As I pulled out of bar's parking lot, my mind started whirring. Why did I invite this man into my car? Why did I say I would eat with them? They could be even worse than Brad. Even as I thought these things, Sam spoke.

"I know this is strange but thank you for trusting us when you didn't have to." He turned toward me, his eyes tinted green in the silver moonlight. The tips of his brown hair looked almost blond with the delicate brightness.

"I don't know why I did," I admitted.

"I understand." He was quiet for a moment, brow furrowed in thought. He looked cute, concentrating like that. I had to remind myself to watch the road.

"If you don't feel comfortable, you don't need to eat with us," he said at last. "I'm sorry if I make you feel nervous."

Just the opposite. I thought. For some reason, I trust you. Out loud I said, "Don't worry. Now let's go get some food. It's been a long night and I am ready for some waffles."

"You don't mind eating breakfast food at this late at night?" Sam smiled.

"The later it gets, the better the food tastes," I told him. As we laughed, the uneasiness between us broke. For better or for worse, I trusted Sam. Something about him told me that he was a good person, and it wasn't just that he had saved me from my date gone bad. Maybe it was his eyes, maybe it was the way he kept making sure I was comfortable – being near him made me feel good. Every minute I realized all the more how beautiful he was, inside and out.

********

When I parked the car under the half-darkened neon sign at the diner, Sam turned to me.

"Thank you so much for the ride here." He said. "I really enjoyed talking to you one on one."

Goosebumps shot up my arms as my face flushed. Sam chuckled softly, his own cheeks turning pink. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a knock at the window. We both jumped. There was Dean, leaning over with a boyish grin on his face.

"Come on out of there you two!" He laughed good-naturedly as we sheepishly got out of the car. "Have a fun ride?" He nudged Sam with his elbow over dramatically. Sam gave him an annoyed look.

"Yeah, it was alright I guess," I responded, winking at Sam. He smiled a small smile at me as Dean walked ahead of us.

"Come on, I'm starving!" He called back to us.

Sam leaned over and spoke softly in my ear. "Before we got out of the car, I wanted to tell you how beautiful you looked in the moonlight."

I fought the urge to kiss him right then and there. Instead, I turned and whispered into his ear, brushing away his hair with my fingertips. He had a bowl cut, but the way the ends curled suited him, giving him a look of boyish innocence. "Thank you. You didn't look half-bad yourself." Then, in a moment of courage, I slipped my hand into his. I felt his fingers lace through mine and a tingle went up my spine. A smile crept across my face despite my trying to hide it. We walked toward the lit-up door. A moment too late we saw Dean watching us from the window. He gave us a goofy grin and a big thumbs up.

Sam turned to me apologetically. "Sorry about him."

I laughed. "It's alright. But if I get any hungrier, I might faint, and then you'll have to carry me inside."

Sam gave me a shy grin. I again considered kissing him, but my growling stomach protested. I settled for brushing his hair out of his eyes, stepping onto my tiptoes to rest my hand on his cheek.

"Let's not keep Dean waiting," I said in a soft voice.

Sam looked from my eyes to my lips and back. "No," he said just as softly, his voice bringing to mind the low purr of a cat. "We wouldn't want to do that."

"Then let's pick this up again later, shall we?" I say, wrapping my arms around his neck. "That is, if it's alright with you?"

Sam's arm wrapped around my back. "That sounds perfect." He bent down to me and I reached up, until we were only a few centimeters apart. I longed to kiss him, to touch him, to run my fingers through his hair and feel his arms supporting me. We stood there for what seemed an eternity, breathless and expectant. At last, I reluctantly stepped down from my toes, dropping my eyes to the ground.

We walked side by side into the diner. Dean had lost interest in us and was seated at the bar, talking to the waitress.

"Ah, here they are." He gestured to us as we sat down next to him. I took the seat in the middle of the two brothers. "What do you want? Pick anything, I've got it covered."

"Hmmm." I scanned the menu. "I'll take the waffles with whipped cream and strawberries, and a side of bacon, please."

"I'll have the same thing, and a glass of milk," Sam told the waitress.

She eyed the two of us and smiled. "Coming right up."

We sat silently for a few awkward moments. Dean could feel the tension between Sam and I and was making eyes at us, which I tried to avoid. Luckily, our drinks came, and with them something to ease the discomfort.

"How long are y'all in town?" I asked as I took a sip of my water.

"We're just passing through." Dean explained. "Thought we'd stay a night, maybe two. You live near here?"

"Yeah, right outside the square." I said, as an absurd idea came into my head. That shot must have messed with me more than I thought. "Where are you staying?"

"In a motel right by the highway," Sam spoke up. "It's about a 5-minute drive into town."

"You should come over," I blurted out. "You both," I was quick to clarify. "I could make you lunch or something, if you were staying."

I couldn't stop myself from a hopeful glance at Sam. I was being ridiculous, acting like a schoolgirl fawning over him. Yet, I knew we had had a connection. It was too good a chance to pass up.

"Well, we're doing some work around town in the morning, but if we should be outta here by the morning after that at the latest." Dean told me almost apologetically.

"I think we'll have to stay all day tomorrow," Sam hastily added, giving Dean a pointed look. Dean just shrugged his shoulders and took a sip of his coffee.

Just then our food arrived. It was immaculate: steam wafting up from waffles that were cooked to perfection, crispy bacon, chilled whipped cream and strawberries. I hadn't realized up to this point how hungry I really was. I began eating with a fury that resembled a pack of ravenous wolves. Even Dean and Sam, both large men, were astonished at my appetite.

As I came up for air, I caught them both staring at me. I felt my face heat up as I sheepishly lowered my fork.

"Oh look, she does need to breathe." Dean teased.

