Sam Puckett had just won her case. And winning cases meant making money. And making money meant she could live in her own apartment. But whenever she won a case, she went straight here to eat. It was a tradition she had started after winning her first case.
She loved it at the restaurant. It was almost as if it were built for her. The name was even Sam's Hamhouse. Obviously, she ate here just for the fun of it, too. But whenever she won a case, she ordered the honey-glazed ham. Sam was a lawyer, and a good one at that. She could afford to eat at expensive places like this. Right now, she was waiting for her ham to come. The staff here loved her. She always tipped big and she came often, so they made sure her food came quickly and they made sure she could leave immediately if she had too. It was sort of an unspoken agreement.
Her phone buzzed with a text from Carly. She flipped it open and looked at it.
congrats sam! come over 4 dinner, spencers here nd hes makin spaghetti tacos...
Mmmmmm. Sam loved spaghetti tacos. She texted Carly back.
will ur wife b ther?
Carly replied right away.
of course gibby will b ther, silly! who else'll watch lexi while u nd me partayyyyy :)
Sam laughed softly at this. It had been a long time, but she remembered another nub that she used to call a girl. Freddie Benson.
When the four of them had graduated, they all went to different colleges. Sam, obviously, had gone to law school. Gibby got a degree and became a banker, although he wasn't now. Carly had become a fashion designer, and was slightly famous for it. Now that they were married, Gibby stayed home to look after their 3 year old daughter, Lexi. Freddie had gone to some fancy school in Paris. Sam and Carly had talked to each other all the time on the phone, and their schools hadn't been far away. At first, both had also tried to stay in touch with Freddie. However, Carly soon became too wrapped up in fashion (and Gibby) to email Freddie much. Sam had been able to email him fairly often for the first year, but soon the workload had built up and it was all she could do to call him once a month. The last time either she, Carly, or Gibby had seen Freddie was at Carly and Gibby's wedding four years ago. They were 23 then. He had been living in Paris at time, although she'd heard a rumor that he moved back to the State's right after.
Sam sighed, and tucked a loose curl into her messy bun. She quickly told Carly that she would be there in 20, although it only took 10 minutes to walk from the restaurant to Carly and Gibby's.
Her waiter walked over with her ham.
"Anything else, Miss Sam?"
She grinned, "No, thanks, Andy. I've gotta be at Carly's in 20."
He nodded, understanding. Another thing she loved about this place. Everyone understood her so well. Then again, she did eat there a lot.
Just then, the door opened, letting in a rush of cold air. A man walked in. His dark brown hair was tousled from the win. His chocolate colored eyes swept the restaurant and he grinned lazily.
"Who is that?" Sam whispered. She snapped a photo with her phone to show Carly.
"Actually," Andy whispered. "That's the manager."
Sam's blue eyes lit up mischievously.
"You know, Andy, I've just realized something." She said conversationally.
"Oh? And what's that?" he asked, recognizing the look in her eyes.
"I've never given my compliments to the chef." She wiped her mouth with her napkin and strode across the room, right up to him.
"Excuse me, but do you do the cooking around here? Or do you just pay people to do it for you?"
He chuckled. "I only cook on special occasions now, but the recipes are all mine."
She smirked. "Ooooh, good-lookin' and good-cookin'! Mama needs more boys like you! Nice to meet you, Mr. Manager. I'm lazy, so why don't we sit?"
Then, without waiting for a reply, she dragged him back to her table.
He laughed as she seated him across from her.
She winked at him and said "I'd offer you some of my ham, but...well, actually I wouldn't."
He shook his head at her and smiled. "You know, you remind me of an old friend of mine. But she was more violent and obnoxious."
She grinned wickedly. "Oh, but I'm very violent and obnoxious. Your friend would never top me! Ham just calms me down. And winning cases."
"Well, it's been years since I saw her. You never know, she might be a priss now." Sam gasped dramatically and he smirked. "You really are like her! But anyway, you're a lawyer?"
"Yup. And not to brag, but-oh wait, I'm actually bragging on purpose. But, yeah, I'm pretty much the best. I only win cases. I'm surprised you never heard of me."
"I don't even know your name."
"Yes, I realize that."
He shook his head. "So you've never lost any cases?"
Her face darkened. "Once. But now I'm very careful about background checks before I take on a client. It's nice that I can afford to be picky."
"What do you specialize in?"
He didn't ask about the case she lost. She liked that. "Mostly getting kids away from parents and such, although one time I did prove this guy guilty of stealing an entire library."
"Wow. Do I even want to know?"
"Probably not. It still shocks me that anyone would want to steal one book, let alone a whole library."
"Ha ha, very funny. Now you're really reminding me of that friend."
"Who is this mysterious 'friend'? I think I would like her."
"A girl I knew. She was one of my best friends, but we lost touch while we were in college."
"Really? Where did you go to college?"
"Paris."
"Huh. I had a friend that went to Paris to go to college. Small world."
"Not really. The world actually weighs like 6 septillion kilograms."
"Now who's the funny one, nub?"
"Um, did you just call me a nub?"
"No, you're hearing things."
"Oh, okay."
She smirked. "You're also extremely gullible."
He looked shocked. "So you did just call me a nub!" He pointed an accusing finger at her.
"Well, duh."
He huffed and pouted. She chuckled. "So what do you say to coming over to my apartment and cooking a gourmet meal for me?"
He grinned again. "You know, usually when someone asks another person on a date, they don't tell that person to cook for them."
"I firmly believe in training men to cook for me from the start. Is that a yes I hear?"
"Will you tell me your name if it is?"
"Yessssss..."
"Then it's a date."
"Sam."
"What's that? An expression of happiness? 'Cause your happiness is just overwhelming me."
She cracked a smile. "No, it's my name. Sam."
He was silent for a moment. His mouth kept opening and closing. She reached across the table and shut it. "It's not polite to gape."
He took a deep breath. "You know that girl I was telling you about? The one that you remind me of?"
She nodded.'
"This place, I named it after her. Her name was Sam."
She looked at him, shocked. "Freddie?" she whispered, hardly daring to believe it.
He grinned and opened his arms. "In the flesh."
She let out a very un-Samish gasp and jumped at him, tackling him in a huge hug.
"Oh my God, Freddie! We-I- missed you so much! We didn't you call?"
He laughed. "At first, I was just busy. I moved back here a couple months after the wedding, and then I had to put this place together. I wanted to talk to you but your mom wouldn't give me your number."
"Oh. Well, actually, she doesn't have it." Sam looked sheepishly at the ground.
He grinned. "Only you, Sam."
She flicked him. "What's that supposed to mean?"
He just shook his head and smiled, but she noticed that he kept his arm around her. She thought that was a good sign.
"So, Frednubs, we still on for that date?"
"You still want me to come over?"
"YES!"
"I was kinda hopin' you'd say that."