There's Too Much Green To Feel Blue

First Date

Sam turned to Lily, who was seated on the couch.
"Look, I found cartoons!" Lily cried.
Sam frowned, "Cartoons at eleven?" she murmured.
She looked at tv screen, it said 'adult swim' on the corner. "Uh, how about some Sesame Street?" Sam said quickly grabbing the remote and clicking the tv off.
"Yeah!" Lily said.
"Good thing I have some on tape from the kids I used to baby-sit." Sam said.
"What happened to the kids?" Lily asked as Sam searched for the tapes next to the tv.
"Want some popcorn?" Sam said trying to distract her.
"Yes!" Lily said.
"And chocolate milk?" Sam asked as she found a tape.
"Yes, please." Lily said.
They spent the next three hours watching tape after tape of Sesame Street until they fell asleep on the couch.
Sam woke up when she heard a knock on the door. She carefully got off the couch so that she wouldn't wake Lily.
Sam opened the door, "Go away, I'm not sleeping with you!"
Peter looked at her surprised, "Well, fine, I guess I'll just leave."
"No, sorry!" Sam said, "I thought you were William."
She held open the door, Peter walked in raising an eyebrow at her.
"Thanks for taking care of Lily, I really apreciate it." Peter said.
"It's no problem." Sam said, "I always hated hearing my parents argue."
Peter looked at her and realized it was the first time he'd heard of anything from her past.
"So what happened with your lady love?" Sam asked.
Peter sighed, "We argued for about two hours. Then her phone rang and she stormed away. Then I stayed in the room feeling sorry for myself and I let myself cool down."
"Aw, poor baby." Sam hugged him.
"Thanks for sticking up for me, though." Peter said.
"Yeah, same here." Sam said.
Peter sighed, "What a day."
"Peter," Sam said, "you can't be by yourself at a time like this."
Peter bent down to scoop up Lily.
"No, no, no, I'll do this." Sam intervened, "Let's go to your place."
She scooped up Lily and they exited her apartment and took the elevator to Pete's apartment. The whole time, Peter filled Sam in on everything that was said and done. They went into his apartment. Sam sat up and waited in the dim living room as Peter tucked Lily in. Then Pete came, sat on the couch, sighing heavily and rubbing his face, "Thanks so much, Sam." he said with his face in his hands, "I'll make this up to you tomorrow."
"You don't have to." Sam said.
"No, I want to." Peter said, "It's my day off tomorrow."
"Really?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, I'll take you out to eat," Peter said, "It's a date." he lifted his head and looked at her.
Sam grinned, "Aw, being a gentleman and taking a lady out to dinner?"
"Not a lady," Peter said, "it's just you."
Sam gasped and pretended to be offended.
"Nah, I'm kidding, girlie." Peter said.
"No, you're right," Sam put on a man voice, "I'm a man."
They laughed.
"Well, I think I should let you rest." Sam said getting up.
"I'll walk you." Peter said getting up too.
"You can't, you'll be leaving Lily alone." Sam said.
Peter winced, "That's right."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Sam said.
Peter worried anyway, "But what if...I don't know, William comes after you?"
"I'm a strong girlie," Sam said flexing a muscle, "I can take him."
"That's what worries me." Peter said, "That's exactly what he wants."
"How about you just walk me to your door?" Sam suggested.
Peter sighed, "Okay."
They exited the apartment, Peter shut the door and faced Sam. "So did you really see my pen?" he asked.
Sam nodded once, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I saw it, Mr. PlayGirl."
Peter hung his head, looked up at her and said, "And...and what did you think?"
"Petey!" Sam cried surprised.
"I'm just curious!" Peter said, "You want me to whip it out so you can see it again?" he began to undo his belt.
"No, I've looked at it plenty, thank you." Sam said.
"You sure?" Peter asked.
"Look, not that this penis conversation isn't glamarous." Sam said, "but I really think I should get to bed."
Peter grinned, "All right, I'll see you tomorrow, then."
"Fo sho, homeboy."
"Thank you." Peter said, with a heavy sigh, he hugged her.
Sam was caught off guard for the second time that night, "Oh, ok." she hugged him back.
They stayed like that for a few seconds while Peter rested his head on her shoulder. Then they broke away.
"Good night." Peter kissed her on the cheek.
Sam was both surprised and pleased, "Good night." she said and tussled his hair.
Sam took the elevator to her floor and climbed up the few steps wearing a smile. William peeked out from his door shirtless, shoeless and wearing tight jeans.
"Ready to come in?" he gestured with his head into his apartment.
Still grinning, Sam said, "Not tonight."
"Happy to see me?" William asked seeing her grin.
Sam reached her apartment door, "Good night, horny toad."
She entered her apartment and shut the door.

