Chapter 11

Sam talked to Sara for nearly an hour. At first she felt bad about calling her so late, but luckily she and her husband were still up, watching TV. She really needed someone friendly to talk to, and Daniel was either not around, or was deliberately refusing to talk to her. She felt better after talking to Sara. She’d kept beating herself up over the fact that Joe was moving too fast and she had done nothing to stop him, but Sara reminded her that she was still a bit inexperienced when it came to dating.

Sam had nearly taken offense to that when she realized that it was her own fault. She wasn’t normally very outgoing, and she worked so hard in school that she didn’t have much time to socialize or pursue a relationship. Her main goal had been to work hard and get a good education, lest she end up in a troubled marriage or separation, but would still have the means to support herself financially. A slight bitterness crept into her voice. It subsided when she realized she shouldn’t agonize over it, but rather focus on the matter at hand.

Sam had told Sara all about what Joe had done to her in the car. She told her that she felt as if she’d been used, and Sara told her she was overreacting a bit, especially since Joe had only kissed her and felt her up. Sam shuddered slightly as those memories flooded back, and especially at the thought of what he could have done to her if she’d stayed in the car any longer than she did. For a moment she thought that eating the ice cream was a mistake, and that she was going to vomit. Sara realized something was wrong when Sam suddenly said that she didn’t want to discuss it anymore.

Sam then admitted to Sara the feelings that were brewing deep within her for some time, but didn’t completely surface until only several hours ago: she hated herself. She hated herself for letting herself get enticed by Joe’s initial email, especially at the prospect of meeting someone decent. She hated herself for deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt even after her slight misgivings about him. She hated herself for acting like an entranced zombie when he took advantage of her inexperience and not doing anything to stop him. And, most importantly, she hated herself for the way she acted toward Daniel. No wonder he wasn’t talking to her. From the way she treated him Wednesday morning, anyone could have guessed that she had brought an end to their friendship.

Sam’s voice finally broke and she began to sob softly as she told Sara about how she’d tried to reach Daniel on the phone, but he wouldn’t pick up. She was sure it meant that she would never see him again. She admitted that she needed his friendship, and by acting like a fool, she’d most assuredly lost it. For a moment she almost couldn’t believe she was breaking down like this. It made her realize how much his friendship must have meant to her.

Sara empathized with Sam. She hadn’t met Daniel of course, but from the way Sam would talk about him, he seemed like a very sweet, caring, easy-going man who was great company. The last time she’d talked to Sam earlier in the evening, she learned that he seemed to care a great deal about Sam. She knew Sam had reservations about Joe, but she didn’t think she should write him off completely. To be honest, she was secretly hoping that Sam would ditch Joe and choose Daniel instead, but she didn’t want to burden Sam right before a date that she couldn’t break.

Sam tearfully admitted to Sara that she was calling it off with Joe. Even though she was completely repulsed by what happened, a tiny piece of her still felt bad that it didn’t work out. Sara was incredulous upon hearing this, and reminded Sam that Joe was not worth it, no way.

“Sometimes things happen for a purpose, Sam,” she’d told her. “Don’t get me wrong – what Joe did to you was wrong, but the way I see it, you’re no longer dating at the moment, and there’s nothing holding you back from Daniel.”

“I guess you’re right,” Sam sniffled. “But, there is something holding me back from Daniel: the fact that he doesn’t trust me, and that he no longer wants me for a friend.”

“Sam, you don’t know that,” Sara said sadly.

“Then why wouldn’t he answer the phone?” Sam nearly demanded.

“I don’t know. Maybe he was in the shower?”

“No … more like, he was sitting in front of the phone, heard my voice on the answering machine and decided I wasn’t worthy of his friendship,” Sam said bitterly.

“Sam, that’s the wrong attitude,” Sara returned sternly. “I doubt you’re right, but in case you are, maybe he’s still hurting from what happened in the coffee shop. You have to be patient, allow some time for the healing process. In time, I’m sure he’ll stop hurting and will talk to you again.”

“Oh, sure, make me feel ten times worse than I already do,” Sam spat out.

