Chapter 4 – Jordan

A/N: It's been awhile… but, I plan on finishing this story up. Here's Chapter 4. Not much happens, but it's setting the scene for later chapters. Enjoy!

Sam couldn't seem to get her mouth to cooperate with her brain; it must have been his dimples. But fortunately for her, Brooke entered just in time to save the two teens from another uncomfortable silence. "Can I help you?" Brooke smiled at the young man standing in front of her.

"Um, yeah," it took a moment for the boy to collect his thoughts "I was wondering if I could apply for the job." He said directing his attention to the older of the two women.

Brooke hired the boy, whose name was Jordan. He was new to town, and Brooke figured he'd bring some masculinity to the shop which would definitely be important since she was considering a new male line. He was to start the next day. Brooke was running to Charleston in the afternoon, so it would leave the two teens to run the shop. It was sort of a test for Sam. Her grounding was near completion, and Brooke wanted to see if she could trust the teen once again.

"I'll be back by 9." Brooke said grabbing her purse from the back room. "So, when Jordan gets here show him the basics." She looked at Sam to make sure she understood her duties. Sam nodded. "Then straight home," Brooke added with a stern voice, "you're still grounded."

"I know." The annoyance was evident in Sam's voice.

Brooke smiled, "I know you know." She kissed the teen's forehead. "I'll see you tonight. Behave." With that she was gone.

Jordan arrived 20 minutes early, dressed in a shirt and tie. "Why are you wearing that?" The awkwardness from their previous encounter was forgotten by Samantha's bluntness.

Jordan was a taken back by her comment, "I don't know…" he blushed, "it's a top end retail store. I figured I should look nice."

Sam smiled showing him she was kidding, "Well, Brooke'll be happy. She's lucky if I don't show up in pajama pants."

Surprisingly, the next few hours were spent being very professional. Sam showed him around the shop, how to run the register, and all that fun stuff. It wasn't until about 3 that the two of them had anytime to socialize.

"Now we just wait." Sam said sitting on one of the couches. "Since it's Tuesday we probably won't be too busy." She explained.

"So," Jordan stood near the door surveying the street outside, "what do people do for fun around here?"

Sam laughed, "Well, I don't do anything, since I'm currently grounded." She explained as she walked over to him.

"Oooh, a bad girl?" He teased, a smirk creeping across his face.

She shrugged, "I messed up, and Brooke grounded me." She said simply, not wanting to agree or disagree to his accusation.

"Wait, Brooke as in Brooke, Brooke?" He questioned. "Because she looks way too young to be your mom."

"Yes that Brooke. I'm adopted." Sam explained, hoping he wouldn't press for more details, which he didn't. He just nodded before moving on to another subject.

The two got to know each other, or rather Sam got to know Jordan, in the few hours they had before the shop closed. Jordan had just moved to Tree Hill with his mom and younger brother. His mom was going to start as a teacher at Tree Hill High in the fall. His brother, Alex, was Jamie's age. Jordan wasn't too excited about the move, being from Charleston, but he seemed very supportive of his mother. She had been a stay-at-home mom since Jordan was born, but last year she had walked in on Jordan's dad in bed with another woman. She went back to school, and finished her degree, and now they were in Tree Hill. Jordan seemed proud of her accomplishments. Sam couldn't help but feel attracted to this quality. He seemed like a genuinely good guy, something she wasn't very used to.

At 6, Sam showed Jordan the procedure's for closing. "So," he said as she locked the door, "would you like to get dinner with me?"

Her heart was screaming yes, but her brain told her no. "I'm grounded." She explained, and before he could protest she added, "Brooke has like psychic powers. She would find out and then I'll be grounded for the entire summer, and then I won't be able to hang out with you except at work."

"Who said I was going to give you another chance?" He teased, but the smile in his eyes told him that he was only joking, and that he understood.

The two separated and Sam headed home. The second she walked in the door the phone rang. It was Brooke, making sure she was home. Sam smiled; glad she had denied Jordan's invitation.

"So," Brooke said as she passed the milk to Sam. It was two days later, Sam's last day of being grounded.

"So what?" Sam was her usual cheery self. She wasn't very happy about being up this early, but Brooke needed her to come in and help with inventory.

Brooke ignored the tone. "Today is the last day of your grounding." Sam had almost forgotten. She hadn't left the house since she worked with Jordan the other day. She had kept herself busy thinking about the dark haired boy. "Do you think you've learned your lesson?" Sam nodded as Brooke studied her face to make sure she was being honest. "Alright then," Brooke stood up, and opened the drawer, grabbing Sam's car keys. "Here you go." She tossed the keys to the girl.

"For real?" Sam questioned. She figured she wouldn't be getting her car back for a long time. Brooke nodded.

Her shift at the store went quickly. Jordan had come in at noon, but she was so busy that the two hadn't had time to talk. "You still grounded?" His sudden appearance made her jump.

"You really need to stop doing that." Her mock anger mad him laugh.

"Well, are you?"

"Yeah," she couldn't help but smile at the disappointment on his face, "but today's my last day."

"You think you could maybe get out of it?"

"Get out of what?" Brooke made her presence known to her two employees. She wasn't exactly sure what she had broken up, and she wondered if she should be concerned. Sam laughed at Jordan's scared expression. He slowly turned to face his boss. "Get out of what?" Brooke asked again, this time raising an eyebrow.

Even though Sam was enjoying seeing Jordan squirm she decided to come to his rescue. "He wanted to know if I was still grounded, and I told him it was my last day." Sam explained.

"So," Brooke turned her full attention to the boy, "you wanted my foster daughter to ditch out on her punishment?" Jordan gulped, but Sam knew that Brooke was only messing with him.

"Brooke, you're scaring him."

Brooke smiled which put the boy at ease. "Go on, get out of her." Brooke told the two, but the both of them stood frozen in their spots, afraid to move in case it was a joke. "Go on!" Brooke laughed, "before I change my mind."

They didn't have to be told again. Together, they walked into the warm summer air.

A/N: So what'd you think? Let me know!