"I had a good time." Samantha said as they stood at her front door.
"Yeah, me too." Jake said.
"Well, goodnight." Samantha said, turning to reach for the doorknob.
"Wait..."
Jake's hand was on her shoulder. Slowly she turned to face him, gasping slightly as he leaned in for a kiss.
She put her arms around him, sighing when he rubbed the back of her neck with his hands; his mouth caressing hers. When separated, she could feel her lips tingling from the kiss.
Jake smiled warmly at her. "Goodnight, Samantha. I'll see you tomorrow at school."
"Goodnight, Jake."
She watched as he turned to walk to his car, giving him one last wave when he drove away.
Just then the door opened, startling her.
"Sam, what are you doing out here? Where have you been?"
"Oh, um... Jake just left." She couldn't help but smile.
Her dad grinned. "Jake, huh?"
"Yeah. Well, I guess I'd better get my stuff ready for school tomorrow."
She ran up the stairs and into her room, closing the door behind her. Quickly she grabbed her yearbook off of her bookshelf and plopped herself onto the bed. Her fingers couldn't flip through the pages fast enough. Finally she came to the junior class. She scanned the list of students until she finally found him;
Jake Ryan.
God he was gorgeous.
And he had kissed her! Twice!
She laid her head against her pillow and closed her eyes, picturing his face.
The ringing phone startled her out of her thoughts.
"Hello?"
"Well it's about time you answered the phone!" Randi yelled.
"What? It only rang once!" Samantha said.
"You know what I mean. Why weren't you at the mall? Jimmy and I waited all afternoon for you!"
"Oh that... well..."
"Come on, Sam. Out with it."
As much as Samantha wanted to share her new-found happiness with Randi, she didn't feel like explaining it right now.
"What's that?" She said, covering the receiver with her hand. "Okay, Mom! I'll be right there!"
"Sam, I'm waiting."
"My mom's calling me. I'll see you tomorrow at school."
"Sam, wait!"
Samantha slammed the phone down with a sigh of relief.
She hurriedly searched through her closet, trying to find just the right outfit for school tomorrow. It was a ritual she performed every night, but tonight was different. She actually had someone to look nice for! When she had picked out just the right dress, she carefully hung it on the door.
With a sigh, she returned to her bed, opened her English book and started her homework. For the first time in her life, she looked foreword to going to school.
Just as she had started reading, the phone rang again. Randi just wouldn't give up!
With an irritated sigh she picked up the receiver. "Randi, I'm doing my homework!"
"Who's Randi?"
"Jake?"
"Yeah, I guess you were expecting Randy. Another boyfriend?"
"Oh no... She's my best friend. I'm sorry. She's a little upset with me. I was supposed to meet her at the mall."
"And you canceled because of me?" Jake asked.
"Well, I didn't exactly cancel." Samantha admitted.
"I'm sorry. I didn't know you had already made plans." Jake said.
"It's fine." Samantha said.
"I had a nice time tonight." Jake said.
Samantha's face reddened. "Yeah, me too."
"I couldn't wait until tomorrow to talk to you again."
Unexpectedly, tears sprang to her eyes.
"Me either."
"So do you want to eat lunch together? I sit over by the window."
"I know." Samantha said.
"You do?" Jake asked.
"I-I mean, yeah, that would be great. I'll see you at lunch then."
"Well, I'd like to see you before that." Jake said. "How about if I meet you next to your locker before school?"
"Sure. It's in the hallway not far from-."
"I know where it is." Jake said.
"You do?"
Jake laughed. "Yeah. I saw you putting your books away a couple of times."
"You were watching me?"
"Is that okay?"
"Yeah, it's okay." Samantha's heart squeezed beneath her chest. This was truly unbelievable. Jake had been watching her!
"Well, I guess I should get going. I need to finish up my homework." Jake said.
"Me too."
"So I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah. Goodnight Jake."
"Good night, Samantha. Sweet dreams."
The dial tone buzzed in her ear. Slowly she put the receiver down.
She would definitely have sweet dreams tonight.