The Anduit Resort, Hardwicke

September 2nd, 2015

9 P.M

Dinner by most standards was a pleasant experience, my dinner on the other hand was currently plagued by awkward conversations, awkward silence and just all around awkwardness as I tried my best to stay normal around Sam while Teegan attempted to talk to Darren. It was obvious that every single word that came from Teegan was forced, she spoke of the weather, high school and other mundane things.

To his credit, Darren was patient and offered a smile every time Teegan gave him even a small fraction of personal information. If I had known getting good conversation out of her was as difficult as getting blood out of a stone I would have practiced with her at home before coming down. But we were here now and I could only do so much to get any sort of conversation flowing at our table.

"Is she always like this?" I felt Sam's breath tickle the shell of my ear and turned my head a fraction to see him leaning far too close for my comfort. Poking a finger into his chest I pushed against him a little, thankfully he leaned back. If he had been any closer for even a fraction longer I would have been far more flustered than Teegan and more annoyed that I had shown such weakness.

"You know well that she isn't normally this speechless, do you want to save her?" Sam gave a chuckle at my question, what was so funny? I was being serious about his saving Teegan, if there was one way to snap her out of this stupor it was Samuel baiting her.

He turned to look at me, when he saw how serious I was the smile vanished almost immediately. "You know that won't end well right?" Thinking over it quickly I realized it wouldn't, Teegan would likely blow a gasket telling Samuel how much she hated him, I would end up siding with Teegan even though I had requested it of Samuel and Darren...well he'd see just how fired up Teegan could get.

"Completely...oh god is that music?" It was music, if I had known that dancing was on the cards I would not have come this evening. Dancing was something I had yet to master, it was difficult to look smooth and not like a beached whale trying to shuffle back into the water.

"It is, want to dance?" I was tempted to turn Samuel down, but perhaps my dancing would somehow encourage Teegan to do the same so I took the offered hand and walked towards the dance floor. The closer we came the faster my heart beat until Sam and I were standing there, facing each other.

"You look so lost, it's adorable. Come on, I'll go easy on you." Sam pulled me closer, for a few moments my brain stalled as it realized what we were doing. I had to remind myself several times that it was just one dance, nothing was to come of a single dance. As soon as this was over I would make my way back to our table and glue my butt to the seat, never to move again until it was to return home.

"You're still so awkward at dancing." Sam laughed as I trod on his foot the second step into the dance, my cheeks went pink. I could feel the heat build in my face, how could I not be bad at this sort of dancing? 

"Well we don't all get to dance on a regular basis." I didn't eve know if Samuel went dancing regularly, his laugh confirmed that he likely didn't but I wasn't retracting that statement and he didn't correct me. We lapsed into silence, I can't say it was all that comfortable. Here I was, dancing with Samuel Walker, my heart fluttering in my chest as we dance the song away and I was still trying to drag him down any way that I could.

"So, what do you do these days petal? What is your occupation?" I could tell that Samuel was trying to sound casual, but it was coming out a little too eager for his facade. I could have snapped at him, I could have stormed off and acted like the teenage girl that my mind was still forced back to but I rolled my eyes.

"I work for a fashion magazine," being vague was the best for everyone here. I was used to friends turning into mindless fame monsters at the drop of a hat, wanting this, that and the other was exhausting. "And don't call me petal, you know how much I hate that nickname." As I said that a thought popped into my head, did he call me petal for the same reasons that Tee called me sugar tits?

It made perfect sense, I would need to remind myself never to correct him again just as I had promised never to protest to Tee's nickname again. In Tee's case I think it had worked, but something told me ignoring 'petal' from Sam was going to be a little bit harder and the same ploy wouldn't work.

"But it's a fitting nickname, you know that." I think once upon a time Sam had considered himself witty for coming up with that nickname, but it didn't take a genius to figure out how he'd come to call me petal.

"A monkey could have come up with it." I grumbled to myself as the song ended. 

"Well then, I'm a monkey." Samuel was obviously having a great time with this exchange, he was taking my half ass insults as jokes. 

When we arrived back at the table Tee and Darren were no longer sitting there, looking around the room I spotted her walking out the front door with Darren. Lord, they had moved quickly but I guess they had acted on their repressed feelings whereas I wasn't going to let myself get too out of control.

"Well it looks like its just you and I." Sam looked and sounded a little too pleased with the scenario, there was a moments hesitation where I considered grabbing my things and leaving as well. Sam sat back in his chair, I stood there a few moments debating with myself what to do. Go home and eat ice cream while waiting up for Teegan or sit here and see how things went with Samuel?

My question was answered when Sam pulled my chair out for me, I ignored the silent invitation and went to sit in Tee's seat, which was on the other side of the table to Samuel.

