Emily, tears spilling down her cheeks and bottom lip wobbling, nodded. "Ow." She pointed to her knee, green from grass stains.
Sam rubbed it. "Do you think a milkshake will make it feel better?"
The tears stopped. "Chocolate?"
"Of course. Is there any other kind?"
"Not for a female," Pete muttered.
"But Dad," said David, taking the ball from Pete, "I thought we were gonna kick the footy."
"How about we play ball first," said Sam, "and have milkshakes after."
David grinned and ran off with the ball. Emily wiggled and Sam let her down to run after her brother. She fell over twice but there were no more tears.
"You're a natural at this," said Pete. "Ever thought of having any of your own?"
"Sure." Especially lately, now that he was home and his future seemed so much clearer. "I just haven't found the right woman yet." He ran after the ball that David threw too far to the left.
When he returned, Pete said, "Maybe you and my sister-in-law should get together." He snorted, apparently thinking it was a crazy idea. "Linda tells me Maddie wanted to have kids by now, but she hasn't found the right man yet."
"Really?" Sam smiled as he tossed the ball gently back. It slipped through David's hands, bounced off his shoe, and hit Emily in the chin. She stuck her bottom lip out but didn't cry. Apparently chocolate milk shakes were powerful incentives for three year olds.
"Yeah. And Heaven forbid Maddie's plan should be off-schedule. You remember what she's like."
"Not really. I remember her being smart and shy, but that's about all. Did Linda tell you I saw her last night?"
"Yeah, she said something about it. Did you bump into her?"
"Not exactly. We went on a date. Your wife thought it would be fun to set us up."
Pete took his eye off the ball and it hit his cheek. David and Emily fell on the ground laughing and Pete smiled. "Good shot, David, your aim's getting better." He tossed the ball back. "My wife set you up on a date with her little sister? I really need to talk to Linda about letting me in on her schemes before she puts her foot in it." He received David's throw and kicked it back. "So, how was it? Did you get to first base?"
"Pete, we're not in high school anymore. I don't kiss and tell now."
"Ah ha, so you did kiss her."
Sam groaned. "I've changed these last few years. I don't count a date's success by the number of bases I reached."
Pete sighed. "That's it, we've officially hit middle age. You were my last hope and look what's happened. You've gone all respectable on me."
Last night definitely couldn’t have been counted as successful. When a date left him aching all over and with a painful hard-on, it definitely couldn’t be called great. Although it hadn’t been a complete failure either. She had kissed him. She’d almost done so much more too.
Damn Linda and her late night phone calls.
"So are you going to see her again?" Pete asked.
Sam watched Pete and Emily both run after the ball, clash heads and fall over laughing. "Yeah," he said, smiling. "I think I will."
David ran up to them. "Hey, Sam, can we have our milkshakes now?"
"Sure thing. Ready Emily?"
Emily, hot on the heals of her brother, nodded and slipped her hand inside Sam's. "Weady. Let’th go Tham."
***
Maddie wanted to curl into a ball and die when Sam rang. How was she supposed to face him again after sharing an intimate moment then kicking him out of her house? He must think her weird at best, frigid at worst. Crap. Why couldn’t she have just put her brain aside for one night and thought with another part of her anatomy instead? The part that still throbbed when she thought about his hand down her jeans.
In the end, she managed not to curl up and die and even agreed to see him again. It was the adult thing to do. The right thing to do. It also gave her another chance to test Pheramour. No point in wasting the entire weekend.
Fortunately he wasn’t picking her up until the afternoon because Maddie needed hours to get ready. It felt like her first ever date with a boy all over again. Choosing just the right outfit, trying not to bite her nails to the quick and thinking about what to say. Except this time, her date didn't wear braces or keep a calculator in his pocket. And he was the sort of date other girls drooled over.
She tried to calm her nerves by convincing herself she was doing this in the name of science. It was just another day to test his response to Pheramour, nothing more than that. Definitely nothing more. She may not be able to test it the way she wanted to, in a controlled environment, but she could give it her best shot under the circumstances.