A Rose in Shadow

Friday

FRIDAY

That night, Samantha and Emma Kate had a date planned for dinner so Adam and Jamie took another pay duty for a couple of hours and made arrangements to pick Samantha up at the restaurant when they were done.

Emma Kate met Samantha outside of her last class of the day and they took Emma Kate's car to the restaurant. They had made the reservation over four months ago when the restaurant had first opened and was garnering a lot of hype.

"So tell me about the date with Travis" Sam asked while they sipped their cocktails.

Their waiter came to the table just then with a tray of appetizers. Emma Kate looked at him quizzically "Thank you but we didn't order appetizers". The waiter nodded to a table across the restaurant by the window where two men sat looking their way. "Compliments of the gentlemen at that table." Emma Kate smiled and waved toward the men.

"I'm afraid that we can't accept as we won't be able to invite them to join us this evening" Emma Kate said in her serious voice. "We don't want to be rude but we can't be interrupted. Serious business to discuss"

The waiter nodded "I'll take this with me and let the gentlemen know. If they wish to still offer it to you I'll come back" He was back in a moment with the platter. "They appreciated your candor and asked me to leave the tray and their telephone numbers."

Once again Emma Kate sent them a smile and a wave and put the two numbers in her purse. The waiter raised an eyebrow at her. "My friend is taken. I'm not" she shrugged and smirked at him. He chuckled and left them to their drinks.

"Now where were we? Travis. He was very nice, good looking, didn't talk with his mouth full. Just no chemistry." Emma Kate huffed and sat back picking up her glass and relaxing, while she motioned animatedly with her hands, her drink coming precariously close to spilling.

"I don't know why I even bother dating right now. My heart's just not in it. I think that I'm going to take a break like you did. Then maybe I'll be lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to find my own Adam"

Looking tenderly at her friend, Samantha took her time to compose her thoughts before speaking.

"A break might be a good idea, as long as that's what you want. Maybe you should consider getting a roommate for the rest of the year" Emma Kate gave her a look.

Samantha sat forward. "Hear me out. I'm wondering if, right now, since you are so busy with work and school it isn't necessarily a man that you are missing but time to yourself. A roommate would give you some extra income so you could give up one of your part time jobs and it would also be someone to share the household chores with – both freeing some time for you. You just need someone to share the burden for a bit, Emma Kate, and take a breather"

Emma Kate studied her drink for a moment before meeting Sam's eyes. "You might be right. I'll think about it."

They continued their conversation, switching topics from their classes to Emma Kate's grandmother, to Mac and finally to Nathan Moore.

"I'm trying to act normal, Emma Kate, but he always knows where I am and it's very unnerving. To have the feeling of being watched all of the time.

Emma Kate raised an eyebrow at her. "It's been happening to you your whole life. You should be used to it by now" she joked and then reached out to touch Samantha's hand to let her know that she was kidding. Sam turned her hand over to grip her fingers with Emma Kate's, her voice small. "He's already hurt me once; I don't want him to do it again. I feel bad for him, really I do, but I'm afraid".

"Oh, honey" tears came to Emma Kate's eyes and she wiped them away impatiently. "Enough about him. Until he shows up, we can't do anything about him and we came here tonight to enjoy some fine dining. We are two good looking, young women who deserve to relax and have a good time" she raised her glass to tap it to Samantha's. "To us and our eternal friendship". Samantha gave Emma Kate's hand one more squeeze before letting go "I'll drink to that", she said.