Love Through Time (Prologue - Chap 4)

Prologue




I remember the first time I met Sam Jamison. I was 9 years old and it was mid-summer and I had just moved to Greenlake and I really did not know anyone. I was playing in my backyard when all of a sudden a baseball comes flying out of nowhere and almost hits me in the head. I turned around to see where it came from and all I see is a boy about my age with dark brown hair and blue eyes standing on the sidewalk.

"Sorry, did I hit you?" He asked.
"No, but you almost did. Who are you?" I replied.
"My name is Sam, what is yours?"
"I'm Allison."
"You're new here, aren't you?" he asked.
"Yeah, I just moved here from Kansas."
He grinned and said, "Wow, wanna play with me?" I thought about it for a minute and said, "Sure, just let me ask my mom."
So I got up and ran inside and asked her if it was ok. She said yes, and headed back outside. We went over to his house and spent most of the afternoon playing with his army men. I had always been sort of a tomboy, so having him to play with made life in Greenlake not so lonely.

As the years passed, we seemed to grow closer in our friendship. We practically treated each other like brother and sister. As I started to become less tomboyish and girlier, he became sportier and I started to look at him differently. I was scared to show my feelings, and didn’t want to ruin the friendship we had. But eventually it was hard to contain.

So one rainy day while we were hanging out at his house, I decided I was going to tell him how I felt. I figured the best way to do it was get him alone, so that I couldn’t chicken out. I decided to get him to go to our favorite place, an abandoned barn on the back of his property.
“Hey, you wanna go hang out in the barn?”
“Sure, why not. I’m bored anyways.” he replied and got up from the couch.
We headed towards the barn, and as it neared, it started to pour down rain. We ran until they made it safely inside, but we ended up being drenched.
“Great idea, Allie. Now what are we gonna do?” he said teasingly and rolled his eyes.
“I don’t know…it was a good idea at first.”
“I’ve got an idea...” he said with a smirk and started to walk toward me.
When he finally closed in on her, he reached out and started tickling me. I tried to squirm away but it was no use, he was much stronger than I was. When his face was near mine, I decided now was the best time to tell him. So I leaned closer and kissed him.

Sam sat in shock as he kissed me back. He pulled me closer and wrapped me in his arms. But what had stopped him was what was going to end the kiss. As he started to pull away, I tried to hold on.
When we were far enough apart, Sam said, "Allie, we can't do this."
"Why?" I asked.
"I just can't."
He pushed me away from him and headed back towards his house.

That was the last time we saw each other before going separate ways.

So 5 years later, when I decided to move to New York, I never would have imagined that I would ever see him again. But I soon changed my mind...


Chapter 1

I had decided to move to New York because my roommate from college, Becca wanted to move there for her new job. I wanted to get out and away from the small town I had grown up in.

We found an apartment on E. 11th Street that was manageable, thanks to Becca's family being well off as oil tycoons in Texas. Otherwise we would have probably been living with the homeless.

We had been living there for a few weeks, when Becca suggested that we go out.
"Come on Allie, we need to go have some fun. There's a new bar opening that I think we should check out." she said.
"Where is it?" I asked.
"Somewhere on Baxter, I think. " She replied.
"Okay, just give me some time to get ready."

It took us over an hour to get ready, but I finally decided on my favorite black dress, which complimented my tan coloring, and had my long dark brown hair loosely piled on top of my head with a few strands framing my face. Becca decided on a simple black skirt and a pale blue tank top. She wore here long reddish blonde hair down.

We went downstairs and hailed a cab and were on our way.

Meanwhile across town, Sam Jamison was preparing to do something that scared him. He was opening a bar tonight and he was scared as hell. He had never tried anything this risky in his life. All kinds of thoughts ran through his head, such as "what if no one likes it and I fail?” "what if everyone likes it, and it's a success?"
His best friend, Jake Morgan seen the worry on his face and tried his best to reassure Sam. "It will be great. You're doing the right thing."
Sam knew that Jake was trying to make him feel better, but that probably wouldn't happen for a while. Bars in this town were a dime a dozen and he had see a lot of them close down. As he had worked in a lot of them while in college at NYU. That was where he had gotten the idea to open his own bar. H wanted to see if all the work he put into going to business classes was worth it.