“Come on, Sam, you weren’t exactly very nice to him,” Sara insisted before her tone softened somewhat. “Just give him some time and he’ll be back to his old self. From what you told me, he sounds like a very loyal guy, so I wouldn’t underestimate him.”

Sam sniffled.

“Why don’t you do something to get your mind off it?” Sara offered. “If you don’t have anything to do this weekend, go out shopping, do some gardening, take a walk, or stay in and curl up with a good book.”

“You make it sound so good,” Sam chuckled ruefully, cracking a smile for the first time in ages.

Sara laughed softly. “Hey, it beats sitting around and feeling sorry for yourself. Or … actually, I don’t think Jack and I have anything planned tomorrow. Do you want to meet for breakfast or something?”

Sam pondered Sara’s offer until she remembered she’d told Daniel’s answering machine that she would be patronizing the Java House Saturday morning.

“Nah, I was planning on heading to the coffee shop near campus. But, thanks for the offer.”

“Are you sure?” Sara persisted.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Okay,” Sara said. “Wait, you have a coffee maker at home, why bother going over there for …”

She trailed off when she realized that Sam had met Daniel there, and was probably hoping to run into him.

“Oh,” she said quietly.

Sam remained silent.

“Well, listen, I wish you luck. If you decide to change your plans, just give me a call tomorrow morning.”

“I will,” Sam replied in a more even tone. “Thanks for listening, Sara,” she said contritely.

“We’re friends, Sam,” Sara reminded her. “I’m here to listen. I hope everything goes okay.”

“Thanks. I really hope I can patch things up with Daniel,” Sam replied sadly.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure you will. You’re a great girl and he’d have to be crazy to avoid you for too long.”

Sam’s cheeks burned. “I’m glad someone thinks so,” she said in spite of herself. “I better get going in case he calls.”

“Okay, but don’t make yourself crazy. And get some sleep!” she ordered playfully.

“I will, don’t worry,” Sam assured her before saying goodbye and hanging up.

She made her way over to the freezer and began to search for the pint of ice cream. She looked at the label and felt a wave of nausea hit her. She realized she was no longer hungry and shut the freezer door.

She sat down at the kitchen table and rested her head on top of her folded arms. She began thinking about what Sara told her, especially about how Daniel may need time to heal after what had taken place the other morning. For a moment she couldn’t believe that she had hurt him so much. Granted, she had made a fool of herself in the coffee shop with her little outburst, and she hadn’t made any other plans to see him, only vaguely telling him she’d “see” him. His apparent behavior in refusing to talk to her on the phone made her think that she’d hurt him more than she originally thought.

She sat at the table and stared up at the phone, hoping that perchance Daniel had gotten the message, felt bad upon hearing Sam’s voice, and decided to return her call. The clock went from 11 to 11:30 … then from 11:30 to midnight … then midnight to 1 AM, and it became clear to Sam that Daniel was most decidedly not going to call her.

She didn’t know how much longer she was willing to sit there, and didn’t think it was possible for her to fall asleep after being so agitated and anxious in hoping that Daniel would call. She must have grown tired enough to finally drift off to sleep at some point, because she suddenly jerked her head up when she heard the faint chimes of the grandfather clock in the living room announce that it was 3 AM.

Sam looked around her dimly lit kitchen and winced as she realized she had one hell of a headache. She slowly stood up, switched off the small night-light, and made her way out of the room, stopping only to cast a disappointed glance at the phone.

Sam collected her cup of once-again-black coffee and made her way to a small booth near the back of the Java House. She sat down and swore to herself when she realized that the barista had absent-mindedly given her a lid that was too big for the cup. She discarded the lid and attempted to sip the coffee when it nearly burned her lips.

Oh, that’s right, it’s black – it’s going to take longer to cool, she stupidly reminded herself. She shook her head, not believing for a second how dumb she was. She definitely wasn’t as sharp as usual, due to the fact that she must have gotten at most three hours of sleep last night. After she forced herself to leave the kitchen and head to bed, she found it hard to get to sleep and ended up staring at the phone on the wall next to her bed for another hour. She finally realized she was kidding herself, and Daniel was not going to call her at all. Somehow she managed to finally drift off to sleep.

