CHAPTER 1
Sami groaned inwardly thinking about all the homework she had due Monday, which she had been neglecting all weekend. It wasn't as though she didn't want to do the work, it was more that she couldn't. It seemed like every time she tried to sit down and finish her homework, she thought about him. Him being Lucas, of course. The man she loved for his caring nature and the man she could never be with because he was of course her best friend. She knew he didn't have feelings for her in any way but a platonic relationship, and she wasn't about to risk losing that over some stupid crush she had. She sighed as she pulled out her math book at started to work out the problems in her head. It wasn't long after she started that her phone rang. She contemplated not picking it up knowing it would just be another distraction from her school work, but finally the curiosity of not knowing who was on the other end got to her and she picked it up with a hurried, "hello".
"Hey there, I was hoping it would be you," Lucas said, and by the tone of his voice Sami could picture exactly how he looked as he said it. She paused thinking about how his dimples showed when he smiled, and how his eyes seemed to hide a special message just for her, but she could never quite figure out what the message was. "Sami, are you still there?" he asked.
Sami's face turned bright red even though she knew Lucas couldn't have known what she was thinking about and she quickly turned defensive, "yes Lucas, of course I'm here, God, I'm not gonna just put the phone down, or faint from the excitement of hearing your voice". He chuckled at how well he knew her, and smiled as he pictured her standing there with her hands on her hips as if she was right in front of him.
"Get that hand of your hip Sami and don't get mad at me for just calling you." Sami blushed again wondering how he knew the exact way she was standing. "So anyway," Lucas started, "I was wondering if you wanted to go out and see a movie tonight, since I know there's one you've been dying to see.
Sami bit her bottom lip and debated what she was going to say. She did have homework to do and she couldn't afford for her grades to drop any lower by not completing all her assignments. "I'm sorry Lucas, you know I'd love to go out with you tonight, but I can't, I have tons of homework that I've been putting off all weekend and it's bad enough I only have until tomorrow to do it, I can't afford to take tonight off." Sami paused for a moment and suddenly she got the best idea, conjuring up with her best angelic and sad voice she said, "well, there is one way I can get all my homework done and we can hang out tonight."
Lucas tried to ignore the whine in Sami's voice but he knew he was not going to be able to say no to whatever she had up her sleeve. "What exactly is this idea of yours Sami?" he asked trying to keep to eagerness out of his voice, trying not to let her know that he was pretty much about to agree to whatever she suggested. If it was a way he could spend time with Sami he would say yes to anything.
Sami caught the eagerness in his voice though and stifling a giggle she said, "well, if you come over and help me with my homework it'll get done faster and then we can watch a movie here." Suddenly a picture of her and Lucas sitting on her couch her head on his shoulder his arm around her protectively came into her mind and she shook her head willing herself not to think about it.
Little did she know Lucas had the same picture floating around in his head, but he too shook his head not wanting to get too far ahead of himself. He finally broke the silence, "Sami, I thought I wasn't allowed to come over on school nights?"
Sami grinned to herself, she had already anticipated his question, "no one is going to be here."
Lucas gulped, hopefully not loudly enough for Sami to hear, and stumbled over his next few words, "but Sami your not supposed to have people over when no ones home." He considered what he was going to be missing out on if he didn't go see her, but he couldn't let her get in trouble for his sake.
Sami rolled her eyes, she knew exactly what Lucas was thinking and she almost thought about lying to him and telling him her parents had said it was ok, but she never really could lie to Lucas. He always knew somehow, but she could however pretend a little. Mustering up to saddest most angelic voice Sami lowered her voice and whispered, "but I hate being alone, you know that, what if… what if someone tries to come and break in, what if someone tries to kill me, Lucas, what would you do if you knew you were the reason I was home alone, and someone did break in?"
Lucas seriously considered this, even though he knew Sami was tough and wouldn't let just anybody lay their hands on her. He thought about how he would feel if Sami had gotten hurt after he refused to come help her with her homework and watch a movie. Finally he sighed and Sami took this as her hint that he had relented. She smiled to herself and said, "I'll see you outside my door in 10 min, no excuses!" She hung up the phone quickly not wanting to give him a chance to change his mind. She smiled to herself, proud that she got him to agree even if she had to play up the fact she's young and vulnerable and still scared to be by herself, even though she was 17.
Lucas grinned at the fact that he was going to see Sami Brady, the girl… no he would have to stop thinking her of a girl, the woman, he loved, tonight. He was so happy he was willing to overlook the fact that she had to convince him into doing it by showing her weak side. Many times it seemed as though Sami Brady didn't have a weak side. Sometimes it seemed like she was the strongest person in his life. As Lucas told his mom that he would be home late and not to wait up for him he continued to think about what a good time he was going to have tonight.