Hi, everyone! I hope you like the latest installment of my story. It's always great to hear what you think, so please don't hesitate to email me at [email protected], or post on the message board. Thanks! You guys are awesome!
"Are you sure you're ready for this, Josie?" Sam whispered, tracing her jaw line with his finger as he lie on top of her in bed. Somewhere along the line- Josie couldn't remember when-they'd ended up under the covers. Sam wore nothing but boxer shorts. They were white with vertical red stripes. Josie hadn't remembered ever seeing that particular pair before. She wore nothing but her white cotton bikini underwear, and nearly ever inch of her skin touched Sam's.
What was he talking about? Of course she was ready for this! She'd been ready for this ever since their first kiss on the baseball field. That was the moment, the moment when she knew that he was the one for her, the man she was destined to spend the rest of her life with. "Yes, Sam," she heard herself gasp out as she groped for his boxers with her hands. Clumsily, she struggled to slide them off of him, and she heard them tear in the process.
"Sorry," she muttered, tilting her head up to kiss his lips. Now that his boxers were finally off, she reached down to pull off her own underwear, discovering that they were already off. "Oh, my..." she whispered, knowing that there was no going back. This was it!
* * *
BEEEEEEEEEEP!!! Josie's alarm screamed in her ear, and she sat up in bed with a jolt. She rubbed the backs of her hands against her eyes and looked around her. It had all been a dream. She sat in bed alone, the covers twisted around her body. She had somehow managed to slip out of her oversized white T-shirt and green boxer shorts during the night, probably when she'd been having the dream about Sam.
"Dammit!" she muttered under her breath, climbing clumsily out of bed. She didn't even bother to slip back into her pajamas. She walked completely naked over to her closet and opened it, standing there staring at her clothes without making a decision. "I have nothing to wear," she declared hopelessly. "Absolutely nothing!"
Groaning, she finally decided on an old pair of Levi shorts and a plain pink T-shirt that was just a little bit too big and kept falling off her shoulder. She probably wouldn't go anywhere today anyway. She had to finish up her column to hand in tomorrow. Anyway, if she did decide to go somewhere, she could always change.
In the kitchen, Josie poured herself a bowl of Raisin Bran while watching the television. Dirty Dancing was the only thing even remotely interesting on, and she couldn't help smiling, remembering when she'd watched it with Sam.
After eating her cereal, Josie brushed her teeth and washed her face. Just as she was heading back out to the living room, the phone rang. "Hello?" she said, swinging into the kitchen to pick up the phone on the bar.
"Josie, are you all right? You sound depressed." It was Anita.
Josie maneuvered herself into the stool behind the bar, sighing. "I'm fine, Anita. Really."
Josie knew that she didn't sound convincing, but evidently Anita decided to let this pass for the time being. "So, tell me...How is Sam's brother? What was his name again? Matt? And didn't he bring a girlfriend with him? You have to give me the scoop, Josie!"
In spite of herself, Josie laughed. Truthfully, she was surprised that Anita hadn't called sooner. Matt and Jen had arrived Friday afternoon, after all, and here it was Sunday morning and this was the first she'd heard from her. "All right, what exactly do you want to know, Anita?" she asked.
"Well," Anita began, sounding impatient, "what is there to tell? What's the scoop?"
"Anita, may I remind you of that old saying, 'curiosity killed the cat'?"
Anita scoffed. "Well, at least the cat must have led an interesting life. Come on, Josie, you're killing me!"
"All right, all right. Well...Let's see...Matt and his girlfriend, Jen, are both wonderful. Matt is like a shorter, younger version of his brother, but he has the most peculiar hair. Sort of a mixture of orange, red, and brown. He's a real gentleman, like Sam. Well, Sam had originally planned for Matt to sleep on the couch and for Jen to sleep in the guest room."
"Oh...I can see where this is going..." Anita interjected before Josie could say more. "Sam must have been beside himself. What did he do?"
