| March 29th | Friday Night|

~ Sam's POV ~

The muffled sound of live music outside the office door made it hard to concentrate. I was reading over the application for a new hire that was coming in today for his first day of training. He would technically be Jade's replacement now that business was starting to pick up again.

NAME: Jamal Dane Johnson, Jr. (preferred to be called Dane)

DOB: 07/08/1992

As I read over his experience, it was clear he would be fine working here. He was pretty much a professional when you looked at how long he had been bartending. He was twenty-six, the same age as Megan...

I put his application away and figured there was nothing to worry about.

My phone lit up and my heart jumped, only to realize it wasn't a text from Megan. I had missed her before leaving for work, but she had warned me she would possibly be late due to Ava's guardian refusing to pick her up on time. I wondered how they were doing right about now.

There was a light knock on the door before Ty's head popped in.

"Hey, there's a guy here..." He shrugged. "Said he's supposed to be training today?"

I checked the time and realized he was early. That was always a good sign.

"Tell him I'll be right out," I said.

Ty just nodded and disappeared.

Without any more delay, I shut down the office and made my way to the front. I spotted Dane continuing to schmooze Ty who was opening the bar. They seemed to be hitting it off well, which was a relief.

Dane towered over the bar. He was at least six-foot, and had broad, muscular shoulders that were visible in his short-sleeved, cobalt-blue button-down which complimented his dark brown skin. He ran his hand over his neatly trimmed beard and said something funny that made Ty laugh. He looked professional, more professional than I probably looked, in my opinion. Dane oozed confidence, and when Ty nodded in my direction, his warm honey-brown eyes met mine.

"That's Sam, the bar manager," Ty introduced as I walked into their conversation.

Dane extended his hand and I took it, my hand practically disappearing into his. He shook softly.

"Nice to meet you," he greeted.

"Same," I answered with a smile. "Dane, is it?"

He beamed at the use of his preferred name.

"Yes, thank you."

"Are you sure you wouldn't prefer to be a bodyguard?" I joked.

"I'm too pretty to be a bodyguard," he countered.

Charming. This guy was quickly becoming my favorite. Sorry Ty, I apologized internally.

"So, I'm not gonna waste any time because it's likely we'll be super busy tonight." I walked and he followed. "I'm gonna show you where everything is."

"Sounds good to me."

I quickly gave him a tour and showed him everything he would possibly need to know before his first shift. He would basically be shadowing and bar-backing tonight but would likely be asked to make a few drinks regardless. There was no doubt that he would succeed regardless.

"I'm gonna let you shadow Ty since you two seem to have hit it off," I announced. "But you'll basically be bar-backing to kinda get the feel of being behind our bar."

"Yes ma'am."

"And you definitely don't have to call me ma'am," I joked.

The tour finished up and I brought him back to the front where I would let Ty give him a quick rundown. He and Mia had really stepped up since Jade's departure and I was proud of them. They were my top bartenders, but I had a feeling Dane was about to give them a run for their money.

That's when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I retrieved it to see a text from Megan.

Megan: Finally home. I hope you're not too tired when you get off work. I'd like to run something by you.

I typed back quickly.

Sam: Of course, babe. I'll try my best, but we might be real busy tonight.

The night proceeded and, as predicted, we were busy. The band tonight was great and apparently popular. I assumed it had to do with the fact that they formed right here in Tampa.

Dane surpassed the high expectations I had already set for him by mid-shift. He remembered where everything was, didn't ask questions when the bartenders asked something of him, and even deescalated a possible conflict. Part of me wondered why he remained bartending when he was clearly capable of handling a lot more responsibility.

Eventually I was locking the front door and Crossroads was closed for the night. The bartenders and servers continued cleaning up after the busy night and Dane had already gotten friendly with every single one of his coworkers. He was a force, that was for sure. I determined he would fit in extremely well.

After doing check-outs, each bartender handed him a twenty-dollar bill.

Ty slapped his back. "I love this dude.

Dane just laughed.

"So, how did you like it?" I wondered. "It seems like everyone else was super glad you were here."

"Everyone's really nice." He followed me out the back door and watched me lock up. "It has a very familial vibe, you know?"

I had that thought often but had never told anyone that. It was true, everyone at Crossroads kind of looked out for each other, plus we hang out often. Dane seemed pleased with the energy we had showed him tonight.

"Do you have a ride?" I wondered.

"Cars wacked out right now at the house," he revealed. "I got a lift here."

"I can give you a ride if you want?"

"I live over the bridge."

I gave him a friendly smile. "I do too. C'mon."

He followed me over to my car and nearly fell over when he put two-and-two together.

"Wait, this is your ride?" he beamed while a strong hand glided over the hood.

"Yeah." We climbed inside. "It used to be my grandfathers, then my fathers, and now it's mine."

"My father had a '70 Chevelle," he boasted as we started on the road. "I miss that car."

"What happened to it?" I asked.

"I wrecked that son of a bitch."

The way he said it... I didn't want to assume anything, but he didn't sound sad about it. He almost sounded... proud.

"That's unfortunate."

