* * *
When they returned home, Sam finished putting the groceries away while Josie put away their laundry. When he was done, he went into the bedroom in search of her. Sam caught sight of her and smiled. She was making room in her dresser for his things, lovingly smoothing their folds as she placed them in the drawer. He glanced at the closet, the doors still open. His shirts hung neatly, touching hers.
He pressed a kiss to the nape of her neck. "Thanks," he said simply.
She turned in his arms and smiled, "It's a little crowded though�if we don't get the house, we're definitely going to have to get a bigger place."
"I don't know," said Sam, "I've always been rather fond of close quarters."
She laughed. "No claustrophobia then. Whew�that is a relief! Help me make the bed?"
"I'd rather help unmake it," he teased.
"Well if you want to unmake it, you have to make it first," she said logically. "But," she teased, "I'm pretty eager to mess it up again, later."
They spent the rest of the afternoon sorting through the hundreds of letters that they had received. It seemed as if all of Chicago�and the rest of the country, as well�had badly needed Josie's story, had needed to believe in acceptance�in forgiveness�in love. They wanted to know how it was going to end.
Josie was stunned and surprised by the outpouring of affection from total strangers. There were cards and letters and an array of gift certificates from every store and restaurant in town. "I can't believe that one story could touch so many people�I wrote it for you�for us�because I couldn't face the rest of my life if I didn't try�I had no idea there were other people out there who needed it too. I've always believed in the power of words�but this�it's extraordinary�"
"I told you you just needed to find your story," he said kissing her softly.
Sam held up a large, thick envelope. "Isn't this the photographer from the prom?"
"I think you're right. Open it."
Sam tore the envelope open and pulled out a stack of color photographs. He unfolded a handwritten note.
Sam and Josie�I recognized you on the news last night and rushed into my darkroom to develop these pictures from the prom. I noticed something special between you two when you posed for me that morning and I found myself looking for opportunities to catch you together at the prom. These are for you�call me when you decide to get married�I'd love to photograph your wedding.
There were two pictures of them on the bridge, dressed casually. They both had dreamy, far-off looks on their faces.
He'd captured the moment Sam had placed the tiara on Josie's head as they lost themselves completely in each other's eyes. Snapped the moment Sam handed her the bouquet of flowers and their fingers had brushed.
He'd even caught them dancing together. Josie was blushing, smiling up at Sam, gazing into his eyes.
"They're incredible," Josie whispered.
"I'm more surprised than ever that no one noticed�they're a little�heated�"
"More than a little. I'm stunned."
"We'll definitely have to call him about the wedding. What else do we have there?"
She picked up the stack of pink message slips and began to flip through them. "This is incredible�" She handed him the note. "Oprah," she said with awe, "The Today Show�Good Morning America�they all want to do segments on us�I'm�speechless."
Sam grinned. Josie Geller at a loss for words was a rare sight. "Are you interested?" he asked.
"More�flattered�I guess�it's not really my style�I just want us to be able to start our life together�still, Oprah�I actually got a phone call from Oprah Winfrey. That is just so�rufus."
Sam laughed as Josie reverted to Guy's catch phrase. "Definitely, rufus."
* * *
"Now remember," Sam teased, "stay away from Rastafarians bearing chocolate cake."
Josie laughed as they descended the stairs into the club.
"You drinking?" asked the bouncer, recognizing Josie. "I'll need to see some ID."
Josie pulled out her driver's license and held out her hand for a stamp. "Remind me to wash this off when we get home, please."
Sam laughed, "Well�since I don't want to wake up with loser tattooed somewhere on my body�"
Playfully, Josie swatted him. "Hey, there's Rob," she said. She waved to her brother as he approached them.
A large hand clamped down on Sam's shoulder. "So Sam, you gonna introduce us?"
"Matt!" said Sam. "Hey, man, what's up?" He put a protective arm around Josie's shoulders.
"Matt�Melissa�this�is Josie�the most amazing person I've ever known and her brother, Rob."
Josie smiled shyly at them. "It's nice to meet you."
"We'd about given up on him, you know," said Melissa.
"Yeah�we thought he'd never get rid of that piranha�" said Matt. Melissa belted him on the arm.
"We've got a table over there�Jon and Lisa are already there," Matt said as he led the way.
"Hey, mon�it's the dancin' lady�you want some cake?" asked Josie's dreadlocked friend.
Josie laughed, "No thank you�that's pretty potent cake."
Matt shot Sam a confused look.
"It's a long story�" he said, grinning at Josie.
"Why do I suddenly feel like it's going to be a long night?" joked Josie.
