In this one, I still have Carly seeing Wes because I pretty much had it written before season 2 was out and the whole Wes vs. Beau and fake Creddie mess that was the first episode and the Creddienss that pretty much continued to loom over the whole 2nd season, which I have seen very little of.
Chapter 1
As usual, Freddie was hanging out at Spencer's apartment while the older man worked on an art project on top of his game table, which was protected by a large, yellow tarp.
"Alright, the room's all set up for the next live stream tomorrow." Carly chirped came down the steps from the studio, went to the fridge to get a drink and offered one to Freddie.
"I'm good, Carls. Thanks. Say, what are you all dressed up for." Freddie asked, seeing the fancy dress she was wearing.
"Oh, Wes is taking me to the Cheesecake Warehouse. I just wanted to stop over and get the studio ready before he picks me up. It might be a long night." She said with a certain inflection in her voice that both the men knew she had 'other' plans besides eating and a stroll in the park.
"I really like Wes. He's good for you." Freddie acknowledged. "You finally found a guy worthy of your attention."
"You have no idea how good he is for me." Carly replied, under her breath. "Well, don't wait up." She told them and walked toward the door.
"Wasn't going to. Especially since you don't live here." Spencer cracked.
"Have a good time." Freddie called toward the young lady as she walked out, shutting the door behind her.
As soon as Carly left, Spencer turned to Freddie. "You know, I'm proud of you. You're taking this whole Carly and Wes thing pretty well."
"Why wouldn't I? He's a good guy. I'm happy for Carly, she finally has someone in her life that's not using her or just a pretty boy with no brain. Not like the losers she dated in high school and that idiotic Beau. Or grifter Griffin and his damn fish food."
Spencer just scoffed. "I remember when you used to get all jealous when she even dated a guy, let alone got serious about one. You never could stand any of them. Griffin, Jake, Stephan, but especially Beau. You hated Beau from the time you met him."
"I still can't stand Beau." Freddie replied with a grimace. "He's a giant d-bag. I can't believe she would even consider giving him a second chance when Wes was standing right there. I mean, Wes versus Beau, it's like a new Lexus versus an old Honda. A crappy old Honda like that one Sam's mom used to drive."
"You sure part of the reason you hate him might be that he wouldn't invest in your Kevin app? But hey, it all worked out for the best. Who would you rather have as your silent partner? Some d-bag or good ol' Spencer."
Freddie just grinned at him and continued to do what he was doing. "You're the best, buddy. But seriously, I will never help you pee again I don't care if you're ninety and your arms don't work and you've invested in ten start ups for me. I had to throw away those shoes and it was the second time I wore them."
The artist tried to change the subject. "So, anyway. You never did say why you were here playing on your pear-pad. I know your mom is out of town for the weekend. I thought you'd be taking advantage of the peace and quiet at home."
Freddie gave Spencer a disgusted look. "Millicent is having one of her meetings."
"Don't you think you should be there to supervise? I mean, she's like, ten. I don't like the sound of Millicent's Minions anyway. What kind of minioning does she have those kids doing?"
"She's eleven. And I think I should NOT be there so I don't get hooked into another one of her schemes. Or bear witness to anything. It's called plausible deniability."
"Good defense." Spencer nodded. "She plays you like a video game when she wants something so best not be too close."
Freddie frowned but knew the artist was right.
"They're probably just sitting around like most Gen Z kids, staring at their phones and texting each other from the same room?" Spencer expressed his low opinion of the younger generation. "Having a whole conversation without saying a word. Liking the unlikable, sharing that which should not be shared. God, I am So glad I don't have kids. At least I don't think . . . "
"We weren't that weird when we were that age were we? Me & Carly, Sam, Gibby?"
"Well, you and Carly and Sam weren't too bad." Spencer shot back and continued to work. "Gibby was kind of, well Gibby. I wonder if he still has that weasel?"
"I wonder why he wasn't at Nevel's wedding. I thought they were best friends, traveling the world and wearing fedoras together. Oh my God!" Freddie shouted and leapt to his feet, staring at his phone screen.
"What? What!" Spencer jumped and spun around to face him. "What's on fire?"
"Nothing." Freddie replied, excited like he just won the lottery. "Check it out." He held his pear pad toward Spencer.
"I can't see that without my glasses." Spencer replied. "What is it?"
The younger man was all giddy with excitement. "It's a message. From Sam!"
