Author's Note: Hey hey hey, look who's back with yet another story (when I should be updating "where love is just another lyric in a children's rhyme," but hey, I get easily inspired). I was watching He's Just Not That Into You the other day, and I was, like, instant inspiration! So that's what got me to write this story. In case you're not familiar with HJNTIY, I would highly recommend that you watch it. Read and review, please! :) It would make me very happy!
x Janna
chapter one. blind dates and complications.
Sam Puckett took in a deep breath as she walked into the dimly lit restaurant, feeling anxious, excited, and nervous all at once. She was going on a date. More specifically, a blind date.
At least she had heard his voice before she reluctantly agreed to meet the tall, handsome, stranger that could possibly be the love of her life. (She had to think positively, didn't she?) He seemed pleasant enough, and although he couldn't see her over the phone, she had crossed her fingers for luck that this would actually work.
It was a couple weeks ago at work when Carly suggested she meet Jonah, the guy who had sold her house to her and her husband, Griffin. Sam, who had just ended things with a guy due to lack of common interests, was game to meet anyone, anyone, who was actually willing to give her the time of day and maybe the date as well.
"As far as I know, he's single," Carly had said as she handed Jonah's card over to her. "And he's really good looking too. Just your type."
The thing was that Sam didn't really have a type. It was more like she threw herself at anyone who seemed remotely interested in her. She wasn't the one who usually made the first move, but if she were desperate enough, she would.
During her lunch break, Sam decided to call Jonah, ultimately thinking, Well, why the hell not?
"I'd be glad to," he said politely, as she asked him if he would consider having dinner with her sometime. They arranged the date for two weeks after the call, since he was going to be busy with his real estate and she'd be busy with her latest projects at her marketing research firm.
And now it was the night of the date. Sam briefly thought about calling and bailing, but then she realized she wouldn't have anything to tell Carly, who for sure would want to know all the details.
Sam spotted a man with brown hair and brown eyes in a casual jacket, glancing toward the door every few seconds or so. He was sitting on a bench, waiting, it seemed like. His eyes met hers, and he looked at her with the slightest satisfaction on his face. Ah. This must be Jonah.
She smiled at him warmly as she approached him. "Jonah?"
"Sam?" he asked. "You're even prettier than Carly described."
"Is that a good thing?" she asked, amused.
"Most definitely," he confirmed. "Hungry?"
"Starving," she replied as they headed up to the front to get seated by a waitress.
The waitress had led them to a quiet, secluded corner in the back, where they ordered martinis and pasta. As they waited for their food, Sam and Jonah began to discuss all things small talk: their jobs, the weather, the economy, nostalgic memories from their childhood, and then finally, their past relationships.
"I didn't date much in high school," Sam admitted as she took a sip from her drink. She watched Jonah for a reaction. He seemed pleasantly surprised.
"You? Come on, you're a knockout. I would have asked you in a heartbeat."
"I suppose I was too busy to focus on boys back then," she said, shaking her head slightly. "I didn't really date until I was in college. I lived with a guy for awhile," she lamented, "but it didn't work out so well. After we finished our junior year, he got an internship out in New York and decided to stay there."
"That sucks," Jonah said honestly, "But to tell you the truth, I didn't date much in high school, either. I was a bit…nerdy."
Sam laughed. "Oh really?"
"I got serious with a couple girls when I was in college, but I guess they didn't want more than what I wanted. Oh well," he said, fiddling with his napkin, "their loss now." He grinned at Sam, and she blushed slightly. She was grateful when the waitress came back to their table and offered them another round.
"One more?" Jonah asked her. Sam hesitated before nodding. "Why not?"
After Jonah had paid the bill, they gathered their coats and headed out into the cold winter air. Sam was able to conclude three things after her date with Jonah: 1 – he was really, really attractive, 2 – he was quite a gentleman…paying the bill, holding open the door, helping her into her chair (all of which gentlemen should do), and 3 – he was appreciative of her humor. She always liked a man who could appreciate her humor.
They stood outside the restaurant, ready to say goodnight. Jonah hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. "It was really nice to meet you, Sam. I had a great time."
"Me too," she said, smiling at him. "This was fun. I wonder why Carly never introduced us before."
Jonah shrugged, but he gave her a wave as he turned and headed north up the street. Sam stared after him before she turned and headed to her apartment just south of the restaurant. She noticed Jonah smiling at her as he walked away, and she smiled at him even more brightly as they went their separate ways.
Sam checked her watch. It was 9:30. Hmm, she thought, relatively early to end a date, isn't it? Oh well. She pulled out her phone to call Carly, hoping she would be awake so she could spill the details on how much she enjoyed her date with Jonah.
"Hey, it's Carly, leave me a message," came Carly's standard voicemail message on the other end. Slightly disappointed, Sam left her a message anyway.
"Hey Carly, just wanted to let you know that I had a great time with Jonah tonight. I guess I'll tell you more about it tomorrow, talk to you then! Oh, and by the way, you were right, he's so my type! Bye!"
With a big grin on her face, Sam could only hope that Jonah was leaving his own personal message on her own answering machine at home.
-x-
Grocery shopping should not be a man's job, Griffin thought as he grabbed a six-pack of beer from the frozen beverages at the back of the convenience store around the corner from where he and his wife Carly had their house. But no, Carly insisted he go shopping tonight. It was nights like these he wasn't sure how he could be married.
He shook his head, disgusted with himself. He shouldn't be thinking like that. He loved Carly. He loved to make her happy. And her being happy made him happy. All the more reason to stay married.
But lately he had been thinking about his nine year marriage to Carly. They were young once, twenty-two and just graduating from college. He couldn't imagine his life back then without Carly. Now, he was questioning his marriage more than ever. They were ridiculously happy, though, weren't they? They both had good jobs, they were renovating their house…they had a pretty good life.
