Work Text:
Sam was grateful for the rescue. He was. He was not going to complain about Tony Bevell being forced to back off. He’d never been comfortable around Tony, and the way he’d been talking as he backed Sam down the alley, Sam was seriously concerned that if he couldn’t jump the fence quickly enough, things were going to get really bad. Of course, Sam knew enough about people to know he might not be safe yet. He didn’t know this man at all, or what his intentions might be. He couldn’t let his guard down yet. “Thank you. Who are you?”
“Jimmy Novak.” Jimmy held out a hand, which Sam shook quickly. “Are you all right?”
“I’m not hurt,” Sam said carefully. After all, he didn’t know if he was all right yet. “How’d you know I needed help?”
“Saw Tony follow you out. He creeped me out. I’m not gonna lie.” Jimmy shrugged, not looking offended in the least. “I’ll admit that I saw him because I was watching you leave and enjoying the view, until then, anyway. Here.” He reached into a pocket of his coat and pulled out a business card, quickly scribbling on the back of it. When he held it out to Sam, he smiled gently. “No pressure to call. Just giving you the option if you decide you want it. I don’t want you to feel obligated just because I got rid of Tony for you, that was just watching out for my fellow man. If you decide you want to toss that away, feel free.” Jimmy turned when Sam took the card and headed back down the alley, pausing at the end to turn back and wave before disappearing back into the bar.
Sam stared at the card. Before he called, he was going to get back to the motel, but then... would he call? What would Dean say? Okay, Dean would tell him to chase Jimmy down and go for it now. Sam wasn’t going to do that. Right now, he was still shaken from Tony’s harassment, and Jimmy deserved better than to be used to get through that.
Once back at the motel, Sam laid the card on the nightstand and went to bed. Not much chance of Dean finding it, since he was spending the night with Lisa, so Sam had time to think it over before he had to make the decision.
His dreams made it quite clear what certain body parts thought of calling Jimmy. Sam wasn’t in the habit of letting those parts make decisions for him, but this time around, their input was valuable. His heart definitely agreed with them; Jimmy seemed like an actually nice guy who would be good for Sam. If he could just get his head on board, he’d probably find something good.
When to call? It was Saturday, so early afternoon seemed like a good bet - he’d probably be awake by then, but not at work. Accountants didn’t work Saturdays, Sam didn’t think. By then, he’d know which way he planned to go, too.
The phone rang twice, and then Jimmy answered. “Hello?”
“Hi, this is Sam, I don’t know if you know my name or not but I’m the guy you met in the alley behind Smokey’s last night?” He’d half expected to be leaving a voice mail, so he was kind of flustered now. He’d already forgotten a good bit of what he meant to say. “You gave me your number...”
“Sam! Hi!” Jimmy’s happiness made Sam relax a little. “I was hoping the unknown number was you. How are you doing?”
“I’m okay, thanks to you. I know you said not to feel like I owe you anything, but that’s like the best excuse to ask you to come to dinner with me, so...”
Jimmy burst into laughter. “Sounds good to me. Dinner, I can accept as a thank you. Does tonight work for you?”
“Yes, it does. See you around 6:30? Text me a good place to eat?”