Please let me know what you think. Just remember, I have not been paying attention to punctuation, grammar, etc. Right now I'm just writing plus I'm hoping to have an editor to do that for me :)
A few days later the girls decided to meet up for sunsets at one of their favorite restaurants. Years ago when they had first started going out after work, their favorite restaurant made a drink called a sunset. The girls all loved it and it became their code word when they needed to go out and discuss work, men, family, etc. Samantha quickly got out of her car and hurried across the parking lot, trying not to trip in her new heals. She was supposed to be at the restaurant about 30 minutes ago but had a meeting with a new bride that went longer than she planned. As she reached The Cove she opened the restaurant door and was greeted by the hostess.
“Hey girl,” Mandy called out to her, walking over to give her a hug. “The girls are here at your usual table.”
They started walking towards the large table at the back near the bar. Samantha gave waves of hello to several people along the way.
“They said they were going to wait for you before they ordered, but as you can see they lied, as usual.” Mandy joked as they arrived at the table.
“Hey, we did wait but Mark just started bringing the drinks” Joanne exclaimed, “We certainly didn’t want to be rude”.
“Oh no, never that” Mandy winked while walking away.
“It’s about time you got here” Joanne told her. “Miss Wedding Queen is too busy for her friends?”
“You know I don’t have time for the commoners,” Samantha stated as she gave Joanne a playful push.
Samantha walked around the table to give Erin a hug.
“Congrats girl, I am so happy for you and Nate.” Samantha told her honestly.
“Oh wow, it is gorgeous!” Samantha exclaimed.
“Isn’t it?” Erin sighed, admiring her hand. “I still can’t believe it. I mean it only took him 16 years right?”
Samantha walked back around the table and sat down between Lynne and Annie.
“No, it just took you that long to get him trained properly my dear,” Lynne stated with a laugh.
They all laughed. Erin and Nate had dated all through high school and college. When they both graduated from the University of Virginia, they both went to work at Nate’s dads architecture firm in Virginia Beach Erin did mention it to the girls on occasion.
“So, what are we drinking tonight,” Samantha asked, knowing that the bartender Mark often liked to use them as his guinea pigs when he was creating a new drink.
“Mark said he was calling this one hopelessly in love,” Annie joked as she crinkled up her nose laughing. “Wonder how he came up with that name?”
Samantha blushed. At that moment Mark arrived with a drink for her.
“Just a little something special for my favorite girl,” he whispered in her ear as he placed the drink on the table. “Make sure you come see me before you leave, ‘kay”
“You know I will,” Samantha replied.
They all watched Mark walk away. She heard Annie whistle, low under her breathe.
“I just don’t see why you won’t go on at least one date with him. You know he adores you, he’s gorgeous and those muscles, oh my” Annie said.
Samantha glanced over at Mark as he returned behind the bar. Mark certainly was handsome. He had wavy dark blond hair and sexy green eyes. Most nights Annie called him their eye candy. He had been the bartender at The Cove since it opened five years ago and the girls had been regulars. He had not kept it a secret that he had a thing for Samantha. He had been asking her out on a regular basis the past year but they had never gone out. Samantha just wasn’t sure that it would really go past the harmless flirting they enjoyed when she sat at the bar.
“I’m just not sure that he is looking for anything serious”
“Well you will certainly never know if you never give it a shot. He seems so sweet on you,” Erin murmured.
“At the very least you can try and get a look at what he’s got going on under all those clothes,” Annie said with a devilish twinkle in her eye.
“Annie!” Samantha, Erin and Lynne all exclaimed while Joanne howled with laughter when she saw Samantha turn all shades of red. When they caught site of Mark looking over, they all laughed when they thought Samantha would crawl under the table.
Their waitress, Renee, stopped by the table to get everyone’s order and the talk soon turned to work.
“Annie, how is the new job going?” Lynne
“So far so good. The doctor I’m working for now is so easy going and has a wonderful bedside manner with the kids. This one little girl came in today complaining of a tummy ache and her mom said she had been continuously crying but she couldn’t figure out what was going on. After only a few minutes, Dr. Pam as they all call her, had her talking a mile a minute. Come to find out she had swallowed a quarter and she was worried it was lost forever.”
“Well it’s not lost but I don’t know if she will really wants to play the finding game for that quarter if you know what I mean,” Joanne said with a laugh.
“What about you Joanne, how is your newest group of kindergartener’s doing this year?” Erin asked.
“Pretty good. I have the usual, a talker, a non talker, a cryer, a bully and of course they all pick their noses when they think I’m not looking. But over all it’s going well so far. I only have 12 this year so it’s a pretty small class.” Joanne stated.
“And Lynne
“Hey, I’m not demanding. I’m just organized.” Samantha interjected.
“Hon, anal is the word you are looking for here.” Joanne reminded her.
