Hey, everyone! I finally broke down and decided to write a different "intro." In this part of the story, I'm bringing in two characters from the movie that we haven't seen at all in the installments up to this point (well, maybe one of them in the beginning, but not enough to count for much!). The idea came to me out of left field, so I ran with it. I'm beginning to think that only the characters know what's going to happen next because I certainly have no idea! At any rate, I hope you enjoy. As always, comments are welcome and much appreciated. You can email me at [email protected] or post on the message board. Take care!
* * *
Once they were in Sam's bedroom, Josie let go of his hand and pushed the door closed, kicking off her high-heeled sandals. She climbed up on his bed and bounced a couple times. Sam watched all of this without moving, staring directly into her eyes. "Come here, silly!" Josie exclaimed, motioning to him with her pointing finger.
Sam blinked his eyes a couple times. God, he thought to himself, she hasn't the slightest clue what she's doing to me! So innocent. Heaving a sigh, Sam climbed up on the bed facing her and she reached for his shirt, tugging it over his shoulders and off him. She flung it across the room, and it landed in a wrinkled ball near his closed door. Giggling, she put her hands on his bare shoulders, kissing him softly.
Something inside her snapped at that point. Maybe it was the erotic dream she'd had the night before, or maybe these were desires she'd had buried inside her for some time, and the dream had only reinforced them, bringing them to the surface at last.
Hesitating only slightly, Josie allowed her kisses to move down to his neck. She breathed in the smell of his after-shave, sliding closer to him on the bed in order to gain better access. With her hands splayed across his chest, she slowly moved her fingers up and down in a sort of half-massaging, half-tickling motion.
Sam couldn't begin to describe the feelings welling up inside him. Between Josie's soft kisses and the sweet smell of her raspberry shampoo, he had completely lost control of himself. Was this what heaven was supposed to feel like? He closed his eyes, tilting his head back. He was so mesmerized that it took him a few seconds to realize that she had stopped kissing him. Once he finally snapped out of it, he opened his eyes once again, a gasp escaping him at what he saw. Josie had removed the tube top and now sat before him in a lacy black bra and her tight black miniskirt.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Sam heard the voice of his father. He was suddenly back in high school, sitting on the couch in the living room of his parents' house, his dad pacing back and forth in front of him. Bryan Coulson was a tall man-six foot three, at least-but also quite slender. Both Sam and Matt had received their mysterious green eyes from him, and it was clear that Matt's unique reddish hair had come from their father as well. He generally wasn't an intimidating man, in spite of his height, but if he had something important to say, it came through in his deep, commanding voice. This was exactly the way he'd sounded the day he and Sam had had "the talk." "Sam, I'm going to tell you something," his dad had said. "It's going to sound a little�well�you know, but I need you to listen."
"All right, Dad," Sam had said, shrugging. What was his father getting at anyway? Why didn't he just spit it out? All he wanted to do was take his girlfriend, Sara, out on a date. What was the problem anyway? They were just going to go to a movie and maybe grab a bite to eat afterwards!
"Sam, we are men, and men are notorious for having only one thing on their minds: sex!" His father said the word "sex" as if it were a dirty sock he'd just tossed across the floor, not wanting to touch it. "Unfortunately, that notoriety comes from fact. We see a woman and all of a sudden all we can think about is getting her into bed. I don't know if you have felt this yet, Sam, but if you haven't, you will. Trust me. What I'm telling you is that you have to be a man about it. You can't go around following your pointer through life, as they say. Use your brain. You will not find that brain in your pants, contrary to popular belief. Sex is like a gift�a gift you don't give to just anyone. Make it special, and make sure both of you are ready for it."
At the time of this conversation, Sam had been more than a little embarrassed about what his father was saying to him. His relationship with Sara had always been more of a very close friendship. Sure, he'd kissed her before. They'd made out on several different occasions, in fact, but that was as far as either of them ever thought about taking it.
However, now that Sam was here with Josie, his father's words came back, and they suddenly made complete sense. He had been "following his pointer," as his father had said. Also, it dawned on him that he and Josie hadn't ever actually discussed making love before, and yet here they were, on the verge of doing just that.
Groaning, Sam climbed off the bed, standing beside it now. He saw that Josie's eyes were filled with confusion, and maybe also a twinge of hurt. "Josie, we shouldn't be doing this," he said quietly, not looking her in the eye.
"Why not?" Josie whispered, her voice wavering. Didn't he want her?
"It's just not right, that's all," he insisted. "I need a glass of water."
Without so much as another word, Sam put his shirt back on and left the room. Once he'd gone, Josie pulled her tube top back on, sprawling out on Sam's bed. A few tears fell from her eyes, but she turned her face into his comforter, not wanting to cry. She'd never felt more rejected before. What was his problem? Maybe she wasn't desirable enough or experienced enough. She'd only seen his ex-girlfriend Lara once, but she could tell right away that Lara was certainly more sophisticated than Josie could ever hope to be. Maybe Sam was realizing now that he didn't want to be with someone so inexperienced.