To ease the tension, Sam decided to talk to Jake about his new girlfriend. " So, is Becca coming tonight?"
"Yeah, I think so. And I think she's bringing a friend." he replied.
Sam rolled his eyes and laughed. "Thanks, pal. I was already nervous and you're not helping the situation."

As Becca and I rode towards the bar, I decided to ask my friend about her new boyfriend. "So how are things with you and Jake?" "Great actually. I can't believe we get along so well for only knowing each other for such a short time." she replied.

"That's good. Maybe I'll find someone like him one day." I said a little hopefully.

"Now that you mention it, I've got something I've gotta tell you." Becca said with a smirk.

"Uh-oh, what are you up to now?"
I knew that when she did that, she had something up her sleeve.
"Well, Jake has this friend. He owns the bar actually and he told me that he was single." Becca seen that things were not going well when I started to cringe.
"I've met him. His name is Sam and he's cute. I think you'll like him. He's 6'2 with dark brown hair, blue eyes, and he's got a body to die for. But don't tell Jake I said that."
My expression changed to curiosity and said "I don't know. Are you sure that he's not a sleaze ball and sleeps with a lot of women?"
"I'm sure because if he was, I don't think Jake would be friends with him."
"True. I guess I could just meet him and then we'll see."
Becca squealed with delight, and I rolled my eyes.
Inside, I was still nervous and unsure. And when we pulled up in front of the bar, my nervousness soared.

Chapter 2

When I walked into the bar with Becca, there were a lot of people inside. So many in fact, you couldn’t really see how big it was. As I took in what I could see, Becca tapped me on the shoulder.
“There’s Jake and that’s Sam standing next to him.”
Sam had his back to me, but from what I could see, he looked pretty good. Becca pulled me towards the pair and as I did, Sam decided to turn around at that moment. As his eyes met mine, recognition took over.

“It can’t be her.” He thought.
He moved towards Allie and said “Allie?” He had not seen her in about 5 years but I still looked as good as the last day he had seen her.

I kept moving towards Sam and when he spoke my name, there was no doubt that this was the boy I had grown up with. But he no longer was the boy. He had become a man over the past 5 years.

When we got close enough, we drew each other into a warm hug that seemed to last for hours. When we finally let go of each other, the first thing we said was simultaneously. “Where have you been?”
I was the first to answer.
“I’ve been in Boston. You?”
“I’ve been here getting my business degree at NYU”, he replied.
“How long have you been here?” he asked.
“A couple weeks.”


Before the discussion could get any further, Becca decided to interrupt.
“So, I guess you two already know each other?”
“Yeah, we grew up together. But we haven’t seen each other in about 5 years.”
“Well I guess I’ll let you two catch up. I’m gonna go talk to Jake.”

Becca smiled at us and started across the room.

“I can’t believe how long it’s been. It seems like yesterday, when we were goofing off in your backyard.”

“I know. I remember the last time we saw each other.”

I had remembered that day as well, as it had hurt when he pushed me away.

“I’m sorry for what happened that day.” He said.

“It’s okay. I’ve gotten over it.”

He could see in my eyes that I had, but he still wanted my now, as much as he did back then.

I decided to change the subject by asking him what he had been up to.
He stretched out his arms and said, “you see It. “

“This is yours?”

“Yep, this is my baby.”

“It’s great. Can I have a tour?”

“Sure”, he answered and held out his hand for me to take.

As he led me around, I took in the expansiveness. The backside of the bar was made up of a stage with stereo equipment. To the left of that, there was where the bar was set up. It stretched at least 20ft and it was made of what looked to be solid oak.

On the right side of the stage, there was a large area set up for dancing that extended almost to the bar, and against the wall were 4 or 5 tables so that you could sit down.

“This is great, Sam”

He saw the amazement in my eyes and knew that I was being honest.

“Thanks. I’ve worked hard on it.”

Sam wanted to stay and catch up but he knew that he had some mingling to do. He had to try to gain some loyalty so that he could keep the bar open.

