" Oh my goodness, Sam. " she chuckled playfully growling at him as he pushed her shoulder. " I'll spill this hot tea on you" she teased on and on as they walked their second lap. " Devilish charm you say? Makes me think you have way more planned for us later on. Am I wrong?" she asked curiously, sticking her tongue out. " Dont worry, im sure you will see just that. I hate winter as it is. I need my sun on my skin or ill never get anything done." a text came in and she paused. its been 3 hours hon... can you come home?

She called him " uhm.. how about one more hour. I'll be home then. I need to... finish something here at the cafe. Love you too. Bye dad" Val hung up and placed her phone in her pocket and walked on before heading to a tree and put the to-go bag and tea on the ground, her back against the tree. Her eyes slightly closed as she took a deep breath in and out. " just catching my breath...."

Sam grinned as she replied to him, pushing his hands back into his pockets and glancing around at their surroundings. The park was beautiful, he was appreciative that he had this on his doorstep. He gazed back over to Valerii and shrugged his shoulders briefly. "Maybe you will," he spoke, in response to his devilish charm. He watched as she took the phone call, his eyes narrowing before stopping with her, leaning against the same tree she was. "If you need to go, don't worry," he spoke with a small smile and tilted his head to the side as he watched her carefully.

Once Val caught her breath, she opened her eyes,looking at Sam leaning on the same tree. With out thinking, she towered over him, a dark smirk over her face. " I dont want to go. But as things stand right now, I would be in big ass trouble if I didnt go."

Her hands were on his chest, her head leaning into him, less than a half inch away from his lips. " I'll be at Sabio's at 8pm on Weds. I wont miss it. " Valerii had changed from a very uncertain young lady to a very brave one in a matter of days since meeting Sam. " Text me when you want. I'll always have my phone on." Val then kissed his cheek before grabbing the chai tea and the blueberry muffin and walking off smiling to herself all the way home.

Sam's hands found their way to snake around her waist as she moved closer to him. He grinned, a small chuckle leaving his lips as she spoke about being in trouble. Her father must be quite strict with her. He nodded, letting her go as she wandered off across the park to go home. Sam sighed softly, running a hand through his thick hair and reaching to his cheek where she kissed him. He smiled again, before shaking his head and the smile wiped off his face. No. He grumbled and pushed himself off the tree, walking in the direction of his house.

Valerii hummed all the way to the house in a very very very happy mood. But when she got in, she hid all her happiness in her heart " Im home, Dad. Your Chai and Blueberry are on the table" Val said putting her purse down "you been out so much lately.. whats gotten into you, Val. You know its not safe."

Val gave him a stern and impropper gaze " oh shut it Dad. Im a gang member. I know whats right and whats wrong, who to hangout with and who to not hang with. Im a big girl. Right?"

" Just get your chores done and then maybe you can go outside again tonight for a couple more hours." He said sternly and glared at her deeper. " You know you're the only female in this gang so might as well act like a group and stop all your fooling around."

She sighed as she put music on and began to get chores that piled up both in her room, bathroom and laundry room. Being grounded for a day isnt so bad... it would be if I was grounded til Wednesday.. Valerii shook her head and focused on Sam and how he held her waist, a little blush coming to her cheeks. " Lover boy"

Sam eventually reached his home, unlocking the door and entering quickly. He rested his head on the door, closing his eyes momentarily before a voice in the distance startled him. "Girl trouble?" His father spoke up, walking over to Sam, who just chuckled, shaking his head. "No trouble, just the girl," he smiled even thinking about her. His father's eyebrows raised up in a curious expression and he sat down on the couch expecting a more elaborate conversation about the girl.

Sam sighed and accepted defeat, joining him on the couch. He opened his mouth to speak, "She's just different, and I'm starting to like her. Drives me crazy," he mumbled to his father, who just watched with intent. His father was always a good listener. "We're going out on Wednesday, first date. I can't stop thinking about her," Sam continued. His father shrugged, unable to see the issue. "She sounds like a good girl, what's the problem then?" He asked, tilting his head to the side and awaiting a response.