Sara was right; she could have very well stayed home and made herself a pot of coffee, but she’d made up her mind that she was visiting the coffee shop. She only met Daniel there during the week, so she wasn’t sure at all if he’d ever go there on a weekend. In a way, she was hoping to accidentally run into him. Well, maybe not accidentally at all – but she was hoping to find him and tell him she had an awful time with Joe, that he was absolutely right, and that she was an idiot for fooling herself into thinking she still needed to find love.

She had to park in the lot behind the coffee shop, as all the spaces were taken out front. She looked for Daniel’s car and fretted upon not finding it parked anywhere. Then she mentally kicked herself for realizing that she’d never seen Daniel’s car, so she didn’t know what to look for anyway. She wondered how long she should stay there. It was about 9:15 AM and there was no sign of him. I guess I should stay until after this cup of coffee finally cools a bit and I can actually finish it, she stupidly thought.

Nearly twenty minutes had passed. Sam’s coffee had cooled down to the point where she could actually drink it in small sips. As she replaced it on the table, she heard the door to the coffee shop swing open and she cast a wary glance in that direction.

Her heart did a somersault as she witnessed Daniel – at least she thought it was Daniel – entering the shop and making his way to the counter. He was wearing sunglasses, but the longish, light brown, center-parted hair, and the long-sleeved, checkered flannel shirt gave him away. As he stood in line, he replaced the sunglasses for his usual brown wire framed glasses, which confirmed his identity to her.

She watched as the barista handed him a cup of coffee and some napkins, and he smiled, nodded his head and appeared to be thanking her. Sam’s face flushed and she suddenly felt the need to hide under the table, almost ashamed to be seen in his presence. She quickly dismissed these feelings as she reminded herself why she was here. She had to talk to him and apologize to him. She knew how important his friendship was to her, and she couldn’t leave until she’d reclaimed it.

Sam kept her eyes trained on Daniel as he left the counter and headed in the direction of the back of the shop, a pleasant smile on his face. When he was about ten feet away from Sam’s booth, he suddenly noticed her sitting there, looking a bit pensive, and his smile faded. For a quick moment, their eyes met. Sam noticed that his beautiful, crystal blue eyes lacked their familiar warmth, and they seemed almost cold and hard, like steel. The expression on his face turned into stone.

“Daniel,” she muttered tentatively.

He didn’t say a word, and Sam’s eyes followed him as he brushed her off and continued further down the aisle to a small booth several tables behind hers. She watched him sit down, remove his jacket and place it on the seat next to him, and settle into his cup of coffee. He was completely ignoring her, and she knew that she deserved it.

A harsh reality made itself known to her: Daniel wasn’t interested in her friendship any longer. She felt like her heart had been ripped out when she realized how he must have felt. She had hurt him, and he didn’t want to trust her. She had lost his friendship, thanks to the ridiculous way she acted toward him. She really hated herself when she considered how blind she had been all along. She didn’t know a good thing when she saw it, and now she was paying the price. She deserved everything she had coming to her.

She considered just getting up and walking out, as there didn’t seem to be any point to remain there if he wasn’t going to have anything to do with her. Her eyes drifted downward and she remembered she still had to finish her cup of coffee. Her hand trembled slightly as she lifted the cup up to her lips and took a small sip. She realized how agitated she was when her hand began to tremble more. She set the cup back down onto the table uneasily, and the shaking of her hand caused it to spill a bit.

“Damn it,” she muttered shakily as she fought to retain her composure. She looked stupidly down at the puddle of black coffee in the middle of the table, but didn’t have the heart to clean it up. She folded her arms and rested her head down on top of the table, her body shuddering ever so slightly as she wept silently. She never felt so defeated in her life.

As she wept, she failed to notice the slight impact as someone sat down across from her. She stopped crying briefly as she heard what sounded like a napkin being pushed along the surface of the table. She slowly raised her head and felt her heart do another somersault as she witnessed Daniel sopping up the spilt coffee with a napkin. His eyes were focused on the tabletop until he heard her sniffle. He seemed almost afraid to look her in the eyes, but he finally directed his eyes up at her. Once he took in her red, tear-stained face, the hardened façade shattered and his eyes filled with sympathy.