"Cut it out, Dean," Sam defended me, then handed me my glass of water.

After I took a sip, I apologized. "Sorry. I probably just made you lose your appetites." I looked down, embarrassed.

"No, of course not," they both assured me. Sam took a bite of his waffles and looked at the two of us in astonishment. "They're amazing!" He told us from behind his napkin.

Dean looked down at his hash browns and then called the waitress. "Dottie! Could I get another order of waffles? The same as these two?" He gestured toward Sam and me. Dottie nodded and headed into the kitchen.

And so we sat, stuffing ourselves with waffles until we couldn't eat anymore, laughing and talking.

At almost 1:00 o'clock, I excused myself. "Have to go powder my nose," I told the boys.

Once I was in the bathroom, I reflected on everything that had happened tonight: how my terrible blind date had become a fun night with these two brothers I had just met. My absurd thought from earlier kept surfacing as I thought over how Sam and I had laughed in the car. How he had stood up for me, a girl he didn't even know. How close we had gotten as we stood there in the parking lot.

My idea was irrational. Illogical. Ludicrous, even. But though it scared me, it felt right. I would have to get Sam alone later to talk about it.

I came out of the women's bathroom just as Dean was walking into the men's. "Hey," he stopped me. He cleared his throat before continuing. "I just want you to know, Sam's a good guy. And from what I can see, he likes you. So don't hurt him." Dean's expression was more serious than I had seen it all night. His emerald green eyes were trained on me. "He's been through too much to be messed with, you hear me?"

"I understand, and I want you to know that I wouldn't hurt him. Especially not after you two saved me back there." I said earnestly.

Dean must have been able to tell my sincerity, because he relaxed and gave me a small smile. "Ok then." He gestured back around the corner to where we had been sitting. "Go, have fun."

I walked back to Sam, simultaneously confused and elated. I tried to focus on what Dean had said about Sam being hurt in the past, but all I could think was He likes me. He likes me. He likes me. I could feel my heart skipping as I sat down by Sam again.

He looked up from reading a newspaper that had been left on the counter. "Oh, hi!" He said cheerfully, an innocent smile dawning on his face. He had a smudge of whipped cream right below his lip.

"Wait, you've got something..." I said, as I used my thumb to brush away the speck. I let my finger rest for just a second on the edge of his mouth. Our eyes met, and I slowly brought my hand down.

"Oh, thank you." Sam's gaze followed my hand into my lap. We sat in silence, getting lost in each other's company. Then, with a quick look over my shoulder to make sure Dean hadn't returned, I decided to be brave.

"Hey, Sam," I began, my words barely above a whisper. Immediately his eyes looked deep into mine, their color seeming to shift from one radiant shade to the next. I focused on my words and tried to sound confident. "Would... would you like to have dinner tomorrow night? A proper one, just the two of us." I looked down at my hands, nervously twisting in my lap. Where was the confident girl from earlier?

Sam didn't answer right away. I was afraid I had somehow messed up, that I had said the wrong thing. After what seemed like an eternity, he spoke in a gentle voice.

"Of course I would. When should I pick you up?"

I looked up too quickly to hide my excitement. Not caring who was watching, I stood up and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him in my happiness. He sat unresponsively, then in an instant wrapped his arms around my waist, kissing me back carefully. His lips were soft and gentle. After a second, we pulled apart, each of us a bit embarrassed. We looked around self-consciously with our arms still wrapped around each other. Just then Dean came around the corner, wiping his hands on his jacket. Sam and I both fumbled to sit down. I drank my water to cool down my flushed face as Sam awkwardly straightened his collar. Dean either didn't notice or was decent enough not to say anything.

"Y'all ready to go?" He asked as he pulled out his wallet.

"Yep," Sam and I both said too quickly. Dean looked over at us, cocking an eyebrow, but continued counting out bills on the table.

"Dottie!" He called when he had successfully figured out what we owed.

The waitress came over, counted out our money and grinned when she noticed the generous tip Dean had given her. "Have a good night!" She called after us as we walked out of the diner.

I could practically feel the sparks between me and Sam. Though we didn't touch, the air around us electric. I wanted to take him somewhere dark and...

Dean interrupted my thoughts. "Well, this was fun, Grace, but we'd better getting going. Sammy gets grumpy when he doesn't have his beauty sleep." Dean reached up to ruffle Sam's hair, dodging Sam's attempts to swat away his hand. Again came Dean's proud smile and Sam's embarrassed eye roll.

"Wait." I felt around in my pocket for a pen or paper. "Do either of y'all have something to write with?"

Sam opened the passenger side door and rummaged around, finally bringing out a beat-up journal and a pen. He carefully tore a small part of the journal, making sure to only take a corner of a blank page in the back of the book.

"Oh, I didn't mean to make you tear up your book," I said regretfully, but Sam waves it off.

"It's okay, it's only one piece of a page," He told me as Dean eyed the corner. I sensed he wasn't so nonchalant about the journal as his younger brother, but I didn't question it.

"Ok, if you say so." I leaned over their car, an Impala from way back when, and etched my number in tiny writing onto the torn paper. When I finished, I folded the paper and pressed it into Sam's hand.

"See you tomorrow?" I asked under my breath.

"Wouldn't miss it," he returned in the same low tone as he gave my hand a squeeze.

I turned to face the two brothers. "Thank you so much for saving me tonight. I had so much fun with you both. If there's anything you need, you know where to find me." With a final wave, I turned around and headed to my car.

On the way home, I couldn't stop thinking about Sam, and consequently I couldn't stop smiling. My crazy, ridiculous, illogical plan wasn't looking so bad now after all, just as long as Sam agreed to it. The scary part would be asking him, but thoughts of that could wait til the next day.

I had good dreams all night long.