* * *
Josie slowly surfaced from a deep sleep with the gradual awareness of light flickering across her face. She opened her eyes, blinking a little to wake up further. She had a crystal hanging in the bedroom window, and the morning sunlight hit it, spraying the room with rainbow prisms that quivered and danced around the room. She carefully sat up and looked down at Sam as he slept, his breathing deep and slow.
He felt her stir, and opened his eyes. He smiled sleepily, and reaching up a hand pulled her down to his mouth. She kissed him at length, slowly and thoroughly, finding his tongue with hers in a soft, dark greeting. They broke loose finally and came up for air.
"Morning beautiful�" he murmured, voice husky with sleep.
"Good morning," she answered softly. Sam smiled, reaching up to twine his fingers in her hair. She kissed him, and lowered herself to lie on top of him, letting the fullness of her breasts squash gently against his chest. He moved slightly, rubbing, and sighed with pleasure. She pressed her hips down, enjoying the feel of the silky stiffness trapped beneath her belly. He made a small breathless sound.
"Hmmmm�Do you like that?" His only answer was to move slightly under her, pressing upward urgently. "You know Sam, now that we've started this, you may have created a monster."
"Mmm-hmm," he breathed as she feathered kisses across his chest. "I see what you mean, but I..." he reached for her, but she shook her head gently at him.
"Uh-uh�I was here first�"
He made a sort of rumbling noise in his throat, but sighed and relaxed. She squirmed lower, making him inhale sharply, and set her mouth on his nipple, running her tongue delicately around it. She felt him tense, and put her hands on his upper arms to hold him still.
He moved his hips with increasing restiveness. She dipper her head lower, and seized by impulse went pffffft! into his navel. He convulsed, taken by surprise. He surged upward and flipped her on her back, pinning her with the weight of his body.
"Ha! Now it's your turn �" he said with satisfaction. She grinned at him, unrepentant. She tugged experimentally at her wrists, held tight in his grasp, and wriggled slightly.
"Ohhhh, mercy," she said with a laugh. "You beast!"
He snorted briefly, and bent his head to the curve of her breast. She closed her eyes and leaned back on the pillows.
Breakfast was going to be late.
* * *
Some time later Josie emerged from the bedroom, freshly showered and changed. Sam was in the kitchen brewing up some fresh coffee, wearing only a pair of sweat pants, his hair still wet and spiky from his shower. As she walked past, she brushed a kiss against his bare back. Sam looked over his shoulder at her and smiled.
Josie walked into the living room and opened the curtains, letting the sunlight flood into the room, then picked up their discarded shoes from the night before and carrying them into the bedroom. She stood looking at the bed for a moment with a slight smile on her face, then stripped off the sheets and bundled them into the laundry basket in the bathroom. As she straightened, she caught sight of her reflection in the mirror. She cocked her head to one side as she studied herself. Did she look any different? Was that a more knowing look in her eyes? But then again, her body certainly felt different this morning, more�alive. She put both hands up to the nape of her neck, and then ran them absent-mindedly down her neck and over her breasts as she thought about the evening before.
She jumped as music suddenly began playing, breaking her out of her reverie. She smiled at her reflection, feeling a little foolish, and then turned at headed out to the kitchen as the smell of fresh coffee wafted towards her.
Sam was pouring the coffee into two mugs as she got there, and she opened the refrigerator to get some milk. As she opened the door, Sam stepped up behind her to pull her to his chest. He kissed her neck, making her shiver with delight. Turning around she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer for another kiss. As they separated, Sam looked over her shoulder at the refrigerator.
"If music be the food of love, play on�" he quipped. Josie laughed and wrinkled her nose.
"Well, we did decide to give the shopping a miss last night, and look where it got us�" she teased.
He reached out and tucked a curl of hair behind her ear, then stood with one hand cupping her face, the other rubbing her upper arm gently. "Last night was beautiful, Josie."
Josie smiled, remembering. "It was perfect," she agreed softly.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
She looked up at him. "A little � different. More � aware � " she was groping for the right words to say, then giving up with a laugh. "Listen to me, a writer who can't even string a sentence together!"