Sam went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. "Damn it, Sam, what's the matter with you?" he asked his reflection in the mirror, scowling at himself. "You have to learn to control yourself! Josie probably felt like she had to do that because she knew you wanted it. You probably scared the hell out of her and now she won't want to have anything to do with you!" But Sam knew he wasn't being entirely fair to himself. He wanted to make love to Josie, of course, but it wasn't because she was some random beautiful girl that happened into his life. Most of what he loved about her had nothing to do with how beautiful she was on the outside. She truly cared about people; she was smart and passionate about life. And her sense of humor! She always seemed to know the right thing to say to put a smile on his face. That night at Navy Pier when he'd rode the Ferris Wheel with her, he'd completely forgotten about his fear of heights as soon as she placed a soft, calming hand over his. No one could put him at ease like she could, or make him smile like she could.
Sam was beginning to feel better now after having thought it all through. He just had to talk to Josie about it now. What would he say? He would tell her that he loved her and that he would wait to make love to her until she was ready. He didn't want to pressure her. He would wait forever for her if he had to. "Real smooth, Sam, real smooth!" he muttered to himself as he realized that he had left Josie alone in his bedroom without an explanation. Drying his face with a towel, he made his way back into his room, hoping to straighten this whole situation out.
* * *
"It's such a beautiful day!" Jen exclaimed as she slid her sunglasses on, peering out the window of Matt's car.
"Perfect," Matt agreed, reaching over to squeeze Jen's hand, smiling at her. "Hey, why don't you put that tape in?" he suggested, pointing to the tape that was sticking partially out of the tape player.
"What is it?" Jen asked, curious.
"Just pop it in. You'll see!" he insisted.
"All right." She shrugged, pushing the tape in as he had instructed. There was silence for a brief moment, but then she clearly heard the beginning of the song "Friday I'm in Love" by The Cure. A smile lit up her face and she leaned her head against the seat cushion, closing her eyes and giggling softly.
"Something funny?" Matt asked her.
"Where�did you get this song?"
"Oh, that. Well, turns out that Sam has this CD, so I recorded this song and a couple others from it that I liked. There's also "Love Song" and "Just Like Heaven." I think "Just Like Heaven" is next."
"Oh."
"You're awfully quiet all of a sudden."
"I'm thinking."
"Yeah? About what?"
"About what you and I were doing the last time we heard this song."
Matt cleared his throat, the memory of it coming to his own mind now. "Yeah�That was�um�something else, wasn't it?"
"Yeah�something else."
"Sam said he was okay with it, but I can't help feeling like he kept us up late watching movies last night for a reason."
Jen grinned. "Yeah. I was sort of thinking the same thing. But I didn't mind. I enjoyed it. Mel Gibson made an excellent Hamlet. He's very charismatic. It was kind of nice falling asleep on the couch next to you under that blanket. How did I end up back in the bedroom last night anyway?"
"I carried you in there once the movie was over�But wait a minute�What's this about Mel Gibson?"
Jen reached up and softly touched his cheek. "Don't you be getting jealous now," she insisted. "He's nothing compared to you."
"Okay. Just checking. So you're saying that I could play Hamlet just as well?"
"Well, maybe, if you were an actor," she said.
Once downtown, Matt pulled his car into a parking garage about a block away from the Sears Tower and the two of them walked hand-in-hand toward it. Out of nowhere, Jen began humming the theme from Star Wars, causing Matt to burst out laughing. Jen stopped humming and laughed too. "Sorry," she said. "I was thinking about Ferris Bueller's Day Off again�The part where Ferris leaves Cameron's dad's car in a garage downtown and two of the workers there take the car for a little joyride. In the scene where the workers are shown driving the car, the theme from Star Wars is played." "Uh oh. Did you see either of those guys at the garage where we left my car?"
Jen shook her head, laughing. "Nope. We're okay there. It just reminded me of that, that's all."
Surprisingly, the line to take the elevator up to the top of the Sears Tower was rather short, and Matt and Jen only had to wait about ten minutes. Finally, they were stepping off the elevator at the top of the building. Jen ran to the window, gazing out at the vast city below her. Matt came up behind her, putting his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. "Well�what do you think?" he whispered in her ear.
"The view is amazing!" she exclaimed. "The city is so�big! Let's walk all the way around so we can see everything."
"Okay. Sounds like a plan," Matt agreed, kissing her softly on the cheek before letting go of her and walking beside her. As they walked, Matt slipped his arm around her and stuck his hand in her right back pocket. She grinned up at him and slipped her arm around him, leaning against him as they walked.
