Chloe (deckc) wrote in madisonvalley, @ 2022-09-30 17:11:00 |
|
|||
Sam was determined that tonight was going to be a nice and relaxing night if it killed him. He needed a breather, a break, and he hated to even think it, from his kid. These days DJ seemed to be okay with him when Dean, Lisa or Chloe were around, and painfully polite when other adults were around. No one actually understood how bad things were between them, and with each thing the dome threw at them it seemed to get worse - DJ thought it was Sam doing them now and he wasn’t sure how to handle it. It wasn’t like he could talk to anyone, Dean seemed concerned but when Sam said something he seemed to blow it off. Dean had a lot on his own plate though, so he wasn’t going to bother him too much. And dragging Chloe into the mess any more than she already was - he just wasn’t. And he wasn’t going to think about this anymore, not tonight anyway. He was going to take Chloe out and he was going to enjoy tonight. Hopefully, after she would come back home with him - to sleep, to talk, whatever, Sam just really liked being with her - but he wasn’t making any plans ahead of schedule. He was dressed casually; a light blue henley, which brought out the kaleidoscope of different colors in his eyes, light wash jeans and boots, all of which he straightened and dusted invisible dust from as he stepped out of his car and started for her door. He jogged back to grab the small bouquet of flowers he had gotten her - fall colors, the sunflowers were golden yellow and orange, and it was dotted with burnt orange straw and off-white baby’s breath, giving it a nice rustic touch. He knocked at her door, grinning when it opened and presented her with the bouquet. “You look great,” he said. “Are you ready?” When Sam informed her that DJ would be spending the night with Dean, she wondered if that meant she should pack an overnight bag. But, at the same time, she didn’t want to appear presumptuous. So, she decided to just tuck a clean pair of underwear and her toothbrush into her purse. It was a trip to a fair, which meant there was no need to go overboard with her appearance and she opted for a simple look. Black jeans and a baby blue sweater that wasn’t too heavy, but should take care of any chill in the night. Chloe debated between leaving her hair up or letting it down, and after going back and forth multiple times she decided to just leave it down and placed the elastic around her wrist, just in case she changed her mind later. At the last minute she decided to put on some makeup. A few coats of mascara, blush and a light shade of red on her lips. She puckered her lips together and heard the door, hurrying out of the bathroom to answer it. “Sam, those are beautiful. Thank you.” Chloe accepted the flowers with a bright smile and took a moment to smell the wonderful arrangement. “I just need a minute to put these in water, come in.” She reached out to take him by the arm and pulled him into the house quickly, hurrying to the kitchen for a vase. “I doubt anyone would put them in water if I just left them on the counter.” She explained with a smile and in a few minutes the flowers were on display in a simple vase on the counter. “Okay, now I’m ready, let’s go.” She grabbed her bag and dropped her keys in, moving to stand beside Sam to give him a kiss before walking out of the house and to his car. After the kiss, Sam took Chloe’s hand as they walked the short distance to his car where he opened the door for her and waited until she was settled before he moved around the car to take his own seat behind the wheel. “Have you been to the fair yet?” Sam asked casually as they drove. Admittedly, he was slightly anxious. Just slightly, but he normally was anyway, even back home. Not about Chloe at all, he felt really happy to have her in the passenger seat and hours of fun to look forward to with her, but this place really knew how to throw a curve. Everything was a gamble, even walking into certain stores around town, there was no reason to think this would be any different. It could be good, it could be bad, and only time would tell. He parked and they started to walk towards the lights of the fair. It wasn’t dark yet, but there were lights on most of the booths and rides that were lit and visible in the dimming outdoor light. “So, what do you wanna do first? Games or a ride?” Sam was so sweet and she enjoyed every single second they shared together. Chloe buckled up with a smile and set her bag on her lap, reaching over to place her hand on his knee while he drove. “I haven’t, actually. They didn’t have too many of them in Los Angeles, so I’m looking forward to it.” They had the Santa Monica pier, along with Disney, Universal, Knotts Berry Farm and other amusement parks, which meant smaller fairs didn’t show up all that frequently. “Hmm, well…” Chloe tapped her finger to her chin in thought and looked around. “Let’s do a ride, first. Since you’re going to win me a giant stuffed animal, I don’t want to carry it around all night.” She teased him playfully as she walked by his side, her hand in his. “Not anything that does a lot of spinning around, though.” “Oh yeah? I’ve been to LA a couple of times, but it was usually on business stuff or school related stuff when I was at Stanford. I didn’t really get to check it out like I should have.” He had half expected her to say she had already been with her daughter, but, he supposed most teenagers wanted to do stuff like that with their friends, not their parents. He certainly had. “Big stuffed animal,” Sam chuckled and squeezed her hand as he checked out the rides the fair had to offer. A lot of them looked like the spun around, some faster than others, and there was even a ride that he didn’t recognize. “We can try the Ferris wheel or the merry go round. Maybe that little roller coaster they have over there.” He pointed at each as he spoke. "That's right. You were studying to be a lawyer." It really sucked that his life hadn't gone according to plan, and she was confident that if given the opportunity, he would have been an amazing lawyer. One who actually cared about the little people and would fight hard for the justice they deserved. She couldn't help the smile that came to her face at the thought, and she squeezed his hand. "Let's do the coaster. It looks like it might be fun." Chloe gave him a little pull in that direction and started walking that way. “You know, did you ever consider maybe trying to go the lawyer route again? I don’t know how far along you were, but it’s never too late, really.” “Coaster it is,” Sam said. His smile faded a little when Chloe mentioned him studying to be a lawyer. It was fair, he had mentioned Stanford, and all that talk did was remind him of Jess and the wonder of what could have been if he’d never gotten in the car with Dean. No, he didn’t regret it, but he still thought about it, and he still missed Jess. So he didn’t respond initially, but when it came up again he was quiet for a moment before he did respond. “I was starting law school. 174 on the LSAT.” He was still proud of his score, it was pretty good and his chances of being accepted into the Stanford School of Law were high. But that was then. His life had gone in a different direction. “For me it’s too late. That was… in another life, a lifetime ago. If I went back to school now… I’d probably study dead languages and history. Something more my new speed.” He laughed. As they reached the roller coaster the line was moving fast as people were getting on, so when their turn came he gave the ride operator their tickets and they were ushered to a car. Chloe noticed the shift in demeanor and she felt bad for bringing it up. Her hand moved to rest against his lower back and she pulled him in closer, rubbing over his side. “It’s never too late for anything, Sam.” Since it didn’t seem like a subject he wanted to discuss, she decided to drop it and moved on. Leaving him with that little bit. She got in after him and pulled the restraints down. “Alright, here we go!” It was nothing compared to the coasters she had been on, but she still screamed on the drops and turns, thoroughly enjoying herself. Her hair was a bit of a mess and she laughed as they walked off the coaster together. “That was fun. I haven’t been on one in forever. I can’t even remember the last time.” She moved over to give him a kiss on the cheek and wrapped her arm around him tight. “You know what I could go for? Something horrible and deep fried, like oreos. How about you?” |