Sam grinned. "I know what you mean. I was thinking about it when you were in the shower this morning. Things just feel more � complete. I feel like I was only half a person until you came along, and now it's as if I have this whole new life �" he broke off, then shrugged helplessly at Josie. "See? I'm an English teacher and even I can't articulate properly today!"
She giggled and reached for the milk. "Let's just hope that we're not going to be this lost for words every morning, otherwise our careers are shot!"
Sam laughed. "Can you imagine it?" He began to speak as if addressing a class. "Okay guys, today we're uh � going to be studying a �. uh �. a book. Aldys � you wanna take over?"
Josie laughed and rolled her eyes as she poured a generous dollop of milk into both cups, and then carried them to the table. The phone rang, and Sam strolled over to answer it.
"Hello? � Oh hi Jon, what's up?"
"Hey Sam, just calling to see if you can still give me a hand with our painting today."
"Oh, sure..." he said with a guilty start. He'd completely forgotten about it. "When do you want to start?"
"Well, Jo and I got the supplies yesterday, so we can make a start whenever."
"Okay, can you hold on for a sec?"
"Sure, pal."
Sam covered the receiver with one hand, looking at Josie sheepishly as she gave him a puzzled look.
"Uh � it's Jon. I forgot about helping him paint this weekend. They're making a start today and..."
"That's okay � I've got a few things to do today as well."
"Are you sure?"
"Sure I'm sure." Sam smiled at her gratefully as he uncovered the phone.
"Jon? Yeah, no problems, I'll be over in an hour or so."
"Okay, I've gotta run, so I'll see you later on. Bye!"
Hanging up, Sam looked apologetically at Josie. "I'm really sorry..." he began. Josie interrupted him.
"Sorry for helping Jon? Why?"
"Well, it's just that I thought we were going to be together all weekend, but I forgot about the painting."
Josie smiled understandingly. "Sam, it's all right. We're always going to have time together, so don't worry about it. Besides, we can't neglect our friends can we?"
He grinned in relief. "You're amazing, Josie Geller." Then he thought for a moment. "But how about a compromise. How about I help you with the shopping before I go?"
Josie considered it, her eyes twinkling as she nodded and reached for pen and paper to make a list. "I'd say you've got yourself a deal � if you carry the heavy stuff."
"Si � si � I am the burro." He replied, heaving a mock sigh as Josie laughed.
* * *
A couple of hours later, Sam pulled up outside Jon and Joanna's house and bounded inside. He paused to throw his overnight bag into his room, and walked through the house until he found Jon in the guest bedroom.
"Hey," he said in greeting. Jon was putting masking tape over the doorframe, and drop sheets were spread out on the floor. He paused to grin at Sam.
"Howdy partner � you're looking pretty happy today. How's Josie?"
Sam grinned and felt himself blush slightly. "She's fine."
Jon looked at Sam with an appraising look, and then grinned knowingly. "I'd say that things are better than fine judging by the look on your face�" he teased.
"Aw c'mon Jon, give me a break," laughed Sam as he shuffled his feet a little. Then, changing the subject, said, "Where's Joanna?"
"She's out the back working in the garden. You want to help me finish taping this doorway before we start? I don't want to splash more paint around than we have to."
The phone in the hallway began ringing, and Jon strolled out to answer it. Sam finished taping, then picked up a roller and started to paint the walls. After he'd finished the phone call, Jon hung up and went out to the back yard to see Joanna. She looked up from her weeding when she heard the back door close, and sat up as Jon approached.
"Has Sam arrived?"
"Yep, he got here a couple of minutes ago and he's making a start now. Matt just called to see if we want to go out to dinner sometime."
"Sounds good to me � who else is going?"
"Sam and Josie, and probably Scott and whoever he brings along." Scott was the baseball coach at the school where Sam taught.
Joanna nodded, and then cocked her head towards the house. "And how's Sam this morning?"
Jon grinned. "Very happy and goofy eyed."
Joanna laughed as she continued digging. "Well, he was with Josie last night. Things seem to be going very well for the two of them." Jon nodded in agreement.
