Forbidden Fruits Ch 04

Sam smiled down at me, and I felt lost. "Well," he said, pulling me toward the car, "I thought we could think about it over dinner."

I looked down at the ground and smiled. Boy, was he the charmer! He opened the door for me and I slipped in, putting my backpack between my legs. He closed the door securely and jogged around the side and climbed in next to me.

He put his hands on the wheel, but didn't move. "I don't know what you thought, Emma, but it wasn't true. I will always be honest with you. I was just afraid you were going to push me away."

I smiled at him, and touched his leg. "I am not going to push you away, Sam." He looked up at me, relief written all over his face. I chuckled lightly and shook my head. "Okay, boyfriend, where are we going for dinner?"

He didn't say anything and after a minute I turned back to look at him. "What?"

"I like it when you call me that." He said with a grin. "My girlfriend!" I laughed and pushed at his shoulder.

"Oh come on you." He laughed and pulled away from the curb.

~~~~~

He pulled into the drive through of a local burger place and asked me what I wanted. "Um, a cheeseburger with extra onions and pickles, and fries."

"Any thing to drink?"

"Um, sprite, no ice. Please."

"Can I take your order please?" The impatient croaky voice said through the receiver.

"Yeah," Sam said after a second. "Okay, we need a cheeseburger with extra onions and pickles..." he looked up at the menu again. "A double bacon deluxe burger, two large fries with no salt, a large coke and a large Sprite with no ice in it."

"Okay. So..." the voice paused. "One cheese burger, extra onion, extra pickle. One Double bacon deluxe burger, two large fries, no salt and a large coke and a large sprite, no ice."

Sam glanced at me and I nodded. "I think that's right."

Sam turned back to the box. "Yeah, that's it."

"$10.45 at the first window please." The impatience in her voice was astounding.

We pulled around, paid and went to the next window. "Catsup?"

"No thanks," Sam said as he took the bag. They wished us a good night and we drove off. When we went in the opposite direction of where I lived, I became really curious. Where were we going?

"Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Where are we going?" He turned to me quickly and smiled. "I'm sorry. I thought it might be fun if you got to see where I lived." I made an 'o' with my mouth and looked out into the night.

The sun had set and everything looked great. The stars were just beginning to come out and the cool air was nice on the skin. I almost wished it wasn't so cold, or I would have rolled my window down. We merged onto I-405, and headed across the river down town.

"Where exactly do you live?"

He chuckled. "I've got a nice little apartment near campus. But not too near," He qualified. I nodded and watched as we crossed over the Fremont bridge. The water was sparkling from the lights of downtown Portland, and the stars blinking above. I grinned over at Sam as he drove.

"I love watching the water at night. It just seems to shimmer," I said looking back out my window.

"Me too. I think its beautiful."

We drove into the heart of down town and over toward the south west side. PSU wasn't far, as I had gone there for a few non school lectures. A few blocks away, he pulled into a nice building and pulled out a garage opener. A large metal door in front of us opened slowly, and we drove down into the depths of the building.

The door closed behind us, and I was a little shocked. This place looked like a place for the rich and carefree from the outside.

"How much do you pay for rent in this place?" Sam smiled.

"My scholarship covers it nicely."

We got out of the car and he led me to an elevator. He used a small key on his keychain to call the elevator down, and we stepped in. He pushed 6, and off we went.

Have I mentioned I hate elevators?

I wasn't going to mention it to Sam either, but when he saw me clutching at the rail in the back, I think he guessed. "Don't be afraid. Its actually very spacious in here, compared to others I've been in."

"Its not the enclosure that bothers me, Sam. Its the falling five flights down and crashing to my death that scares me." The elevator stopped and that little sway it made me let out a small screech.

I looked at Sam a little embarrassed. "Sorry." I mumbled as I walked past him into the hall.

"Hey, its all good." He took my hand and led me down the hall a little ways to apartment 602. "This is me." He grinned at me as he unlocked the door.