"I know I was saying anything I could to get Judd to stay tonight."
"You did good. He was talking like it was his idea."
Sam laughed. "He's just acting like that."
"What do you mean?"
"I told him I like you and I want to stay the night, but we needed to make it seem normal. So he helped me out."
She laughed and shook her head, and then her face turned serious, as if she had just thought of something. "You like me?" she asked, cutting her eyes at him.
Sam started to say something to confirm that he did, but he just let out a little breath and closed his eyes.How could she not know? How could he tell her? Where should he start?
"Are you hesitating?" she asked. "Because I completely understand why you would. I know I said I didn't feel stable back then. I'm sorry."
"Do you think I'm hesitating?" he asked.
"Well, you hesitated when I asked if you liked me."
He grinned at her. "I hesitated because I don't know where to begin. I like you, Ty. That's an understatement."
"What happens after tomorrow?" she asked, biting at her cheek a little as she waited for him to respond.
"I don't know," he said.
"Because you live in L.A. and I live in San Francisco.
"But you'll be in Monterey for Christmas, and that's closer."
"Do you want to try to see each other for Christmas?" she asked.
She was so sweet and happy that he wanted to pick her up and shove her into his pocket for safekeeping.
"Yes," he said. He didn't add that he wanted to see her every day after that, too.
"Could you come to my parents' maybe, during Christmas?"
"Yes," he said, with no hesitation.
"Oh, really? That would be so much fun. They would love that. I would love it. Are you being serious right now?"
"Yes, I am. If you ask me to drive to Monterey to see you, I'll drive to Monterey. That's what Tommy would do for Lottie, anyway."
She grinned at him. "Our characters got mentioned several times tonight," she said.
"People like us together," he said with a little shrug.
"Sam, do you know that sometimes my body feels like it's dying even though nothing's wrong?"
"What?" he asked.
"I have anxiety," she said, looking straight into his eyes. "Sometimes I panic."
"What about it?" he said.
She gave a little shrug like she didn’t know how to put it.
"It exists," she said.