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The next day Sam met up with Peter to help him pack everything that belonged to Hash. The atmosphere around Sam and Pete was warm. They were very giggly and happy given what was about to happen that afternoon.
"So, where are we going tonight?" Sam asked as they folded some of Hash's old clothes and placed them in a box.
"To that little place a few blocks down in between all those boutiques." Peter answered.
Sam dropped the shirt she had been holding, "Seriously? Can you afford that, Peter?"
"Yeah," Peter assured, "I just want to take you somewhere nice."
"Okay." Sam smiled, "What time?"
"How's seven?" Peter asked.
"That's cool." Sam said.
They spent most of the day packing things away and placing the boxes in closets and under Pete's bed. When they finished, they dropped Lily off at her grandmother's house, then at four o'clock Sam left to her apartment to get ready. Although Peter thought it weird that she would need so much time to get ready, he allowed her to leave. When she did, Peter jumped into the car and phoned Brendon.
"Yeah, Peter?" Brendon answered.
"Brendon, what are you doing?" Peter asked.
"I'm on a break." Brendon answered.
"Cool, sit tight, I'm going there." Peter said.
Within minutes, Peter was at the hospital. Brendon and Pete sat on an ambulance that was parked in the back. Brendon was leaning against it and eating pudding while Peter was seated on the ambulance hood.
"So, what's up, Peter?" Brendon asked.
"I asked Sam on a date." Peter blurted out.
"What? No way." Brendon said.
"Yes, I did! It's tonight and I'm, like, really nervous." Peter said.
"Wow, a date with Sam." Brendon turned the idea over in his head, "Hmm." he dipped his spoon into his plastic cup of pudding, "You're nervous? Then, why'd you ask her out?"
"I--" Peter stammered, "I don't know."
"You love her!" Brendon teased, "Ah, don't worry, Peter, she's very attractive because..." Brendon looked up, "Well, I think it's her confidence."
"What if, I don't know, I do something wrong," Peter said, "or it's just a pity date for her, or she's just playing with me!"
"Does that sound like Sam to you?" Brendon asked.
"No." Peter said, "But, what if I mess everything up?"
"Peter, don't be so anxious, it's just Sam." Brendon said.
"Exactly, it's Sam! I am so confused." he rested his chin in his hands.
"You can always just call the date off." Brendon suggested.
"No!" Peter said turning to Brendon, "I want to go on this date."
"Then, just don't screw this up." Brendon said, "Because I gotta tell you, a girl like Sam won't stay single for long."
"You're right," Peter said, "But I don't know if this is a casual date or a date date."
Two EMT's came by, just then.
"Sorry, guys, we need this ambulance." one of them said.
Peter slid off the hood and Brendon took a few steps away.
"Well, it must be a date date or you wouldn't be so nervous." Brendon reasoned.
"I don't know, I just have to make sure this goes right." Peter said.

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Peter went home at five thirty and fretted over what he was going to wear. He had never done that before. He stood in front of his closet and pulled everything out but he didn't like any of it. He felt silly and frustrated. He wished he could just call Sam and have her pick for him. Peter looked at every shirt and pair of pants he had. He decided that if worse came to worse, he would just wear his pajamas, at least he knew Sam liked those. What he needed was something...semi-casual/formal. He considered wearing his tuxedo shirt, that was casual/formal, but he decided the restaurant was too nice for him to just wear a shirt. He was beginning to think that he should just wear his work clothes, when he just grabbed a pair of pants and a shirt. He tried different things until he decided on until he decided on a pair of black skinny jeans and a white collared shirt with the sleeves folded up and a few of the buttons undone. He then took a shower, did his hair, dressed up and headed out. He pulled out his cell phone and called Sam.
"Hey, am I picking you up or are we meeting there?" he asked when she answered.
"Nah, go ahead, I'll catch up." Sam said.
So Peter got in the car and drove to the restaurant. As he was parking, his phone rang.
"Yeah?" Peter answered.
"Peter, something came up." Sam siad, "I'll be just a few moments late, okay?"
"Yeah, that's fine. I'll go inside and save us a table." Peter said.
"Okay, I'll be there." Sam hung up.
Peter went into the restaurant. It was a small cozy restaurant. There were two sides to the building. On his right was the waiting area, to his left were the booths and tables and the hostess desk. The walls were a peach color and there were plants in every corner. Peter chose a small round table that seated four and sat on the side that had a clear view of the entrance.
A man wearing black pants, shoes and vests and a white collared shirt appeared next to Pete.
"Good evening, sir, my name is Ryan, I might possibly be your waiter tonight." the man said in a bored monotone.
Peter frowned up at him.
"May I start you off with a drink before I bring you the menu, sir?" the man asked.
"Just water, please." Peter said.