Jen stopped again when they got to the side with the view of Lake Michigan. "It looks even more like the ocean from up here," Jen whispered. "I see it every day at home, but there's still something so beautiful about it, you know?"
"Yeah, I know." He turned to face her, placing his hand on her cheek. "That's how I feel about you. I see you every day, but every day you're just as beautiful as the first time, more beautiful, even."
"Oh, Matt�" She could tell from the look in his eyes that he had something up his sleeve. Without so much as another word, he put his hands on her waist and lifted her up so that she sat on the bar next to the big glass window.
"Lean back so you don't lose your balance," he whispered, moving so that he stood between her legs. He leaned in close to her, and in a matter of moments his mouth found hers in a long, sweet kiss.
"Hey! Young lady! You're not supposed to be up there. Get her down from there immediately, young man!" Matt reluctantly stopped kissing Jen and turned around. A rather large woman with dark frizzy hair and a "security" type uniform stood behind them, glaring angrily.
"Um�sorry," Matt muttered, lifting Jen down from the bar.
"See that it doesn't happen again!" the woman snapped. "Last thing we need is for the windows to get smeared up or for her to fall and hurt herself. There are enough lawsuits in this day in age as it is."
"Um�sorry. I apologize," Matt's face turned a little pink from embarrassment. Once the woman finally left them alone, Jen grabbed Matt by the arm and turned him around to look at her. "Sorry about that, Jen," he whispered. "I didn't want to get you in trouble."
"It's okay, Matt, really," she insisted. As if to prove this to him, she put her arms around his neck and pulled him in for another kiss. This one he cut short, as if afraid that the security woman would come back to hound them.
Just as he had pulled away from her, he heard another voice, but this time it was a male. "Excuse me?" Matt turned around, thinking it was probably another security person come to bother them again. Instead, he was surprised to see a tall, slender guy with brown hair standing next to a pretty girl with long brown hair. They were holding hands, and they looked to be around their age. "Sorry to bother you," the guy continued, "but I have to ask this. Do you happen to know a guy named Sam Coulson?"
"Um�yeah, I do, actually," Matt replied, curious as to how these two knew his brother. "I'm his brother, actually. Why do you want to know? How do you know him?"
Matt saw the pretty girl elbow the guy in the ribs. "I told you he looked like Mr. Coulson!" she whispered to the guy.
The guy smiled first at his companion and then at Matt. "Really? Wow! It's a small world, isn't it? You see, Sam was our English teacher. We just graduated from South Glen South. I'm Guy Perkins, and this is my�girlfriend, Aldys Wells."
Matt noticed that the girl, Aldys, turned a little red when Guy said "girlfriend." It was almost as if he hadn't used that term when talking about her before. Matt found this interesting. He and Jen had heard a great deal about this pair from Sam and Josie. Aldys had been the first person at South Glen South to befriend Josie when she was undercover, and Guy had been the prom king�But neither Sam nor Josie ever mentioned anything about the two of them being a couple. Perhaps this was a recent development. "Hey! Yeah, my brother told me about the two of you," Matt told them. "I'm Matt Coulson, Sam's brother." Matt winced slightly, realizing that he'd already told them that he was Sam's brother. "This is my girlfriend, Jen Caulfield," he continued, squeezing Jen's hand and smiling at her. "We just finished our freshman year of college and are staying with my brother for a couple weeks."
"We never knew Mr. Coulson had a brother," Aldys confessed, entering the conversation at last. "It's nice to meet you, Matt, and you too, Jen. Mr. Coulson was always my favorite teacher in high school."
"Oh, mine too," Guy chimed in. "Where are the two of you from?"
"I'm from Detroit, and Jen's from a small town in the northern part of Michigan."
"Cool. We saw you two get in trouble with that security guard," Guy announced, laughing. "You have to watch out for that one. She's always in a bad mood!"
"Oh. Do you come here a lot?" Jen asked.
"Well, we've been kind of sentimental about it lately," Guy admitted. He paused, looking at Aldys as if asking for her approval of what he was going to say next. She nodded, so he continued. "We had our first kiss here, so we've been coming back a lot."
"Oh, that's so sweet!" Jen exclaimed. "Matt's brother mentioned the two of you, but he never said anything about you being a couple."
Guy chuckled. "Well, that's probably because he didn't know. Actually, we just started dating after prom. I brought Aldys up here for our first date."
"So, what are your plans for the day?" Matt asked them.
Aldys shrugged. "We were just sort of walking around. Guy parked his car in a garage about a block away, so we thought we'd just sort of wander the city for a while."
"Oh. Well, how would you like to wander with us?" Jen asked them.
"Yeah," Matt agreed. "It would be great to have you with us."
Guy turned to look at Aldys, and she nodded. "Sounds like fun," she agreed.