"Well, he had a talk with his brother, and in the end he decided that he trusted him. Sam knew that Matt was responsible, but he was still worried about how their parents might react. Luckily, his mom called him the next morning and told him that she and their father had known all along about what Matt had been planning."
"Young love..." Anita said, dreamily. "That's very sweet. So, now we're back to what's bothering you."
"Bothering me? What's bothering me?"
"That's what I'd like to know!" Anita exclaimed. "Josie, don't make me drag it out of you. You know you can tell me anything. So let's hear it."
"All right..." Josie closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Then she opened them again and looked around, as if someone might be watching her and would hear what she was about to say. Of course, the idea was completely ridiculous. "Well, ever since Matt and Jen arrived and the idea of them, well...making love, came out, I've been thinking a lot about Sam and I...in...in that way."
"Oh..."
"I feel like I'm losing my mind here, Anita! Sam and I have only officially been together for a very short time, but I feel like I've known him forever. I know that he's the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. If you had told me sixth months ago that I would be contemplating now what I am, I would have called you crazy...and yet here I am."
"Oh, Josie, I think what you're feeling makes complete sense. What difference does it make how much time you've spent with someone? It's about quality, not quantity. Have you talked to Sam about this?"
"Oh, gosh, no!" Josie cried. "I don't know how I could even begin to bring something like this up. What would I say? And last night I had this dream. It was so real, Anita, and I was about ready to throw my alarm clock across the room when it interrupted it."
"Josie, I definitely think you should talk to Sam about this," Anita advised. "I'm sure he's thinking a lot of the same things that you are. He's a man, after all, and with all that he's had to deal with where his brother is concerned, how could he not be thinking of it?"
"I know, I know. You're right, Anita, as always."
"Hey, have I ever steered you wrong?"
Josie laughed. "Let's not go there, okay?"
"What? What do you mean?"
"I'm thinking of a time not so long ago when you suggested that I go out with Marshall: The Duke."
"Well, you didn't do it, did you?" She paused for a moment before continuing. "Look, Josie, my only purpose in this is to tell you what you already know."
"Right. Thanks, Anita. I really do appreciate it!"
"I try. Well, Jos, I'm going to let you go. I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. See you tomorrow at work."
"Yep. See you tomorrow!" Josie set the phone back in the receiver, smiling to herself. Anita was right. She had to talk to Sam about this. Suddenly, though, she was feeling like everything would work out just as it should.
* * *
Sam covered his face with his hands, his elbows resting on the kitchen table. The Chicago Sun Times lay in its various sections all around him. Off to his right was a plain white mug filled to the brim with steaming hot coffee. Groaning, he slowly picked it up and brought it to his lips. Unfortunately, he tipped it up too fast, and much more than he had bargained for came flowing out into his mouth. "Ow! Dammit, dammit, dammit!" he cried out, standing up and going to the sink for a glass of water.
"Hey, can you keep it down in there, Sammy-boy? I'm trying to work on my documentary here!" Matt called from the guest bedroom. As Sam guzzled down the ice-cold water at the sink, he couldn't help smiling. Matt had been working on his "documentary" all morning. Sam didn't even know if you could really call it a documentary. All he'd been doing since he and Jen got up that morning was following her around with the camera. "It's a 'day in the life' piece," Matt had explained. "This way I won't miss her so much after I leave her house and go back to mom and dad's until school starts again."
"Who do you love?" Matt asked now. Sam watched as his brother walked backwards with his video camera, following Jen out to the kitchen.
"Matt Coulson," she replied into the camera. "But if Matt Coulson doesn't get that camera out of my face soon, I'm going to have to kill him!"
Matt chuckled and turned the camera around, filming himself. "That's my girl!" he exclaimed. He turned the camera back around again. "Just a couple more minutes of footage, okay?" he pleaded. "I'm only two minutes away from having a whole hour!"