"I'll be right back." Ryan said.
He came back and served Peter an iced water and a menu.
"Oh, can I have another menu, please, Ryan? I have a friend who will be coming soon." Peter said.
"How very fortunate, you have a friend." Ryan said slapping another menu the table.
Peter frowned as Ryan walked away. He turned to look at him, he had short, brown hair, he was skinny and tall and he had brown eyes. Peter took a sip of his water and looked the menu over. He had finished flipping through the entire menu, when he checked his phone. It was ten past seven. Immediately, Peter's nerves skyrocketed. He was already nervous to begin with and his thoughts were making him anxious. What if she didn't show up or she canceled or she had better things to do? This was no use, Peter was a wreck. He was getting more nervous by the minute, he needed something to calm him down. He glanced at the price of the drinks in the menu and then quickly slammed the menu shut. He didn't need a drink, it was fine, it was just Sam.
Ryan came back at that moment, "Would you like to order something while you wait or is your friend sitting right there?" he pointed with his pen at the empty chair across Peter.
"No, I'm not ready to order yet." Peter said, his teeth chattering.
Ryan began to walk away.
"Wait!" Peter said, "I want a drink."
"I think you have a drink right there." Ryan pointed his pen at Peter's water.
"No, I need something stronger." Peter said.
He quickly ordered the first drink he saw on the menu. When it arrived, he downed it in two minutes and ordered another one.
"Starting to have fun?" Ryan smirked.
"I'm starting to feel something." Peter said.
He started to calm down. He checked his phone halfway during finishing his drink, it was seven-twenty.
He had just ordered another drink, when he looked up and saw Sam walking through the entrance. Peter nearly flipped the table over, she looked amazing. She wore a tight, sleeveless red, black and white plaid dress with a black belt on her waist and small black flats.
She spotted Peter and worriedly strode toward him, "Peter, I'm so sorry I'm late, my friend was freaking out--"
"Sam," Peter said standing up, "no, it's okay. Here, take my seat." He stepped away from his chair and offered it to her.
As soon as Sam sat, he stepped to the opposite side and sat too.
"Sam," Peter said, "you look....wow."
Sam laughed, "You look pretty 'wow', too. I'm sorry I ran late."
"It's fine." Peter said not taking his eyes off Sam.
"I'm starving." Sam said picking up a menu, "Did you eat yet?"
"No, I was waiting for you." Peter said blindly feeling around for his menu as he stared at Sam.
Sam was studying the menu, when Ryan came back with Peter's third drink.
"Here you go, sir, please enjoy the fine hang over's this restaurant has to offer." Ryan placed the drink on the table and then caught sight of Sam.
He straightened up and stared at her. His demeanor still hadn't changed, even his eyes didnt show expression, which is what made his stare unnerving.
"Hello, my name is Ryan, I will definetely try to be your waiter today." he said.
Sam smiled at him, "Hi, Ryan." she said, "Start us off with these appetizers, please." she pointed at her menu.
Ryan jotted it down and walked away.
Sam turned to Peter, "Peter, are you drinking?" she asked.
"Yeah." Peter said taking a gulp from his drink.
"Why, you bad boy?" Sam asked.
"I was nervous." Peter blurted out.
"Why?" Sam said half-laughing, "It's just me!"
"Exactly, it's you!" Peter said.
While Sam laughed, Peter wondered if already he was a little buzzed. He really hadn't meant to say that he was nervous.
"You're funny." Sam said, she picked up the menu, "So, what do you want to eat."
While they searched the menus, Ryan came back with a single plate of appetizers. Sam took the plate as he placed it down.
"Are you ready to order now?" he asked.
"Give us a while, Ryan." Sam smiled.
"I'll be back." Ryan said and walked away.
Peter reached toward the plate of appetizers in Sam's hand. Sam smiled at him and slapped the food out of Peter's hand.
"Hey! Why'd--" Peter began.
"Don't eat anything that he gives you." Sam whispered, "Every time I come to this place, that same guy always serves me and he always gives me that creepy stare."
"I think that's the way his face is." Peter said.
"I think he's trying to poison me." Sam hissed, "Or maybe not, but I'm not taking any chances." Sam flipped the plate over her shoulder and let the food fall.
Just then, another man dressed like Ryan came to their table.
"Hello, my name is Spencer, I'll be your waiter this evening. Are you ready to order?"
Peter frowned up at the guy with colored eyes, long brown hair and brown facial hair, "We already have a waiter, it's Ryan."
"Ryan? He doesn't have this table." Spencer frowned.
"That's fine." Sam gave Peter an 'I-told-you-so-look', "you can be our waiter." she turned to Peter, "I'm ready to order. Are you ready, Peter?"
He looked at her, "I'm ready." Peter answered.