“Lead the way, and Cracker will thank you for life!” Sam
followed Jett to his car.
“I told you, you could bring him here. I don’t mind,”
remarked Jett as he held the door open for Sam.
“I just felt funny on my first official day,” said Sam,
somewhat embarrassed. She slipped into the Maserati a little star struck. Sam
just closed her eyes and counted her blessings.
****
The days went by so quickly, Sam couldn’t believe it when
Ian called to remind her he would pick her up in less than an hour and she felt
a little nervous. Sam couldn’t remember the last time she had been on a date. She
had grown used to Toby and Jett joking around with her as one of the guys, but
this was a real date. She must have changed her outfit at least ten times. Then
it had been too late. The doorbell rang.
“Hey there,” said Sam as she opened the door. She had
Cracker by the collar so he wouldn’t get loose, but still felt a thrill when
she saw Ian. She would never get tired of looking at him.
“Hey there, yourself,” said Ian as he smiled at Sam taking
in how stunning she looked in her long legged jeans. He then looked at Cracker.
“What a beautiful dog.” Ian knew better than to hug Sam in front of her dog. Instead,
he got to face level with Cracker who licked him immediately. Ian had passed
the first test.
“This is Cracker,” said Sam, somewhat relieved. “I can’t let
him loose because I’ll never see him again.”
“It’s good to see you,” said Ian honestly. He had missed Sam
terribly and felt really jealous of her relationship with Jett.
“Same here,” said Sam as she smiled fondly at Ian.
“Would Cracker be upset if I kissed you?” Ian stood close to
Sam and she breathed in his male scent.
“I’d be upset if you didn’t kiss me,” said Sam, and Ian’s
lips found hers.
“I really missed you,” murmured Ian between kisses. His arms
tightened around Sam and the kiss became intense as they explored, and enjoyed the
way each other tasted. Ian’s fingers threaded through Sam’s long locks, his
hands resting on her shoulders.
“Wow!” said Sam as she pulled away first, taking a deep
breath to quiet her racing heart. She had never been kissed like that before. She
tried to read Ian’s eyes and found pure adoration and she smiled. “If we keep
this up, we’ll never go on this ride.”
“What do you vote for?” said Ian as he nuzzled Sam’s soft
neck.
“You did promise me a ride,” said Sam softly. “But after the
ride…” She let her voice trail.
“I suppose you’re right, since I do have friends waiting for
us.” Ian pulled away reluctantly. “You might want to take a jacket or something.
It could get a little chilly.”
“Sure,” said Sam and she grabbed her leather jacket and put
it on.
“Will Cracker be okay here by himself?” asked Ian as he
fondly petted the dog’s head.
“Toby said he’d come by and check up on him,” said Sam as
she reached for her backpack.
“Does Toby have a key to this place?”
“Of course he does,” said Sam. “It’s Jett’s apartment.” She
started to put two and two together. “He would never take advantage of it, Ian.
Toby has a good heart.”
“What about Jett?”
“Ian, I’m not his type. You don’t have to worry about him. Now,
who are your friends, and what should I know?”
“They are my frat brothers from school. Rich and Todd. Wives
are Katy and Olivia. They’re good people”
“Do they live here?” asked Sam as she hopped onto the back
for Ian’s bike.
“No, Rich and Katy live in Las Vegas and Todd and Olivia
live in Spokane. Olivia and Katy are doctors and were at a convention in town. Rich
and Todd decided to join them when they found out I'd be here too.” Ian revved
the bike and they were on their way.
“Doctors and architects,” mused Sam now feeling a bit
intimidated. She wondered what Rich and Todd were like. Sam started to
concentrate on the scenery which was outright beautiful. Ian would squeeze her
knee and point something out to her as the sped down the highway. Ian then
pulled off and Sam could see the group waiting. There were four motorcycles and
the riders were standing around drinking coffee and laughing. They watched in
anticipation as Sam and Ian pulled up.
“Hey, Ian,” said one of the men. “Where the hell have you
been? We almost were going to take off without you.”
“We’re not that late,” said Ian good-naturedly as he got off
the bike and Sam followed suit. “Guys, I’d like you to meet Samantha Stevens. This
charmer is Rich, his wife, Katy.”
“Pleased to meet you,” said Sam as she shook their hands. Rich
was tall and movie star material with Brad Pitt hair and the most intense brown
eyes Sam had seen. Katy appeared to be just the opposite of her husband. Small
in stature she had mousy brown hair pulled back into a pony tail and blue eyes
which held a guarded expression. “You can call me Sam.” She smiled hoping she
passed inspection.
