Exotic
Carly groggily walked down the steps of the Shay's apartment, rubbing her eyes as she let out a loud yawn.
"Morning!" Freddie said brightly, sipping a cup of coffee and typing away furiously at his laptop sitting on the kitchen counter. "You missed a great sunrise."
"Um…what's going on here?" Carly frowned.
"Well, I've been up since five-thirty in the morning," Freddie replied, not taking his eyes off his screen.
"Okay…and why couldn't you be up since five-thirty in your own apartment?" Carly asked.
"Because my mom won't let me drink coffee," Freddie said simply. "I made a whole pot. There's a little left if you want any."
"What are you even doing?" Carly yawned again. "You woke me up with your loud typing, you know!"
"How can you even hear my typing over that sleep machine you have to stop you from snoring?" Freddie asked.
"We agreed never to talk about my snoring!" Carly said firmly.
"Alright, alright, sorry," Freddie said quickly. "I didn't mean to wake you up. But I've got get this all done."
"Get what done?"
"You know how me and Sam are going out tomorrow, right?" Freddie said.
"Oh yeah," Carly nodded. "It's your first date since you two got back together."
"I know," Freddie said. "And I want to make sure it's perfect. So I've been trying to plan out a night she'll never forget."
"Well what are you thinking of doing?" Carly asked.
"Promise you won't tell Sam?" Freddie said. "I want this to be a surprise."
"I promise," Carly assured him. "Now what are you planning?"
"Well," Freddie started. "I've been trying to find something that's super fun for us to do, since last time we were together my dates were kind of…traditional. So I've been doing some digging online and I found this place out in Olympia that has this giant, indoor wave machine. You go there and they make it seem like you're surfing! Sam's always wanted to go surfing, so I figured this would be a great thing for us to do together on our first night out as boyfriend and girlfriend again."
"Plus it will give you an excuse to see Sam in a swimsuit, right?" Carly said, raising an eyebrow knowingly.
"I-Well that's just an added bonus," Freddie said, his face reddening. "Anyway, after we finish up with our little indoor surfing adventure, I have us reservations as this exotic Persian restaurant nearby, and we're gonna finish the evening off on a romantic couple's boat tour at the pier."
"Wow, that sounds amazing," Carly said, impressed. "How are you getting there though? Olympia is kind of far, isn't it?"
"I talked to Spencer last night and he agreed to lend me his car," Freddie said. "So I'm gonna drive us there."
"You're lucky he finally got that thing back," Carly said. "I can't believe he lost it in a bet with Socko!"
"What were they even betting on?" Freddie asked.
"Who could go the longest without peeing after chugging a liter of Mountain Fizz," Carly sighed. "So not only did we have to walk everywhere for the past week, I also had to take his pants to cleaners!"
"That's…nice," Freddie said, shaking his head. "Well, I just need to call this surfing place and double check that our names are down on the list. You think they'd be open at seven in the morning?"
"Doubt it," Carly said. "Most normal people are still sleeping."
"Well that's okay, I'll just call later," Freddie shrugged. "Oh, but I do know the flower shop is open now. I have to call and place my order for the bouquet I'm getting her."
"Man…you really are going all out," Carly commented.
"Course I am," Freddie said. "This isn't just some girl I'm taking out. This is Sam."
"Aw," Carly smiled. "That's so sweet. Well, good luck with all this. I'm gonna try and go back to bed, so type softer will you?"
"I'll do my best," Freddie chuckled.
….
"I can't believe you did all this," Sam smiled as she sat in the passenger seat of Spencer's car the next day, holding the rose bouquet Freddie had given her in one hand and the box of German chocolates in the other.
"Well, it's been so long since we've been out with each other," Freddie replied as he continued to drive down the road. "I had to make up for lost time."
"Seriously, though, you didn't have to go to all this trouble," Sam chuckled, popping a piece of chocolate in her mouth. "Now I feel bad that I didn't get you a mountain of gifts."
"Hey, I was perfectly fine with that twenty-minute make-out session back at your place," Freddie grinned. "And I see you're still using that peach lip gloss I used to love. Very nice touch."
"You're so lame," Sam laughed, rolling her eyes. "Although…I did get you one thing since this is our first date back together."
"Aw, you didn't have to-"
"Neither did you, so just shut up and take it," Sam said playfully, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a small keychain with a laminated movie ticket stub hanging from the chain.
"What is this?" Freddie asked curiously.
"Well, in honor of our first date, I thought I'd have this made for you," Sam said. "Remember how on our last first date, we went to see that super scary movie about the sheep that gets rabies and winds up attacking that whole city?"
"I didn't sleep for a week after," Freddie smirked.
"Well," Sam continued. "I sort of saved my ticket from it because…I dunno, I just couldn't seem to make myself throw it away."
