* * *
During the drive home, Sam took every opportunity to hold Josie's hand, and brush kisses across her palm.
Suddenly Josie began to giggle to herself. Sam looked at her inquiringly. "Penny for your thoughts?"
"Oh, I was just thinking about Maria and Luigi giving us those strawberries and no spoons �"
"Hmmm � I guess they wanted to give us a bit of a nudge," he replied.
"Now that they know Guy and Aldys are on a date, I wonder what they'll do to them?" Josie wondered. Sam chuckled, remembering the way Maria's eyes had lit up when Sam had explained the situation.
"Who knows? But I'm sure we'll be able to get it out of Aldys next time we see her."
"I hope so! She looked so pretty tonight � I hope that things work out okay for them." She said.
"Marrying them off already, Josie?" Sam said teasingly. Josie gave him a sideways look, amused at the comment.
"No, nothing like that. But after that stunt the Barbies tried to pull on Prom Night, I just hope that she and Guy don't cop too much flak. She just doesn't deserve to be treated like that at all."
"Well, given that Guy's asked her out, I think he might have seen the light. Actually," Sam mused. "He might have you to thank for that."
"Me?" Josie looked startled. "What makes you say that?"
"Didn't you tell me that he said you 'rocked his world'? I mean, you were trying to get close Kirsten, Gibby and Kristen for your assignment, but you never really changed who you were, or what you were passionate about. There's more to that kid than meets the eye."
"Really?" Josie turned sideways in her seat to look at Sam. "You haven't talked about Guy like this before."
"He hasn't been dating someone like Aldys before. Besides the staff, not many people at the school know that he's a straight A student. He really plays it down."
"He is? But he was always so down on the rest of us � especially the Denominators!" said Josie. "Well, most of us � until Rob worked his magic." She amended.
"Yeah well, I guess those are the perils of being the most popular boy in the school leading a group of ditzes that only go on appearances."
By now they had reached Josie's apartment. Sam parked outside, and they both got out and slowly walked up the front steps to the front door. Josie unlocked the door and walked inside, flicking on the hallway light. As she walked into the darkened living room, she fumbled on the coffee table for a moment until she found the packet of matches she sought. Flicking a match, she lit the candles that she kept placed around the room, as Sam closed and locked the front door.
Sam looked around the room in appreciation as he walked in. After the hustle and bustle of the restaurant, Josie's apartment was a serene haven. The rooms were painted a soft yellow, and there were two plump cream sofas surrounding a teak coffee table. The front window had a window seat that was scattered with several needlework cushions, and on either side of the window stood two large bookshelves, filled to overflowing with Josie's beloved books. Josie had large candles in glass hurricane lamps around the room, and once lit, they cast a golden glow over the room.
"I'm just going to wash my face, I'll be back in a sec," said Josie, pausing to kick off her shoes, then padding towards the bathroom.
* * *
Sam settled into one of the sofas, stretching out with a sigh of contentment. As he gazed at one of the candles, he couldn't help but compare Josie to the way his life had been with Lara. Lara had scorned Maria and Luigi, commenting that they were far too 'homey' for her tastes, preferring to dine out at the sort of upmarket restaurants that she had become accustomed to in New York. The evening would usually consist of her chatting on about various clients, their net worth, and her lifestyle in New York, before dragging him off to whatever new club had opened so that they could 'be seen' at the right places.
She had also been dismissive of some of his closest friends. Although she'd been friendly enough with them during college, she had become so immersed in the New York culture that she now saw them as being backward, and had even accused some of them of holding Sam back, when he had kept delaying his move to New York. The ill feeling had definitely been two sided, but many of his friends had kept their peace. To them, Sam had seemed unhappy enough as it was, without his friends trying to tell him what to do as well.
Josie on the other hand, had swept into his life like a breath of fresh air. She had immediately taken to Maria and Luigi as if she had known them for years, and had even arranged a group dinner at Luigi's with Sam's friends so they could all meet each other. That had been a great evening, everyone rocking with laughter as they all told Josie stories about Sam's youth (much to his embarrassed horror), eagerly questioning her about the assignment, and the romance that had developed between her and Sam. Maria and Luigi had closed the restaurant for the evening, then joined them at the table and continued to party until the wee hours of the morning. Now some of the group had been talking about doing it all again.