He finished cleaning up the mess and looked at her intently. To be honest, he had gotten her answering machine message last night. Actually, he’d been there when she called. He recognized her number on his caller ID, but he decided against picking up the phone. He heard her message, but decided against calling her back. At the time, he was still very hurt and still believed that she was lost to him. He needed some time to think, and for the notion that she might actually want his friendship back to sink in. He’d slept on it, and it only resulted in a mostly sleepless night as he agonized over it.

When he spotted her a few minutes ago, he was still very hurt and not willing to let her get off easy for what she’d done. But, when he spotted her attempting to drink her coffee, he saw how upset she was and how his attitude was affecting her, as she was almost shaking like a leaf and managed to spill her coffee. At that moment, he realized he’d been overacting and that she really needed his friendship.

Now, he sat across from Sam and looked at her pitifully, not sure what to do or say. He figured he’d let her make the first move.

“Daniel,” she stammered, her voice still trembling.

“Sam,” he said sadly as he looked soulfully into her eyes. He took hold of her hands and noticed they were still trembling somewhat. She was really agitated, and he knew she needed more support, so he went around to her side of the table and pulled her into a hug.

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry, Daniel,” she said into his shoulder as he stroked the back of her head. “I acted like such a jerk. I thought you hated me and that our friendship was …”

“Shh, Sam, it’s okay,” Daniel said soothingly as she clung tightly to him.

“I mean it; can you ever forgive me for the way I treated you?” she insisted, sniffling as she loosened her grip on him.

Daniel pulled out of their hug and looked into her eyes. “I think it’s entirely possible,” he answered.

Sam stared at him.

“Of course I can, Sam,” he elaborated, smiling faintly. “I could never stay mad at you like that. I’m sorry if I gave you the impression that I no longer wanted to be your friend – or hated you or anything like that. Yes, I was a bit hurt when it seemed that you didn’t want my advice. To be honest, I was worried for you. I was worried that this guy didn’t sound like he was good enough for you, and I was afraid of how he’d treat you. I care about you so much, that I only want the best for you.”

Sam studied his face and noticed a faint blush in his cheeks. She gave him a watery smile.

“Thanks, that really means a lot to me,” she replied, her voice wavering slightly. “I really feel like an idiot for the way I treated you. I felt that I didn’t deserve your friendship,” she said regretfully.

“It’s okay,” he assured her. “I have to admit that, for a while I was agonizing over what I said to you that morning. I was worried that I had overstepped my bounds, and almost felt that I didn’t deserve your friendship.”

Sam’s watery smile returned. “You were only trying to help, Daniel. You were trying to let me know how you cared about me. I realize that now.”

Daniel’s lips edged upward into a faint smile as he pulled her close to him and hugged her once again. For a few minutes they stayed in that position, and Sam felt safe and warm in his arms.

“What happened last night, Sam?” Daniel finally asked, his voice muffled slightly by the top of her head.

Sam sniffled and pulled back from him. She briefly glanced at the area around their booth. Daniel’s eyes curiously followed hers before he realized that she was making sure that no one was around. Luckily there weren’t many people in the back of the shop, as most of the patrons were situated in the front and at the counter. This area was fairly secluded.

“Well, I met him at O’Malley’s at six,” she began in an even tone.

Daniel looked at her thoughtfully and nodded.

“We had dinner and talked a bit about our personal lives – family, work, that kind of thing. He told me he has three brothers and one sister, and out of all of them, he’s the only one who didn’t marry. He said something about getting married quickly so they wouldn’t have something to say about him still being single,” she continued, her voice a bit uneasy.

Daniel’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What the hell did he mean by that?” he asked quietly.

“I think I had a pretty good idea,” Sam replied, still with a trace of agitation in her voice. “He tried to make it sound as if he was joking, but I’m not entirely sure it’s what he intended. I don’t mind telling you that it startled me a bit. ”

The wrinkles in Daniel’s brow faded as he gave her an expectant look.