"Don't worry, Josie�we've got tons of dirt on Sam," Melissa said threateningly.
Sam groaned.
They reached a large round table to find Jon and Lisa. Sam made the necessary introductions as they sat down.
Lisa looked at Josie with admiration. "It's so nice to meet you�your story�what you did�blew my mind!"
"Thanks," said Josie shyly. "So� have you all know each other for a long time?"
"The guys have�" said Melissa. "Lisa and I sort of came along later."
"We've been through a lot together," said Jonathan, "Hockey, of course�little league�and our sad attempt at a garage band in high school."
"You played in a band?" Josie asked Sam.
He nodded. "Not very well, though�we never did get that record deal we were dreaming about."
Jonathan laughed. "Actually�he was the only one of us who had any musical talent."
Sam shrugged. "I just played a little electric guitar," he said modestly. "I still play acoustic, though," he said to Josie. "How's the softball team doing?"
"Terrible�we lost Johnston and Payne�then you pulled a disappearing act�" Matt accused.
Sam looked at Josie and grinned. "I�sort of had other things on my mind. Since I'm gonna be around all summer now, I guess I could play."
"Excellent," said Lisa, "but we're still down one female player and a shortstop."
"Did someone say shortstop?" Rob said with interest.
"Rob's a great shortstop," Josie explained, "he could have made it in the minors."
Rob grinned at the compliment. "You know�Josie here has a killer arm�"
"Really?" said Sam with surprise.
"I do okay," said Josie.
"Great," said Matt, "our next game is Friday at six�Grant Park."
Josie looked up to see Anita coming towards them. "Everyone, this is my friend, Anita Brandt�Anita�this is Matt and Melissa�Jonathan and Lisa�and of course you've met Sam and Rob."
Sam leaned over and whispered in Josie's ear. "Now that everyone's here�should we tell them?"
The rest of the table watched the exchange with interest. Josie blushed and nodded.
"So," Sam said with a grin, "anybody have plans for August 14th?"
Matt, Melissa, Jonathan, and Lisa stared at them, puzzled. Rob grinned; suspecting what was coming next. So did Anita.
"What did you have in mind?" said Jonathan.
"Oh�I don't know," said Sam, "maybe a little�wedding!"
"But that's crazy�I mean�it's so soon�" sputtered Matt. He and Melissa had been engaged for almost a year.
Josie laughed. "We know it's crazy�but it's just�right."
"Wow," said Lisa and Melissa in unison.
"Definitely, wow," Josie laughed. She leaned over and kissed Sam tenderly.
Ozomatli took the stage and everyone leaned back to listen to the funky Latin music. Josie blushed deeply when she heard the opening chords of "Cut Chemist Suite." Sam laughed at the memory of her previous performance and pulled her onto the dance floor, near the stage.
"Hey, mon�" called out the dreadlocked Rastafarian again, "you gonna dance for us again?"
"Sorry, guys," she called back, "I am not getting back on that stage�ever."
She did enjoy dancing with Sam, though. She was flushed when the song ended.
"Whew!" she breathed, mopping her forehead. "That was fun!"
As they turned to walk back to the table, Josie found her way blocked by a huge wall of a man. She looked up to see her friend George with his girlfriend Vanessa. "Josie," he said in his deep voice, "fancy meeting you here."
"George," she said with a smile, "this is�"
"Sam Coulson," George supplied, extending his hand. "Well�it's certainly a pleasure to finally meet you�I feel as if I already know you�"
Sam laughed in recognition. "George�the Sun-Times surveillance expert?"
"Guilty as charged. This is my girl�Vanessa."
"Why don't you join us?" They headed back to the table and sat down.
"George does surveillance for the Sun-Times," Sam explained as he introduced them.
"Surveillance?" asked Jon, "that sounds pretty cool."
"Well�my last assignment was especially interesting," George said looking at Sam and Josie. They both blushed.
"You're kidding?" Matt said.
"I wish he were," said Josie. "Unfortunately, for most of my assignment at South Glen I had to wear a�hidden camera�" She looked at Sam guiltily.
He smiled. "Yep," Sam teased, "Apparently�I'm quite a heartthrob at the Sun-Times�you should have seen the looks I got when Josie and I were there on Monday."
"Watching Josie and Sam was better than The Young and the Restless," said Anita animatedly, "all that suppressed sexual tension." Anita glanced at her friend. Josie's hand was on Sam's thigh, absently swirling circles. "Somehow I think it's not suppressed anymore," she said so only Josie could hear.
Josie just smiled contentedly.
* * *
Sam flicked on the light switch in Josie's living room. They sat down on the loveseat. Josie rested her head on Sam's shoulder.