"I'll say. He's been walking around on Cloud Nine since they got together."
Tossing aside another weed, Joanna stood up and brushed some dirt off her knees. "And rightly so � they're great together. I've never seen him happier, and he certainly wasn't like that when he and Lara were together. I'm glad that little episode is finished now."
"Hmm, you're not the Lone Ranger on that one. Mind you, to give the guy credit, he managed to keep the break up pretty civil. Things could have gotten pretty nasty."
Joanna snorted. "I think that was helped by the fact she had her eye on someone else, but anyway, that's enough about her. Is Josie coming over later on?" Jon shrugged his shoulders.
"Hmm � I don't know � didn't ask."
"Well let's go and find out, shall we?" With that, Joanne walked towards the house, pulling off her gardening gloves as she walked. Going inside, she peeked around the bedroom doorway to see Sam standing still, chin on his hands as he rested the roller in the paint tray, staring into space with a little smile on his face.
"Hello�earth calling Sam�" she called softly.
Sam blinked and looked at Joanna, then realized what he was doing. He hastily rolled some of the excess paint off the roller and smiled at Joanna.
"Hi Jo, I didn't hear you for a second."
"I could tell that. Would I be right in thinking that you were daydreaming about a certain someone?" she replied with a knowing smile. She was delighted to see Sam blush very slightly.
"Was it that obvious?" he asked as he turned to resume painting the ceiling.
"It is to people who know you, Sam; you look so happy these days. Josie is really good for you."
"Better than that," Sam agreed, "She's amazing!" He paused for a moment to smile at Joanna, and then kept painting.
"Speaking of which, is she coming over today?"
"Mmm, she said that she'll come over this afternoon. We did some shopping this morning, and she's got a friend coming to see her sometime after lunch."
"That's fine. We'd love to see her for �. Arrrrgh!" Joanna yelped and jumped with fright, making Sam jump when she yelled. They both looked to see that Jon had snuck up behind her and grabbed her ribs. He now stood laughing as she swatted his arms in retaliation, before trying to tickle him. By now they were both laughing, and Jon grabbed Joanna by her wrists to thwart her efforts, pulling her towards him for a quick kiss. Sam shook his head and laughed at them, turning back to his painting with a pang. He had only been there for a few minutes, and already he was missing Josie. Finally Jon let Joanna go, and she made her escape outside, breathless with laughter. Jon picked up a paint roller and started work, still chuckling occasionally. Sam watched him for a moment, hoping that he and Josie would be as happy together as they obviously were.
* * *
Josie had finished shopping and cleaning, and had just carried the vase of flowers to the coffee table. She rearranged a couple of stems and smiled in satisfaction, looking up as there was a knock at the door. She hurried over to answer it.
"Aldys! Great to see you," exclaimed Josie as she opened the door as she gave her a hug. Aldys hugged her back in greeting, and smiled as Josie ushered her inside.
"Hi Josie, good to see you, too. Oooh, beautiful flowers � are they from Mr .. Sam?"
Josie grinned.
"Mr. Sam?" she teased.
Aldys laughed. "Give me a break; I'm still getting used to it!"
"Oh I know, I'm just teasing. Yes, Sam gave them to me last night. Would you like a coffee? I've just brewed a new pot."
"Thanks, that'd be great."
"That reminds me," continued Josie as they both walked towards the kitchen. "How was your evening at Luigi's with Guy? You kept pretty quiet about that development �"
Josie got a couple of cups out of the cupboard and turned to see that Aldys was blushing furiously.
"Oh well, it was a lovely evening�" stammered Aldys.
Josie raised an eyebrow. "I do believe that you're a little shy about this." Aldys looked down at the counter, and then glanced up at Josie, looking very unsure. Josie put the cups on the counter and smiled at her. "Are you worried about something Aldys? You know that you can talk to me about anything �" she said encouragingly.
Aldys took a deep breath and smiled crookedly. "Oh I know. It's just that it all feels a little strange between Guy and myself. We were friends when we were kids, but once we started high school and he started hanging around with that A- crowd, things between us really changed. Whenever we were alone, he'd behave the same way he'd always done, but then when the group appeared he'd change into 'Mr Cool'," Aldys pronounced the title sarcastically.