“He kept telling me that he was going to put me on the spot. He kept asking me what I thought of the evening, and what I thought of him.”

“And what did you say?” Daniel asked slowly.

“I told him the truth. I told him it was a nice evening so far, and that he’s a nice guy … so far. He told me he’d ask me again later,” she said, sounding a bit annoyed as she rolled her eyes briefly.

“Sounds a little insecure,” Daniel offered. Sam nodded. Sara had said the same thing, and they were in total agreement over that.

“After dinner, he dragged me to the bowling alley,” she continued grimly. “I stink at bowling.”

Familiarity flashed in Daniel’s eyes as he remembered seeing her and her date heading from the bowling alley toward the bookstore and nearly running into him. He noticed Sam looking at him expectantly and he raised his eyebrows.

“I don’t know how many times I protested, but he was insistent on bowling with me, so he dragged me over there,” she added with a rueful little smile. “We played one game, but what a disaster it was. I haven’t bowled in quite a few years, and I was reminded of the fact by all the gutter balls I was getting – not that I was very good to begin with,” she finished sheepishly.

Daniel smiled briefly and then shrugged. “I’ve never really been interested in bowling. Gutter balls, what are those?” he said, giving her a playful grin.

Sam’s agitated expression melted briefly and a broad grin lit up her face, causing Daniel to chuckle softly. She knew he was joking, but there was yet another reason why she liked him so much – he didn’t bowl.

“You’ll never believe this, Daniel; he kept saying he was going to teach me to become a pro – as if I’d ever go bowling again! He was actually trying to show me how to position myself and the ball and all of that so I could improve. The way he was talking, it was like he thought he was a pro bowler. I wouldn’t doubt that he bowls a lot, but he seemed far from pro status to me.”

Daniel smiled sympathetically.

“I couldn’t wait to get out of there,” she continued, her smile fading. “Not only because he took the fun out of it by insisting on giving me a lesson, but … because he also made me uncomfortable.” She swallowed hard as the unpleasant memories surfaced once again.

Daniel’s eyes pierced hers as he looked at her seriously. “Uncomfortable? How?” he asked, his voice touched with fear.

“When he was trying to position my hand and my arm, he’d sort of put his arm around me and rub my back … sometimes he’d pat me on the back. Then after I managed to knock a few pins down, he congratulated me by throwing his arm around me and started rubbing my back again,” she replied.

Daniel looked at her and blinked. Deep inside, he breathed a huge sigh of relief, as he was worried that it was something much worse.

“I guess it’s silly to be uncomfortable over something like that. I’m just not used to displays of affection like that when I’ve barely known the person,” she said awkwardly as a blush crept into her cheeks.

Daniel shook his head slightly. “It’s not silly at all,” he assured her.

Sam looked at him and sighed before continuing. “I think the evening might have been better if we hadn’t gone bowling. I suggested getting some coffee or dessert in that little café inside the bookstore, but he said he didn’t go for places like that.”

Daniel blushed slightly upon hearing this. As much as he didn’t like this Joe, he was glad that the man refused coffee in the bookstore’s café, for they probably would have run into Daniel there, and he didn’t want to think of what might have resulted from it.

“I thought we were going to part ways when he asked if we could sit in his car and talk,” Sam went on, her voice becoming tenser. “I should have just told him I had to leave, but it was early still and I didn’t have much of an excuse. I thought he just wanted to talk but …” She trailed off and shook her head, embarrassed about what she had let Joe do to her.

“… God, I was so naïve!” she said, her voice trembling as she began to lose her grip on her composure. She put her head down and covered her face with her hands.

“Sam?” Daniel asked nervously. He bent down and touched her arm softly. His comforting touch made Sam remove her hands, straighten up a bit and turn to face him.

“Sam, what did he do?” Daniel asked, his voice rising fearfully.

Heavy emotion passed over Sam’s face as she looked at him and noticed his mouth partly open in question and his big blue eyes tinged with fear. She looked down at her hands and began to twist her napkin nervously. Daniel removed it from her hands, and took them in his own.

