"Can't wait to see you again. Can I take you out to lunch? :)" Sam texted her Wednesday morning.
Candace's smile was quickly replaced by a frown.
"I would love to, but I can't. I already have plans with my mom this afternoon. :(" she regretfully texted back.
"No worries. :) What about tomorrow? I have a couple of days off work."
"Sure," she wrote back, trying to play it cool. Inside, though, she was buzzing with excitement. He wanted to spend time with her on his days off. During the week. She felt like she should be freaked out by how quickly things seemed to be progressing between them, but in reality, she loved it. She didn't dare admit the words even to herself, but she had never fallen so hard so quickly for anyone in her life.
"I'll come pick you up around noon, ok?"
"Sounds good. See you then. :)"
Candace could barely contain herself at lunch with her mom. She had mentioned Sam through texts, but hadn't seen her mom in person since she had met him. She tried to downplay her feelings and tried not to gush on about him, but her mother knew her too well.
She left out the steamier details, of course, but the fact that she had already slept with Sam, twice, wasn't lost on her mother. Lucinda gave her the same spiel her friend Sarah had. With more motherly concern, of course.
Candace tried hard not to get angry when she brought up the fact that it seemed like a fling and that she was just concerned about her daughter's feelings. Nothing like a mother to be brutally honest.
She would be lying if she said she wasn't still a little upset about their conversation when Sam picker her up for their lunch date the next day.
"How was your day with your mom?" It was one of the first questions Sam asked.
A huffing sound escaped Candace's mouth before she even had a chance to stop herself.
"That good, huh?" Sam chuckled.
"You got brought up, of course."
"Uh oh."
"She's just worried about my feelings. But still," Candace's curls bounced back and forth as she shook her head. "I was just starting to get out of my head about the whole thing, you know? Plus, it's not like she's met you."
"The 'thing'? The 'us thing'?"
"Yes," she sighed.
"Well, what are
your
feelings on the 'us thing'?" Sam asked warily, keeping his eyes on the road as he drove.
"I don't know. I've been trying to take your advice. Not overthink it. I'll go insane if I do. Too many 'what ifs?'"
They drove on for several minutes in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
"Can I ask you something?" Sam hoped she didn't notice how nervous he was. What he was about to ask could totally change the course of their afternoon, at the very least.
"What's that?"
"What are you hoping to get out of this?" he pointed between himself and Candace.
She sighed again.
"I don't know, Sam. I'm trying to have fun, and I am, but I don't know. I really like you. That seems to be the biggest issue. How ridiculous is that?" she turned to him.
"It's not ridiculous," he said quietly. And he meant it because he felt the same way about her.
"Candace, I'm not just going to forget about you when I go back to LA. You know that, right?" he glanced at her.
"No," she answered barely above a whisper.
The lump in Sam's throat grew.
"Well, I can assure you, I'm not." Silence filled the car again.
"Listen, I know this is probably the worst time to ask, but it wouldn't feel right bringing it up later now."
Candace turned to face him again.
"I want to take you somewhere next weekend. Because I want to and because I want to make the most of the time we have while I'm here. Shooting is ahead of schedule, so I'm afraid we're going to wrap up earlier than expected," sadness reached his eyes. He hated dropping more bad news on her.
"Oh," was all she said before growing quiet again.
"I know. Horrible timing. I seem to be good at that. But, I just wanted to throw it out there. I realize how crazy this is, but I don't care. I care about you, Candace. And if this was a fling, like your mom seems to think, would we be sitting in the car together right now? And would I be asking you to go away for the weekend with me?"
"I would hope not because that would be really hurtful of you knowing how I feel about you," a small smile finally formed on Candace's lips.
"That's my girl," he thumbed her chin, smiling himself.