Sam sighed and looked at the ceiling. That was the question. What did she want from Alex? What did Alex want from her? “I’m not sure it matters.”
“Of course it matters!” Dallis slapped her hand against the bar. “Of course your feelings matter!”
“I’m not saying they don’t matter.” Sam blew out a frustrated breath. “I’m just saying that maybe that ship has sailed. I go back to Boston soon. It would be silly to start something right now.” She turned toward Dallis and lifted her shoulders in a shrug.
Dallis still wasn’t having it. “Oh, honey.” She placed her hand on Sam’s arm. “It is never too late for love. You take any little bit you can get. Maybe you should give this a chance…just see where it might go.” Her expression turned wistful. “Now, let me tell you about me and my Ciara.”
Sam listened as Dallis told her the story her first love, Ciara. It sounded like something out of a Disney movie. Ciara was the daughter of a wealthy family in Bray, where Dallis grew up. They met when Dallis was working as a tutor for Ciara, who wanted to attend college in the United States but didn’t have high enough test scores. Of course, spending that much time so closely together, they fell in love. But Ciara became ill with leukemia. Her parents sent her to the best hospital in Dublin, but it was too late. She passed awayshortly thereafter. Even though they had only been seeing each other for a few months, Dallis had been heartbroken. Ciara’s family knew how much Dallis meant to her and was very accepting of it, despite being a very strict Catholic household. When Ciara passed, her family paid for Dallis to attend college in the US, fulfilling Ciara’s dream. That had been nine years ago, and Dallis still couldn’t look at another woman.
“I will love her always and forever,” she finished, her eyes staring into the distance. “All these years later, and I’m not even looking for anyone else. So, I understand a little bit about the lasting nature of first loves.” She shifted her gaze back to Sam. “You have options, Sam.” Her tone was firm. “And from what you’ve told me, it seems like you have one very good option.”
“But how would it even work?” Sam shook her head. “She’s here. I live in Boston.” She shrugged. “Besides, how do I even know shewantsthat or anything else from me?”
“You ask!” Dallis exclaimed as if it were apparent. Maybe it was, Sam conceded.
“What do I do if she doesn’t feel the same way?” Sam didn’t know if she could even bear putting herself out there, especially to Alex, only to have her not reciprocate.
“Well, you know what they say, don’t you?” Dallis gave Sam’s arm one more pat and then leaned back.
“No.” Sam shook her head. “What do they say?”
Dallis smiled knowingly, a glint in her eyes. “You never do forget your first love.”
Sam shook her head in agreement. She leaned over and touched her beer lightly to Dallis’s. “No,” she said softly, taking a drink. “You sure don’t.”
“And they likely aren’t forgetting you…” Dallis winked at her over her drink.
Chapter Thirteen
“Ugh.” Sam woke the following day with a groan. Her throat was dry, her head kind of hurt, and she was exceptionally physically uncomfortable. Her arms were squished down at her sides, and a heavy weight on her side prevented her from freeing them. Wait, that wasn’t a weight, it was a body. That was Dallis. “Argh.” She groaned again.
“What?” Dallis’s voice was muffled. “What is the noise all about?” She raised her head to look at Sam, but quickly dropped it back down again when a glint of sunlight peeked out from behind the curtain and slanted across her face. “Make that go away,” she mumbled.
“What?” Sam asked, trying unsuccessfully to extricate herself. “You want me to make the sun go away?”
“No,” Dallis whispered. “Just make it stop shining.”
“Okay.” Sam chuckled. “Because I’m a god now.” She finally figured out that the only way to free herself was to slide off the couch, but both her arms were still numb, so she ended up landing with a thud on her side. “Ouch.”
“That sounded like that hurt.” Dallis quickly slid into the space that Sam had abandoned. She pulled a throw blanket across her face to shield herself from the sun, which was still shining. “Stupid sun,” she muttered.
After careful maneuvering, Sam finally made it to her feet and looked down at Dallis on the couch. She was racking her brain, trying to remember how the rest of the night had gone. There wasdancing. And there were shots. But everything after a certain point was a blur. She and Dallis had obviously spent the night together, squeezed onto Jordan’s tiny couch, but what else had happened? She shook her head. She never drank that much. How did she let herself go so far?
“For the record—” Dallis’s voice was muffled by the blanket over her head that was blocking out the sun. “Nothing happened.” She peeked around the corner of the blanket to look at Sam.
“How sure are you?” Sam asked, afraid of the answer. She looked down at herself, taking stock of her appearance. Shewasfully clothed.
“Oh, Sam.” Dallis chuckled. “If something had happened between us, there is no way you would forget it.” She turned and snuggled back into the blanket. “And, anyway—” Her voice was still muffled. “Do not flatter yourself. You’re right fit, but you are so not my type.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sam’s tone was incredulous. She stood over Dallis with her hands on her hips. “I thought you said I was a catch?” In reality, she was debating over whether she was insulted or relieved. She needed coffee to make that decision. She made her way into Jordan’s galley kitchen to get a pot brewing.
“Youarea catch,” Dallis called after her. “Just not the fish for me. I don’t even want fish. I’m a vegetarian now.”
“Oh my God, what are you talking about?” Sam raked her hands through her hair and across her face. She leaned against the counter and willed the coffee to brew faster. She felt the same way about Dallis, but she wasn’t going to tell her that now. Last night had been fun. Dallis was great fun. She was smart and easy to talk to. She was also undoubtedly one of the most gorgeous women Sam had ever met, but she was not attracted to her in the slightest. She did, however, know that they were going to make excellent friends.
Finally, the coffee was close to done brewing. She snatched the pot and filled up her mug and another for Dallis. She dug through Jordan’s cupboards, but there was no maple syrup to be found. How did he even live? She settled for honey and made her way back over to the couch. She reached out and tugged on the edge of the throwblanket, whipping it off Dallis and exposing her to the offending sunlight.
“Hey!” Dallis cried out, throwing her hands over her eyes. “That’s not nice!”
