“It's gotta be her.” the man said to his friend as he finished off his drink. Staring at a woman across the crowded dance floor, she was surrounded by playboys, laughing and flirting like any woman would. But there was something different about her, she didn't throw herself at them, she would give a gentle nudge to their shoulder and smile at a crude joke.
“Then why don't you go and say hello?” the man's best friend, Duke Hazley, offered, playing with the little umbrella in his drink.
“I can't, I haven't seen Kate Manning in eighteen years, ever since we both went our separate ways at the end of High School.” the man sighed, watching the golden haired beauty. “It would be weird anyway.” he turned away, sulking.
“Buddy, you've got to jump back on that horse!” Duke cried encouragingly, slapping his timid friend hard on the back. “Come on, it's guys night out! Why, I haven't seen you this bummed out, since Cindy What's-her-face, dumped you last July.”
The man's brown eyes darkened at the mention of his ex. “Cindy Clawson, that slut.” he sneered.
“And that, ladies and gentleman, is why you should go over and talk to the blonde.” Duke laughed, as he stood up stretching his machine gun like arms.
“Where are you going?” the man asked.
Duke grinned, showing snow white teeth. “To talk to the blonde, if your not, then I will.”
The man quickly stood up, feeling short compared to his gigantic 6'6 southern Georgia friend. “Oh no your not!”
Duke began to walk off in the direction of the beautiful blonde. “Just watch me.”
His friend stood wide eyed, opened mouth, after Duke. “Come back here!” he yelled over the big band type music. But Duke just kept walking, grumbling to himself, the man ran and caught up with his idiot southern friend.
“This is going to end badly.” he sighed, as they walked through the dance floor, in between sweaty bodies.
“Live a little, would you?” Duke asked, pushing his way past the dancers. “I haven't seen you this freaked out since that one Biology test in Ms. Frosh's class in college.”
“Well you know the saying “All work and no play.” that's my motto.” he said, freezing up when they came within yards of the laughing woman.
“Dumb ass.” Duke said, out of the side of his mouth, as he pushed himself past the wall of playboys, within breathing distance of the Grecian Goddess sitting on a bar-stool drinking a Coke.
Some of the other men grumbled and complained at his antics. “Excuse me ma'am,” he drawled, putting on a thick southern accent, he tipped his giant cowboy hat at her. She smiled at this. “But a friend of mine would like to know if you would give him the pleasure of dancing with him.”
The woman set down her coke, her big blue eyes curious. “Friend?” she asked, in a sweet small voice. “I see no friend, only a big ole southern boy.”
Duke side-stepped, revealing his friend. “May I introduce my friend-”
“Sammy?” the woman gasped.
The smaller man of the two shrugged his shoulders, an easy smile on his lips. “Hey Katey.” he said softly.
The pretty blonde hopped down from the bar-stool, throwing her arms around the man she called Sammy. “Oh, Sam I can't believe it's you, after all this time.” she gushed holding on to him with all the might her small girlish arms could muster.
Sam Harrison breathed in deeply at Katey's sweet flowery, fragrance, holding her in his arms gave him so many flashbacks he couldn't see straight.
“Yea, it's me, Katey.” his voice gave off a morose note.
Kate Manning untangled herself from her old childhood friend. “How have you been?” she tentatively asked, forgetting the playboys she had been entertaining earlier. Sam went to answer her question, when she help up a delicately manicured finger. “Hold that thought Sam.” she turned to the gentlemen and Duke. “Excuse me guys, but I have some catching up to do with an old friend.” taking Sam's arm she led them off to a secluded area.
They sat down at a round booth, with black velvet seat cushions, and black lace curtains for privacy.
“Well, here we are.” Sam interjected, sitting on the opposite side of Kate. He tugged at his navy stripped tie.
Katey just smiled, her wholesome little smile. Her spaghetti strap canary yellow dress she wore showing off her beautifully tanned shoulders. “Sammy,” she grinned even more. “What have you been up to?” she asked, waving for a waitress.
“Uh...” Sam paused, suddenly feeling hot, he ran his finger around the collar of his light blue button down shirt. “What do you mean? It's been so long, what do you want to know?”
She laughed that silver bell laugh, that he loved. “Well where did you go to college? That is where we left off right?” Katey waved at the waitress again, who was flirting with a couple business men.