"But you do like him don't you?" gently prompted Josie.
"That's the trouble. I think I do." Aldys sighed. "Last night was wonderful, but what am I going to do at school on Monday when he goes back to the usual routine?"
"Perhaps you ought to leave that to Guy. Just give him a chance, okay?"
Aldys nodded. She stood there for a moment, a small smile on her face. To Josie, it was obvious that Aldys was thinking about her date.
"So, how was the service at Luigi's?" said Josie, changing the direction of the conversation.
Aldys beamed. "It was fabulous! The owners were really fussing over us � but in a lovely way. They made us feel really special. Luigi kept speaking in Italian and kissing the tips of his fingers at us when he thought we weren't looking." She narrowed her eyes at Josie. "Why do you ask?"
Josie tried to look innocent as she poured the coffee. "Well � it's just that we may have happened to mention that we knew the two of you and that you might be on your first date�" Josie added milk and sugar, then took a sip, winking at Aldys over the rim of her cup.
Aldys tried to shocked, and raised a fist in mock outrage, "Why I oughta �. " she threatened. Then started laughing, making Josie giggle as well. Eventually she stopped laughing, and grinned at Josie, saying, "Now, how about we discuss college. You said that you were going to write a letter of recommendation for me."
Josie nodded eagerly. "I'm more than happy to Aldys. I've kept in touch with a couple of people there, and I'm sure a letter will help. You'd love it- I had such a great time there. Come on, I'll show you some of the brochures I've got." Josie picked up her cup and carried to the table where a pile of paperwork was waiting. Within moments they were deep in discussion, excitedly making plans for Aldys' future.
* * *
Sam used his arm to wipe the sweat off his forehead as he and Jon took a break. The day had gone well, and they had managed to paint a couple of rooms. He closed his eyes briefly as a wave of tiredness swept over him. He heard Jon chuckle to himself and opened his eyes to see Jon looking at him, obviously amused.
"What are you smirking at?" he asked. Jon grinned broadly and shrugged.
"Just looking at a guy who doesn't look like he's gotten much sleep lately�. It kind of reminds me of when Jo and I first got serious �"
Sam smiled ruefully. "You guys can read me like a book can't you?"
"Well, we've known you long enough to be able to," he replied. "Had enough work for today?"
Sam stood and stretched, feeling his muscles pop and stretch. "Yeah, I'm ready to call it quits for now."
At that moment, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" called Joanna. As both men started to dismantle the rollers for cleaning, they heard Jo exclaim with pleasure, and glanced at each other with a grin as they heard Josie and Jo chattering to each other as they came down the hallway. The girls appeared in the doorway, took one look at Jon and Sam, and burst out laughing.
"Oh dear � just look at you!" laughed Joanna. "Did you get any paint on the walls?"
Sam and Jon took a good look at each other and had to laugh. They had speckles of cream paint all over them. Jon had obviously rubbed his nose � a large streak of paint on his face testified to that. Sam's hair was covered in paint, and he had tiredly run his hands through it, making it stand on end.
Josie stepped carefully into the room and walked to Sam, standing on tiptoe to kiss him lightly. Sam wanted to pick her up and hug her tightly, but didn't want to get paint on her. Instead he tipped his head slightly and gently rubbed their noses together. For the moment, his tiredness was forgotten as he and Josie looked into each other's eyes. Jon and Joanna looked at each other and smiled, and then Jon cleared his throat.
"Well Sam, now that we've called it quits, let's clean up and relax for what's left of the afternoon."
Sam looked up from gazing at Josie to grin appreciatively at Jon. "Sounds like a good plan, partner. I'll take care of the rollers, though."
Joanna stepped forward as Sam began to pick up the equipment. "Don't worry about it, Sam. I'll take care of that while you guys clean yourselves up." To make her point, she took the roller out of Sam's hand, and gave him a gentle nudge towards the door. Sam hesitated.
"Are you sure?" he asked. Joanna laughed and flapped her hands at him in a shooing motion.
