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"Oh my gosh, Josie. Get a grip!" She looked in the mirror, teasing out the curls in her hair for what seemed like the millionth time this morning. Glancing nervously at her watch, she knew she would have to hurry or Gus would really ride her butt for tardiness.
Well maybe not. After all, she was the newspaper's darling, at least for the moment. "Me, Josie Geller!" She giggled, hardly allowing herself to believe that thought might be true. But the fact remained that the switchboard had been going crazy at work about her article, especially the follow up to the article asking for the kiss.
Sigh. It was true, wasn't it? All Josie could think about was the taste of Sam's lips on hers, the smell of his cologne, the feel of his arms around her...
"Ow!" Dropping the curling iron on the floor with a clatter, she instinctively placed a hand over the spot on her forehead where she burned herself. Realizing she needed to pick up the iron before it damaged her carpet, she grabbed it. Unfortunately, she grabbed it with the palm of her hand touching the hot iron.
She quickly tossed the iron back onto the sink counter, and then fell to the floor, unable to control her tears. The stings of the burns really hurt, true, but there was more to her tears than that. She was such a bundle of nerves lately, and she knew why.
"Josie?"
Closing her eyes, she listened to Sam call out her name, forgetting her pain instantly.
"Are you okay? I heard a noise and�" He stopped abruptly when he saw her on the floor, tears on her face, rocking and holding on to her hand.
"What happened?!" he asked, concerned. Quickly he grabbed a washcloth from the closet and wet it, and applied it to the burn on her forehead.
Josie shook her head. "That's not what hurts now." She opened up the palm of her hand and gave him an embarrassed grin.
He looked down, and saw an even bigger burn mark on her hand. "Josie! " he exclaimed, putting the cool cloth to her burned hand. "What's happened to you this morning?"
Josie glanced at him, trying to decide whether or not to cry. 'You,' she thought, 'the best thing to ever happen to me, that's what,' she felt like saying. Instead she settled on mumbling an excuse about not paying attention.
Sam stared at her face, without meaning to. It was just that he saw the tears in her eyes and wanted to make everything better for her. If it meant applying first aid, he could do that. But if it meant giving her a little affection, then he was more than willing to help out in that way, too.
"Baby, be careful� I hate to see you get hurt." Instantly he regretted his words. He didn't want to seem patronizing; rather his affectionate nickname was just that: a sign of his growing emotions for her.
"Baby?" she questioned with a grin.
"I'm sorry� If you don't like that..."
"No, Sam, I do like that! I've always wanted someone to give me a nickname�" 'Other than Josie Grossie,' she added to herself. But Sam didn't need to know about that just yet.
He grinned, which she found incredibly attractive. He seemed so at ease now. Was it because of her?
As he helped her off the floor, he looked her up and down, quickly so she wouldn't notice. (But she did!) She looked so darn sexy in her little power business suit.
"Oh, you have a run in your hose." He pointed toward her left leg.
"I do?" She looked down, and sure enough, Sam was right. " Oh, crap."
He laughed, and then pulled her close to him. "I kind of like it," he confided.
"Really?" She looked at him, her eyes sparkling with excitement at his suggestive tone of voice.
She was something else. "Yeah, I do." And for extra emphasis, he allowed his hand to trace down her side to the spot in her hose where the run was, then gently massaged the area with his thumb.
"Oh, Sam. " She moaned softly, then looked at him wide eyed, embarrassed. 'Oh please let me find a hole in the floor to sink into!" she thought. He would think her a wanton for reacting to such an innocent gesture!
Gently, he now touched her face. "Baby, it's okay," he reassured her, as if he could read her mind. " I think you're terrific." Pulling her even closer, their lips touched. It would have been impossible to say who initiated the kiss; their lips just met at the right moment, both equally compelled to kiss.
"I have to go now." Josie hesitantly pulled back. "Work, you know. I have work to do," she said in a musical voice, trying to cover up her nervousness. "Work is calling me. Not literally, you know, but they will be if I don't get there soon."
Sam laughed and then kissed her again. "I know what you mean. "
She laughed at herself with him. No one had ever made her see herself this way; that she could laugh at herself without it making her miserable. Rather, she almost felt confident at this moment, confident enough to realize she was rambling without berating herself for it.
"Let me grab my things while you finish getting ready." He tenderly kissed the spot on her forehead where she had burned herself.
Before he left the bathroom to go to the couch, the one where he'd slept at, he called out, "Josie?"
Her heart started to race. Was he going to say he loved her?
"Be careful this time, okay?"
She tried to hide her disappointment. "Okay, see you in a few."
Okay maybe he hadn't said the three magic words yet. But somehow she just knew there would be plenty of time for that. Lots of time.
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