"Sam? Our Sam? Sam who grew up here? Sam that I practically raised and gave a motorcycle to and I haven't heard from in almost 2 years?"
"The one and only." Freddie replied with a grin and read the message again. "And don't feel bad, it's been a while since I heard from her and we used to have se . . . , um, er, hang out a lot. Before I was married. And had a kid to raise." He nearly said something else he was remembering he and Sam were fond of doing together.
The curiosity got the better of Spencer. "Well, what'd she say? What's up with her."
"She's going to be here. Well, not here, but Olympia. The Obliterators are going to the capitol for some kind of rally to protest something and she's going to be there. She wants to get together."
"Wooooo!" Spencer taunted like a middle school kid. "Someone wants a booty call."
"Spencer!" Freddie scolded. "This is Sam we're talking about. She's like a sister to you." In the back of his head he was thinking the same thing, but he wouldn't admit it. They never got together without such activities after all. "How can you think of her like that?"
"So? Sam might be 'like' a sister but neither her or my sister are nuns. You think Carly's never had a booty call? What do you think she's doing with Wes?"
"Walking around the park? Eating cheesecake?" Freddie had himself convinced she and Wes hadn't crossed a certain line yet, despite the fact that it was obvious they had.
"Walking in the park? In the pouring rain?" Spencer raised an eyebrow and pointed to the window. "Wearing those expensive new pumps that Harper got her for her birthday? I doubt she's even eating cheesecake. She's probably at Wes's place right about now, eating whipped cream off his . . ."
"Gah! I don't want to think about that." Freddie covered his ears in protest.
"I thought you liked her and Wes together?" The older man teased.
"Not together like that! I mean, do you think they even do that?" Freddie wanted to someone to convince him they didn't.
"You are such a prude. I'm surprised you're not still a virgin."
"I am not a prude. And I haven't been a virgin since high school." Freddie cracked back.
Spencer was unconvinced. "Uh-huh."
"I dated in high school."
Spencer raised an eyebrow. "You dated Sam in high school."
Sure, Freddie dated, but the only girl he was serious about back then was Sam. Maybe Spencer's suspicions were correct about them back in the day. He never asked and was never told.
"Besides, I was married! Twice!"
"But you're still a prude. You haven't had a date in how long? You're so bad you didn't even realize that Task Rabbit chick was flirting with you when she dropped off your Blessed Buy delivery that time. Not only are you a prude but you're thick as cottage cheese." The artist conveniently left out the part that he paid a hooker to pretend to be a scientist and date Freddie and he never realized what she was.
"She wasn't that hot." The younger man argued. "She was decent at best. And I still say she was phishing for identity theft. I changed all my credit cards and passwords on my bank accounts after that."
"Decent at best? If I was ten years younger I would have climbed over you to get to her." Spencer exclaimed.
"I thought you were into older women?" Freddie sneered.
"No-o!" Spencer looked like someone just told him he had to eat pineapple on pizza. "Maeve was a few years younger than me."
"Um, you went out with Gibby's mom?"
"Damn! Must you and Carly remind me of that on a weekly basis? It was a moment of weakness. And you've got to admit she is kind of hot. I mean for a woman who spawned Gibby."
"Then there was the time you were helping that kid sell fudge balls to impress her single mom. And wound up getting into a fight with those two teenage girls outside of the market." Freddie taunted as Spencer glared at him.
"That chick was a year younger than me, too. She just had her kid young." The older man then changed the subject. "So back to Sam. When are you meeting up with her?"
"Uh, looks like she says the thing is next Saturday." Freddie replied, reading the message for the fifth time and a silly grin on his face. "She's getting into Olympia Friday sometime, she says she'll text me when she gets there. Maybe I should go over and join in the protest with her?"
"You? At a protest with a bunch of bikers?" Spencer chuckled. "What are they protesting?"
"Not sure." Freddie replied. "Something, it doesn't matter, but I could protest, too."
"Ye-ah. Um, you might not fit in with a bunch of bikers real good there Freddo."
"Why not? Because I'm not a bad ass. You forget, I not only hacked the school grade computer in eighth grade but I got detention in high school. Three times I might add."
"Psh. You got detention for dumb chiz like slamming a locker or something stupid and some old fuddy duddy teacher like Howard heard it. You never did anything bad in your life."
"Did too." Freddie nearly stomped his foot like a bratty six year old. "I'm plenty bad."
"Um, right. Uh, let's say you go to this protest thing. And that you act like a badass, then what?"
