Disclaimer: These characters are not legally mine, I'm just doing my best to write about them :o)
Note: Here's part 3. I'd love to hear what you think! Email me at [email protected] or leave me feedback on the message board. Thanks! Hope you like it!
Sam turned and slowly walked back inside the house. He had a huge, undeniable grin spread across his face. It was hard for him to believe he and Josie had only known each other a few months� and only been dating 10 or so hours. He turned his head just a little to catch one last glimpse of Josie. She was still standing between her car and the open door, looking at him.
'How old am I?' Josie asked herself, realizing how dumb she must look staring at Sam like she was. She tried to look away but her eyes were glued to him.
Sam was so caught up in looking at Josie that he almost tripped on the edge of the driveway. He turned his head back to look where he was going, which left Josie to stare more freely at the man walking away from her. Her eyes locked onto the back of his head and slowly traveled past his shoulders and muscular back. She took a deep breath and bit her lower lip as her eyes involuntarily wandered a little lower. Before she knew it, he was inside. He smiled and waved to her from the door and Josie stepped into her car, almost hitting her head in the process.
Sam watched intently as Josie backed out of the driveway. He felt warm all over, yet he shivered. What was coming over him? He was a grown man, but he felt as if he was a boy: a boy who had just gotten his first kiss. He wondered how Josie was feeling. He looked down at his hands; they were shaking. He rubbed them together in attempt to calm the shaking, and then stuck them in his pockets. "Oh, Josie�" the words escaped his lips softly.
"That's right� Josie. What do you have to say for yourself, Sam?" came Will's teasing voice. He approached him, and Sam was glad to have him to talk to.
"Oh, Will. There you are. I was� looking for you," he said, hoping to hide his embarrassing feelings from Will.
"Sure ya were," Will smiled at Sam. He was happy his friend was so enthusiastic about his new love. "Why don't we talk a little, Sam?"
"Okay, but I don't know what we really have to talk about," Sam's face sparkled, and he couldn't keep from smiling.
"Oh, I think we have plenty to talk about� like Lara?" Sam looked at his friend, and almost winced at the sound of Lara's name. The smile dropped from his face and his mouth tightened. He was definitely not in the mood to talk about Lara.
* * *
Josie sat smiling in her car. As she drove home, she looked around the buildings and apartments she was passing. There were very few people outside, and considering the hour, she was not at all surprised. It was Sunday night. She was about 5 minutes from her apartment when she noticed a couple walking. They looked to be in their 30's, and were walking in each others arms, smiling and talking.
"How sweet," Josie whispered thoughtfully. She cocked her head back in astonishment at what she had just said. Usually, seeing a loving couple walking in each other's arms was not her favorite thing to see. She had always wanted that very thing, and always been deprived of it. But now, she found herself thinking about how wonderful it was for them. She had no more resentment or jealousy for them or anyone else who was happy.
She was happy herself. Happy. She found it difficult to stop her proud smile. She was proud of who she was. No, she couldn't remember ever being quite as happy as she was at that very moment.
When she got home, she walked past the kitchen counter, where she had a bouquet of roses. The roses from the Prom. They were the only roses she had ever received, except for some her family had given her at her graduations, as well as the single rose Guy had given her not too long ago. She leaned over and took a big whiff of them, closing her eyes to capture the scent. Her thoughts were drifting back to Sam again� maybe they had never really left him�.
"I love you. I love you so much that I don't want to ever be away from you again," Sam took Josie in his arms and rested his head on hers.
Josie realized that she had never heard him say those three words to her before, and she suddenly felt light-headed. She didn't think that anyone would say them to her after her first prom. She blushed and fidgeted with her hands before saying, "I love you too, Sam."
Josie shivered and opened her eyes. She felt powerful, strong. "I love you too, Sam," she murmured, imagining Sam holding her in his arms. She had an hunch that she would never forget that feeling.
* * *
Sam sat on their couch and studied Will. 'What did he want to talk about Lara for? There are more important things� such as Josie,' Sam found himself thinking, and then shook the thought from his mind, deciding it wasn't fair. He was in his own world. He didn't want to discuss Lara right now. He looked at Will again. He looked glad for Sam, but also a little concerned.
