Jack arrived at Sam's house at six-thirty Wednesday evening. He knocked on the door, and she opened it.
"Hello, Jack."
"Hi, Sam."
He looked her up and down. Her jeans and vintage-looking tunic top, were stunning on her.
"You look…great."
"You've said that before. Almost that exact way…" She said, teasing him.
"When?"
"Oh, when we went and I was sold to the other Mongolian tribe on the planet. You know, when you bought me for a…what was it?"
"Regulation Air Force pistol." He said, proudly. "I always knew I was good at bargaining, but I had no idea…"
"Inflation." She said, getting her jacket and purse.
They walked toward Sam's car. "You driving or me?" Jack asked.
"Go ahead…this is a date, and you did offer to drive." She said as she handed him the keys.
"What about the bike?" Jack asked, trying his luck.
"We're not serious enough for that yet."
He opened the door for her, and she was reminded of how good it made her feel to be treated like such a lady.
"So, we're going to Jack and Jill's." Jack said as he got into the car.
"Yep."
"You ever gone bowling before, Carter?"
"Of course."
"Ah…then, I guess I don't have to teach you."
"Well, if you'd like to teach me, I'd be happy to learn." She said, smiling.
"Do you think Daniel and Teal'c ever realized just how close we've been getting over the last few months?" He asked.
"And just how close do you think we're getting?" She asked, teasingly.
"Close enough to have three dates planned this week." He said.
"They're probably gloating over the fact that they've set us up." She said, laughing.
"Probably."
They pulled into the parking lot. "All right. Let's go."
She turned to him. "Why are you in such a hurry to get into the bowling alley? I thought you hated bowling."
"Nah…that was just an excuse for Danny." He said, turning the engine off. "Besides, the sooner we bowl, the sooner I can finish this."
"Finish what?" She asked.
He kissed her. "This."
They got into the bowling alley a few minutes later, got their shoes, and bowling balls, and headed to the lanes.
"So, are you going to teach me to bowl or not?" She asked as she waited for him to finish tying his shoes.
"I thought you knew how…"
"And I thought you wanted to teach me."
He smiled. "Ah…" He cleared his throat. "Young lady, just watch an old pro."
He took his stance and then let go of the ball, sending it toward the center of the lane. Unfortunately, he didn't quite get it in the center and only knocked down six of the nine pins.
He managed to take the other three out with one more shot, and he turned to his date. "Not bad for a guy who hasn't played since high school."
She smiled. "So, it's my turn."
She tried her best to look dumb, but it just wasn't the right look for her.
"Carter, just skip the 'dumb' looks. It just…isn't you."
She smiled. "So, I can use physics in this one?"
He chuckled. "If you think it would help."
She took her stance, angling the ball at the right angle from the ground and from the sides. Then, she quickly calculated the necessary velocity, and let go of the ball. The screen above showed a large caption "STRIKE!"
She turned. "Does that work for you, sir?"
He just stared at her, baffled. "You did that all in three minutes, Carter?"
"I'm just talented."
"How did you…?"
"Well, first, I calculated the angle at which I needed to release the ball to achieve maximum…"
Jack put his hand up. "I may not be as dumb as I pretend to be at work, but I still don't understand a thing you say after you say the word 'calculate.'"
She kissed him. "Jealous?"
He shook his head. "Never."
After two hours of Sam bowling straight strikes, and Jack not getting a single one, he started to get a little cranky. "Carter, for once in your life, can you NOT calculate the angle and the velocity and all of that stuff…can you just make one mistake?"
She looked into those dark brown eyes of his. He had the puppy dog face down!
"All right…one gutter ball, coming up."
True to her word, she continued to bowl gutter balls, but she didn't mind.
As they got into the car to go home, she turned to him. "What do you think they're going to ask when we get to the base tomorrow?" She asked.
"If we enjoyed the team night." He said.
"And what should we respond?"
"Well, if there's been any betting involved, we really have to tell the truth."
She nodded.
"So, we'll just have to tell them that we've been dating for the last year."
She smiled. "And if there's been no betting?"
"Oh, I really doubt there hasn't been any betting. I heard Danny talking to Teal'c about some ten-dollar something-or-other…"
She smiled. "Then, we announce it to the entire SGC tomorrow?"
"Might as well."