So after Diane figured out what Sam had tried to do for Carla, she began to see him in a new light. He had his moments, but when his friends were in a pinch, he could always be counted on to do the right thing. And for that, or at least at that very moment, she considered herself proud to be one of his friends.

After the hustle and the bustle of the day's events, Sam was in a hurry to get home. To his surprise, a female approached him from behind (at least he hoped it was a female) and embraced him. He turned around and saw Diane smiling at him.

"What was that for?" he grinned in return.

"For being you."

"What about me?" he scratched his head.

"Sometimes you can be a moron, true, but on other occasions- well, I must say that you surprise me. I confess, I rather like seeing this sensitive side to you."

"Wanna make hay?"

She slapped him with her apron. "Not in this lifetime. But what you did for Carla, well, I'm impressed. It takes a real friend to stand up and support another one of his friends, even when she was so clearly in the wrong."

"It was nothing."

"You proposed to Carla for heaven's sake! Do you mean to tell me that you would do that for just anyone?"

"Are you kidding me? Some dame tried that with me once..."

"And?" Diane queried.

"And I bailed on her, do you think I'm nutso?"

Diane laughed. "But you were there for Carla. To be honest, I didn't think you had it in you to be so supportive, so caring, so considerate, so..."

He waved his hand in the air. "Okay, okay. I get your drift. So tell me, Diane, what do you really think of this new side of me?"

She thought about it. Part of her really wanted to show him what she thought of him, but she knew that if she started down that road, there was no telling where it might lead. And that was a step she wasn't ready to take, not quite yet.

"Not enough to make me go to bed with you, if that's what you're getting at!"

"Now, Diane, you just got done saying all these wonderful things about me. Admit it, you think I'm an okay kind of guy."

"I admit that you have your moments. But if you ask anything else of me this is all you'll receive."

He closed his eyes, awaiting that one special kiss that had been months in coming. But to his surprise, what he heard instead was the slamming of the door. He opened his eyes and smiled to himself.

"That Diane," he thought to himself. "What a woman."

TBC