"All right. I don't feel like killing you anyway," she teased. She turned around then and went into the kitchen and grabbed a glass from the cupboard.
"What's your pleasure, miss?" Sam asked her, amused.
"Um...I'm thinking of...What am I thinking of, Matt?" Jen asked, looking back at her boyfriend.
"Diet Coke," Matt declared. "Definitely Diet Coke."
"That's my man," Jen said, giggling. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Score one for the home team!" Matt shouted.
Sam rolled his eyes and went back to sit down at the table with his coffee. Shaking his head, he brought his coffee mug to his lips once again, discovering that the beverage had finally cooled down a little. Jen grabbed a can of Diet Coke from the refrigerator and poured some of its contents into her glass, along with two large ice cubes. "Do you want something to drink, Matt?" she asked him.
"In a minute. I've almost got my hour now. Do you have any parting words for us, Jen?"
"Us? Just who exactly are you planning on showing this to?" she cried.
Matt chuckled. "Oh, I don't know. My friends, my parents, the whole city of Detroit. It's got "Oscar" written all over it, don't you think?"
Jen blushed. "Maybe for best director," she suggested, "but I'm afraid I'm one of the least photogenic people in the world."
"Nonsense! I am a master of film, and I know a beautiful subject when I see it. The camera loves you, Jen!"
"Really? I thought it was the man behind the camera that loved me."
"Well, that too." Finally, he took the camera away from his eye and hit "standby." "All right, that's enough for today. I'll be back in a few. Have to brush my teeth."
"And maybe do a little shaving while you're at it," Jen suggested, brushing her hand across his cheek.
Matt took her hand from his face and kissed it lightly before retreating to the guest bedroom, where he put his camera away. He emerged only moments later with his toothbrush and razor, disappearing into the bathroom.
Jen took her Diet Coke and went to sit at the table across from Sam. "Your brother is totally insane," she said, giggling.
Sam shook his head, smiling at her. "I've never seen him so happy before!"
"Are you all right, Sam?" she asked. "Do you need some Ibuprofen or something?"
Sam sighed. "Well, I do have a bit of a headache, but I figure that if I just try to relax, it'll go away."
"If you say so. What's Josie doing today?"
"I imagine she's probably putting the finishing touches on her column. She has to hand it in tomorrow."
"Are you sure you're all right, Sam?" Jen probed. "My mom says I'm good at reading people. I don't know you that well yet, but you look kind of stressed. Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest!"
Sam laughed. "I'll survive, Jen, really. So, what are you and Matt planning on doing today?"
Jen shrugged. "I don't know. I kind of wanted to see a little bit of the downtown area. He said we could walk along Michigan Avenue, see the sights."
"Sounds fun. Have you ever been to Chicago before?"
She shook her head. "No. This is the first time. I've always wanted to go though. Have you ever seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off?"
Sam chuckled. "Are you kidding? I used to watch it every time I'd stay home from school, when I was sick."
"Cool. It's one of my favorites."
"Sam, are you flirting with my girlfriend out there?" Matt peeked his head out of the bathroom, his toothbrush resting in the corner of his mouth.
Jen giggled. "Matt, come on! We're going to go downtown, aren't we?"
He nodded. "That's the plan, Stan." He went back into the bathroom and closed the door behind him this time.
Jen shook her head. "What a goofball. But I love him anyway."
Once Jen and Matt had left for downtown, Sam finally had a chance to collect his thoughts. It wasn't that he'd never thought about making love to Josie before this, but somehow Matt's situation seemed to make Sam's own desire grow exponentially. He certainly didn't want to scare her off, but he had to do something! He needed to hear her voice, to be with her.
Having finished his coffee, Sam rinsed out the mug and slipped it into the dishwasher. He went into his bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed, picking up the phone. He dialed Josie's number and waited for her to pick it up.
After only one ring, he heard her voice. "Hello?" she said cheerfully.
"Josie...It's Sam," he said.
