Chapter 36
Sam woke up again when her phone rang, and she searched for it. She didn't know where it was, and then suddenly she saw it on the table. She sighed.
''Hello,'' she said softly and sleepily. She didn't like waking up like this – she had fallen asleep again after Jason had left and Danny hadn't returned yet.
''Sam, I'm calling to see how you were doing – but I guess you fell asleep again,'' Jason said, and she smiled.
''Yeah, I fell asleep and you woke me up again. I'm fine, Jason,'' she said, and he chuckled.
''I'm also calling to ask you – how's tomorrow sound?''
''Tomorrow sounds great – what time do I have to be ready?'' she asked, and he laughed again.
''I'll come and pick you up around 7,'' he replied, and she noticed he didn't tell her where they were going.
''Where are we going?'' she asked, she wanted to know so she could prepare.
''It's a surprise,'' he replied, and she laughed, ''now, go eat something before I come over and make you eat,'' he said.
''Ok, ok, I'll go eat something. I'm kind of hungry, actually, so you are in luck – so to speak. I'll see you tomorrow at 7,'' she said, and she disconnected the line.
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After Jason had called yesterday she made some dinner and Danny came home soon after. He told her he was sorry for running out like that, and he went to his room. She didn't see him all night, and she knew he was trying to figure out what it meant to have a niece of nephew around in a couple of months. She didn't blame him for not knowing what to think – but she did feel sad he didn't know what to think. Danny had gone away that morning again, and he had told her he was spending the day with Tamara. He had been spending a lot of time with her, and she liked it. He finally found someone who didn't look at his disability, but looked at Danny.
There was a knock on the door and she looked at the clock on the wall and saw it was almost 7. She walked to the door and opened it, to see Carly standing there. She realized that after the call last week, she didn't see her again, and she widened her eyes and looked at her apologetically.
''Carly – I'm so sorry I didn't call you or came by to see you,'' she said, and Carly nodded.
''It's ok, but that's not why I'm here. Jason sent me up to get you and told me to get lost after you were down,'' she said, and Sam frowned. Why didn't Jason come pick her up himself?
''Ok. Let me just grab my things,'' she said, and she went to get her purse and jacket. She put her jacket on and walked to the door and closed it behind her, locking it. They stepped in the elevator and pressed the button for the floor. Carly didn't say anything, and Sam didn't know what to think about this. Once they were on the ground floor Sam stepped out, but Carly didn't.
''I forgot something. Can you give me your keys?'' Carly said, and Sam looked at her in surprise. She shrugged and gave Carly the keys, ''thanks, I will make sure they get back to you,'' she said, and then the elevator doors closed and Sam walked outside. She looked around and suddenly she saw Jason, standing in front of a limo, with a red rose in his hands. He smiled at her, and she walked over to him and stopped in front of him.
''What did you do?'' she asked him with a smile, and he shrugged.
''I planned dinner with the woman I love,'' he said, and she looked up at him. He gave her the rose and kissed her on her cheek, and she smiled at him again, ''now, why don't we step in and talk on the way over,'' he said, and he turned around and opened the door. He took her hand and helped her climb in, and then stepped in after her, ''you want some sparkling cider – no champagne in here, I will drink the cider with you,'' he said, and when she nodded he poured two champagne glasses and handed her one.
''Jason, this is amazing – you're so thoughtful,'' Sam said softly, and she took a sip of the cider.
''I know,'' he said with a wink, ''I'm taking you to a little place I found when I was riding my bike one day. It's small and Italian, and I know you'll love it,'' he said, and she nodded, not knowing what to say, ''it's just around the border – when I ride the bike I like to see how far I can get – and I fell in love with the place when I saw it,'' he added, ''I never told anyone about it – you are the first,'' he said, and he winked again with a grin. She looked at him and smiled, he was teasing her and flirting with her and she didn't know what to say. She never thought he could do something like this, and she never thought he would.
''Jason,'' she whispered, ''I don't know what to say – I really…'' her voice faded when tears stung her eyes, and before she knew it she was crying. He looked at her in shock for a moment and then took her in his arms.
''I didn't mean to make you cry, if you don't – I mean if you don't like it we can turn around and just go home,'' he said, not knowing what caused her to cry.