"I really like your friends," Josie said.
"They really like you, too."
"Really?"
"They shared our entire life history with you�they never did that before."
"Oh�you mean�Lara."
"They spent as little time with her as they could."
"So�what do you want to do tomorrow? I've only got a few more days off."
"If you don't mind�I'd like to pick up a few more things from my apartment. Most of it can stay there until the end of the month�then I'll have to figure something else out. Hopefully, we'll get the house�and can just move everything over there."
"Should we check with Sandy?"
"She said she'd call when she had news. I'll admit�I'm a little anxious to know."
"Me too. So�what else?"
"We could go swimming�my complex has a pool and it's supposed to be really hot tomorrow."
"Okay."
Sam chuckled. "Are you game to watch some of those infamous videos?"
"How bad could it be?"
Sam took out the video with the earliest date. "May as well start at the beginning." He inserted it in the VCR and pressed play. Kirsten, Kristen, and Gibby were strutting into school. He heard Josie call to them and felt the thud as she fell to the ground.
"Ouch," he said sympathetically.
"Another stupid pair of shoes."
He laughed at Ms. Knox's classroom antics. "That woman will do anything," he said.
"Despite the sombrero, she's actually a pretty good teacher. She tries to make things interesting, at least."
They fast- forwarded the tape. Sam recognized his classroom and saw himself come through the door with his ever-present travel mug. He was surprised to see how often he had looked directly into the camera, knowing that it meant he'd made eye contact with Josie. He listened to Josie's soft voice as she read her paper on As You Like It. He saw his image, smiling at her as she read, watching her closely. Saw the look in his own eyes later, as he extracted a promise from Josie to at least think about college. Saw how his eyes locked with the camera�with Josie�for far too long.
Josie noticed, too. "I had no idea�"
"I sort of did," he admitted. "I want to show you something."
Sam pressed pause. He picked up his briefcase and rooted through until he felt the worn leather of his journal. He opened it and flipped to the same date as the tape they were watching. He handed her the book and watched as she read what he'd written:
What the hell just happened here? That mystical connection again�making me forget who I am�who she is. I just lost myself completely in her eyes. I think I could have stood there all day�never wanting to move. I have got to get a grip on myself�I can't allow this to continue.
And yet�I don't want to let this feeling drift away�I feel strangely content when I'm with Josie�somehow�more myself. This is dangerous. I cannot allow myself to have these feelings.
Her eyes widened in surprise as she read Sam's most private thoughts. Even that early on he'd admitted to his growing feelings for her�his attraction toward her�his inner conflict. "This is beautiful�almost like a love letter. Thank you for showing me." She cupped his face with her hand. "I love you so much!" Josie tilted her lips up to meet his.
The kiss started out soft and gentle, but quickly ignited. Sam scooped Josie off the loveseat into his arms. "Time for bed," he said, his voice deep and husky.
This time they made love languorously, sensually mapping each other's bodies, learning each other's most erotic secrets. Sam, as always, was a passionate and sensitive teacher. Josie, as always, was his most precocious student. He marveled at her sudden boldness, thrilling as she took the lead.
As they drifted off to sleep, Josie said softly, "I never knew that I could feel this free�so uninhibited�I kept so much bottled up for so long�was so afraid to take a chance�"
"That passion was there, Josie, you just didn't know it. I saw it every time I found myself lost in your magnificent eyes. Remember Senior Nite?"
Josie nodded. "Of course."
"I'd just received the shock of my life�realizing what was happening between us�recognizing that right or wrong�I wanted it. Then�those boys knocked you into my arms�it was so perfect�you looked into my eyes�trust me, Josie�the desire and passion there were unmistakable."
"I wanted you to kiss me so much�and I felt so terrible�knowing that I was deceiving you. I pretended my ankle hurt a lot more than it actually did�so you'd stay with me. It felt so nice�having your arm around my waist as you helped me to my car�knowing that even if someone saw us�there was a reasonable explanation. I limped pretty slowly to take advantage of that situation!"
Sam chuckled. "I wondered about that�since you weren't limping much the next time I saw you�still�I was happy for any excuse to have you that close to me. It about killed me the day we got caught in the rain, you know."
Josie grinned. "Wanna know a secret?"
Sam laughed. "Can I take it?"
"The towel you used to dry off that day�I�wouldn't wash it�I�actually�umm�slept with it, because it smelled like you." Josie blushed.
Sam smiled softly. "You are one crazy woman, Josie Geller." He gathered her more tightly in his arms. "'Night, love."
"'Night."
* * *