Here We Go Again

chapter 4 - bucky and sam's night out

A few weeks after his conversation with Sam, James finally answered one of Sam's calls while he was working out in his empty apartment.

"This better be important Sam," James said in a gruff.

"First of all, thanks for finally answering my phone call. Secondly, it is. Guess we're going this Friday night?" Sam sounded way too happy, which worried James.

He didn't feel like guessing and instead said, "I'm not gonna guess but I'm sure I'm going to regret it."

"YUP! We're going speed dating. I've already signed us up for it too. So no getting out of it."

James nearly dropped the phone. "I'm sorry, we're doing what?!"

"Yeah, I got the idea after talking to my sister about you the last time I was done there visiting. She thinks it's a good idea. Plus, I'll owe you."

The hell it is a good idea, James thought. Although he liked the idea of Sam owing him. He weighed the consequences.

"Fine. I'll do it." James said through gritted teeth.

"Great! I'll swing by Friday 6pm. And try to get a haircut and trim your beard, you're looking a little scruffy again."

James looked in the mirror, not seeing anything wrong with the way he looked.

"Alright, I'll see you then"

Friday night

James had just finished putting on his boots when his phone rang.

Incoming call:
Sam Wilson

James flipped open the phone. "What?"

"I'm here outside. You ready to go?" Sam asked wearing something that he knew James was going to hate.

"Yeah, give me a minute, I'll be right down. He grabbed his black motorcycle jacket, gloves, keys and was out the door.

"Well, don't you look nice, sunshine," Sam said with a smirk on his face as James got into the car.

James took one look at Sam and said "Well you look like a Christmas tree."

"Yeah, a sexy Christmas tree, let's just go." They got in the car, Sam turned on the radio to play Marvin Gaye while James just out the window the entire time. "You know this is a classic right?"

"Eh, I like music from the 1940s. It has a different sound to it."

"You're lucky I'm driving or else we'd be getting into right now." Sam said trying to sound threatening, but knew he wouldn't really do anything.

A few minutes later, James and Sam walked into a bar that looked way too modern for James's liking. He breathed deeply and scanned for all the exits, out of habit. His anxiety started to creep up.

Sam, noticing James's energy, turned and asked, "You good, man?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Alright, then let's get this started."

They proceeded to put on their name tags and sat down at the tables, waiting for the event to start. Each woman James met seemed nice, but he just couldn't find himself to connect with anyone. They all seemed to either ask too many personal questions or questions about his gloves. He would just awkwardly smile at them and look away. It felt like the longest hour of his life.

When the organizer announced it was over, James bolted out of his chair and waited outside for Sam to get check out.

"So was that as bad as you thought it would be?" Sam asked

"Yeah, it definitely was."

"Well I appreciate you trying. Steve would have been proud."

James wanted to fight him on that, but settled for, "Sure he would. Hey, I'm just going to walk home, ok?" James needing the alone time.

"You sure, man?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later." And with that, James was out in the night.

******

Setting the background for how James feels about dating! If you liked it, let me know! I have a few chapters planned and knowing people are reading will help.