"Sam! Hi!" She sounded excited to hear from him, and just the sound of her voice was enough to make him smile.
"What are you up to?" he asked.
"Oh, not much. I finally finished my column, so I was just relaxing a little. What are you up to?"
"Well, Matt and Jen just left. They decided to spend the day downtown."
"Oh. So you're all by yourself?"
"Yeah...Do you want to...come over for a little while?" he heard himself ask.
"Oh, Sam, I'd love to!" Josie exclaimed. "Give me an hour though, okay? Right now I'm not exactly dressed to go anywhere!"
"I'm sure you look beautiful as always," he insisted.
"Sam, trust me," she insisted. "So I'll see you in about an hour then?"
"I'll be waiting."
"Okay. Bye."
"Bye, Jos."
The hour that Sam waited for her seemed to last a century, but finally he heard the doorbell ring, and he got up from the couch in the living room and went to answer it. Josie stood there in front of him wearing a bright pink tube top with spaghetti straps and a tight black miniskirt. High-healed black sandals finished out the ensemble, and her hair was curled in ringlets, much the same way it was on the day of their first kiss.
Sam blinked his eyes a few times to make sure he was seeing correctly. He felt silly in what he wore next to her, a simple white T-shirt and denim shorts. He hadn't even bothered to put socks on his feet. "Josie, you look..."
"Rufus?" Josie asked, out of habit, giggling a little.
"All right...rufus...But I was going to say 'beautiful, gorgeous, amazing...unbelievable.'"
"Oh, Sam..." She blushed. "I guess I am a little over-dressed, aren't I?"
Sam shook his head. "No, no. It's fine. Please come in." Josie stepped inside, and Sam reached behind her, shutting the door.
Josie headed straight for Sam's CD collection, which was stored in a tall rack beside the stereo system and the television. "Can we put some music on?" Josie asked, kneeling down in front of the CD rack in order to get a better view.
Sam slowly came up behind her. "Sure. Whatever you want."
"Hmmm..." Josie scanned the CDs with her eyes, looking for the perfect selection. "Ooh! This is a fun CD. I think Rob has it too, so I've listened to it a couple times," she said, removing the CD from the rack. She stood up and turned around, handing it to Sam. He smiled when he saw the title: The Cars: Greatest Hits. "Is that okay, Sam?" she asked, looking over his shoulder.
He nodded, opening up the CD case to remove the CD. "I'll put it in." He pressed a button on the CD player and when it opened, Sam put the CD in and closed it again, pressing, "Play."
"Let's go sit on the couch while we listen to it," Josie suggested, taking him by the hand and leading him over to it. They sat down side by side. "So...how is Matt enjoying his time here?" "Oh, he likes it a lot," Sam replied. "I guess I'm not as worried as I was before. He's a smart kid. It'll be all right. You should've seen him this morning. He was so giddy! I've never seen him like that before. He's always had a great sense of humor, but most of the time at home he would just keep it more toned down. But not anymore. I think Jen has really made a difference."
"Well, that's great to hear," Josie replied. The dream that she had had the night before was still fresh in her mind, and she moved a little closer to Sam on the couch, leaning over a little so that her head rested against his chest. Instinctively, he put his arm around her, settling closer to her himself.
Sam could no longer think straight, not with Josie this close to him. He leaned his head down to smell her hair. Raspberries. "Did I mention that you look fantastic today?" he whispered, knowing full well that he had.
Josie lifted her head to look at him, her mouth only inches from his. "Yes, you did. Thank-" She was going to say "Thank you," but his lips cut her off. He put his arms tightly around her, and his kiss was urgent, needful. It was like nothing Josie had ever experienced before, but given the intensity of it, she knew that he had had all of the same things on his mind as she had.
When the kiss ended, Sam smiled at her for a long time, as if memorizing every contour of her face. Then, without a word, he stood up. He took her hand and pulled her with him, leading her into his bedroom.