Samantha shot her a dirty look. “Besides, we have an equal partnership here. Lynne
“Wow Lynne
“Well and that is my cue to leave” Joanne said. “You know hearing all that frilly talk makes me ill”
“Yes we do Mrs. Justice of the peace with only two witnesses, neither of whom you knew” Lynne
“You all know I’m not girly or prissy in any way so Rob and I kept it simple. It works for us.”
“Please stay,” Erin asked. “Since all of you are in the wedding, I really want your input.”
“First off, have you picked the date?” Samantha asked, turning to business mode and already getting out her blackberry.
“We are looking at June so we have nine months to plan. Do you have anything open at this point?”
“I had a couple just move their wedding from the first Saturday in June to the end of September so if you want that date, you had better let me know now before I get in the office tomorrow and it is gone. Plus Lynne
“Pencil me in until I talk to Nate. He said we have to nail down a date soon so he can start letting all the groomsmen know.”
“Well I know he’s already asked Ben to be a groomsmen because you both asked us to be in the wedding when you called to tell us about your engagement. So who else has he asked so we can see if there are any eligible bachelors for our spinster Samantha here?” Annie asked with a wink.
“His dad and older brother Lucas of course. Then his college roommate Matt.” Erin responded “And Jake” she mumbled.
“Who was that last one?” they all asked.
“Oohh, he must be a hottie since she is mumbling.” Joanne said with a gleam in her eyes.
“I said Jake,” Erin replied glancing at Samantha. Lynne, Annie and Joanne all turned to look at Samantha as well and saw her eyes grow very wide.
“Jake?” Samantha whispered anxiously
“Yes, Jake.” Erin sighed.
“But he might not be able to make it down from Seattle Erin said in a softer voice.
Samantha started to fold and unfold her napkin. Jake Wesley. It had been awhile since she had heard his name but whenever she did, she had a feeling of joy and sadness wash over her at the same time. Samantha realized all the girls were watching her.
“Well, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen him. I guess it would be time to cross that bridge, huh?”
“Like I said Sam, he might not be able to make it.” Erin stated again.
“But if he can, are you going to be ok? The last time you saw him, I believe you threw a drink in his face.” Joanne reminded her.
“So long as he keeps his hands to himself this time, we shouldn’t have any problems. Besides, like Erin said, he might not be able to make it and if he can I’ve got 9 months before I have to worry about it. So please, don’t worry about me. If he is there, I promise to behave myself. Now, let’s talk about something else, please.” Samantha pleaded with them.
The girls continued catching up on the latest goings on with each other. Before they knew it, it was almost 10 pm. Annie’s phone began to ring. “I know that is Ben wondering when I’m coming home. So good night girls. Love you all.” Annie told them as she got up from the table.
“Yeah, I better run too. I’ve got a bunch of 5 year olds to contend with in the morning and I don’t get a nap time like they do.” Joanne laughed as she got up to go as well.
“Yeah, I guess it is getting late.” Samantha stated.
The girls all headed towards the door. Mark called out to Samantha from the bar, “I thought you were coming to see me before you left. I know you don’t want to make a grown man cry.”
Annie whispered in Samantha’s ear, “What have you got to loose? Who knows you might even have fun.”
Samantha headed over to the bar as the rest of the girls headed out the door, each one glancing back at Samantha and smiling.
Mark began to ask her about how work was going and Samantha remembered she had a wedding coming up in December that she needed a bartender for. She asked Mark if he would be interested.
“Only on one condition.” He responded while smiling at her.
“Hmm, and what might that be?” Samantha asked, knowing what was coming next.
“That you go out with me tomorrow night. I have the night off and I want to go listen to a concert on the boardwalk. We could have dinner, maybe even go dancing. What do you say Samantha?” Mark asked hopefully.
Samantha didn’t know if it was the girls prodding her on, the drink she had that evening or the thought of being alone but she decided to go for it.
“Sure, that sounds great. What time do you want to go?” Samantha responded.
She then wished she had a camera because she was sure Mark was going to pass out. For several seconds, his mouth just hung open. She couldn’t help but start to giggle and then she couldn’t stop laughing. When Mandy stopped by to see what was so funny, Samantha told her that Mark had asked her out and she accepted.
Mandy let out a loud “Woo Hoo! It’s about time!”
“Mark pick your jaw up off the floor man and finalize your plans with this lady before she comes to her senses and changes her mind.”
Mark told Samantha he would call her in the morning after he made the dinner reservations. He then got a customer, so Samantha told him goodnight and she headed for the door. She couldn’t help but glance back over her shoulder at Mark as she left and she began to giggle again as she saw him grinning from ear to ear.
For the first time in awhile, Samantha felt a bit of excitement about the possibilities that this date would hold. As she got in her car, she couldn’t help but smile and she refused to listen to that little voice that was reminding her that she might see Jake soon.