“Sam, nice to meet you,” said Rich, shaking her hand with a
firm grip.
“You have to watch Ian,” said Katy with a smile. “He can be
a real charmer.”
“Thanks for the warning,” said Sam as she looked over at Ian
whose face turned red.
“Hello, Sam.” Todd stood as tall as Rich and Ian, also had Hollywood
looks. Olivia and Katy could pass as twins, for she was just as small as Katy,
making Sam feel like a big oaf.
“You must be Todd and Olivia,” said Sam warmly as she shook
their hands.
“You don’t ride?” asked Olivia, not impressed with Sam.
“No, I didn’t have time when I lived in Chicago.” Sam felt
her rebuff and inwardly cringed.
“Oh, Chicago?” asked Rich. “I thought I detected an accent.”
“Why, have you been there?” asked Sam hopefully.
“My aunt and uncle live there, but I can’t remember the
suburb. You guys have great pizza.”
“I know,” said Sam proudly.
“Sam just moved here this week to start her new job,” said
Ian. “She’s never seen the coast of California so I offered to enlighten her.”
“Enlighten?” Now, all four of them were laughing.
“I’m really anxious to see this coast,” said Sam, trying to
stop them from teasing Ian.
“Well, if that’s what the lady wants, let’s go,” said Todd
as he hopped on his bike.
The ride felt spectacular with Ian and Sam trailing the pack.
The helmets Ian and Sam were wearing had microphones in them so they could converse
while Ian drove.
“I don’t think the ladies liked me too much,” she told Ian.
“They have a tendency to be a little overprotective and they
don’t know you. Just be Sam, and you’ll do fine. I think it’s more important
that I like you.”
“I like you, too,” said Sam with a smile.
“Have I passed the test?” Ian asked hopefully.
“My dog likes you, so you’re close to a B.”
“What? What’s next?” teased Ian.
“Old people and kids.”
“You know, you are one tough person to please.” Ian knew he
could ace that test.
“Cautious, that’s all. I don’t want my feelings to be
trampled.” admitted Sam sheepishly.
“What about me? You saw how protective my friends are,”
countered Ian.
“You can have this on record, Ian. I will never ever hurt
you,” stated Sam seriously.
“Can I get that in writing?” asked Ian with a smile.
“Sure, I might even write a song about it.” Sam laughed and
Ian squeezed her leg fondly.
“Todd is signaling,” observed Ian. “I think they want a
coffee break.”
“You know, that does sound good,” agreed Sam. Ian followed
the other’s lead and they stopped at a Starbucks.
They weren’t the only other bikers in the lot and there was
a camaraderie amongst the group. They chatted as if they were long lost
friends. As they got to their tables, Sam sat comfortably next to Ian, totally
unprepared for the onslaught of questions from Katy and Olivia.
“Tell us, Sam, how did you and Ian meet?” asked Katy with no
warmth in her voice.
Sam looked at Ian to see which one of them should field the
question. Since Ian hesitated, Sam took the initiative. “Actually, we just met
last week. I had flown into Los Angeles for an interview, and Ian had been in
town to see the same person I interviewed with.”
“Do you Midwesterners always end your sentences with a
preposition?” asked Olivia.
“What?” asked Sam, caught off guard by the question.
“With whom were you interviewing?” clipped Olivia.
“Knock it off, Olivia,” said Todd through clenched teeth. “I’m
sorry, Sam.”
“Sam is working for Jett Robinson, and you guys know I’m
doing his house in Maui,” offered Ian as he squeezed Sam’s hand in empathy.
“Awesome,” exclaimed Rich. “What will you be doing for him?”
“Who is he?” asked Katy. “Is he someone famous?”
“Sorry,” explained Rich. “Katy doesn’t follow pop culture.” Rich
turned to face Katy. “Jett Robinson is the lead singer for the eighties rock
band
Savvy
. Remember they did that party song you always liked? Now, he
has a reality show, too. He’s the one who always had all the girls swooning
over him?”
“Yeah, now I remember.” Recognition shone in Katy’s eyes. “I
don’t like him. He’s a pompous ass.” She looked accusingly at Sam. “You work
for him?”