"Sam, I know you don't want to talk about her, but we should get it out of the way. I love Josie, and I hate Lara, you know that. But does Lara even know you're not coming to New York? I mean, 12 hours ago you were preparing to run off to New York in attempt to get her back, weren't you?"
"No, not yet, but I never even talked to her about going there. I was in such a hurry I just left a message on her machine. I guess I'll call her tomorrow and tell her I'm sorry. I'll get my apartment back tomorrow and it'll all work out." Sam reasoned. "Can we talk about someone besides Lara now?"
"Okay, good idea�. I don't think you've told me the whole Josie story. Imagine, I thought you and I were good friends," said Will, clutching his chest in mock hurt, "Yet it somehow slipped your mind to tell me you were in love," he teased, anxious to get the story out of Sam.
At the sound of Josie's name, Sam's senses perked up. He hadn't been able to get his feelings out about her since they met, and now he was ready to tell Will everything. A crooked smile spread across his face and he leaned forward, closer to Will. "How'd you know I was in love?"
Will just smiled.
"That obvious, huh?" said Sam.
"Have you looked in the mirror, Sam? You have 'I'm in love' written all over your face! And that smile�" Will replied, laughing.
"And what's wrong with that?"
"Okay, okay. Now Sam," Will leaned forward in his chair and with a nudge of his elbow asked, "how was that kiss?"
Sam signed and drifted back into the land of Josie. He tried to remember the kiss perfectly, so he could explain it, but found the feelings hard to explain. "Well� I know this is going to sound stupid, but it was like nothing you can imagine."
Will saw that Sam was in a daze, obviously remembering Josie, and smiled knowingly.
" It's funny�even though I clearly remember running down the steps of the stadium, it's hard to describe the actual kiss. Everyone was screaming and clapping and at first that was all I saw. I was nervous as hell!" Sam took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "But then I saw her; she was beautiful! Not just beautiful, but angelic really. It was like everything around me vanished and all I saw was Josie. All I really heard was the low, muffled sound of clapping, and then, even that disappeared.
"I could barely believe she loved me! And she put her heart on the line out there. For me! When I got closer to her, she looked as nervous as I was. When I saw that she was crying, my nervousness disappeared too, and I don't remember how I got into her arms, but what I do remember is the feeling I had! All I know is that I had waited so long for that kiss and it was more than I had ever dreamed it would be. It was truly like a fairy-tale. You know what I mean, Will?" Sam looked at his friend who was gazing off into never-never land.
Will smirked, "I think I do, Sam. I think I do."
There was silence for a few minutes. Not awkward silence, but thoughtful silence. Then, Will asked joyfully, "So, Sam, when's the wedding?"
Sam punched him playfully. Will suddenly became serious, "So, that was Josie's first kiss?" He could barely believe it.
Sam nodded. "Can you believe it!? Somehow it's difficult to believe. I guess that means� but Josie is worth waiting for," Sam reassured himself.
"Okay, Sam, but be careful; if she's that inexperienced, you're gonna have to go slow." With that, Will walked off, leaving Sam by himself to consider the day that now lay behind him.
* * *
After greeting her turtles, Josie walked to her bedroom. She paused in front of the mirror, and for once, the girl looking back wasn't so hard to look at. Instead of grimacing, Josie found herself smiling.
She then walked over to her drawers and picked out some boxers and a tee shirt to wear. Before she closer the drawer, she paused, looking at a silk, pink camisole and matching underwear that Anita had bought her for her last birthday. At the time, she thought it had been a waste of money, since she had no plans to ever have anyone to wear them for. But now, they showed promise, so she folded them neatly and closed the drawer.
When she was changed, she smiled and decided she needed some music. She played the CD that was already in her 3CD Disk-changer that Rob had insisted she buy (probably for his use more than for hers). It was an Amanda Marshall CD that a friend of hers in Canada had bought her. She wasn't a fan, but nevertheless sang along when it came to #5, 'If I Didn't Have You'. This particular song seemed to mimic her own feelings.