“Uh...Harvard.” Sam said a little shyly, he didn't understand why, this was Katey, his best-est best friend since pre-school, first grade, junior high, and high school!
Her face shown pleasure, she was happy for him. “Wow, that's huge! That's amazing Sammy.”
“Thanks, how about you?” he asked, taking a peek out from the curtain, wondering where Duke was.
“Washington University.” Kate said proudly, again waving for a waiter, a waitress, somebody!
Sam put his fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly, finally getting the waitress's attention.
The waitress had black hair piled high on her head like a bee-hive, smacking her gum as she entered into their little coven.
“What can I get for you?” she asked with a bored sigh.
Katey placed her order first. “I'll have a Shirley Temple, extra cherries please.”
Sam gave the waitress a once over when Katey was giving her order. She had the typical waitress outfit, white button down shirt black tie and black dress pants.
He read her name tag when she turned to take his order, it read “Flo” he almost laughed at this. “I'll have an iced tea.”
“I'll be right back with you drinks.” she smarted, flouncing off towards the kitchen.
“No beer?” Katey asked with some surprise.
“No gin?” Sam offered in return, twisting a napkin in his lap.
Katey shook her head. “Nope, gave up on that some time ago.”
“Same here.” he added with a smile. “Next question?”
Kathleen Abigail Manning, leaned back folding her arms behind her head, her sweet lips puckering in thought. “Job?”
“Architect.” he said looking at his watch not that he was bored or anything, 11:00pm.
“That's pretty cool.”
“You?” Sam asked, unwrapping his fork and knife.
“Obstetrician Gynecologist.” Katey said smartly, knowing that Sam would not know what the heck she just said.
He looked up confused. “Huh?”
“OB\Gyn.” she shortened it, knowing he still wouldn't get it.
Sam continued to fiddle with undoing the knife and fork. “Come again, in plain English.”
“I deliver babies.” she said slowly, just as Flo, the waitress, was delivering their drinks, to bad for Flo that Sam was a klutz at heart and as he finally got what Katey was trying to tell him what she did for a living, the knife jumped out from the cloth napkin landing directly on the tray of drinks, scaring the poor waitress, causing her to jump back and spill everything on her.
Flo screamed, she was covered in the non-alcoholic drinks. At her scream every head in the club turned to stare at them.
Sam's mouth hung wide open, “I am so sorry!” he cried trying to help her clean up.
The waitress scowled, pushing Sam's hands away. “It's ok sir,” she gritted through her teeth.
Sam sat back in his seat pretty embarrassed. He looked over at Katey who was barely able to hold in her laughter. When the waitress left she let loose.
“Oh my god!” she gasped clutching at her sides. “Well, ha ha, that'll teach ha ha her to ignore costumers.” she giggled.
“Katey, stop laughing!” Sam urged, his cheeks still red from embarrassment.
Katey wiped at the corners of her sparkling blue eyes, she then stared at Sam. Comparing what he used to look like when high school ended and now.
Sam had dark cropped brown hair, still as thick as it once was when he was eleven. He had laugh lines around his even darker eyes, chiseled cheek bones, a firm jaw and chin, sexy lips.
Not at all what he looked like back in his senior year, shaggy hair, stern eyes, he wasn't as chiseled as he is now, but his body was still the same from what she could tell. Beneath that dark grey suit, what he used to have was six pack abs, biceps the size of Arnold Schwarzenegger's head, he was just a beautiful teen, and still was.
Sam caught her staring, he nervously ran his hand through his hair. “What are you staring at?” he asked, hoping he didn't have anything in his teeth.
Katey shook her head, focusing on Sam now instead of back in the day. “Whatever happened to us Sam?” she said a little sadly.
“It all started senior year, I was dating the head cheerleader, Barbie Gammon, and you were dating-”
“Ken Macintosh.” Katey finished. “The quarter back.”
“Yea,” Sam sighed reminiscing over his high school sweetheart. “Their married now, have two kids Kelly, their daughter, and Skipper their son.”
“Bitch.” Katey coughed.
“Hey Ken wasn't a southern belle either.” Sam corrected.
Katey shrugged. “Why didn't we ever date?” she asked nonchalantly.
Sam looked around the room for their waitress, pretending to not hear her question. “You know I don't think we're going to get our drinks tonight.”
“Sam.” she said firmly.
He looked her straight in the eye, giving her his undivided attention. “We were friends, friends don't date.”
