Chapter 4
Sam didn't see Jake coming and by the time he had come up next to her, she couldn't move away. Well not without looking totally rude.
"Hey," Jake greeted her.
"Hey," Sam returned.
The two of them just stood there, neither really looking at the other. Jake toed the dirt with his boot as Sam put her hands in her back pockets and rocked on her feet.
"Ready for roundup?" Jake asked.
"You're going to lose your bet," Sam said at the same time.
"What bet?" Jake asked.
"Our bet," Sam answered, not looking at him.
"You're not going to be my friend in a year?" Jake asked, surprised.
Sam looked up at him. "Do you…" Sam broke off and looked away again.
"Do I what?" Jake wondered.
Sam shook her head and took a step away from him. Uh uh, not this time. Jake put his hand on her arm, keeping her from getting away. Sam looked down at his hand, then into his face.
"Do I what?" Jake asked again.
Sam sighed.
"Do you really think…," Sam broke off again.
Jake pinned her with his eyes.
"Yeah," Jake nodded.
"We're not…," Sam wasn't having any luck saying what she wanted to say and broke off again. Usually it was Jake who was tongue tied, not her.
"Why aren't we?" Jake inquired.
"We are?"
"Aren't we?"
"I thought…," Sam shook her head and dragged her eyes away from his.
"Maybe that's the problem," Jake told her.
Her eyes slid to his again. "What's that?"
"You're thinking too much," Jake shrugged. He looked up to see his mother motioning to him and he walked away from Sam towards Maxine.
Sam watched him go. Her eyes strayed to his butt and hard thighs. She knew how hard those thighs were from hitting him. For an instant, she wondered….No! Oh gosh, no! Sam felt the blush and put her hands to her cheeks just as Jake glanced at her.
Sam saw him looking at her and had to turn away, hurrying in the opposite direction. Oh my gosh, she had actually thought of Jake like that!
Jake couldn't help but see the blush as she turned and almost ran away again. He had no clue what was going on with her these days. He felt he had done his best and he hoped it would be enough and that their friendship wouldn't end. It had nothing to do with their bet, either.
Jake genuinely cared about Samantha, even if nothing more became of them than the friendship they'd had. They had always been there for each other, even though he still blamed himself for her accident.
He sighed and went to get the ice that his mother had asked him to get for the coolers. Maybe he needed to talk to Adam or Nate about all of this. Someone who was more experienced than he was, but not Quinn or Bryan. Jake shuddered at the teasing he felt he would receive from Quinn and Bryan.
His feelings were raw enough right now. He didn't need the twins adding more to it.
