When Sam stopped to think of how closely Diane could have gotten taken advantage of, it made his blood boil. She was a pain in the neck, to be sure, but even she didn't deserve the kind of treatment that she'd received by Norm's boss.

"Are you okay?" he asked as he entered the pool room to check on her.

"I'm fine. Other than developing a severe case of the creeps, I'm all right."

"I could have told you that that was a bad idea. Seems to me that I did try telling you that…"

"if you've come to gloat, there's no need for that," she placed her hand in the air. "I feel pretty ashamed of myself as it is."

"Why? You didn't do anything wrong."

"I let my guard down. I let my head get turned by a good looking guy, and look how well it turned out. Why, I'm no better than…"

"Than who, Diane?"

"Never mind."

"You were going to say that you are no better than me. Well I think you're right. Maybe I do get carried away by a pretty face, but don't sit here and tell me that you're any better."

"Thanks, Sam. You know how to cheer a lady up," she looked down at the floor.

Man he hated when she did that. Whenever she felt bad, he did too, though he didn't know why. "Come on, you had no idea of what a jerk that guy would turn out to be."

"Yes I did. You warned me. How did you know?"

He tried to think about it. Maybe it was because he was a player that he could spot a fellow player a mile away. "I don't know. Call it gut instinct. But it doesn't matter. You deserve better than that. I would never…"

"You would never what?" Diane demanded.

"Nothing."

"You were going to tell me something. Say it, or I'll leave."

"Okay okay. I was going to say that I would never treat you that way. Are you happy?"

She smiled. "Maybe a little. But I have to say, I'm shocked. You don't seem the sensitive type."

Now he was offended. "Hey now. Maybe I do go through a lot of chicks, but that doesn't mean I go out trying to hurt them."

"Are you kidding? You treat women as if they were disposable gloves. You use them for one thing and then…"

"Hey! I'm not that bad. I can't help it if in the morning I decide I want something different with my life."

"Yes you can help it. You know how you treat those women, and I dare say that you're not completely happy. You saw what Norm's boss did to me and you don't like it because you would have done the same thing if you were in his shoes."

He spun around in frustration. "Why do you do this to me, Diane? You label me but do you know me? Really know me?"

"No, but I know your type."

"Is that all I am to you? Just a walking stereotype?"

She said nothing as she dried her eyes.

"I guess your mind is made up. You do know me. Good night, Diane." With that, he walked away.

She wanted to go after him, but her pride wouldn't let her. She refused to admit to him that maybe he wasn't as bad as she had made him feel, even to herself. He wasn't Norm's boss, that was for sure. But how he treated women was the reason she could never be with him. She had standards, and she wasn't about to lower them for anyone, not even a charmer like Sam. Yes, she was a little interested in him, but for now, it would be best to let sleeping dogs lie. Right now she just wanted to go home and crawl into bed and stay there forever. It occurred to her how much better she might feel if Sam were there to comfort her, but as it was, she knew that she was destined for another night alone. It would be all right. She didn't need Sam anyways.