A/N Thank you for your kind review! But please, elaborate more: tell me what made you love the chapter, how it made you feel, what you did dislike or like, feel free to give constructive criticism, etc. I want to know WHAT you loved about it, not just that you loved it.

Chapter Two

Chloe has to admit- she hasn't had this much fun with a guy in months. Scratch that, a year. After her last "relationship", which ended in finding the guy she planned to marry one day in bed with her "best friend", she's vowed to never date again. But Sam….he seems different. Maybe it's his boy-next-door good looks, broad shoulders, and, oh, Lord- those dimples when he smiles, and his vibrant eyes that light up even more when he laughs makes her heart do a weird little flip-flop. But as hot as Sam is, Chloe can't let herself fall head over heels for another boy again. It only gets her hurt in the end. Besides, Chloe doesn't have time to date; she needs to focus on her music so she can get her degree, get the hell out of here, and get a head start on her career, in that order.

But still….something about Sam is just….endearing. He has to have a girlfriend, with those sweep-you-right-off-your-feet good looks and surfer boy hair. There's no way that boy is single.

"So, Sam"-she draws out his name, Saaam- "what do you do in your spare time? Date?" A polite, non-nosy way of asking if he's single.

"Uh….," Sam looks taken aback.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Chloe feels awkward now. Should have just kept your mouth shut, girl. Her mama always says that she speaks before she thinks, and it's true- her mouth has gotten her into trouble more times than she can count, much more than her uncorrectable clumsiness. "Was that too nosy? I'm really sorry if I offended you, I never meant to-" Chloe mentally kicks herself. There she goes again, over-apologizing, making things unnecessarily awkward. When will she learn?

"No, you're fine." Sam's eyes look sad. "I just haven't dated since I lost my girlfriend."

"Oh." Chloe pauses, unsure how to respond to this, even if she should. She decides to do the former. "Do you have nothing but bad luck in the dating scene too?" Maybe there's finally someone who's just as un-dateable as she. But certainly not with those good looks of his.

"You could say that." Sam chuckles, although not as if it's funny, but more sad. "I lost her in a house fire."

"Oh." Oh, shit. "I'm so sorry." Chloe wants to know more, but doesn't want to be insensitive.

However, Sam answers her un-asked questions. "I walked in," he recalls out loud, gazing past her into the night, staring at nothing in particular, "and she was just….there. In flames."

"Oh, Sam….," Chloe's heart instantly breaks for him. "I'm so, very sorry."

"It's okay." Sam smiles gravely, his face somber. "I'm okay now. It just gets me every once in awhile."

Chloe kicks herself again. Damn, shut up, Chloe, she chides herself. She decides not to pry anymore. If he wants to tell her more, she'll let him take the wheel first. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Hopefully she's not treading into dangerous water in that territory.

"Just a brother," Sam replies, looking at her though. Those eyes though…. "We're very close. Used to be, I mean."

"Used to?" Chloe echoes. "Did he die too?" She cringes inwardly, embarrassed by herself. Putting her foot in her mouth, once again. Smooth, Chloe. Real smooth. That's totally attractive.

"No." Sam shakes his head. "May as well have, though." His tone is almost cryptic- as if he knows more than he's telling. "He left me for a girl," he adds, his tone now neutral.

Chloe winces. "Ouch."

"Yeah, no kidding." Sam rolls his eyes and pushes his bangs off his forehead. "Some random chick, a yoga instructor, I think, he had a one-night-stand with back in the 90's."

Chloe's brows furrow. "Are you freaking kidding me?" she remarks incredulously.

Sam snorts. "That's what I said," he admits, a trace of renewed annoyance in his voice. "I told him he'd be lucky if she were dumb enough to actually take him in. Those were the last words I said to him before he left." His voice grows quieter. "I hope he's okay."

Chloe decides she needs another cigarette. "You know if he does end up doing anything like that, it's not your fault, right?" She takes another cigarette out of the pack and lights it, holding it to her lips.

Sam's forehead wrinkles in confusion. "Like what?"

"Suicide." Chloe hates the word, but there are times where she has to say it. "That's on him, not you."

"Oh." Sam's forehead relaxes. "He's never done anything like that."

"Consider yourself lucky." Chloe exhales, blowing out small puffs of smoke that billow into the darkness. "One time in high school, I broke up with this guy who turned out to be a major douchebag. Total stuck-up, cheating, lying, rat-bastard-"

Sam laughs, astonished. "Whoa."

"Yeah….sorry. Anyway," Chloe continues, leaning her head against the wall, "when I tried to break up with him, he called me and said 'I have a gun to my head. If you leave me, I'm pulling the trigger'."

Sam scowls. "Nice….," he says sourly.

"Right?" Chloe sighs. "I called 911. When they finally got there, they discovered he didn't even have a gun. He was just manipulating me into staying with him. That's when I cut off all contact with him. We haven't spoken since and I don't plan on it. It hurt like a bitch at the time, but now, I don't give a damn how he's doing. Moral of the story is," she adds, inhaling more smoke, "if someone threatens suicide when you try to break up with them or cut them out of your life, it's not your responsibility. 99% of the time, they are not genuinely suicidal- they're manipulating you into staying with you."

Sam smiles. "Okay there, Oprah Winfrey."

Chloe laughs, a short ha! "I wish. God, I love that woman. She's always been my idol." She flicks cigarette ashes onto the ground. "You know what?" she says softly, her gaze wistful.

Sam stares at her, intrigued. "What?"

Chloe turns to him and smiles. "This has truly been the best night of my life," she confesses.

It dawns on Sam that it's been his, too.