“I’m going to go take a shower, a quick one,” proclaimed Izzy as she pushed open the door.  Leaving Sam and Shane on the stoop, Sam sat on the first step and Shane stood there, waiting.  Watching as Sam worked something out in her mind, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, studying the stone work that led up to her front door.

            “Shane…,” began Sam her voice different somehow, but Shane couldn’t place the tone.  “…I’m flattered.”

            “Flattered?” asked Shane with a grunt.  “This isn’t good, flattered is never good, it’s followed by, ‘but…’, so what is your but?” asked Shane sharply.

            Taking in a deep breath, Sam said, “Shane…  You don’t like me that way.”

            “Excuse me?” blurted out Shane.  After having put it off, trying to decide if her feelings were just lust or more, getting the courage to stand up, and change what she’d been doing, Sam was telling her that nothing she’d been feeling was real?

            “Shane, you go for the sexy, leggy, funny, vampy, women.  I’m none of those things, I’m a… tomboy who is… moderately cute on a good day, when my hair decides to stay where I put in, and usually I forget to comb it actually….,” began Sam and Shane laughed at the easy quip.  “There is nothing striking about me, you are Shane, the player of all players, you don’t do relationships.  Look what happened the last time you tried?  I’m not putting you down, don’t take it that way….”

            “Why not?  You’re telling me that I’ll never be with someone for the long haul?” asked Shane angrily, kicking at a pebble, sending it skittering across the manicured lawn.

            “NO!  I’m saying that person isn’t me,” said Sam confidently.  When she’d woken up from the surgery, Sam had realized that had been a wake up call, that her life had been devoid of passion for far to long and she was intent on changing that.

            “How do you know?  You clairvoyant or something?  Huh?  Sam, we….,” began Shane, kneeling in front of Sam, her hands on Sam’s knees.  “…we’re the same, me and you.  We can be ourselves, no holds barred with one another.  I don’t have to be afraid of fucking up, because even if I do, you’ll accept me for me.  You said it, Shane, the player of all players, and I can be that, or I can be whoever I want to be, with you.  It doesn’t matter if I screw around, because you know as well as I do, we are both going to do it.  I know you, almost as well as I know myself, Sam.”