100 Ways to Solve a Murder-Chapter 141: The Girls Night Out II

7 PM, Supermarket.

Sam walked through the Supermarket with a gallon of hydrofluoric acid inside her cart, together with a few snacks for the boys. Hydrofluoric acid that Levi and her needed for an experiment. She had insisted she purchase a bucket instead of borrowing one, and so the redhead went to the nearest store before she headed to his place after work. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Hi!" A female voice came out of nowhere, making Sam turn towards the source. A woman with a familiar face with curly blonde hair, fantastic curves stood before her with a big smile. Flashes of the woman’s face popped in the redhead’s mind, recognizing the setting on the background of stored images in her memory.

Sam contemplated that she’d met this woman during Lizzie’s birthday party in Eastbourne a few years back. What was her name? She mentally racked her brain but couldn’t recall. She had terrible auditory memory after all.

"Hello..." Sam trailed, unsure how to address the woman.

"Lea." Lea provided, seeing the confused expression on her face. Sam smiled in recollection, ’Ah yes, that was her name.’ "Yes, Lea. Thank you, and sorry about that; I’m terrible with names. It’s good to see you again", she said, offering the woman her hand. Lea smiled politely at her as she shook her hand with hers. "That’s alright; how are you?" Lea asked.

"I’m doing fantastic. Thanks for asking." Sam replied, making conversation. But at the back of her mind, she wondered if she could now take her Leave. She didn’t like prolonged small talk after all, and most of all, she didn’t want to be late for dinner with Levi and the boys.

"You and Levi, congratulations, by the way!" Lea said, feigning enthusiasm on the subject. She had seen the newspaper headlines before, after all. And it was hard to miss when it was also trending on Twitter. The blonde admits Sam was aesthetically pleasing, and she seemed nice enough too. Not only that, but she was also undeniably brilliant, successful, and filthy rich. So yes, she was intimidated--not that the redhead even tried to be intimidating. But there was just something Lea didn’t feel comfortable with, mostly, it was the fact she was her ex-boyfriend’s ’new’ girlfriend.

It might have been the ex-girlfriend syndrome playing, and the vibe radiating from the curly blonde made Sam slightly uncomfortable. She couldn’t put a finger on it why; maybe she was imagining things she considered for a moment.

Sam forced a smile, and she chuckled; she almost forgot she was ’dating’ Levi.

"Ah...yes. Thank you," she said. Lea then went on with some chit chat, which she politely indulged her with, not wanting to be rude.

.....

7 Eastbourne Rd.

It was 20 minutes later when Sam arrived at Eastbourne Rd. She entered Jackson Detectives Agency carrying a large empty bucket. Levi tore his eyes away from the book he was reading and looked at her from where he sat on the mustard-colored sofa. His back was leaning against the end of the chair comfortably with his legs crossed.

Mike helped Sam with it, "Where to boss?" he asked while Alex took the bag of snacks in Sam’s hand and placed it in their office pantry. "Upstairs," Levi answered.

Levi then turned to Sam, "Took your time; Joe and Marco picked up the food." He commented, he expected her to come earlier than she did after she texted her that she was heading to the store after work. Sam sat beside him, "That woman..." she started, scowling, damn, she forgot her name again. Levi looked at her expectantly; Sam sighed, embarrassed, ’darn it,’ she just met her a few minutes ago, but now she couldn’t recall her name again. She should have her stand with a name tag on one of these days, considering she could easily remember the image.

"That woman with the blonde curly hair. The sexy one back in Lizzie’s birthday party a few years back", Sam said, trying to describe her to the Irishman, hoping he could provide the name yet again.

Levi’s face creased in confusion, who was the ’sexy one,’ he mentally wondered. He can’t recall... Wait, does she mean? Levi contemplated in his head while Alex and Mike shared a look, they knew immediately who the ’sexy one’ was.

"The woman..." Sam started, then she closed her eyes, recalling the woman’s face. "She has gray colored eyes, fair skin, long curly blonde hair, and she has a mole along her jaw." She elaborated, gesturing to her right jaw. Levi’s eyes widened in realization, while Alex and Mike pretended not to hear their conversation. They busied themselves at their tables, pretending to work.

"Lea?" the slicked blond provided.

Sam snapped her eyes open, "Yes!" She agreed, enthused. She really should write it down.

"What did she want?" the slicked blond asked, wondering if his ex said anything inappropriate. The stern expression on Levi’s face made Sam pause, "Nothing really, she just chatted me up in the store. Invited me to a girls’ night out. Is there something I don’t know?" she asked. Levi rolled her eyes; of course, she doesn’t know. She doesn’t participate in gossip, after all. "She’s my ex-girlfriend." the blond admitted.

Sam’s eyes widened in surprise; she initially thought that he was... well, that he was inexperienced in romantic relationships. Levi narrowed his eyes at her, "What’s with that face?" he asked, already insulted just by her expression. "I thought you’re a virgin," she deadpanned, earning a glare from the blond. Mike and Alex covered their mouths, stifling a laugh. The sicked blond shooting each of them a glare.

"Well, you just never seemed interested in women...for some time, I even assumed you were gay," Sam confessed, and Levi’s eyes widened in surprise. Mike chuckled in his seat, covering it with a cough or two swiftly. In contrast, Alex grabbed a file on his desk and covered his entire face with it as his shoulders shook quietly.

"Well, I mean,..." ’You never did make a pass on me once, nothing serious that is’ but she realized she couldn’t say that out loud. It would make things weird between them. He will know that she had indeed thought about it before, that she had thought about ’them.’ That she saw him not only as a good friend, but she saw him as a Man.

That would be a mistake; she reckons Levi Jackson simply doesn’t see her that way. She theorized that she wasn’t his type, and now learning about Lea only confirmed her suspicion. She didn’t fall under his preference for women. She and Lea had nothing in common, not facial structure, height, build, or even hair color.

Furthermore, she had realized that it might just make their relationship complicated. And she doesn’t like complicating things.

"Sorry, my mistake," Sam said instead, wanting to end the conversation. "I am not a virgin." the Irishman informed, eyes narrowed at her in annoyance. Him, gay? He mentally scoffed if she could read his mind. She’d run.

"Anyway, coming?" Levi asked. Sam shrugged, "Could be fun." she replied honestly. "But if it makes you uncomfortable...I can make an excuse." she offered, seeing as it does not matter to her either way.

"Don’t bother. It’s fine." the blond said; he reckons if Sam can handle three drunk men in a pub. She can handle Lea.