“I would really love to stay here and catch up, but I’ve must go talk to someone. Can we get together later?”

I felt a little hurt, but I knew that he had to go.

“Sure. Maybe we can get together tomorrow?”

“Of course.” He said and pulled me to him and hugged me. I hugged him back and said, “Don’t forget me.”

“I won’t.” he replied and let go of me. We exchanged phone numbers and then he gave me a big grin and turned and walked towards Jake and Becca.

But as I turned to walk towards the bar, I walked straight into something bulky.
I looked up and all I could see a chest. So I looked up a little further and looked into the greenest eyes I had ever seen.

The guy had to be at least 6’3, and was wearing a brown shirt and blue jeans. He looked down at me and put his lightly tanned hand on my arm.

“Are you okay?”

I was transfixed for what felt like an hour, but I finally managed an answer.

“I’m fine. It’s okay.”

“Are you sure?” he asked with his hand still touching my shoulder.

I nodded at him and he smiled at me.

“My name is Eli, Eli Hayes. And yours is?” he said and stuck out his hand.

“Allie, Allie Taylor.”

“Nice to meet you Allie. Can I buy you a drink since I almost ran you over?”

“Sure.”

He led me towards the bar, and as I followed him, I realized how good-looking he was. His skin was slightly tan and was more muscular than Sam. He had light brown hair that was cut short, and he was clean-shaven.

When they got to the bar, I ordered a screwdriver and he got a beer.

After he paid for our drinks, he led us to a quiet table so that we could talk.

When we sat down, he asked me about myself and I told him about just moving here recently. He had lived here all his life, except for when he went off to college in Texas. We talked about our families and before we knew it, it had gotten late and I still hadn’t seen Sam again.

“He must be busy,” I thought. I decided that I was having a great time with Eli, so even though Sam hadn’t come back, I wasn’t lonely. Eli and I had a lot in common when it came to our families. We both were the youngest of 3 children, and had the same tastes in music and movies.

I looked down at my watch and realized that it was almost 2 am. I had to get up early tomorrow, so I figured I would have to leave soon.

“I’m having such a great time with you. It’s getting late and I have to go soon.” I said sadly.

“Me too. I’ve actually got to work tomorrow.”

We both stood up and Eli asked me for my number. I gave him mine, and he gave me his in return.

He walked over to me and leaned in and gave me a kiss on the cheek. When he pulled away, I returned the kiss. He walked me towards the entrance, and when we got there, he said, ”Nice meeting you, Allie.”

“You too, Eli.” I said.

He kissed me on the cheek again, and walked out the door.

Chapter 3

When I woke up the next morning, I was in a very good mood. I had met a very nice guy last night and I couldn’t wait for him to call me. He was the first nice guy I had met in a very long time. So when I went into the kitchen to fix breakfast,
Becca was there waiting for me.

“Morning Sunshine. What put that grin on your face? Sam isn’t here is he?”

“No. In fact, I met someone else.”

“Really, who?”

“His name is Eli. We kind of ran into each other.”

I proceeded to tell her about what happened, and what I knew about Eli. When I was almost through, the telephone rang. Becca answered it and handed it to me.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Allie. It’s Sam.”

“Hey, how’s it going?”

“Pretty good and you?”

“Good. Um, I was wondering if you had any plans for today?”

I thought for a minute and replied, “Not that I know of. What do you have in mind?”

“Well I was wondering if I could take you out to breakfast so that we can catch up.”

“Sounds great.”

“I guess you can give me directions and I could come pick you up in an hour.”

I gave him directions, and then we talked for a few more minutes. When we finally hung up, I was a little nervous. We hadn’t seen each other for 5 years and now we were going to get the chance to catch up.

Since I was still wearing my pajamas, I had to find something to wear. I decided on a pair of faded jeans, with my favorite pale gray sleeveless shirt that had a dragon on it. I put on a pair of sandals and headed back downstairs to wait for Sam.

When I got downstairs, Becca was watching TV She sat down next to me and they decided to finish talking about Eli. A little while later, there was a knock at the door. I answered it and it was Sam. He was wearing a white t-shirt that accented his chest, a pair of dark blue jeans and sneakers.