"I don't know what I was thinking � 'Til I was thinking of you. I don't remember a thing before I opened my eyes, and you came into view. I don't know what I was doing�when there was nothing to do. Must've been waiting for someone, baby. Now I can see - I was waiting for you," the voice began, and Josie stood up, becoming a little less shy in her performance. She headed once again toward her bedroom. She was missing Sam already.
She grabbed the dress she had been wearing and walked back to her couch. On her way, she saw the roses she had received at prom, and pulled one from the vase. There were only about eight of the past dozen in the vase, now. She had pressed three and was now holding one. The roses were important to her and she wanted to preserve this feeling for later. She had a large box in her closet filled with momentous from the past. The pressed roses would probably be later framed and mounted on her wall.
" I'd give up my sight just to see you. I'd beg, I would borrow and steal. I'd cut off my hands just to touch you, and tear out my heart so you'd know how I feel. There's nowhere that I wouldn't follow. There's nothing that I wouldn't do, 'Cause I wouldn't wanna be me� if I didn't have you," the voice belted from the speakers and Josie burrowed her face in her dress. It smelled so much like Sam that it was the best thing she had to holding him.
When the song ended, she turned it off and realized she had yet to check her messages.
* * *
Sam pulled out the fold-out-couch he was going to sleep on and covered it with the blankets they had left for him. He took off his sweater and pants and got under the blankets. He missed Josie. Her smile, her bright eyes, her soft skin. There wasn't a part of her he didn't miss. The realization of what that sounded like triggered in his mind and he shuddered. 'Stop it, Sam,' he thought.
He found himself restless. He was excited and energized, like he had been the night before the prom. Except, this time he wasn't afraid. It was like Christmas Eve: he knew he had presents, but at the moment he wasn't allowed to see them. His present was Josie. He needed to talk to her. He walked over to the phone and started to dial Josie's number. He knew it by heart from all the times he had thought about calling her.
* * *
Josie went over to her answering machine. She was expecting a message from Rob and maybe Anita, but was surprised to find more than 10 messages awaiting her. There was one from Rob giving his congratulations.
Three were from Anita. "Hey Josie!!! Where are you? I'm so excited! Call me!"
Beep!
"Josie, come on! Where are you? It's 11 p.m.! Oh my God� are you doing it right now!?"
Beep!
"You must be having a lot of fun if you're taking this long! Okay, bye Jos!" Josie laughed.
Two more were from her parents telling her how romantic it all was and that they hoped he was worth it, because "if he wasn't and he hurt her, they would cripple him." She laughed again.
There was a message from Aldys. It was the longest yet. In it, she explained to Josie how this whole thing was like 'As You Like It,' except that everyone didn't get married in the end, and after a pause she told Josie that the story just might not be finished. Josie smiled.
The next was from Cynthia wishing the best. She was surprised how many people cared about this. The next one surprised her even more; it was from Gus.
"Geller. Look, I just wanted to tell you that� your article was decent. Rigfort says you might get your own column but first you have to do a follow-up on Never Been Kissed," Gus' voice hardened, "We're expecting to publish it next week, so get to it� and I don't want this article on anything crappy, Geller, this is important! Just because this article scored big doesn't mean the next will."
The rest were from her other co-workers. She grabbed her laptop and walked to her bedroom, deciding to get started on her fallow-up.
Just as she sat down she heard the phone ring. She decided to let it go. She'd call everyone back when she got her article started. When the machine picked up, she jumped and ran for the phone, hearing Sam's voice.
* * *
The phone just rang and rang, and Sam was disappointed. The answering machine picked up� "Hi, you've reached Josie Geller. Please leave me a message and I'll try to call you back!" Sam's heart leaped at the sound of her voice, a recording no less.
"Hi Josie! I know I just saw you, but I� missed you and I wanted to-" the phone picked up.
"Hi Sam!" Josie said, breathing heavily after running to get the phone in time.
"Oh, hi Josie!"
"You� you missed me?" she asked hopefully.
A little embarrassed, Sam replied, "Uh� yeah, actually I did."
"So did I�"
"I know it's late, did I wake you up?"