"I guess." Dane stared out the window. "My father was more upset about the car than my hospital bills."

There was clear hostility Dane had towards his father. I immediately determined that it was one of the main reasons he preferred to be called Dane instead of Jamal. Unfortunately, I understood his pain, but it only made me like him more.

He directed me to his house, and I realized he probably lived about five minutes from Megan and me. Eventually I was pulling up to a driveway with a car jacked-up in the open garage. There were cardboard boxes that remained unemptied, which made me wonder if Dane had just moved here.

"Are you good with cars?" he wondered.

"I'd like to think so," I answered. "My dad and I basically rebuilt this one together."

"Would you mind coming over to take a look?" Dane put his hand on the door to leave. "Usually I can figure out what's wrong, but I'm having trouble with this one."

"Sure. I'm off Sunday."

"Tight."

He exited the car but leaned down to address me one last time before going into his house.

"Thanks for the ride, Sam."

"No problem. See you Sunday."

"Come by any time after noon."

Then he closed my door and I left his driveway. He seemed genuine, which wasn't a bad thing, it was just... unusual. There was this feeling I got around him, a feeling a familiarity, like we were alike in more ways than I knew. There was this instant connection I had never really had with anyone other than Blair. It felt nice to feel that again after moving away from her.

I arrived home and realized I was wired and excited to see Megan. As I kicked off my shoes at the front door, I raced to meet her in the bed where she was reading a book. She looked up past her glasses and smiled.

"Hey."

I sauntered up to her and climbed onto the bed. My hands and knees straddled her as she laughed and put her book on the side table. I removed her glasses for safe measure before bringing my lips to hers. Then I started kissing on her neck, which resulted in her laughs to grow louder.

"Sam, stop it, you're tickling me!"

I continued regardless, enjoying the playful interaction after a good night at work. She was helpless under my weight as my lips and face ran over the skin on her neck. Her body struggled to contain her giggles as her hands pushed against my chest. I couldn't help but laugh into her neck as well.

"Samantha Marie!"

I pulled back. "How dare you?"

"Well, I told you to stop!" she defended with a smile.

"Well, I just missed antagonizing you."

She just laid there with this cute look on her face that was colored red from the struggle against me. Her hair was now a mess due to my antics, but it made her look hot. I started moving in to further this interaction, but she stopped me.

"Since you're clearly not tired," she started. "I want to run something by you."

I shrunk back. Right, I had forgotten she wanted to talk.

"What's that?"

"I had to schedule a parent-teacher conference with Lisa," she revealed. "But I think something is wrong because she's been late all week picking up Ava."

I just listened intently.

"It really depends on what she tells me at the meeting, or if she even shows up, but I'm thinking about offering to tutor Ava after school."

"Okay?" was all I said.

"Well, what do you think?" she wondered.

"I think it's out of your pay grade," I dead panned.

Megan just gave me a 'seriously?' look.

"Sam..."

I shrunk in defeat, knowing that wasn't the right thing to say. My brain searched for a better alternative, but it worried me. Megan was already attached to this little girl. It was risky to give special treatment, because I knew it was coming from the soft spot she had in her heart for Ava. I worried about that most of all.

"I think it's a noble thing for you to offer," I answered. "But I just worry you're getting..."

Megan raised her brow.

"Getting what?" she countered. "Attached?"

I just gave her a timid smile in response.

"Ava needs extra help if she's gonna pass this year," Megan informed. "And I know Lisa isn't going to provide for her. This is the only solution I could come up with to possibly help all parties."

I wasn't completely okay with it, but only because I worried about Megan's mental and emotional attachments when it came to Ava. I obviously didn't have a problem with her wanting to tutor and help her student.

"If I recall, I helped a certain student when she was struggling and she didn't see an issue with it," Megan teased.

I smirked at the memories of our tutoring sessions back when I was in high school.

"You know, I still think you had ulterior motives when you offered to tutor me."

"Did not."

"Did too."

We just stared at each other with teasing looks before Megan broke and blushed with a smile. I smiled in victory.

"Also, our first foster certification class is next Saturday morning."

"Yep," I said as I stood to take my work clothes off. "And remember, we have a couple's session the following Monday. I made it for six, so you won't have to worry about being late."

Megan suddenly grew quiet, which prompted me to face her. She had this look of worry on her face.

"What?" I asked.

"That's the day I scheduled the meeting with Lisa..."

"Megan, you agreed to do this with me."

"I know," she defended. "It'll be fine. I'll be there."

I decided not to worry about it as I disappeared into the bathroom to ready myself for bed. Megan wasn't the one to back out on promises, so I would take her word and hope Lisa showed and didn't make her late. This couple therapy session was important to me, just like the fostering certification was important to Megan.

We agreed to meet each other half-way, I just hoped Megan would meet me this time.

***A/N***

Welp. Sorry so late. I'm currently drinking on Facetime with some friends and totally forgot. Because I am drunk. Also, time isn't real, lol. Love you guys.

Patreon: www.patreon.com/laurynabrooks

Twitter: laurynabrooks

Site: laurynslgbtbookshelf.com

Be Proud. Stay You.

Lauryn