Sam Makes a Move!

Zim couldn't wait to finish up another boring day sitting around inside a helicopter. The Coast Guard Dolphin helicopter crossed over the coast, heading back over dry ground. As a rescue swimmer, he routinely spent boring days in helicopters. A lucky rescue swimmer got maybe six or seven rescues a month, even though they get called out every day, sometimes twice. Invariably, rescues were the unusual, and not the norm. So for Zim, the number one swimmer in his squadron, any day spent in the air, and not in the water at all, was boring.

After debrief, he hit the locker room, and then went to the base pool for a few laps. This was about thirty laps for Zim, and even though there were a couple of Coastie wives that were at the pool hoping that he would notice, there was only person Zim could think of ever since the other night at the bar.

He had literally watched a girl beat the living daylights out of two guys. He could only smile, shake his head, and laugh to himself as he wondered what abuse those two guys must have taken from their friends after the dust settled. He could imagine it. He saw the aftermath: three guys carry two of their pals from a bar, one of them being carried unconscious out the door. Being destroyed by a girl is nothing. It was the actual fact that everyone you knew also had heard about the loss, and couldn't wait to stick a barb in you about it.

So naturally, when the bartender had told Zim that the girl who kicked around two guys like so much raw meat actually thought he was cute, he knew he had to get back to the bar where it happened.

The door man at the bar actually recognized Zim. So naturally, Zim had to give him a hard time.

"Hey, why do you scan ID's, can't you read?"

"Yeah, I can read. I see your ID is a Coast Guard ID. Hey! I've always wanted to know something about the Cutters the Guard uses, mind if I ask?" the doorman said.

"Nah, go ahead."

"Is it true all those cutters have wheels on the bottom?"

Zim started laughing. There were some Coastie jokes out there that weren't funny anymore, but there was one that was kind of original, at least in its delivery.

"My name's Zim." He said.

"Dennis." The doorman answered, and extended a hand.

And with that, Zim and Flex were admitted to Stan's for an evening of drinking, and waiting to see if Sam showed up.

Zim remembered the fight, at least what he saw of it, since it was over so quickly. Just a few punches and an insane head-butt. A well placed kick to the chest of a third guy, just as the doorman and bouncers got there to break it all up.

Patience paid off. As soon as the third beer had been ushered off to the oblivion, Sam and Alex walked in. Those two seemed to always hang out together. Sam was wearing a pair of shorts that showed off nicely tanned legs that belonged to someone who was either a biker or a runner. Alex was wearing shorts, but Zim was captured, and he didn't really notice her too much.

Flex never noticed that Zim left the table where they were sitting. For that matter, Zim didn't really notice either. He simply noticed that he was halfway across the room and heading straight for Sam. He didn't really know what to say, so he kept it simple.

"Hi, you're Sam, right?" Zim said.

"I am," she said. "Weren't you here the other night?"

"I was."

"Great, then you already know I can kick you to the curb whenever I want."

With that, Sam turned and walked away. Alex was a little ambushed by it all, and so she simply looked at Zim and said, "Hey, we're only here to shoot pool, okay?"

"I'm okay with that, my buddy and I would like to shoot with you, if you like."

"Let me see."

Sam had already claimed a pool table that was between two other already occupied tables. So shooting pool next to them was right out. Zim didn't like the way this was going. But it was clear after a moment that Alex was prevailing, and Sam turned away from Zim. But it was too late; Zim had seen the smile start to form on her face. It also helped that Zim knew enough about lip-reading to recognize the words "He's kinda cute" that Alex had said to Sam.

Alex turned and waved Zim over.

Zim retrieved Flex from his place at the table, and Flex went and told the waitress to switch their place over to the pool table. Introductions were made all around, and after the invariable discussion about how Zim and Flex got their names, an actual game of eight ball managed to break loose. Zim took the early lead, sinking three in a row, and them Sam went.