"Whoa…" Freddie said softly. "This-This is unbelievable, Sam. Thank you."
"Yeah, yeah, just keep your eyes on the road, nub," Sam said. "Where are we going anyway?"
"You'll see," Freddie told her. "It's a surprise."
"Well are you sure you know where you're going?" Sam asked, looking out the window at the long, empty road they were traveling on.
"Yeah, don't worry, I got the directions this morning," Freddie nodded. "This way was quicker than the highway. We should be there soon, though. Probably another ten or twenty-"
Suddenly, though, the car made a loud, odd noise and smoke began to come out from under the hood as the vehicle began to slow.
"Whoa! What-What's going on?" Freddie frowned as they pulled over to the side of the road.
"I don't know," Sam said. "It-It looks like the engine might be busted or something."
"Aw man!" Freddie moaned, opening his door to go to the hood to inspect the damage.
"Do you know how to fix it?" Sam asked, joining him outside the car.
"No," Freddie sighed. "I don't know anything about cars. If this was a train, sure, but I've never even seen a car engine. Do you know how?"
"Nope," Sam said. "The only experience I have with car engines is how to hide them in the garage when my cousin Chaz drops them off at our place."
"Maybe I could call someone for roadside assistance," Freddie said, pulling out his Pearphone. "Hang on…hopefully a tow truck or something can get out here and help us."
He found the number he was looking for an pressed the phone to his ear.
"Hello," he said. "Hi, yes, my car broke down about thirty miles up Endlemere road. Um…no, I-I don't know exactly what's wrong with it, but there's smoke coming from the hood and it won't start, so can somebody please just come out here and…uh-huh…okay…I-I see. Well then…Thank you."
"So are they coming?" Sam asked when Freddie hung up the phone.
"No," Freddie sighed. "Well, not right now, anyway. They're backed up on calls right now and it's gonna be at least a few hours before they can get to us…dang it! We're never going to get to that indoor surf place in time for our ride spots."
"We were going to go indoor surfing?" Sam said.
"Yeah, we-we were," Freddie mumbled. "I know you said you always wanted to go surfing so…but-but it doesn't matter I guess. It looks like we're gonna be stuck here for a long time."
"That's okay," Sam told him. "We-We can just go some other time."
"I know, but-but I wanted our first date back together to be perfect," Freddie said heavily. "I had all this cool stuff planned for us to do…now this whole night is ruined."
Sam put an arm around him, placing a small kiss on his cheek. "It's not ruined."
"How isn't it ruined?" Freddie said. "We're stranded out in the middle of nowhere with a broken car!"
"Well maybe-hey, look!" she said, pointing to a small restaurant about half-a-mile up the road. "What's that place?"
"I don't know," Freddie replied.
"Well let's check it out," Sam said, taking his hand. "It's better than just sitting here. Who knows, it could be pretty cool."
So the couple walked up the road, leaving the car behind. They reached the restaurant about ten minutes later and stepped inside. It was a very casual setting, with self-seating, a large jukebox and a whole section filled with pool tables.
"This place looks nice," Sam commented, looking around. "They've got T.V. at least. Oh, and I smell curly fries!"
"How can you tell if they're curly fries just from their smell?" Freddie asked, amused.
"Curly fries have a slightly different scent," Sam replied.
"Ah, well…who knew," Freddie chuckled. "Come on, I guess we better get a table. It looks like we're not gonna make the dinner reservations I had for us either."
The couple headed over to a small booth by one of the pool tables.
"See, this is cool," Sam said, picking up a menu.
"Cooler than indoor surfing?"
"Trying to be positive here," Sam said, rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, okay," Freddie said. "I guess I could give that a try too…hey, look at all these billiards tables here."
"The non-lame term is pool," Sam smirked. "Hey, do you play?"
"Actually, I do," Freddie nodded. "It's all basic geometry, really. See, you just have to calculate the exact angle the ball needs bounce off the side of the table in order to execute the perfect shot."
"Wow…" Sam said. "Way to dork up the game. So, you any good?"
"I can play," Freddie said modestly.
"Really?" Sam grinned, setting her menu down. "Well show me."
"Okay," Freddie agreed.
The couple left their booth and started over to the empty pool table.
"Alright," Freddie said, setting up the balls in the center of the table while Sam picked up two pool sticks. "Now, like I said, they key to a good shot is all in the angle. You want to go first?"
"Well aren't you gonna show me how to make the shot first?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, yeah, I can do that," Freddie nodded, stepping over to her side. "Well first things first, you're holding the stick all wrong. Here, hold it like this."
He gently put his arm around her to help her readjust her arms. "There. You'll get more power behind your shot this way. Now, when you're ready to shoot, just pull back a little bit, focus your aim and fire away. Here, let me guide you for your first time." He put his hand on top of Sam's and helped her pull the stick back before aiming a hit at the white cue ball, which wound up flying off the table without hitting a single other ball.