“Why?”
“Because it would mess with the friendship.” he stated matter of fact.
“That's it?” she asked, inching closer to him.
“Yep.” he nodded, looking around the little booth they were in, for the first time that night.
“What are we now?” she asked still inching closer, he either didn't seem to mind or most like Sam just didn't notice, he was never very observant.
“Victims of serendipity.” he said.
Katey stopped moving, she laughed. “Married?”
“I was engaged, found her with my brother.” he said darkly, trying not to remember that night.
Katey laid a comforting hand on his broad shoulder. “Josh?”
He shook his head. “No, Steve. Josh is married now, starting a family of his own.”
“Oh, what did you do about Steve?”
“Went to his wedding, he married my ex.” he added a little bitterly.
“Oh Sam.” she stroked his cheek, feeling sorry for him.
“It's ok, how about you?” he asked, shoving that era in his life back in it's box.
Katey sat back, folding her arms. “Engaged.” she exhaled.
“Congrats, brain surgeon?” Sam asked looking at his watch again, 12:30am.
Katey smiled shaking her head. “Nope, Cardiologist.”
Sam grinned. “Ah...foot doctor!”
Katey punched him softly in the arm. “Heart doctor.”
“Well if you want to get technical.” he rolled his warm brown eyes.
“Well I do.” she made a face, causing him to laugh.
“So, is it serious with Dr. Quinn medicine wo- I mean man?” he laughed.
“Sam!” she gasped in mock horror, hitting him again.
“Well is it?”
“Only on Tuesdays.” she said seriously, and then pointed to a waiter bringing them their drinks, finally.
“Sorry about the wait folks.” he profusely apologized, handing Katey her Shirley Temple and Sam his iced tea.
After the waiter had left, Sam started back on their conversation beforehand. “Well?” he asked.
“I was serious, Tuesday is the only day we get to see each other, every other day it's here's you new baby congratulations! Oh you want a new brain? Ok! Let me just tell my fiance of two years to keep our five year anniversary dinner warm.” she huffed, blue eyes sparking lightning bolts.
“I'm sorry Katey, that's gotta be rough.” he patted her hand.
“Eh.” she shrugged, still upset.
Wanting to make her forget about her loser fiance, Sam thought he would entertain them a little. “Did you ever want to kiss me in High School?” he asked just out of curiosity.
Katey took a sip of her watered down drink. “Did you ever want to kiss me?”
“Irrelevant.” he stated, tearing packets of sugar and dumping them into his tea.
“It is not.” she said firmly.
“Yes it is, because I have always wanted to kiss you.” he said softly, not once making eye contact.
She folded her arms. Determined. “What's stopping you?”
He took a drink of his iced tea, satisfaction right there. “The ring on your finger.”
She looked down at her ring finger, and then slowly slid it off. “An affair to remember?”
“I hate New York.”
“Paris?”
“One word, pigeons.” he replied disgusted.
She thought frantically for a moment. “H-he bores me.”
“Who?” Sam asked, staring at the three caret diamond.
“Dr. Moses Ronald, people at the hospital call him Dr. Mo-Ron. But I'm not allowed to because it would look bad.” she babbled.
“Moses Ronald?” Sam questioned, biting back a laugh.
“Barbie Gammon.” Katey scowled.
“What are you trying to say?” he asked, ignoring the comment on his high school girlfriend.
“That I'm Burt and your Ernie!” she tried to explain.
“We're two fuzzy puppets with hands jammed up our butts?” he was still confused.
“No!” she cried, slamming her fist on the table. “What I'm trying to say is, I love you, and I don't want to marry Dr. Mo-Ron! Sam I've loved you ever since we were kids, all the way up to senior year, and then some. And seeing you tonight just made me love you more, so what I'm asking now is, do you love me to?”
Sam looked at his watch. “I've only known for you a couple ours lady.” he joked. Katey slapped him hard, he didn't feel it of course, but there was some force. “I'm kidding Katey, of course I love you, no one but you!”
She smiled. “Then ask me the damn question!”
“Check please?” he asked, raising his hand in the air.
Katey hit him again, then she took his face in between her hands and kissed him profoundly on the lips.
“Oh that question.” he laughed, kissing her back.
. By the way, when it's up and running, the Knowledge Base is a very cool place full of really handy articles about grammar and so much more, so I would totally advise that you take a look around