''No, Jason – this is wonderful, and I love it – I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cry, I'm all over the place,'' she said, laughing through her tears. She wiped them away and kissed him. He pulled her even closer, and wrapped his arms around her waist while she threaded one hand in his hair and the other around his neck. He pushed his tongue against her lips and she opened them, giving him access to her mouth. He took his chance and their tongues started a sensual dance of their own. His hand roamed over her body, one on her lower back, and one started moving to the front. When he touched her breasts, she gasped, and he kneaded one breast. Then he broke the kiss and started kissing her neck, and she threw her head back.
''We need to stop,'' he suddenly said, and he removed his hand from her breast and stopped kissing her, but didn't move away, ''I wont be able to stop if we continue,'' he said, and she nodded, disappointed he stopped, but understanding why he stopped.
''I know,'' she said softly, and he looked at her. She was blushing from the passion, and he smiled at her.
''I don't want to ruin my perfect night,'' he said. When she nodded, he decided to change the subject, ''have you ever been to Rome?''
''Yes – Rome is amazing. I've spent a couple of weeks there before I found Danny in the basement of my mother's home,'' she replied, and he nodded.
''Have you been to Formula 1 – the pizzeria?'' he asked, and she nodded, her eyes wide.
''Yes – o Jason, they have the best pizza's there, and the bruschetta is amazing,'' she said, thinking about her time in Rome, ''I've spent most of my time in a bed and breakfast there, the man who set it up is Dutch, and I've roamed around Rome – it's just amazing,'' she said, and Jason nodded.
''I've never been at the pizzeria, but they say it's the best of Rome,'' he said, and she nodded, ''I heard someone from that pizzeria works at the place we are now,'' he said, and he looked at her to see of she got it. She looked around and noticed the car had stopped, and her eyes widened, ''I hope you don't mind – I've told them what we wanted before – so that you don't have to wait for your food,'' he said, and she shook her head and looked out of the window. He stepped out, and opened the door for her, holding out his hand to help her.
''You are a real gentleman, Jason,'' she whispered, and she stood on her toes to kiss him on his cheek. He smiled at her, and led her inside of the little restaurant. The light inside was dim, but just enough for the guests to read the menu. Tonight, the place was empty, and the only table was in the middle of the restaurant, ''did you do this – all of this?'' she asked Jason, gesturing around the room, and he shrugged.
''I've had some help – I couldn't do this alone in a day,'' he said, and she nodded. She was impressed; she didn't know what to say. When Jason led her to the table and pulled back her chair, she looked up at him with a smile. He smiled back, and she sat down. He pushed the chair towards the table and then sat down himself.
''Thank you, Jason,'' she whispered, just as a waitress came to their table.
''Would you like something to drink?'' she asked, them, and Jason nodded and ordered their drinks. Then he looked back at Sam.
''I was planning to go to the Metro Court, and I had a great talk with Carly. She said I had to do something completely different from taking you to some hotel restaurant and I remembered this place,'' he said, and she nodded, ''when I thought of what you would like, I realized I didn't know, but it was worth a try, and thank God it was a good one,'' he added with a smile, and she laughed softly. Suddenly she started shifting in her seat, ''is there something wrong?'' he asked, full of concern, and she blushed.
''I have to go to the bathroom,'' she whispered, and he smiled at her and pointed her to the bathroom. He knew this place in and out; he had been here before when he had been to late to go home to eat. When she got up and walked to the bathroom, he smiled. He didn't know what she would think about this place, but she seemed to really like it.
Sam walked to the bathroom and did what she had to do. At first, when they were in the car, she didn't know what the place would look like, and she had been really nervous all day about where he would take her. She loved this idea of him, and when they had walked in she had been speechless. The place was wonderful, and when they had seated, she suddenly released all the nerves. When she was done she washed her hands and walked through the door, only to bump into someone. She looked up and widened her eyes in surprise when she saw whom it was.
''Antonio, what are you doing here?'' she asked, smiling at the man in front of her. Antonio was one of the cooks at Formula 1 – the pizzeria in Rome. She had gotten to know him when she ate there, and she was surprised to see him here.
''Sammy, my girl,'' he said when he recognized her, and she smiled. She loved listening to him talk, with his accent it was like she was back in Rome, ''I've missed you!'' he said, and he hugged her.
''I've missed you too, Tony, but what are you doing here?'' she asked again, and he smiled, as he led her back to the table.