“This is hard for me to talk about,” she began uneasily.

“What did he do to you?” Daniel persisted.

“He did talk a little in the beginning, but he went back to that whole ‘I’m going to put you on the spot’ thing again. He asked me if I had a great time, and what I thought of him.”

“And what did you say?” Daniel asked quietly.

“I told him he was a nice guy and I had a nice evening. I mean, what was I going to say? ‘The evening was lousy and you’ve been annoying me the whole time’? Part of me did want to say that, but I just couldn’t. You’ll never believe what he asked me next, though.”

Daniel looked at her expectantly, his eyes still tinged with fear.

“He asked me what I’m going to tell my parents.”

Daniel’s brow wrinkled in confusion.

“Daniel, my father is in D.C. and my mother died 25 years ago.”

Realization shone in Daniel’s eyes. “And he knew this?”

Sam nodded. “I told him once over the phone, and once again at dinner.”

Daniel shook his head sadly. “Oh, God. What a stupid thing to say.”

Sam nodded grimly. “When I reminded him about my dad, he actually said he wanted to meet him at some point.”

“Your dad’s in the Air Force, though,” Daniel said, a touch incredulous.

“I know. He is going to have some leave coming up, but to be honest, I don’t think he’d like Joe at all,” she continued, her voice wavering slightly.

Daniel looked at her seriously. “What happened, Sam?”

Sam looked into his eyes and her lip began to tremble. “Oh, God,” she began shakily. “He asked how I would feel if he kissed me. Like an idiot, I asked him what he meant by that. He gave me the old ‘just a little, tender kiss’ line. It was complete bullshit,” she said bitterly as she lowered her head once again.

Daniel cupped his hand over her chin and tilted her head towards him so that she could see his face. “Sam?”

Her body began to tremble in anticipation of the story she was about to tell him. “He gave me a long, wet kiss,” she continued, making a nauseated face. “I was about to pull away and leave, when …”

Daniel looked at Sam as she trailed off, looking utterly lost. She seemed to be emotionally overwhelmed, as if she couldn’t come to terms with what had happened to her. It made Daniel feel uneasy. Normally, he wouldn’t have pressured her into talking about it if it bothered her so much, but if this guy had hurt her in any way, he had to know.

He leaned over and began stroking Sam’s hair in a comforting gesture. She sniffled once again and attempted to compose herself so she could continue.

“He, um … he grabbed me and pinned me to the seat. He kissed me hard, so hard I thought I would choke on his tongue,” she started quietly, tears escaping her large blue-gray eyes. “He got touchy-feely. His fingers were in my hair, his hands were on my back, my shoulders, and my, um …”

She trailed off and her cheeks flamed. Daniel didn’t have to ask what she meant when she lowered her head, averting her eyes to her chest.

“Oh, my God,” Daniel said quietly, his voice sounding angry and sorrowful all at once. He pulled her close to him and could feel her body trembling as she began to sob.

“He got my cardigan off halfway and was trying to rip my dress off when I … I uttered this gasp so he could let me up for air. I was able to pull away from him and told him I had to go. I think he had more in store for me. Daniel, you have no idea how scared I was when I had a look at his eyes after he did that. There was this hunger in them,” she whimpered, nearly choking on the word.

She looked up briefly at Daniel and saw a slight tinge of anger in his blue eyes. It subsided and he looked at her sorrowfully once more. She put her head back down and rested it against his chest.

“And I was such an idiot for letting him do this. I could have told him I had to go right after that first kiss, or even shoved him away. It was like he had me in a spell where I had no control over my will. I was caught completely off guard. It was only our first date, and it was like he wanted to lay claim to me right then and there. He was such a manipulator, and I fell for it.”

Her words were swept away by a flood of tears, and for the first time in a while, Daniel found himself struggling to maintain his own composure. He was not only upset for Sam and what had happened to her, but he was angry at this Joe for the way he treated his dear friend. Daniel never had a violent bone in his body, but he was very close to wanting to throttle this man.

“Oh, God, Daniel, I can’t believe what a fool I am!” she cried between sobs.