We exchanged hellos and then decided to leave. The plan was to go to a diner that was a few blocks from my apartment.

When we got outside, Sam walked me to his truck. It was a silver Dodge Dakota Sport.

“Nice truck.” I said appreciatively.

“Thanks.” He replied, “I just got it about a week ago.”

Sam opened the passenger door for me and I got in. He closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side and got in.

He started up the truck and moved into traffic. It only took them 5 minutes to get to the diner.

When we got inside, Sam pointed to a table in the back and then headed toward it.

When we were seated, the waitress handed us menus. I decided to have waffles and Sam chose an omelet.

While we waited for our food, we started talking about what had happened in the last 5 years. He told me about college and planning for the bar.

I told him about my and Becca met in college. We were roommates from day one and got along great.

Before conversation go further, my cell phone started to ring. I had no idea who it could be and I didn’t recognize the number, so I answered it cautiously.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Allie.”

It was Eli, but I didn’t remember giving him my cell phone number. I realized that Becca must have given it to him.

“Hey, Eli. How’s it going?”

“Pretty good. Sorry to call you so early but I was wondering if you wanted to do something later?”

“Sure. What do you have in mind?”

“Well it might sound a bit corny but how about dinner and a movie?”

“It’s not corny. I’d love to.”

We talked for a few more minutes and decide that he would pick me up around five. We said goodbye and after I hung up, I looked over at Sam. He had a very curious look on his face and it didn’t take long for him to start asking questions.

“Who was that? The boyfriend you didn’t tell me about?”

“Actually, no. I met him last night at your bar.”

“Really? What’s his name?”

“Eli Hayes.”

“Eli? He plays guitar in the band at my bar.”

“Yeah, that ‘s him.”

Sam’s curiosity turned into a slight frown.

“Is there something wrong?”

“Well, just be careful. I’ve heard a couple things about him.”

I didn’t say anything so he continued.

“I’ve heard that he dates a lot of girls and not one at a time.”

I pondered what he said and replied, “Well he didn’t seem like that last night. He was a total gentleman with me.”

“Just be careful, ok?”

“I will. I promise.”

About that time, the waitress brought our food and we started to eat. After we finished eating, we decided to take a walk around the park.



When I got home from having breakfast with Sam, I found Becca and Jake sitting on the couch watching TV and holding hands. They noticed me walking in the room and Becca started questioning me about my time with Sam.

“Great. But Eli called in the middle of it.”

“Sorry about that. You didn’t mind did you?”

“It’s ok, but Sam wasn’t too happy.”

“I don’t blame him. He was there with you and some guy calls. That’s gotta be a little weird.”

“Yeah, we talked about it and he was a little worried about me going out with Eli. He told me that he was a player and to watch out.”

“Aw, that’s sweet.”

I talked with them for a little while longer and then decided to go upstairs to take a shower.
I had to decide what to wear on my date tonight. I knew that they were going to watch a movie and go to dinner, but I had no idea which restaurant we were going to. I figured that I could call Eli and find out, so I picked up the phone and dialed his number.
He picked it up on the third ring. After we said our hellos, I asked him which restaurant we were going to. He told me that he was taking me to a restaurant called “Italiano”, which I knew as being kind of casual, so I didn’t have to dress up.
The conversation then shifted to which movie we were going to see. We both decided on a comedy instead of an action film. We talked for a little while longer and Eli had to go because he had band practice. We said goodbye and hung up.

I went back downstairs, and Becca and Jake were gone. So I sat down and started watching television.

Chapter 4


After watching television for a couple hours, I decided to go upstairs and start getting ready for my date with Eli. I still hadn’t decided what to wear yet, so I had plenty of time to figure something out. I started looking through my closet and pulled out a lacy peach camisole and a pair of dark blue jeans. I decided to wear a dark blue jean jacket over the camisole so that I wouldn’t get cold, and didn’t give a bad impression. I also chose a pair of black heels to go with it. I decided to wear my hair down, but I curled my hair so that it looked really wavy.

