AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why the long face?” I ask.
He shakes his head.
“Don’t make me lift you in the air and turn you upside down like the guy in Athens. ”
I smile, Sam doesn’t.
“I just got cornered by Alex Davis,” he says.
Alex Davis is another of Mark James’s brood, a wide receiver for the team. He’s a junior, tall and thin. I’ve never talked to him before, and likewise know little else about him.
“What do you mean by ‘cornered’?”
“We just talked. He saw that I’ve been talking to Emily. I guess they dated over the summer. ”
“So what. Why does that bother you?”
He shrugs. “It just sucks, and it bothers me, okay?”
“Sam, do you know how long Sarah and Mark dated?”
“For a long time. ”
“Two years,” I say.
“Does it bother you?” he asks.
“Not in the least. Who cares about her past? Besides, look at Alex,” I say, and nod to him standing in the kitchen. He is slumped against the kitchen counter, his eyes aflutter, a thin layer of sweat glistening on his forehead. “Do you really think she misses being with that?”
Sam looks at him, shrugs.
“You’re a good dude, Sam Goode. Don’t get down on yourself. ”
“I’m not down on myself. ”
“Well then, don’t worry about Emily’s past. We don’t have to be defined by the things we did or didn’t do in our past. Some people allow themselves to be controlled by regret. Maybe it’s a regret, maybe it’s not. It’s merely something that happened. Get over it. ”
Sam sighs. He’s still wrestling with it.
“Go on. She likes you. There’s nothing to be scared of,” I say.
“I am, though. ”
“Best way to deal with fear is to confront it. Just walk up to her and kiss her. I bet you she kisses you back. ”
Sam looks at me and nods, then goes to the basement, where Emily is hanging out. The two dogs come wrestling into the living room. Tongues dangling. Tails wagging. Dozer drops his chest to the ground and waits for Abby to come near enough and then he jumps at her and she jumps away. I watch them until they disappear up the stairs, playing tug-of-war with a rubber toy. It’s a quarter till midnight. A couple is making out on the couch across the room. The football players are still drinking in the kitchen. I’m starting to get sleepy. I still can’t find Sarah.
Just then one of the football players comes rushing up the basement stairs, a crazed, frantic look in his eyes. He rushes to the kitchen sink, turns on the water as high as it will go, and begins throwing open the kitchen-cupboard doors.
“There’s a fire downstairs!” he says to the guys nearby.
They begin filling pots and pans with water, and one by one they rush down the stairs.
Emily and Sam come up the stairs. Sam looks shaken.
“What’s wrong?” I say.
“The house is on fire!”
“How bad?”
“Is any fire good? And I think we started it. We, uh, knocked a candle into a curtain. ”
Sam and Emily both look disheveled and have clearly been making out. I make a mental note to congratulate Sam later.
“Have you seen Sarah?” I ask Emily.