"Go on, get! You two have done enough hard work today."
Sam laughed and squeezed Josie's hand as he walked past on his way to the bathroom.
* * *
About half an hour later, the equipment had been washed, and Josie and Joanna were relaxing on the back porch talking idly as they watched the sun go down.
Josie looked up as she felt his hand caress the back of her neck. He had changed into a fresh pair of jeans, and had pulled on a soft white linen shirt. His feet were bare, and his hair was still spiky from toweling it dry. He walked around her chair, and settled himself on the back step, leaning back with a sigh as his back rested against Josie's legs. Josie reached down to gently start combing her fingers through his hair.
"Ooooh that feels good � I'll give you an eternity to stop," he sighed, making Josie and Joanna grin at each other.
Jon came outside carrying a couple of beers, leaning down to plant a kiss on Joanna's cheek as he passed a bottle to Sam. "Can I get either of your ladies a drink?"
"I think a couple of gin and tonics could be in order, thanks sweetie." Said Joanna.
"Your wish is my command," he said, bowing elaborately and kissing her hand. "Back in a minute." And vanished back inside. After a moment Jon reappeared with the drinks, and sat down on the step in front of Joanna. Jon tipped his bottle towards Sam. "Here's to a good day's work pal, we really appreciate it."
Sam smiled. "Well, you guys are letting me stay with you for a while, so it's the least I could do."
"Excuse me? You're staying here?" Jon asked, cocking his head a little as if he'd mis-heard, then turned to Joanna with a comical look of confusion.
"Jo, did you know that Sam was staying here?"
Joanna frowned as if deep in thought, her brown eyes twinkling in merriment. "Weeell, now that you mention it, I don't think he is. I mean, some of his stuff's here, and there are some boxes of his in the basement � but � staying here? I don't think so � not since about a month after some baseball game stunt." She and Jon both looked up at Sam and Josie, chuckling as they watched them both blush.
"Wow Josie, that's quite an impressive blush you've got going there," commented Jon. Josie put her hands to her face, mortified.
"Oh don't�now that you've pointed it out, I'll blush even worse!" she exclaimed, laughing in embarrassment.
"Hey, I've just remembered," said Joanna, changing the subject to give Sam and Josie a chance to regain their composure. "Matt wants us all to go out to dinner sometime."
"When? Not tonight I hope �" said Sam. As much as he liked the idea of another group dinner, the day's efforts had left him feeling drained, and he was looking forward to a quiet evening with Josie.
"No, no, no" said Joanna, shaking her head, making her dark curls bounce on her shoulders. "I told him what we were doing today, so he knew what state you'd be in. Sometime in the next couple of weeks - I think he wants to go back to Luigi's."
"We went there for dinner last night," smiled Josie as she played with the back of Sam's neck, making him shiver slightly in delight. Jon watched Sam's reaction out of the corner of his eye and smiled to himself, pleased to see his best friend so happy.
"Oh? How was it?" asked Joanna.
"Superb as always. Maria and Luigi left us stuffed to the gills," laughed Josie. "I think they'd love to have a repeat performance of our last group's dinner anytime."
"Great! All we have to do is agree on a date, and we're organized," said Jon. He glanced at Sam again, seeing that he was sitting there with his eyes closed, almost asleep as Josie absent-mindedly played with Sam's hair as she talked. "Uh � Josie, I think we're going to have to do something with Sam. He's beat."
Josie peeked down at Sam, then glanced back at Jon. She gently shook his shoulder, waking him from the light doze he had slipped into. He rubbed his hand tiredly across his eyes, before looking blearily at the other three.
"Sorry guys � I guess I got too relaxed there for a moment." Sam chuckled tiredly.
"I know how you feel." Jon replied in a heartfelt tone.
"Oh my poor baby!" said Joanna, leaning forwards to drape her arms around his shoulders and plant a kiss on the side of his neck.
Josie leaned down to Sam. "Do you want to go home?" she whispered softly. Sam tipped his head back so that it rested in the curve of her neck and shoulder as she leaned over him.
"Take me � I'm yours."