"No, no� I was just trying to start a follow-up on my article that Gus asked me to write."
Sam figured Gus was Josie's boss, "What are you going to write, if you don't mind me asking?"
"I don't even know. I just got the message a minute ago, any suggestions? I mean you are my teacher, aren't you?"
Sam laughed, "I don't know if I can help you there!"
"Yeah� maybe I should do it myself� so, so what are you doing?"
"I just changed for bed," Sam replied, feeling a little awkward all of a sudden.
"Me too! We should sleep together!" Josie quickly shut her mouth, hoping it didn't sound to him the way it sounded to her.
Sam's stomach flip-flopped at the proposal, even though he knew Josie hadn't meant it the way it sounded. A sudden, awkward silence distanced them. Sam would have said something, but he was horrible at talking over the phone; he never knew exactly what to say.
Josie's thoughts turned to how boring the next day was going to be without seeing Sam. Then she had a thought: she had to do that follow-up tomorrow� Maybe she could bring Sam to the office to "interview" him. 'No, he has to work!' she thought.
"Uh, Sam? What are you doing tomorrow?"
"I don't know� I guess I have to get my apartment back in order; actually, get it back is more like it!" Sam laughed. He was hoping Josie was going to ask him something.
"Oh."
"Why, Josie?"
"Well, since I had this follow-up article and most likely it will have something to do with us, that maybe that would give me an excuse to take you to work with me; but I understand that you need to get your apartment back and everything..." Josie trailed off.
"I'd love to! I wasn't exactly looking forward to not seeing you�. So, if you want me to�."
"Of course!" Josie's voice cracked with joy. Happiness swelled in her stomach and shot up her throat at the thought.
"Ok, well maybe we should get to sleep then, seeing we have to get up and go to work," Sam smiled.
"Yes, that's right. I'll pick you up at 8 tomorrow� ok?"
"Ok Josie, 'til 8! I love you!" Sam held his breath.
Josie's throat caught- she wasn't used to hearing his say that yet -but she managed to get out a shaky, "I love you too."
* * *
Sam waited for Josie to hang up the phone and set the alarm clock on his watch for 7:30. He was surprised to see his watch said the time was 4 a.m. He had to get up in three and a half hours. He grabbed his toothbrush and headed for the bathroom.
After he brushed his teeth, he stopped to study himself in the bathroom mirror. Will was right, he did have a huge smile spread across his face, and he hadn't even known it! He lifted an eyebrow and tilted his smile at himself. He couldn't believe himself.
When he'd finished, he went back to the couch and laid down. He didn't feel tired at all. Not long after he closed his eyes, he was out cold.
* * *
Josie hung up the phone and walked into her bedroom. It seemed she was walking on air. She got into bed and turned off the light. She was in such a deep trance she had even neglected to say goodnight to her turtles.
At first she tossed and turned, feeling more awake than she'd ever been. She forced her eyes closed and not long after, she was deep asleep.
* * *
Josie woke up surpassingly well rested. Her sleep had been filled with dreams. Most of them she didn't remember, but she had one that elated and horrified her. It was almost a flashback of the time Sam and her had been walking outside of school, talking about Betty and Veronica. After a long discussion, they had sat on a bench, much like what had really happened that day. The difference was that instead of almost kissing like they had� they did kiss. The kiss was long and tender, but was interrupted by Lara. She couldn't remember what Lara had said, but Sam had looked guilty and afraid.
Josie shrugged, telling her self it was only a bad dream.
* * *
Sam rolled out of bed, eager to start his day with Josie. He had slept better than he had in a long time despite the shortness of his rest. He hummed to himself while he was shaving and taking a shower.
When he was dressed, he went to the kitchen to make breakfast, but instead found it already made for him. Meredith and Will were laughing amongst themselves when Sam entered.
"Well, don't you look nice," Meredith said, walking over to Sam and laying a kiss on his cheek.
"Same to you, Mere," he turned to Will, "Will, I'm going to work with Josie today, so can you finish my car sometime in the near future? I want to get my apartment back when I get home."
"Yes, master."
* * *
To Be Continued�
* * *