I put on a little makeup and checked my outfit in the mirror and I was ready to go back downstairs to wait for Eli. I didn’t have to wait long, because there was a knock at the door. I got up to answer it, and when I opened the door, Eli was standing there in a black short sleeved button-up shirt with a white tank top underneath, a pair of khaki cargo pants, and a pair of dress shoes.

“Wow, you look great.” He said with a big grin on his face.

“Thanks, you do too.” I replied.

“Ready to go?”

“Yeah, let me grab my purse.”

I went to the closet and grabbed my purse, and then we left. We went downstairs to Eli’s car, which was a black Ford Mustang. After we got in, we headed toward the restaurant. The conversation there was great. Eli had rock music playing and we were discussing our favorite bands. I told him that mine was Offspring, his was Linkin’ Park.

The ride didn’t take long, and soon Eli pulled up to the restaurant and parked in a space. He got out and walked around and opened my door and held out his hand for me to take. I took his hand and stepped out of the car. He let go of my hand and put his arm on mine and walked me into the restaurant. We walked in and found a table. Soon after, a waiter came and gave us menus. I had never eaten here before, so I had no idea what to order. I looked over at Eli and he must have seen that I was having trouble.

“Would you like some help?” he asked.

“Yes, I would. What do you recommend?”

“The fettuccini Alfredo. It’s really good.”

I looked at the description on the menu and it sounded pretty good. So when the waiter came, that was what I ordered. Eli ordered the lasagna.

While we waited for our food, I decided to ask him about Sam.

“So, how long have you and Sam known each other?”

“About a year, my band played in one of the bars he worked at and we became friends. So when Sam decided to open his bar, he asked me if I wanted to be the house band and I accepted. How long have you known him?”

“I’ve known him since we were nine years old. And last night was the first time I have seen him in about five years.”

“Wow, that’s a long time. Excuse me for asking, but did you guys ever date each other?”

“No, I kind of wanted to, but Sam didn’t and it never went anywhere.”

Eli nodded in understanding and then the conversation went in a different direction. We talked about our common interests and not much later, our food came and we started to eat.

After dinner, we decided to go to the movie theater. When we got there, there was a long line, so it gave us plenty of time to decide what to watch.

We finally decided to watch Shrek 2. We both had seen the first one, and were very interested in watching the second one. After we bought tickets, Eli got us some drinks and some popcorn. We then headed to our theater and found some seats in the back row to sit in. As we watched the movie, Eli put his hand on mine and we held hands all through the movie.

When the movie was over, we walked outside and went to his car. The car ride home was just as full of conversation as it was on the way there. We talked about our favorite parts of the movie, and laughed again at the funny parts. And when we pulled in front of my apartment, I wasn’t ready for the evening to end.

Eli walked me to my door, and I decided to let him come upstairs, so we could talk a little while longer. I went in the kitchen and made some coffee while Eli had a seat on the couch. I brought out two cups, and handed one to Eli. I sat down next to him on the couch, and we started talking about our families.

We sat and talked for about two hour and then Eli said he had to go. So I walked him to the door and he said, “I had a really nice time tonight. Maybe we can do it again sometime?”

“I had a great time tonight too and I’d love to.”

He leaned towards me and kissed me on the cheek and then pulled me in for a hug. When he pulled back, our faces were only inches apart. I decided to take advantage and kissed him. He kissed me back and then pulled me closer to him. He deepened the kiss and I felt like I was melting. I didn’t want to give him the wrong impression and started to pull away. When we were far enough apart, Eli was the first to speak and all he could say was “wow”. I started to blush a little and he grinned at me.

“I never saw that coming.”

“I’m full of surprises. Didn’t I tell you that?” I replied.

“No, you didn’t. Maybe I should have asked.” He said with a grin.

“I might not have told you.”

“Well, I must go. I’ve got band practice in the morning. I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay, I’ll talk to you then.”

Eli opened the door and walked outside. I watched him walk to his car, get in and leave.

I went upstairs to get ready for bed. I lay down in my bed, and tried to go to sleep bit it seemed to take forever. But when I finally did fall asleep, I only slept for a few hours because I was anxious to see Eli again.