“Sam, please, you’re not a fool,” Daniel replied, his voice calm and comforting. “You’re a sweet person – honest, trusting, and caring – and he took complete advantage of you.”

Sam sniffled and looked back up at him, the wisdom and clarity of his words beginning to sink in. “But, I could have done something to stop him instead of just sitting there and letting him handle me like a rag doll,” she insisted.

“His behavior took you completely by surprise. You weren’t prepared for that,” he replied. “Please, Sam, don’t beat yourself up over this. He shouldn’t have done what he did. If I had perchance run into him last night, knowing what I know now, I would have given him hell for it.”

Daniel surprised Sam with the last sentence. She looked at him thoughtfully and realized just how much he cared for her. It touched her more than anything else.

“He put on such an act,” she continued bitterly. “At dinner, he kept telling me how much he wants to be a fireman, and how one of his brothers is a cop. He was giving me all these safety tips … going walking out at night alone, going to a bar and making sure someone doesn’t slip a date rape drug into my drink … and he even wanted me to call him last night when I got home so he’d know I made it home all right. He was acting like such a responsible big shot, like he wanted to look out for me …” she trailed off.

“But he wasn’t very responsible himself,” Daniel finished for her.

Sam sniffled and nodded.

“Oh, Sam,” he said sadly as he felt a twinge of guilt strike him. “I knew something was up when I heard that message you left me last night. I didn’t pick up because not only was I still hurt over what had happened the other day, but I just didn’t know what to say to you. I was acting like such an ass. There was no excuse for leaving you hanging in that state. I’m so sorry,” he said as he hugged her, sniffling as his voice began to waver.

“Daniel, I was so worried that I had lost your friendship, but I realized that that was what I deserved for treating you the way I did,” she said somberly as she pulled out of the hug.

“Sam, I would never want to lose something as valuable as your friendship. You’re the sweetest, most thoughtful woman I’ve ever known, and I hate to think where I’d be right now if we’d never met,” he said solemnly, his lips edging upward into a faint smile.

Sam returned his smile. “So, is it all right if we start over?”

Daniel’s smile became heartwarming. “Sure, that sounds good to me,” he said, chuckling affectionately. He and Sam embraced tightly, pulling away only to allow Daniel to give her a soft kiss on the cheek. Deep down he was a bit afraid of how Sam would react to the kiss after what Joe had done to her. He needn’t have worried, as her face seemed to light up in a smile.

He uttered a soft sound of surprise as Sam returned the kiss. She caught him and started laughing softly. He returned it with an impish smile and a pat on the back.

She took a sip of her coffee and grimaced. “Oh boy, coffee’s gone cold.”

“So has mine,” Daniel said grimly as he wrinkled his nose slightly after taking a sip. “Eh, it wasn’t that great, anyway.”

Sam nodded as she stood up and deposited the cup in the trash. Daniel followed suit and then joined her as she made her way toward the doors of the coffee shop.

“So, you have anything to do this weekend?” he asked her once they reached the parking lot.

Sam shrugged. “Not really. Joe wanted to see me on Sunday, so I have to think up an excuse to get rid of him,” she said uncomfortably.

Daniel drew up the corners of his mouth tensely. “I can’t believe what he did to you,” he said softly, a hint of anger in his voice. “I’ll be home all weekend, so if you need someone to talk to at all, just call me. I promise I’ll answer this time.”

Sam gave him a quick smile. “Thanks, Daniel, I really appreciate it. I just need some time to get over what he did … and to think of some way to get rid of him. I’ll definitely give you a call either tonight or tomorrow.”

Daniel smiled as he followed her over to her car. He gave her a quick hug and another kiss on the cheek before she got in. “Okay, I’ll talk to you later, then.”

Sam nodded and smiled before turning on the ignition and heading out of the parking lot.

Daniel watched her go and sighed. He was glad that he and Sam had patched things up. The last thing he wanted was to never see or talk to her again, thanks to some pervert who’d force himself upon her.

You’d better hope you don’t run into me, you bastard, he thought before he made his way over to his own car.