With Josie, Sam had an incredible sense of peace in his life that he hadn't realized was missing. When they had first kissed on the pitcher's mound at the game, there had been an incredible feeling of 'rightness', as if he was meant to have Josie in his arms, and no-one else � like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle finally coming together. After the kiss, he had simply wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, his face nuzzled against the side of her neck for what had felt like an eternity. It wasn't until they were interrupted by the embarrassed pitcher that they realized only a few seconds had passed, and that they were being watched by the stadium's capacity crowd.
Since then, they had both agreed to take things slowly so that they could get to know each other fully, now without the extra baggage that Josie's assignment had imposed. It had only been over the last week that they had started to sleep together � in the simplest sense. They had started to share a bed, but had not yet made love. Initially, Sam had found it difficult to lie in bed holding the woman of his dreams and not make passionate love to her, but he knew that it was an inevitability. In the meantime, he was so grateful to have her in his life that he would abide by whatever pace she wanted to take.
Sam's eyes drifted shut.
* * *
Josie smiled as she walked into the living room and saw Sam stretched out drowsing on the sofa. She padded softly across to him, then knelt down in front of him and kissed him gently. Without opening his eyes he reached up to put his hand caressingly on her cheek as the kiss deepened.
When they both came up for air, Josie crinkled her nose at him. "You're looking very comfortable there," she said.
"Mmm-hmm" he said with a crooked, sleepy smile. Josie caught her breath as she looked at him. His hair was tousled from the sofa cushions, and as he gazed at her with his sleepy eyes he looked incredibly sexy. The room was silent as they stared at each other for a moment, then Sam sat up slowly.
"All that talk about Guy and Aldys has got me thinking about Prom night now," said Josie quietly.
"They're not sad thoughts are they?" asked Sam. She looked reflective, but not upset from what he could tell.
"No�well maybe a little," she said, looking at the top button his shirt, rather than meeting his eyes.
Sam watched her for a moment, and then had a flash of inspiration. He got up, and walked over to the stereo system that was stored in one of the bookshelves. Flicking through Josie's CDs, he smiled in satisfaction as he found what he had been looking for. He put the disc into the stereo, then kicked off his shoes and strolled back Josie, who was looking at him questioningly from the sofa. He stopped in front of her and held out both his hands to help her up.
"I think I have the antidote. It just occurred to me that we never got to finish our dance at the Prom did we?" He slid his arms around her waist and began to sway slowly. Josie smiled as she heard the song playing softly.
So please, please, please � let me � let me � let me � get what I want this time �
They slowly began to dance around the room, looking only at each other as the music wrapped itself around them.
"Sam�how is it that you know exactly what to do to make me feel better?" she said softly.
"Just lucky, I guess," he said with a gentle smile as he drew her closer to rest their heads together. He had one arm around her waist, the other holding her hand up close to his heart.
"When I think of what my life was like before you, I don't know how I existed. I never knew that someone could make me feel so cherished�" said Josie on a sigh. She closed her eyes blissfully, when she felt Sam's breath in her hair. She quite suddenly became aware of his strong hands on her back, his lips that were now pressed against her neck.
"Sam," she whispered.
He didn't seem to hear her as he pulled her closer to him, her body, her breasts full against his chest. She felt more than heard him groan as her softness touched the strength of his chest.
Slowly, as though it was the most important thing he'd ever done, Sam buried his hands in Josie's hair and brought his lips to hers. He'd kissed her before, but not like this. Before, he'd been in control. Those kisses had a beginning and an end. But this kiss was tenderness. It was all tenderness and gentleness and sensitivity. It was as though he'd been wanting to press his lips to hers for a long while, and he was going to savor every moment. There was something else in the kiss: vulnerability. He was allowing her to see how very much she meant to him, allowing her to see his longing and yearning, and his love. He was showing her how easily she could hurt him. He was trusting her. The kiss continued, then deepened, and the longing she felt in him increased. It was as though she could feel his very soul in that kiss. When he pulled away he was trembling from the iron will he was exerting to keep things under control.
* * *