She cleaned Zim out. Made a mad bumper shot that went around the eight ball and sank the five, leaving the cue perfectly parked in a straight line. Starting with the corner pocket closest to Alex, it was the pocket, the eight ball, and the cue ball. The only flaw in the shot was the amount of felt between the cue and the tempting black orb of the eight ball. Zim played the only card he had left. He knew Sam liked him. So he pulled his shirt out of his jeans a little, letting his ripped six pack of abs show, right as Sam leaned over to prepare for her shot.

"Wow, it's kinda hot in here." Zim said.

"Yes, yes it is," agreed Alex. Sam ignored it, getting ready for her shot. Flex kept his mouth shut, wondering just exactly what the heck it was he had just seen Zim do.

Sam drew the cue stick back, and took her shot. She actually shanked the cue on the ball, with the loud clank that resulted actually hearable halfway to the bar. The cue ball rolled wildly to the left, and almost went into the left-side middle pocket.

Sam knew she had been played well. She couldn't tell Zim to shut up, because everyone would know that she liked him. She couldn't get mad, same reason. So, she had to blame the beer, which she did.

"Ah! I hate playing pool after so much beer!"

Flex stood to take his turn at the table, and he succeeded in getting every stripe but one down. Alex then proceeded to slam the door on Zim's hopes for the evening. She did this not so much by sinking the eight ball, but rather by blasting it into the corner pocket closest to Zim. That black orb of game ending finality hit the pocket so hard that the blue cube of red-wrapped chalk actually leapt into the air and tumbled onto the table.

Flex knew what was coming next, but Zim was still too stuck on Sam to see it. She had to pay him back for the missed shot on the eight ball. So she did it in spades.

"Well, that's the game," she said. "Alex, shall we go? I'm done smacking balls around tonight."

"Already?!?" Alex shot back. "It's only just now midnight!"

"Yeah," said Sam. "And I want to go."

"Okay," said Alex, and the four said their good-byes for the evening.

It was Flex who brought up the fact that Zim had been shot down horribly, with a joke about pool:

"Dude, she racked you right up!"

"Aw man, shut up!"

"That was the best line I think I've heard in a while!"

"Yeah, you can say that. Why don't you go hook up with your bartender friend over there?" said Zim, quite impatiently.

"Oh, don't worry, buddy, I will," said Flex.

It was Alex who walked back in a few moments later. She looked for and found Zim next to the bar.

"Zim! It is Zim, right?"

"Yeah, that's right. Alex, right?"

"Yeah. Hey look, don't give up on her, alright? I know she's had a couple of bad days lately, and she's pissed at her dad. He keeps throwing her hints about getting a place of her own."

"Ah, I see. Look, I'm not stupid, and neither is Sam. I saw the fight the other night, and any girl that can take care of herself is someone I'm going to be after."

"Yeah, well, that's not all, her dad taught her how to shoot, too."

"Really?" said Zim. "That's just crazy. She can fight like that, and shoot guns too?"

"Yeah, she taught me how, after she learned. It's awesome."

"Look, what is Sam all about, anyways? Why's she being such a pain about this?"

"Oh, she's not being a pain. She doesn't like to get serious with anyone she meets at a bar."

"Great, so help me set it up so we meet somewhere else."

"We can try that," Alex said, "but I've never seen her break the dating rule."

"Really?" said Zim. "I'd love to try her on it."

Sam pulled back into her house, and noticed that the living room light was on. Either mom or dad was still up, and they always like to hang out and talk together when she got home. She popped the door open after parking her car, and walked into the kitchen. It was her dad that was sitting there in the kitchen.

"Good evening, Sam," Nick said.

"Good evening, Dad."

"Look, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Okay, Dad, what's up?"

"It's about your sisters. You're old enough to be living on your own. So your mother and I have decided that it's time for you to move out. We have a list of places, and if you pick one of those places, we will pay your first month's rent for you, get you set up, the whole deal. We will only pay for a two bedroom place if you have a roommate picked out, and we have to know the roommate."