"Aw, baby," Freddie couldn't help but laugh. "That-That was a good first attempt."
"Oh shut up," Sam said playfully, swatting his shoulder. "Let's see what you got."
"Fine," Freddie said, taking his own pull stick. He carefully aimed and fired at the cue ball, sinking in three balls.
"Impressive," Sam said approvingly. "Not bad for a nub."
"I told you, it's all about the math," Freddie grinned. "Maybe after a few games you'll get a little better too."
"Maybe," Sam said simply, stepping around the table. "Alright…guess I'll be stripes. I'll go for the four ball into the left pocket."
"Um…Sam?" Freddie said, examining the table. "That-That's kind of a hard shot. Maybe you should try for the six ball in the-"
But Sam had already taken her shot, and skillfully sent the four ball rolling right into the left pocket.
Freddie looked up, his eyes wide with shock.
"You were saying?" Sam smirked.
"You-You can play too?" Freddie stuttered.
"I dabble," Sam shrugged, chalking off the end of her stick causally.
"So-So what was all that before?" Freddie asked. "You didn't need me to show you how to make a shot!"
"Maybe I just wanted a corny way to get you to put your arm around me," Sam said simply.
"Really?" Freddie chuckled. "Well…you could've just asked."
He stepped over and wrapped his arms around her and pressed his lips to his.
"I'll keep that in mind," Sam laughed when they pulled apart. "Alright, now that we both know we're skilled, let's start this game over and play for real. Winner buys the loser a milkshake."
"You're on, Puckett," Freddie agreed as they shook hands. "But I'm warning you…I'm an expert."
…..
"You know, it was a really close game," Freddie said as he happily sipped his milkshake.
"Oh just shut up and drink your milkshake," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "If my hand hadn't slipped on that last shot, you know I would've won."
"If you say so," Freddie grinned. "But I will say, you are by far the best opponent I've ever had. Usually I'll just play after math team meetings, and none of those guys can even hold up a pool stick. Plus, well, you're way better to look at than those guys."
"Duh," Sam chuckled, taking a sip of his milkshake. "But you know we're gonna have to come back here one day soon for a rematch."
"Oh totally," Freddie agreed. "Man…I can't believe I've known you all these years and I never knew you were into pool. I could've had someone to watch live matches with me back at my place!"
"You watch pool on T.V. too?" Sam asked.
"Sometimes, when I can guess my mom's password to unlock the T.V.," Freddie nodded. "There's this one channel that shows all sorts of obscure sports matches. Pool, that extreme jump roping thing, rhythmic gymnastics-"
"Yeah, I know," Sam laughed. "I-I watch that channel too! It's perfect to have on right before you fall asleep. Plus it's kind of cool to see all the sports that never get any credit. Of course once they start showing chess matches and spelling bees, I have to call it quits, but, well, those are just plain boring."
"Oh come on, they're not that bad," Freddie said. "But my favorite thing to watch on there has got to be curling."
"No way!" Sam exclaimed. "That's my favorite!"
"You're kidding!"
"Nope. True chiz," Sam said. "I always think it's kind of funny how all these giant guys are all panicky about polishing ice. I tried to get Carly to watch it with me once but she couldn't get into it."
"Hey, I'll watch with you any day of the week," Freddie smiled.
"I'll hold you to that," Sam told him just as Freddie's phone began to buzz.
"Hey…it's the towing company!" Freddie said, looking down at his screen. "They're on their way to the car now."
"Sweet," Sam said. "Guess we should head back there then."
"Probably," Freddie agreed as they stood up from their booth. "Unfortunately, though, we're not gonna have any time left to do anything else that I had planned for tonight."
"That's alright," Sam said, taking his hand. "It was a lot of fun here. I-I had a really good time."
"You did?" Freddie said.
Sam nodded. "Yeah. And it was kind of cute seeing your face light up like it did when you finally beat me at something after seven years. Don't count on it happening again, though."
"Yeah, yeah," Freddie smirked as the two headed towards the exit of the restaurant. As they began walking back down the road to their abandoned car, Sam gave a slight shiver.
"You alright?" Freddie asked.
"Yeah," Sam nodded. "Just a little cold."
"Well here you go," Freddie said, shrugging off his own jacket and placing it on her shoulders.
"Thanks," Sam smiled.
"No problem," Freddie said. "I've kind of always wanted to pull that move."
He out his arm back around her. "I guess tonight did kind of wind up working out. I mean, we found something cool that we both have in common. We both love playing pool and watching random sports on T.V…You know, I wonder what else we have in common that we just haven't figured out yet."
"Guess we'll just have to wait and find out," Sam said.
Freddie leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her lips. "I can't wait."