Josie giggled quietly, then looked up at Joanna. "Well, Sam's beat, so I'm going to take him home�"
Joanna and Jon looked up and nodded. Joanna still had her arms around Jon's shoulders, and he was rubbing her forearms with his hands as he looked at Sam and Josie. "Yeah, no problems guys. I'm going to be doing some yard work and the like here tomorrow Sam, so don't worry about coming over to help."
"Thanks Jon. I've got some correcting to do too, so I'll see you when I see you." Sam stretched out to pat Jon's shoulder in farewell, then stood and dropped a light kiss on Joanna's cheek. He then draped an arm over Josie's shoulder as they walked into the house, stopping at his room to collect a change of clothes, heading out to the car.
* * *
As he walked into Josie's apartment, Sam took a deep breath. "Ahhh, no paint fumes. What a relief!"
Josie smiled as she turned to him from locking the front door. "Sam, you look absolutely done in. Just relax and I'll take care of dinner." Sam smiled at her.
"Are you sure I can't help?"
"Yup. I'll just fix us a chicken salad while you get comfortable."
Sam flopped onto one of the couches with a sigh of relief, reaching out to flick the TV on with the remote. A while later, Josie appeared with dinner and two glasses of white wine. They ate, talking quietly to each other, then stacked up the dishes and settled back on the couch, Sam's arm around Josie's shoulder as she rested her head on his chest.
"How's Aldys?" Sam asked, as he remembered that she had been coming over to catch up with Josie that day.
"She's fine. I don't think she's going to have any problems getting into Northwestern," Josie replied.
"And what's going on with the Guy situation?"
"That one's a little more complicated." Josie sat up and told Sam the background. Sam gave a low whistle when she finished.
"I see what you mean. Well, if he's willing to take her out to dinner and try and sort things out, then there's no reason why he wouldn't follow through at school. The school year's practically over, so that gives him more leeway as well."
They relaxed in front of the television a while longer, then Josie looked up and saw that Sam was falling asleep. She reached up and gently ran her finger over his bottom lip. He opened his eyes slightly and smiled sleepily at her.
"Hey you�" she said softly.
"Hey yourself�" he replied.
Josie got up and held out her hand. "Time for you to go to bed, Mr. Coulson."
Sam grinned and took her hand, pulling himself up. "I hear and obey, Miss Geller." Josie led him into the bedroom, and then went into the bathroom while Sam got changed for bed. When she reappeared, she saw that he had shed all of his clothes and crawled into bed naked. She smiled, then changed into a peach colored silk nightshirt, and climbed bed, snuggling up to him. There was nothing between them but the thin layer of silk. A hard, solid warmth stirred briefly against her stomach.
'Surely not?" said Josie, amused despite her tiredness. 'Sam, you must be half dead.'
He laughed tiredly, holding her close with his warm hand on the small of her back.
'A lot more than half, but I can't lie beside you without wanting you, but wanting is all I'm likely to do tonight.'
Josie reached down and wrapped her hand around him. Even warmer than the skin of his stomach, the skin was silken under the touch of her stroking thumb, pulsing strongly with each beat of his heart. He made a sound of half-painful content, and rolled slowly onto his back. She laid her cheek against him, feeling the curve of his hipbone close under the skin. His hand rose slowly, and rested lightly on her head.
'Josie. I need you so much.'
Without the hampering of clothes, it was easy. She felt as though she was floating, rising up over the length of his body, settling over him, sheltering his need. His eyes were closed, but his hands rose and settled surely on her waist, resting lightly on the curve of her hips.
Josie's eyes were closed as well, her own tiredness locked out thought or memory, every sensation but the knowledge of each other.
'Not � long,' He whispered. Josie nodded, knowing that he felt what he couldn't see.
Once, and twice, and again, and again, and once again. The tremor ran through him and into her. She stayed there for a moment, feeling him deep inside her. Then eased off him gently and curled up beside him, both of them drifting off to sleep almost immediately, arms clasped around each other. Before she lost consciousness entirely, she felt Sam's lips brush her temple, and heard him sleepily whisper "�Love � you."
* * *