"How do my sisters fit into this?" Sam asked.

"It's because they need to see that the rules I've set for this house are for real."

"And what rules did they need to see were real?"

"The ones about how to start a family."

"What do you mean?"

"Get a boyfriend, date him, get engaged, then marry him, then have kids."

"Is this about me staying over at a guy's house too often?"

"Yes, Sam, it is. I told you what would happen if you kept spending the night with guys you just met."

"So I'm being thrown out, because I'm an adult?"

"No, Sam, you're being asked to move out because you're irresponsible with what I give you."

"How does mom feel about this?" Sam started towards her parent's room.

"I'm willing to have your mom upset with me for a little while, if that's what you're asking. Besides, you weren't listening. I said mom and I have already talked about it."

Sam wasn't having it. She strode confidently down the hallway and threw the bedroom door open. Penny was sitting there in the dark, on the edge of the bed. With what was about to happen, it was obvious Sam had learned her skill at shooting Zim down in the bar from someone.

Penny looked up at Sam as she entered the room. There, in the darkened room, Sam met her match, as she had so many times growing up. A strong willed child requires stronger parents, and in this case, Penny was more than enough.

"Sam, you should have trusted what your Dad said. Has he ever lied to you?"

"Well, no."

"Exactly. You feel like you shouldn't have to be told how to live anymore?"

"That's right! It's my life, I'd like to live it!'

"Sam, remember last month when you brought a guy here?"

"I didn't bring..." Sam tried to deny it, but Penny cut her off.

"Sam, please, I heard what I needed to hear. Unless you're going to tell me it was one of your sisters. Look Sam, the day we were supposed to go to your grandma's, and you said you already had plans, I made your dad think I didn't feel that great, and stayed home. I had a feeling about those days when you were allowed to stay home alone, and you proved me right. You have a month to find a place, and then make your move. Your dad and I will keep our end of the bargain, but you're out. One month, Sam. And your dad and I are asking right now. In 30 days, we won't, we'll keep what we paid for, like your bed, dresser, and furniture. But we'll pack everything else in as few suitcases as we can, change the locks, and toss your stuff right out on the porch, you got it?"

Sam knew better than to fight. "Yes, mother." It dripped with sarcasm and disrespect, but it was agreement, which was really the only thing she could do - fighting at this point would only get her packed out by morning. At least this way, Sam thought to herself, she still had a month to find a place.

"Oh, Sam, remember, we approve the roommate, before we ever cut the check for the first month's rent - and we help you move in, just so we know you're not scamming us."

The search for a roommate was easy. Sam looked at the list of places that her mom and dad had picked, and saw that there were one bedroom apartments available, so she picked one of those.

Within two weeks, Sam was on the waiting list for an apartment, and while it bought her more time at home, it wasn't the brightest time she could remember. She stayed out later than ever and spent more time at Stan's than ever.

She began to take an almost evil delight in shooting down Zim. He never did give up on asking her out. She'd constantly tease him and play a few rounds of pool with him, but she never would accept his offers to go to movies or dinner. She had his cell number, but she never called it.

And so, the weekend before she moved in her new apartment, with all the distraction of moving, and all the fuss and fight over moving right ahead of her, she failed to notice when she went to Stan's and started a new game of pool with Zim and his buddy Flex. Flex was dating the bartender, and while Sam suspected that the bartender was ratting her out to Zim, Sam knew she wouldn't, couldn't really date Zim. He was a guy from a bar, and what good could guys at a bar ever be, except for one thing?

The problem was that she thought he was also funny, and extremely hot. Sam was smart enough to recognize that fire burned when you played with it. And Zim was definitely someone over whom she would lose control. She knew she was playing with fire just by continuing to lead Zim on. She should end it, tell him to leave her alone, it was just torture for both of them. She didn't want serious right now.

What she failed to notice was the guy at the bar, who always seemed to be watching the two of them. Had she been paying attention, she would have noticed that he was the weather man from their fishing trip.