Chapter 4: The Truth about Eric

Sam took a deep breath. Danny could tell that she was nervous about telling him. As much as he hated to put her under so much pressure, he needed the truth… no matter what.

"Well?" He asked again.

'This is it,' she thought to herself. "So where do you want me to start?"

"How about from the beginning."

Jokingly trying to lighten the mood, she started, "Well, you see… when my mom and dad decided to make love, the little fishies found an egg to go to sleep in… 9 months later a little Samantha Jane Marquez was born…"

"Not that beginning Sam! I mean the beginning of all this. Why are you here?"

"Oh, that beginning," she said with a smile, trying get Danny to laugh. It didn't work very well. Usually Danny was one for goofing around. Right now, his look said serious. She knew what she had to do.

"Okay. So I met Eric at Ghostbar one night about 4 months ago. We hit it off right away and went back to his place for I guess just a one-night stand. I woke up early that morning and left. You know me, I'm not one to get attached. But I got a call from him the next day around 10am. But we never exchanged numbers. Then I remembered he lost his phone at Ghostbar before we left and he used mine to call and find it." She was talking so fast she had to stop and take a breath.

"Go on," Danny said, finally becoming a little more patient now that he was getting something out of her.

She continued talking as she got up for a glass of water. She knew she was going to need it… after all, she wasn't even halfway done yet and ran out of breath.

"At that, I was ready to hang up on him. Because I realized, he never really lost his phone, he was just faking to get my number on his phone. Then I started to think it was somewhat charming. He persuaded me for lunch that day. Nothing fancy, just the In and Out Burger. Below me, but somehow I didn't mind. Before I knew it, we were going out for lunch everyday, having dinner every evening, and I was staying over at his house almost every night."

"Ahh, so that's why I hardly saw you around these past few months," Danny said with a smirk. He was only thinking inside about his jealousy. Sam definitely doesn't fall very easy. Besides the newly found out Eric, there was only one other person he ever knew of that Sam fell for… Casey. 'This Eric guy must have been pretty special' he thought to himself, wondering if he could ever be one of those special guys for Sam.

"Anyways, one night I thought I had to work late. I felt bad for having to cancel my plans with Eric. Unfortunately, my work is my work. But then it turned out my whale left early, so I didn't have to work late after all. That in mind, I went and bought a rare vintage wine and was on my way over to Eric's place to surprise him." Then she looked down at the floor, her head in her hands. She was having a hard time now.

"And?" He knew something big was coming.

"And I found him in bed with another woman, alright! Happy now? It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to cope with. First of all, I'm not usually cheated, I'm usually the cheater. Second of all, I couldn't really let my feelings out because the relationship was a secret. I couldn't put my head on Mary or Delinda's shoulder and whine about how Eric cheated on me. They didn't even know who he was! The only person that knew about Eric was Ed."

"Why did you only tell Ed and no one else?" Danny asked, now feeling a little shut out.

"I didn't tell Ed, he just knew. Ed knows everything. If anyone knows that it should be you, Danny. But he promised not to say a word about it."

"Sam, why were you keeping your relationship a secret? What was the big deal?" Danny wondered.

"Danny, you know I have a reputation to uphold."

Danny had to ask, "And might I ask what this reputation of yours is Samantha Jane?"

"Well, rich guys!" Sam said, feeling a little bit better. Danny couldn't help but laugh, "HA! Of course!"

"Eric was a mechanic. Not my type. You know the only guys I go for are the ones with a fat pocket. The only thing making Eric's pocket fat was the bulge from the stupid wrench and wash rag he always carried around!" Sam and Danny were both laughing together. But then Danny remembered there was still a little bit to explain.