“Yeah, I do,” said Sam defiantly. She didn’t mean to be
snotty to Ian’s friends, but felt that Katy had overstepped her bounds with
her. “I thought the same thing when I applied for the job, but he’s really a
pretty decent guy. To me, anyway.”
“What did you do back in Chicago to qualify for the job?”
asked Olivia.
“Nothing, that’s just it,” explained Sam. “I had been a Vice
President of Marketing at a life insurance company.”
“Sam’s brother is Jordan, you remember him, Todd? You met
him at dinner? He’s the one who got Sam the interview.”
“Your brother is Jordan Stevens?” asked Todd incredulously.
“My twin,” said Sam. She liked Todd’s smile, and he was
being nice to her, unlike his snotty wife.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” said Katy
crossly.
“Jordan Stevens happens to be one of the best lead
guitarists in the industry,” commented Rich condescendingly. “I know you only
like classical music, but he’s really good.”
“Thank you,” said Sam proudly. “I’ll have you know that both
Jordan and I are classically trained musicians.”
“You play, too?” asked Todd. “Is that why you’re working for
Jett?”
“No, I mean, yes. It didn’t start out that way.” Sam took a
sip of her now cold coffee. “I interviewed for the job as his press assistant. He
wanted someone who didn’t like him and went against the stereotype bimbos that
are on his show. I didn’t like him very much, either. But, so far he’s been
very professional with me. He heard me play with Jordan at this club and now he
wants me to play on some of his tracks that he’s working on. Personally, I
don’t want to, but Jordan keeps talking me into it.”
“You didn’t tell me that,” said Ian looking at Sam
accusingly. “Sam is really just as good as Jordan, but she has stage fright.”
“I hate to rain on Sam’s parade, but we’re running out of
time,” commented Katy as she stood up.
“Right,” said Sam and she turned to Ian and started to get
up. Ian put his hand out and forced Sam to sit down.
“Since we’re on a time crunch because of my appointment, why
don’t you guys go ahead? Sam and I will be fine.” He literally glared at Katy
and Olivia.
“You know what?” asked Sam crossly. “I don't know what I did
to piss you off. I know when I'm not welcomed.” With that, Sam got up and
started to walk away, but Ian grabbed her arm again.
“Now, look what you've done,” demanded Ian as he glared
angrily at his friends.
“Drop it, Ian. I'll find another way home. I'll be fine.”
Sam hugged her chest.
“No, it’s not.” Ian stood adamant. Rich and Todd also glared
at their wives
“I agree with Ian,” said Rich crossly. “Since you two have
decided to be miserable to Sam, I see no reason for Ian to want to ride with
us.”
“Guys, please,” interjected Sam. “I can’t take any more of
this. I know why Katy and Olivia don’t like me because they don’t want to see
Ian hurt and they don’t think I’m good enough for Ian.” Sam glanced at both women
who wouldn’t look her in the eye. “All I can say, is Ian is a great person and
you have my word that I will never, ever hurt him.” With that said, Sam walked
out of the restaurant and sat outside at one of the tables, shaking. Ian raced
after her and put his arm around her.
“Honey, I'm so sorry.” Ian hugged her firmly. Ian ignored Katy
and Olivia as they sat down next to Sam. They both looked at each other
guiltily.
“Look, Sam, Ian is like a brother to us and we have always
looked out for him. He’s been really hurt in the past and I guess we’re just
sort of overprotective.”
“And I haven’t?” asked Sam with tears in her eyes. “This is
our first date and Ian had to pass my brother’s test before we could go out. Jordan
is very protective of his little sister. Can you at least give me a chance?”
“You’re absolutely right,” agreed Olivia and Katy
sheepishly.
“I still have two tests to complete,” said Ian dropping into
the fourth seat. “What is it, Sam?” Ian smiled at her at reached for her hand.
“Yes,” said Sam feeling better. “Ian has to pass my test of
how he treats children and the elderly. My dog loved him, so he’s getting
better.”
“We can vouch for him on both counts,” laughed Katy. “Ian
puts up with my mother, and he loves my kids. Come on, Sam.” Katy offered her
hand, and Sam accepted it. “Let’s go.”
As they walked to their bikes, an elderly couple came out of
the restaurant, and Sam watched them walk to the outside tables. They were
holding hands and all of a sudden the man fell down, his coffee cup went flying.
“Ian!” screamed Sam, but Ian had read the situation immediately. He helped the
man up to a sitting position to see what was wrong. Sam came flying over to
help with Katy and Olivia right behind her.