Free Girl in the White Dress: Sam's Story by Nikki D. Walker Page B

Sam.”
                  “Goodnight, Danny.” He turned and walked back to his dorm. I took a second before I went in because I knew Trinity was waiting up for me. I could not believe how much fun I had with him and how totally different he was from what I first thought.
                  I opened the door and, sure enough, Trin was right there waiting. “Hi,” I said.
                  “Hi, so?”
                  “So what?”
                  “Sam! How was the date?” I filled her in on the details. I also admitted that it was not horrible and that I hoped he would call me again.
                  “I knew it!” she said. “But back to an important detail. He’s Tim’s brother?”
                  “Uh huh. Weird, right?”
                  “Completely.”
                  I looked at the time. “I need to go to bed. Feel free to get Danny’s view in class.”
                  “You know I will. Night, sweetie.”
                  “Goodnight, crazy lady.”
----
     
                  That night I slept well. I kept thinking of Danny and how amazed I was that I had a good time. When I woke up, I was dreading that evening with Matt. I had finally taken a step in the right direction in getting over him. Clarification on “right direction”? Well, those two months that I had skipped over in detail previously included some pretty bad behavior. I had met a few guys online, which was not too smart. There were a couple that I dated very briefly, but I was being far too sexually active. I was a mess and was doing whatever it took to make me happy. So, you can see why dating a nice normal guy would be the right direction to be going into. Of course, this one was not going to be without complications. I had a crush on his brother. (Yes, I finally admitted that to myself.) Nevertheless, I was hoping that would not become an issue. Besides, at this point who knows if Danny was even going to call me.
                  I had a voicemail from Matt about where to meet. I saw him call but refused to answer. I loved caller ID. He, of course, picked the restaurant that we always went to. Bastard.
                  I was getting ready for dinner or whatever with Matt all the while replaying our relationship in my head. The biggest mistakes were him leaving and me thinking he would keep it in his pants. I took a deep breath. I did not want to go into this angry. I was tired of being angry. All the nights cooped up “studying”. Most nights I was hiding and writing. I did not want to admit I was depressed. I was still fun loving and happy Sam on the outside but on the inside, I was miserable. I realized last night that I was missing out on life. Danny was a great guy and I had a lot of fun. Tonight was going to give me, me back.
                  I checked myself out in the mirror. I looked fabulous. Fortunately, for me, Trinity was at Derek’s for the night and Miranda and Kiley were upstairs so I would not have to explain myself to anyone. I arrived at The Rose Café about five minutes early. Well, there was a first, I thought. I was the type that would be late for their own funeral.
                  I did not see Matt yet so I went to the bar to get a drink. Liquid courage was definitely in order. I was just about to take a sip when I saw Matt come through the door. He looked gorgeous. Bastard. Yes, I was aware that word often comes out when Matt’s name was mentioned and no, I did not have anger management issues. He was supposed to look like I felt, like crap. He spotted me staring. So much for having the upper hand. At least I looked fabulous.
                  “Hi, Sam.”
                  “Hi.”
                  “Do you want to go grab a table?” he asked.
                  I scoped out the