“We met when I was an intern.” Sam had been listening and interjected herself into the conversation. A wave of relief washed over me. Sam’s quick thinking saved me there, because I didn’t know what to tell Sandy. "Yeah Sam used to be one of our interns.”
“Really?” Sandy sounded surprised as she really began to study Sam. “Huh I would have figured you were still in college. You look so young.”
Sam chuckled. “Ha I get that all the time. I’m actually just two years younger than Pete, but people always think I’m in college. You would not believe how often I get asked for my I.D. But it runs in the family. I swear mom was still getting carded when she was in her early 50s. ” Sam sounded so nonchalant and confident I almost bought her story and I knew she was just making it up on the spot. ”Clever girl, but I wonder what is she up to?” I thought to myself.
Seeing the three of us chatting and not wanting to miss out on the conversation, Ali made her way over to where we were at. “What’s everyone talking about?” The tiny redhead asked.
“Ali, how old do you think Sam is?” Sandy excitedly asked.
Ali took a second to study Sam’s face. “Um.... 19?” Ali sounded very unsure of her answer.
“27!” I said before anyone else could answer. I didn’t want to accidently change my own age.
All three women looked shocked at my answer. Luckily Sandy and Ali had focused on me before they looked at Sam, because Sam looked as shocked as they did. Sam quickly shrugged off the shock, and got back into character. “I told you I wasn’t a college kid. I just look young. Blame it on these Korean genes my mother gave me.”
“Wow....” Ali said. “I figured you were like 18....” Ali seemed genuinely surprised by Sam’s story.
“Hey Pete! Can we try stuff on now?” Sandy asked holding up a pair of bikinis. I could see that Sandy wanted to move the attention off of Sam and back to her and Ali.
“Sure. You two go grab a couple changing rooms and Sam and I will wait out here.” I said pointing to the changing rooms. I figured this would keep Ali and Sandy happy, while also giving Sam and I some time to get our stories straight. As Ali and Sandy both hurried off to the changing rooms, I turned my attention back to the now more youthful looking Sam. I could tell she was pretty proud of herself by the shit eating grin on her face. “So, do you want to explain why I remember you being one of our interns like 5 years ago?” I asked Sam.