A slow sigh escaped Sam's lips. "There's a part of me that thinks deep down this is a bad idea," he spoke honestly. There was something off, it seemed concerning and it was preventing him from fully relaxing around her. His father shrugged nonchalantly, "Well, you'll never find out if you don't explore," he said truthfully. Sam found a little reassurance in his answer and smiled softly to his dad, nodding.

As Val did her chores, she texted with a buddy of hers from the gang, thinking of even texting Sam... but thought against it. too much... i need him to reply from now on. Not me. I feel like im after something if I do it first. After her chores in her bedroom were done and the room was straighten up and rearanged a little, Val moved to the laundry room. A pile of towels, clothes, and shoes layed in the middle. " Dad keeps doing this and has me do it..." she mumbled as she put her phone in her pocket, headphones still in her ears. She wanted to relax and talk to him so badly... but thoughts of the date kept her from wanting to even mention it to her father. FOr what? he would force her to meet this guy and then reject him like he did the other times.

But She felt like he would accept him even though he wasnt part of the gang. An outsider as the gang called them. " Hey Dad? So I uh.... met someone a few days ago and we are gonna go hang out on Wednesday.... can I be home by midnight?" Valerii asked an hour later, sweat coming down her face as she was heading back up the stair to work on the bathroom chores. "ANd you didnt tell me this before?" he asked roughly, " Is he a good kid?"

She simply nodded " I'll take a picture of the two of us soon. Then you can judge me and my choice of men" SHe smirked " im almost done then i have one last thing I have to do before calling it a night."

Sam chewed his lip nervously as his dad spoke wise words, something that doesn't happen often. Him and his father never really have the time or chance to speak seriously about something, so he always cherished it when they did. "Thanks dad, I'll let you know how it goes with her. I hope I'm just over thinking," he spoke quietly and his father just smiled softly, patting his shoulder in a comforting way. "You must like her, you never said that about your previous girlfriends," his father laughed, standing up from the couch and brushing himself down briefly. Sam groaned in embarrassment, quickly remembering the terrible experiences he had in the past with his earlier girls. It was something that he always tried to successfully forget, but his father always managed to remind him every now and again.

"Thers just... something so odd about this guy dad. I like him... i have this weird attraction to him.. I dont know what it is. His eyes or his way of teasing him, maybe its the way he acts towards me...i'll never really know." Then headed into the bathroom. Cleaning the sinks, shower and floor were never fun, but they had to get done monthly or it wouldnt be worth using.

By the time that she was done with all three chores, Valerii quickly changed into her running clothes, grabbed her phone and $20 bill and headed out the door " no promises when I'll be back. Love you dad." she didnt even hear her fathers reply back as she started her music once more and ran from the house to the park and did eight loops. Why do you even come here when you are with Sam, Val. Its a very special place. Her mind played with her till he gave up and began to go explore aorund the neighboorhoods hoping to catch a glimps of Sam anywhere in town. " No Val, snap out of it. Forget him til the dinner at Sabio's." she mouthed, biting her lower lip and jogged into a subdivision. Once she got there, she walked for a little bit cooling off and getting the sweat off her neck and face. Running seemed to be th eonly way for her to forget about anything. Especially boys.

Eventually, Sam's father left the house to head to work. He was doing a night shift so he wouldn't be back until early morning. Sam yawned, unsure of what to do. He thought about texting Valerii, asking her to come hang out at his house, but he pushed against it. He's only just met her and he wants to hang out with her every waking hour. It wasn't normal. He grumbled, arguing with himself in his mind as he decided to just text her. Nobody was in the house. What was the harm? Sam reached for his phone, his thumbs hovering other the keyboard as he opened up the chat conversation with Valerii. "I've got a free house, wanna come over?" He texted, letting out a loud sigh, only just realising he had been holding his breath the whole time he was texting her.