So why was he getting all worked up?
He decided to take his items to the cashier and just go home. He could chill with a beer or maybe hangout with Gibby later. Carly was going to be home late anyway.
As soon as he approached the only open line, a woman who looked a few years younger than him was about to go in front of him. She was slim, with long brown hair and wide eyes. She was quite pretty, actually.
"Ladies first," he gestured to the empty space in front of him, smiling at her.
"You sure?" she asked him. "You can go first if you want."
"Nah," he said, looking down at his six-pack, "this is all I'm getting. You have more things you're carrying than I do."
She looked down at her own items, which was a bunch of bananas, a few water bottles, and a couple packs of gum. She chuckled lightly.
"Alright, only because you insist." She stepped in front of Griffin, handing the lady behind the register her items. Her phone started to ring just then, going off pretty loudly. She looked down at the screen. "I'm sorry," she apologized to the lady, "I have to take this." Hmm. Jonah.
"Val!" Jonah exclaimed when she answered. "I was just thinking about you. How are you?"
"Actually, Jonah," Valerie said, looking at Griffin noticing her, "I'm kinda busy right now. I'm at the store. I'll call you back."
"Oh, okay," Jonah said disappointedly. "Talk to you later."
"Sorry," Valerie apologized to the lady once again, "How much do I owe you?"
"$10.53," the woman replied, "oh, and by the way, congratulations. You won our '1000th customer of the month' prize." She handed Valerie a gift basket. "Enjoy."
Valerie gave the woman what she owed and said excitedly, "I never win anything!" She turned to Griffin. "Can you believe this? If you hadn't let me go in front of you, this might never have happened!" She squealed with delight, and Griffin was startled when she impulsively pulled him into a hug. "Thank you so much!"
"You're…welcome." Griffin said, not knowing how to react.
Valerie gave him a big smile as she headed for the store's entrance. "I owe you one." She turned on her heel and bounced (yes, bounced) out the sliding doors.
"Hey, wait up!" Griffin called after her, as he finished paying for his own things. He caught up with Valerie outside the store, who leaned against the brick wall, looking over her gift basket happily.
"We should probably figure out how you're going to…owe me one," he smiled, extended his hand to her. "I'm Griffin."
"Valerie," she said, shaking his hand lightly. "And maybe you could help me."
He nodded, waiting for her to go on.
"I'm a struggling singer," she explained, "and it's hard to get into the industry. Do you know anyone who might possibly know someone who could help?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." Griffin said. "Yeah, there's a guy I work with who does know someone at the local recording studio. I'll give him your number, and he'll most likely get in touch with you."
"Okay," Valerie said, already getting out a spare gum wrapper and pen from her purse, "here's…my…number…" she paused as she wrote down the digits.
What was he doing? Exchanging numbers with a girl he didn't know? He was married, for god's sake.
"I'm married," he blurted out suddenly.
Valerie looked up at him in surprise. "What?"
"It's just that…I don't do this. I'm a happily married man."
"Do what exactly?" Valerie challenged. "Helping struggling singers isn't against the law, you know."
"I know," Griffin sighed.
"Just give me your card," she suggested, "That's legitimate."
"Right," he agreed, and her phone went off again. "Boyfriend?" he questioned.
"Something like that." Valerie sighed, holding her hand up to her head, becoming very exhausted by the phone calls. "Guess I better go call him back. It was nice to meet you, Griffin."
With that, she walked away, still looking at him over her shoulder. Griffin looked across the parking lot to see Gibby's parked car, waiting for him. He went over to Gibby and got into the car.
"Who was that?" Gibby asked, looking in Valerie's direction.
"Oh, just a singer I met in the store," Griffin said nonchalantly. He caught Gibby staring at him with an amused look on his face. "What's that look for, Gib?"
"Oh, nothing." Gibby chuckled, starting the ignition.
"Just drive away, Gib. Just drive away."
-x-
Jonah reached his apartment door, surprised that it was already unlocked. "Hello?" he said as he went inside, not knowing if there was a burglar or something equally as vicious inside.
"It's just me," he heard Freddie call from the living room. Jonah crossed over to the living room, where he saw his good friend with his feet up on the coffee table, watching the latest basketball game.
"What're you doing here?" Jonah asked.
"TV's broken," Freddie shrugged. "Came here instead."
"I called Val tonight," Jonah said, sitting beside him on the couch.
"Oh yeah?"
"She gave me the typical Valerie response, 'I'll call you right back.'" Jonah sighed. "I hate it when she does that."
"Didn't you have a date tonight?" Freddie asked. "And yet you called Valerie?"
"I missed her, okay? And besides, the date wasn't all that great anyway." Jonah replied. "Now I'm wondering if I should call Val back."
"Dude, don't call her," Freddie said. "Wait until she calls you."
Jonah leaped up from the couch. "I'll just leave her a message."
"What?"
"I'll…tell her I'm going to bed early." Jonah said.
Freddie rolled his eyes. "When are you guys going to figure out what your relationship is?"'
"Whenever she stops not returning my calls," Jonah said bitterly. "I'm going to bed, see you in the morning."
It was moments like this where Freddie was glad he wasn't in a relationship himself. Who needed all the complication when you could just watch a game on TV? Not that he didn't like dating and seeing women, he just hated dealing with the drama.
And who could be any more dramatic than women?
Author's Note: Okay, so I know that was extremely long. I usually don't write chapters this long at all. Ever.
Here's what you need to know, for future reference:
Characters in HJNTIY: Gigi, Alex, Conor, Mary, Janine, Ben, Anna, Beth, and Neil
As portrayed by iCarly characters Sam, Freddie, Jonah, Wendy, Carly, Griffin, Valerie, Tasha, and Gibby