As writers are wont to do...

he hadn't put too much effort into wooing tammi. that had been an easy feat.

but now? how was he expected to have any game when he'd lost his youth being berated and beaten down by his ex-wife?

it proved to be an even bigger issue when he finally found someone he was actually head over heels over.

you were brand new.

you'd been helping out with some case sammy wasn't particularly involved in, but it still allowed him to see you from time to time.

and maybe he sorta orchestrated those meetings a bit, because, really, there was no need for him to be at the precinct as often as he was. he was an officer, after all, he was meant to be out there, patrolling the streets.

but from the moment he'd seen you step out of the chief's office, he couldn't get his eyes off you.

even fucking ben took note of it.

"ouff, man, you gonna make a move, or what?"

sammy simply gave him the finger, huffing to himself and wheeling his desk chair in the opposite direction.

even then, his eyes still wandered to find you walking towards the stairs, eyes zooming in on the way your pencil skirt fit you and the confident stride in your step. ben cackled behind sammy.

it took a few weeks of your presence around the precinct for sammy to finally consider making a move.

it had taken a lot of teasing from ben, an ongoing bet among his coworkers as to how hard he'd fuck it up, and an instance in which your eyes met his from across the office and threw a pretty smile his way.

and when he asked you out? it actually went smoother than he could have ever predicted.

he hadn't stuttered, hadn't pulled the embarrassing cop card, hadn't used that stupid 'badge bunny' comment ben said always worked with the ladies. and somehow he'd managed to get you giggling, grabbing at his growing bicep and slipping him your number by the end of the conversation.

despite your growing relationship, sammy was still a nervous mess around you.

you were kind of (100%) his first after his endless relationship with tammi. you were the prettiest girl to him, the most independent, the smartest, the sexiest.

even if you'd already kissed him stupid after your first date, sammy still couldn't bring himself to hold eye contact for too long, lest he become a stuttering mess at just how prettily you looked back at him. sometimes he couldn't even make out what you were saying to him, too distracted by the gloss on your lips or that little bit of highlight on your cheekbone.

and of course he was a laughing stock back at the precinct. it didn't matter to them that he'd already bagged you, not when he was a stumbling teenage boy when it came to kissing you after a date or bringing you around for drinks with the guys.

the most shocking bit was that you didn't seem to care about any of that.

as he walked you home, eyes downturned, bashful and too much of a coward to kiss you at your door, you'd take charge, grabbing his wrist before he could walk away and bringing him in for an open-mouthed kiss.

you'd pull him into your apartment, whispering something about whether or not he was gonna go in there and rock your world and render him speechless. you'd leave a little bit of lipstick on his shirt collar, knowing the guys would go crazy about it the next day.

and when he brought you for an after-work outing, you'd show up in a tiny little dress and let him show you off.

any time ben tried to get smart, tried to question 'what the hell is a girl like you doing with a guy like sammy?' you'd shrug your shoulders and put ben in his place. words of praise towards sammy never left your lexicon, always flowing out of your lips and always ready to fire.

"he's hot," or "got a thing for redheads" or "have you seen those abs?" would leave your lips in response, drawing even more teasing comments from the guys and flushed cheeks out of sammy.