New Faces and a proposal..

Samantha stood in front of the door and sighed. She could hear them laughing on the other side, but she was nervous. "Just knock, just knock, she thought. They are not going to bite. She hesitantly raised her hand and knocked on the door. The door swiftly opened, and Lindsay smiled, grabbed her, and dragged her in. Lindsay's boyfriend Keith smiled and shook her hand. He also took the time to introduce his other friend Tom. They sat around snacking at a little kitchen table, and Samantha noticed one chair remained empty. Just as she was about to ask if this was it, in walked Nathan. She could have sworn he looked excited to see her before he quickly lost the look. Tom moved to allow Nathan the room, being shorter than him by several inches, but Nathan held up his hand, shook his head, and sat next to Samantha. Samantha took a moment to look at him and smiled. He gave her the cockiest look and replied, "I hope you're ready to lose." Samantha just smiled. When Lindsay had asked if she knew how to play, she had just simply stated a little. But that was a lie. Her grandmother had taught her. She knew all too well how to bluff. Something she soon taught the table.

While she had cleaned up in poker, she failed miserably at Uno attack. She hated the moment of hitting the button to have cards spray at her face. She sighed about the fifth time before declaring she quit. The group laughed with her and conceded they were done and calling it a night. Keith and Tom made sure to let her know to come back the next week. She walked to the door and found Nathan was quickly behind her. He smiled and said, "I just wanted to make sure you got to your car, OK." She thanked him and laughed inside. For the past year, she had been walking around a major city without even the help of her ex. Now here was hopefully the promise of good friendship. Honestly, she didn't attract guys like Nathan for boyfriend material, just company, something she was OK with.

They got to her car, and she smiled at Nathan, saying, " This is me." He shifted nervously in front of her saying softly, "don't go just yet." Samantha stopped for a guy who was told not to want to talk. He sure did. So they spoke, and Samantha, for the first time, spoke about what had brought her here to Indiana. She told him about her ex's promise of marriage before just changing his mind. She was excited he wanted to go to the school experience, but it quickly went downhill after seeing the pictures. Nathan sensing her mood quickly moved topics. It honestly felt he wanted to talk more than he let on, and she enjoyed it. After seeing the guys look through the window at them for the fifth time, Samantha knew their time was up.

"You better go back to them. They will think all sorts of things," Samantha replied. Nathan looked towards the apartment. He looked back to her, bringing out a piece of paper. "Here, please send me a message," he quickly said before walking away. Samantha looked down at the paper, and there was a user name just written on the paper. She looked back up to him and smiled, and it was nice to have a friend.

Three weeks later

Samantha's mom just looked at her. All Samantha did was either chat with Nathan, hang out with Lindsay, or was always gone. She wanted to know what was going on in her life. This had always bothered Samantha, and she liked control over her. That is what had caused their big fight a few weeks ago. She smiled, "mom, I am just having fun." She went on to explain, "I have already enrolled in fall classes and just ready to go. It's just nice to not really have any responsibilities." Samantha's mother just looked at her, and marriage was something she had already talked to her about a few times. She wasn't precisely happy with the way things had ended up for her back in Texas. All her mother saw was a guy who he and his family were well off. All Samantha had seen in the end were two people who were just not right for each other.

Samantha just sighed and left her mother to pout and climbed up to her tiny attic room. She had been sleeping in the dining room due to her mother's redoing the addition. However, with the flooring done in one area, she got to claim it as her own. However, it was tiny, but it made her happy. The roof slanted, so she had room to tuck a small twin bed, chair by the window, and computer in one corner. Heck, she didn't even have a tv, which was OK with her. She loved to read, not having someone who wrapped up her life and could read all she wanted.

She first checked her computer and noticed a new message from Nathan that said, "coffee?" She smiled and typed back "when and where?" Nathan gave her the address, and she hurriedly got dressed. She loved talking to him. He was just different. For someone who looked like he stepped off a runway, he was slightly as nerdy as her. But in a few different ways. He loved computers, opera, or classical music, and he loved to read and write. But then he loved jogging and working out and just having fun. He didn't need a drink in his hand, either. She just loved it. She rushed down the stairs and told her mom she was off to coffee grounds to meet Nathan. This seemed to perk her mother right up. Nathan happened to belong to a sizeable prominent family in the area. Samantha shivered. They owned funeral homes, and sometimes when he talked, she would quickly change the subject. She hoped he didn't bring that backup. She slipped in her car and took off towards the coffee shop, looking forward to getting to talk to him face to face instead of a computer. Who knows what the night would bring.