Freddie thought a few seconds. "Do you think if I did it would impress Sam?"
Spencer shrugged, knowing he wasn't going to stop Freddie. "Just don't hurt yourself, man."
A few days later, Freddie received a text from Sam and after a few messages back and forth, getting Carly and Harper to agree to watch Millicent (without telling Carly or Marissa about Sam's presence) and a 90 minute drive, Freddie was pulling into the parking lot of a Lenny's diner on the outskirts of Olympia.
He spotted the classic motorcycle that Spencer gave Sam 10 years earlier not two parking spaces away and he got a rush of excitement. He had spoken to her many times but they hadn't been in each other's presence in several years.
He walked through the door of the restaurant and was pounced on by the blonde biker chick, who was just coming out of the ladies room. She only looked a little different, still just as pretty, still dressed like usual. The only difference was slightly shorter hair.
"Frednub!" She threw her arms around him and squeezed him tight.
"Hey, Sam. I missed you!" He blurted out before he even thought.
They both blushed and left go of one another and headed toward the table she had been assigned to. "How are things going? Last time we talked you had moved back in with your mom and taking your kid with you."
"Yeah, still living with Mom. Me and Millicent."
"You know, I always figured you'd be the one with a kid first." She smirked. "Just like I thought it would happen, too. Well, except for the divorce part." She couldn't figure why anyone would divorce Freddie but had to tease him. "I guess that Gwen broad finally came to her senses."
"Kind of goes to show why you shouldn't try to find love on the rebound. But Millicent is the best part of the whole thing. I regret nothing, especially adopting her."
"Carly told me how she tried to get you and her mom back together." Sam smirked. "I could have told them that wasn't going to work. I mean, I never met her but from what Carly says and what you've told me, you and her are total opposites. A marine biologist? Seriously? Why didn't you try to go out with Spencer's friend, the nuclear physicist."
Freddie looked at her funny. "I did but she was all work. Looking back, I think she was lying to me. Like what kind of nuclear physicist has to go to work at 7 on a Saturday night?"
Sam just shook her head. "How did you ever get hooked up with Gwen to begin with? Like, how the hell does a person meet a marine biologist? Unless they're another marine biologist."
"We met at a wedding. Not long after my first divorce. But hey, I got a kid out of it and didn't have to go through that whole infant, toddler, pre-school deal. She's a handful, but she's a good kid." He replied and they ordered their food and drinks.
"You ever hear from your first ex?"
"Nah. Not that I expect to. I mean, I only hear from Gwen because of Millicent. Most people don't split up to remain friends."
Sam just looked at him with an odd glint in her eye. Isn't that what they did?
"Enough about me. How have you been? Still living in Colorado?"
"Yep. Still in Colorado. Still working in the bike shop. Just, uh, single now." She replied before changing the subject. "The bike club just wanted to come out here to support this protest, so I took a few days off. Not that I care much about the what the hell ever it is we're supposed to be protesting."
"So, why'd you come out then?" He asked, already suspecting the answer.
"Why else, ding dong? To see my friends, visit Seattle again." She really meant see him.
"And that's why you told Carly you're here?" He questioned with a smirk, knowing full well the brunette was not supposed to know about any of it.
"You didn't tell her, did you?" She gasped.
"You asked me not to, I didn't. But I still don't understand why." He shook his head.
"I just didn't want to stir her up. It's bad enough I have to hear it every time we talk on the phone or chat. The last time I was within 300 miles of Seattle she had herself convinced I was moving home. Then she got that kicked puppy look when I told her I wasn't."
"Right, because of the guy you were with. Rex or whatever." He recalled. "What a weird name."
"That was over a year ago. And his real name was Roger, so he went by Rex because it sounded more bad ass and less like a band director. But hey, at least I don't have anyone tying me down now. But still, now that she's doing the web show again, Carls will be even more insistent that I come back and do it with her. Especially since Rex is gone and in her mind I'll have no excuses, never mind my job."
"How'd that happen anyway?" Freddie asked without trying to seem like he cared, even though the fact that she was single did seem to align with Spencer's theory. "It sounded like you were really into that dude."
Sam got a sneer on her face as the waitress sat down their root beer floats. "He decided to get back with his ex-wife. 'for the kids' sake' or some bullshit. I swear to God I will never get serious about a man with kids again. No baggage for this chick." She said before recalling who she was talking to. "Uh, no offense. I'm sure your kid's cool and there's like, zero chance of you and Gwen ever hooking back up."