''I work here, Sam. I came here a couple of years ago – after you left Rome and broke my heart,'' he said with a wink, ''I wanted to bring some of Formula 1 to America, and I did. Now sit down and eat – nice to see you again, Jason,'' he added when he saw Jason. Jason looked up at Antonio and frowned when he saw where the mans hand was. He didn't like how he was all touchy with Sam, but he didn't say anything about it. Tony walked away when Sam had taken her seat, and when Jason looked at Sam he could see her smile.
''You know him?'' he asked, surprised, and Sam nodded, ''how?''
''When I was in Rome, I met him. He worked for the pizzeria, and I ate there a lot. We became friends,'' she explained, and he nodded. He still didn't like the way he had been touching her, ''Jason, he's just a friend, and I missed him, ok?'' she said, and he nodded.
''I know – it's just,'' he paused, shook his head, ''never mind, let's eat,'' he said, and just at that moment – like it was rehearsed – the waitress came with the appetizer. Bruschetta, with tomatoes, and Sam's mouth started to water when she saw them. Jason waited until Sam had taken a bite, and smiled when she closed her eyes and moaned.
''I've missed this kind of food – this is just amazing,'' she said, after she had swallowed, and he nodded. They ate in silence, and when she had cleared her plate she looked at Jason, ''you don't know how much this means to me,'' she said, and suddenly she felt her eyes burn. She didn't want to cry now, and she closed her eyes to push them back.
''I do, I can see it all over your face. You know I would do anything to make you happy,'' he replied, and she nodded and smiled at him. After some moments the pizza came, and it was one big pizza for the two of them. It was a pizza margherita, because Jason didn't know what Sam would like on her pizza, ''I ordered this, because I didn't know what you would like – this was a safe choice,'' he explained, and she nodded.
''I eat most of the pizza's Tony makes – they are all amazing,'' she said, and they started to eat, ''when I met Tony, I just found out about my brother – it was in the last week of my stay in Rome,'' she said, and Jason knew she was explaining to him what her relationship with Tony was, ''he brought me the pizza I ordered and we started talking – he asked me what was wrong because I had been crying. Then after he was done working, he came to me and asked me if I wanted to take a walk with him, and I agreed because I missed someone to talk with,'' she said, and he could see she was thinking back on that night, ''he brought me to the Colosseum, and he tried to hit on me but I rejected him,'' she said, and she laughed, ''he was so sweet that night, and the next day he found me – in the big city, and asked me how I was doing. It started a friendship, and I was grateful for it. Then he helped me decide to go back and get my brother,'' she ended the story, and he nodded.
''You didn't have to explain, but thank you. I'm glad Tony was there to help you,'' he said, and he realized the pizza was gone. He smiled, and looked at her, ''you have room for a desert?'' she nodded, and then the waitress came to get the plate of the pizza. Moments later Tony walked in with two plates, and Sam wondered what he made for desert. When she saw two slices of apple pie, and laughed softly.
''Just what I thought – apple pie. Did you ever eat the apple pie Tony makes?'' she asked Jason, who nodded, and she smiled. They ate the apple pie in silence, and when they were done he looked at her.
''Sam, I want to take you home now,'' he said, and she looked at him in surprise and disappointment. She was sad to see this night end, but she could understand Jason wanted to end it.
''Ok, I'm kind of tired anyway,'' she said, and she looked at him with a smile. He nodded, he didn't want to say what he had planned, and he was surprised to hear she was tired. He didn't know why – but he hoped she would let him give her one last surprise. He got up, helped her get out of the chair and led her to the limo. He helped her in, and stepped in behind her. She looked at him and he pulled her in his arms, where she settled in and fell asleep. She was tired, and now he saw how exhausted she had been. He smiled and looked out of the window.
The ride home was faster – it always was – and Jason looked at Sam and decided to lift her in his arms. He got out and did just that, and he walked – with her in his arms – and made his way up to her apartment. He had sneaked out and made a copy of her key – he intended on giving it back to her tomorrow – because Carly had the keys of the apartment. Sam woke up in his arms, and she looked up at him with sleepy eyes. He slowly set her down on the ground and she smiled at him.
''I still don't have my keys,'' she said suddenly, and he nodded. He lifted his hand and showed her the key, and she smiled, ''you open the door,'' she said to him, and he lifted his eyebrows and did as she told him.
''Ok, milady,'' he said, and she laughed softly, but gasped when she saw her apartment.