Chapter 6

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Sam hurried around her apartment simultaneously trying to get dressed and straighten up the living room. Deciding that the way she looked was more important than some dust on the furniture, she gave up and headed back to her bedroom to finish getting ready. She couldn't believe how anxious she was feeling. You would think it was her first date ever with Martin; not a pretend 'first date' with a man of whom she had intimate carnal knowledge.

After their time together on Friday night they had tried to reschedule their date for Saturday but Sam was on call and as fate would have it, she was called in on a case that they just wrapped up today, Thursday. So rather than risk losing another opportunity they decided to make it tonight; a school night nonetheless.

She finished applying her make-up and headed out to the bedroom to put on her dress. Smiling she pulled the strappy number over her head knowing that Martin would be pleased. He always complained that she never wore enough dresses because he loved being able to put his hand on her bare knee. She headed to her dresser to get her silver earrings when the doorbell rang. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand: 7:30 PM.

She picked up the earrings, putting them on as she walked down the hall. She looked into the peephole and smiled as she saw Martin fidgeting with his shirt, looking as nervous as her.

Opening the door she grinned and said, "Hi."

"Wow." Martin commented as he scanned his eyes over her dress. "You look amazing."

"Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself." Sam grinned at Martin as he stood there seemingly awestruck. "So, are you going to come in or stand there all night?"

That seemed to knock Martin back into his senses, "Right, sorry. Oh, these are for you."

He handed her a bouquet of peach colored roses.

"Thanks, they're beautiful." Sam sniffed the fragrant aroma of the flowers and said, "I'll just go put them in some water. Sit down."

Martin took a seat on her sofa as she headed to the kitchen. She put the roses in a vase and walked back into the living room and put them on the dining table. She was about to thank him again when she saw him looking around the apartment with a lost look on his face. "Is everything alright?"

He swallowed and replied, "Yeah, just checking out all the changes you've made."

Sam realized that he meant the new furniture she had purchased since they broke up. "Yeah, I got rid of that old sofa; two new springs started digging into my thigh so I finally broke down and got a new one."

They shared a smile about the memories they had of making out on the couch. Sam always made sure Martin was on the bottom and he would always complain because the springs would dig into his back.

"Thank goodness that thing was dangerous." Martin smiled lamely.

Wanting to shake off the melancholy mood that threatened to envelope them Sam nodded her head in the direction of the door and asked, "So, shall we?"

"Yeah," He started to her door and said, "I actually have to stop at the ATM. According to Danny, this new French restaurant is amazing but they only take cash."

"Sounds suspicious," Sam commented.

"That's what I said, but Danny insists it's because the chef is a feisty older woman who was raised in the depression era and doesn't trust credit cards." Martin commented as he waited in the hallway as she locked the door.

They talked about random things as they made their way from Sam's apartment to the ATM a few blocks away. Martin walked up to the machine as Sam hung back. A man in a hooded sweatshirt and ragged jeans got in line behind him and she felt a chill go up her spine. 'Shit' she thought, cursing the fact that she didn't bring her gun with her; damn tiny evening bags.

The guy had all the classic telltale signs of a desperate junkie. Martin was facing the ATM pressing buttons when she heard the unmistakable sound of cash being distributed. She didn't want to startle the young man who appeared to be on edge as it was, so she scanned her brain trying to think of a way to alert Martin without alarming the potential mugger.

Smiling, she walked over and stood alongside him, put her arm under his jacket, unclipped his gun from the safety harness, and loudly said, "Sweetie, I think we should call the babysitter to make sure little Danny is okay."

Martin turned to her with a confused look on his face when he spotted the man behind him pull out a knife and rush towards them shouting, "Gimme all your money!"

"Okay, buddy, calm down." Martin responded, trying to sound calm as Sam kept her arm under his coat and began to slowly pull the gun out. "Here this is all the money I have. It's seven hundred, the limit." Martin held out the handful of cash for the man to take.

The mugger greedily snatched it out of his hands and turned to Sam, yelling as he waved the knife around. "Now give me what you got!"

Martin turned to Sam and said, "Yeah, honey, give him what you've got."

"Okay." Sam stepped away pulling out Martin's gun and said, "Freeze! F.B.I.!"

XXXX

Cursing softly Sam continued writing up her report while Martin had disappeared to the men's room. After they successfully apprehended the mugger the police came to pick him up but asked that they fill out a statement because this particular mugger had been robbing people for a better part of the year and a statement from federal agents would really help their case against him. Once the officer took a look at their attire he told them they could do it tomorrow if they preferred but unfortunately Sam was due in court all day Friday and Martin was going to Long Island to visit his uncle and cousins for the weekend so it would have to be tonight.

So here Sam sat: in a dingy interview room filling out paperwork and lamenting their bad luck when Martin returned.

"I come bearing haute cuisine from Le Vending Machine." Martin said in a French accent vaguely reminiscent of Pepé Le Pew. "Would the lady care for Le Doritos or Le Nestlé Crunch?"

He waved the red bag and blue packaged candy bar in the air for her to see.

"The lady will have the Nestlé Crunch." Sam responded flatly, her hand outstretched. She wanted to be amused by Martin's attempt at making the best of a lousy situation but she was entirely too disappointed to even try.

Martin delicately placed the treat into her hand and pulled a can of diet soda out of his jacket pocket as he continued in his lovelorn skunk-like impression, "And from the finest NYPD Precinct reserves, a can of diet soda, circa 2005."

Sam gave him a forced smile as she un-wrapped the candy bar and bit into it.

Giving up, Martin slumped into his chair saying, "I'm disappointed too, Sam."

She shrugged and continued chewing the chocolate confection before saying, "No, I'm sorry. I know I'm sulking but I was really looking forward to tonight."

Martin nodded as he gently reached out to grab her hand and said, "Hey, look at it this way: I think we may have Danny and Emma beat in the 'who had the worst first-date' competition."

Sam couldn't help but smile at that thought when Pepé Le Martin pulled her arm closer and began kissing it in an exaggerated fashion saying, "You are my peanut. I am your brittle."

Laughing Sam thought maybe this first date wasn't so bad after all.