"I'm with her," Guy agreed.
* * *
Sam stood outside his bedroom for a minute with his hand on the doorknob before he went inside. He closed his eyes, whispering to himself what he would say to her. "Josie, I'm sorry if I scared you�No, that's not right! Josie, I'll wait till you're ready, I promise�No! Josie, I�Oh, hell!" Shaking his head and growing increasingly annoyed with himself, he slowly turned the doorknob. You deal with words every day, Sam Coulson, he thought, so why can't you get this right?
Opening his eyes at last, Sam finally entered his bedroom. Josie lay facedown on his bed, sobbing into the comforter. She didn't even look up when he entered, as if she hadn't heard him come in. Sam sat down on the edge of his bed, and finally Josie turned over and looked at him. He hated to see her looking so forlorn, and it pained him even more to realize that he had been the cause of her distress. Seeing her like that, with tears streaming down her face, the right words finally came to his lips. "Josie, I'm so sorry. Please don't cry." He reached up and wiped her tears away with his finger, but she pushed his arm away and looked down, sniffing. "Josie, look at me."
Josie raised her eyes, pressing her lips tightly together in a desperate attempt to compose herself. She tucked one of her ringlets behind her ear and asked quietly, "Am I really that undesirable?"
At first, Sam wasn't sure if he had heard her right. Josie Geller? Undesirable? She had to be kidding! "What?" was all he could manage to reply.
Josie sucked in her breath. "You left me here without an explanation," she said. She didn't sound angry, just hurt and confused. "I thought it was my fault. I thought you didn't want me."
"Oh, Josie, sweetheart, that wasn't it at all!" he exclaimed. How could she think that he didn't want her? He'd never heard anything so absurd in his entire life! "I thought that I was forcing you to do something that you weren't ready for, so I stopped. It scared me. I�I lost control of myself for a minute there. I always seem to do that with you, Josie." When he said the last part, he thought he saw her face tighten, as if she took that as something bad. "But that's because I love you so much," he added hastily, and her facial features relaxed. Her lips almost formed a smile, but not quite. "I can't imagine my life without you now. I don't know what I ever did with myself before I knew you..."
Josie smiled at last, taking his hand. "If I wasn't ready for this, I wouldn't have done anything, Sam. I would have told you."
Sam shook his head. "I know. I know you would have�But we never really talked about this Josie. I've�been thinking about it a lot recently, but I should have talked to you about it before I acted."
"Well, I've been thinking about it a lot, too," Josie confessed. "But you're right. We should have talked about it. But I am ready, Sam�whenever you are."
Sam kissed her on the cheek. "Well, I'm ready too, but, given what has happened, I think we should wait. The timing is wrong. I want the first time to be special, you know."
Josie nodded. "Yeah. I'm sorry. I guess my behavior was a little shocking." She had decided against telling Sam about the dream she'd had about the two of them. It was enough for her to know that he was just as ready as she was.
Sam laughed. "Well, 'shocking' isn't the word I would use, but I don't think you need to apologize. I acted like a jerk, so I should be the sorry one."
Josie shook her head. "No need for that. I understand. So�what do you want to do now?"
"I don't know�What do you want to do?"
"Let's play Monopoly," Josie suggested spontaneously. "I saw that you have the game in your living room."
Sam nodded. "Okay. That sounds good." He stood up, reaching out for her hand to help her up. "But I have to warn you, I'm very good. I used to beat my parents and my brother all the time. It drove them nuts. They never stood a chance."
Josie giggled. "It will be an interesting game then, because no one could ever beat me either!"
Sam and Josie set up the game on the floor in front of the television and played the game as they listened to Pink Floyd on the CD player. They took a break for lunch, when Sam made them hot submarine sandwiches with roast beef and provolone cheese. They shared a can of Diet Coke and sat at his kitchen table laughing and joking. Josie thought it odd that suddenly they were like old buddies, especially since they had been so close to consummating their relationship not long before.
The two of them played Monopoly for two more hours after lunch before Sam finally gave in. It had been a close game, but he gave up when Josie had built hotels on Boardwalk and Park Place, while he'd been forced to mortgage most of his properties.
It was around 4:30 when they put the game away and sat on Sam's couch, flipping through the channels to see if there was anything interesting on television. They hadn't been sitting there for more than two minutes when Sam heard a car pull up outside. "Sounds like Matt and Jen are back," he said, standing up to look out the window. "Hey, Jos, come look, would you?"
"What is it, Sam?" she asked, going to stand beside him at the window. She looked out at the street, surprised to see Guy's car parked behind Matt's and then Guy and Aldys walking toward the front door behind Matt and Jen. "That's odd. Did Matt know Guy and Aldys before?"
Sam shook his head. "No. They must have run into each other somewhere, I guess. Small world. Well, I'm sure they'll tell us what's up."