "Bye, Sam. I'm sure I'll see you soon." She paused to say as she headed out the door, disappointed that she wasn't going home with what she had come in for.
"Yeah, you too, Olivia." Sam watched her leave through the automatic sliding doors and placed his purchase on the conveyor belt. "I'll buy the bottle." He said as he took his credit card out of his wallet. "Oh, and this too," he added as he snatched a package of red solo cups from the display behind him. He swiped his card through the machine and waited impatiently for the bag. He didn't bother waiting for the receipt or saying 'thank you' as he hurried out the door to catch Olivia before she left.
When Sam made it out to the parking lot, he saw a pair of headlights turn on and the sound of a motor starting. He walked quickly toward it and stood by the driver's side door before lifting his hand to knock on the window.
Confused about what Sam was doing, Olivia rolled down her window slowly. "Can I help you?"
"You can't leave without this," Sam said as he pulled the bottle out of the bag and held it halfway in the window.
"Why did you do that?" Olivia asked, surprised because she was understandably skeptical because he had never gone out of his way for her.
"If your night has been anything like mine, you need the wine as much as I need this beer," Sam explained, shrugging his shoulders and rocking back on his heels.
"Thank you. Again." Olivia said as she grabbed the bottle from his hand. "That's very nice of you."
"You may not want to admit it, but I'm a nice guy," Sam stated as he shoved his free hand in his pocket.
"But I can admit that you have a really hard time minding your own business." Olivia playfully teased as a cocky smile took over her face.
"Touché." Sam laughed softly at the joke.
"Thanks, Sam. I really appreciate this." Olivia offered her gratitude. "Have a good night."
"Whoa," Sam shouted quickly before Olivia had a chance to roll up the window. "How about you have a drink with me?"
Olivia raised an eyebrow and pursed her lips as she processed his question. "And why would I do that?" She questioned with her eyes looking around curiously.
Sam shrugged before looking down at the ground and then back at her. "I've heard it's a bad idea to drink alone. It could be detrimental to our health. At least that's what I heard on Dr. Phil."
Olivia couldn't hold back her giggle as her hand rested on the gear shift in her car. She pondered what to do. It had been a long day of revising her current book for what felt like the millionth time. All she had intended to do was drink the bottle at least halfway and pass out in her bed. "You get one drink." She agreed as she took her hand off its resting place and hit the push button to stop the engine.