Again Sam laughed and turned to me with a raised brow and my rebellious act. "Still a rebel without a cause then?" Though I tried to keep the smile from my face I failed and soon found myself laughing along with Samuel at some mutual memory that we both had of my being a rebel without a cause or care.

"Mrs. Phillips still hasn't spoken to me directly...it's usually indirectly through mom or someone else. Really quite strange, I thought she would forgive the great sunflower heist of '04." Again Sam and I both laughed, it had been a stupid dare. One that had ended a friendship between my parents and the Phillips family, sure Mrs. Phillips still spoke to my mother but never to me even though I had apologized and begged forgiveness all those years ago.

That had landed Sam and I in a lot of hot water, we had to tend to Mrs. Phillips garden for the rest of the summer. I blamed Sam, so did his parents because they knew it was him that had egged me on but my parents and Mrs. Phillips blamed me.

"I'm really sorry about that, she used to love you like a daughter. Maybe that's why she took it so hard?" I  nodded, that was likely why. 

"Maybe I can do something for Mrs. Phillips while I'm back?" I knew for a fact that Mrs. Phillips own children rarely ever visited. Since her divorce from Mr. Phillips the kids had been taken from her, I really was surprised that they had gone with their dad and not a single one of the three children had wanted to stay with her.

"Like what? It'd have to be outside her home considering she isn't talking to you, I doubt she'd let you past the front door." Eyeing Samuel from where I sat I reluctantly agreed, he was completely right so that whittled down my options fast.

"Thanks for the reminder...I don't know, I'll have to think of something." Unlike the time it was easy to think of a way to prank Mrs. Phillips it was a lot harder to think of something good to do for her that wasn't too over the top of come across as wanting to kiss her butt.

"Well, you've got a few days to think it over. When do you leave? You know, you haven't asked me what I do yet?" Samuel was obviously hopeful that I would take him up on the silent hint, seeing as it was close to ten in the evening I was ready to sleep.

"I leave Tuesday morning, and what do you do now Samuel? Still building forts, tree houses and sandcastles?" Samuel smiled at my questions, it wasn't the same sort of smile that he'd had on his face before. This smile was a little smaller, like Samuel wasn't aware that he was actually smiling. Was he remembering something?

The far away look in his eye made me wonder just what he was thinking about.

"No," Samuel replied slowly as he came out of whatever thought he'd been having and looked my way. "I own my own construction company, so I build homes here in Hardwicke and I've just opened a small office in New Jersey." That brought a smile to my face, so Sam had graduated from building tree houses to real homes. It wasn't much of a stretch for anyones imagination, in high school I had assumed Sam would go into something that required the use of hands and muscle.

Sure, he hadn't been the beefiest guy in high school, he hadn't been the dumbest either but he had always loved making things and using his hands so like the nickname he had given me it was no stretch of the imagination that he had ended up doing what he does.

"I'm not surprised." Instead of that response coming from me I turned to see who it had really come from. The smile left my face almost immediately and the small amount of happiness I had been feeling was gone and replaced by annoyance and a bit of jealousy when my eyes landed on Beth in her very pink dress and ridiculously high heels.

"Hi Beth, quite an evening you've put on. It almost feels like I'm back in high school all over again." I shot Sam a withering look, so it was Beth that had planned the evening? 

"Thank you Samuel, I had hoped everyone would find it enjoyable. Did Teegan not show up tonight?" I swore Beth pouted a little as she asked Samuel the question. Why was she so interested in Teegan and her whereabouts? 

"Oh, I think she left earlier." I was glad Samuel had left out the fact that she and Darren had left together, or maybe he didn't know. Either way I don't think Beth needed to know that she was right in playing matchmaker.

"Well then, I'll leave the both of you to enjoy the rest of your evening." Beth left soon after that, Sam watched her leave with a smile on his face. I was feeling something other than frustration or jealousy and that was confusion.

"That was weird." I muttered, it caught Sam's attention as his head snapped back my way.

"Why? Because she was being nice? We're not in high school and we're not all still stuck there, but you seem to be the only one that doesn't realize that." Sam stood at that and left the table, I was left a little shocked and speechless as I watched him walk away. 

Unsure of what to do I grabbed my things and left the hotel, confusion warring with uncertainty.

What had just happened?

Why did I feel as if my heart had just broken into a thousand tiny pieces?

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So what did you all think?

Does Beth really have good intentions when it comes to Sam and Rose? Can Rose really get over whatever happened in the past? Did Teegan really walk out with Darren or did she say something that cause him offence?

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Sorry for the long wait between updates but..well life got a little bit busy. I've got a job! I've actually been hired, which is a great feeling but at the same time not so much as I won't be able to write as much as I have been in the past year.

I've been considering putting all of my stories on hold until I can get a bit of time to write, but I know for certain that my work 'breaks' don't come until the summer...which is a couple of months away yet.

I'm going to try and continue on writing and working but we'll see how that goes I guess.