Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters I am only using them for entertainment purposes. I am also not making a dime out of them.
**As usual I would like to hear your comments** and maybe even some suggestions…
ENJOY
Josie couldn't wait she was so excited that she barely slept the night before. Sam had won tickets for two to go on a cruise for eight days and seven nights. Since Josie finished packing the day before, she was watching the Oprah show, waiting for Sam to come and pick her up.
She had dressed in a dress Anita helped pick out. Since it was going to be warm, she would need some nice cool clothes and maybe some nice nightgowns to impress Sam, and since Anita came with her to do the buying, she didn't escape Anita's "come on buy it, its sexy" phrase. Sitting in anticipation, she heard a knock at the door. "Good, he's early," Josie thought, opening the door to let Sam come in.
"So are you ready, sweetie?" Sam asked, walking to the bedroom to get the suitcases. "We better hurry, or we might have to swim," Sam said with a grin.
"Sam, are you sure you have the tickets?" Josie asked, worried.
"Of course!" he grinned at her and shook her head. "Now, come on we have to go…" and with that he walked out to the car and placed the suitcases in the trunk, while Josie was locking up.
Much later, when they had arrived by air in Miami, Josie took a minute to look at the scenery as they drove to the port. The way to the port was very beautiful, and Josie took the time to appreciate Mother Nature's hard work.
When they finally got to the place where the ship was docked, they gave the bags to the attendants and boarded the ship. "Finally, some time alone with Josie," Sam thought to himself.
"Sam, come and look at the beautiful fish in the tank," Josie called.
"Well now Josie, if we get hungry at night, we don't have to call for room service, we can have some sushi," Sam chuckled.
"Ha ha, very funny", Josie said while leaning over to give him a kiss.
"Honey are you tired?" Sam asked.
"Actually, yes, I am, maybe we should have a little nap before the party on deck, what do you think?" Josie asked.
"Well I am tired and sleeping next to you makes it a great idea…" Sam said while stifling a yawn.
Sam and Josie woke up just in time to get dressed for the party. All the rich and important folks were going to be there, and it was going to be a beautiful occasion. Sam dressed in a tux and Josie wore a black dress that had silver lines on the side that brought out her beautiful body.
At the sight of her, Sam just stared, hoping that Josie wouldn't notice, but he couldn't take his eyes off of her. Maybe tonight he will have the honors of helping her remove it, he thought to himself.
"Josie are you ready?" Sam asked while motioning towards the door. Sam and Josie walked towards the party area and found the table that had been appointed to them.
Then Sam motioned towards the dance floor and led Josie to it. Josie rested her head on Sam's shoulder and just absorbed how good it felt being near him. "Sam, I am so happy we came here together, I love you so much," Josie said with the love she had for him in her voice.
"I'm just happy to be here with you Josie, to spend my time in the company of the woman I love. When I'm with you time freezes, and I never want to glance at my watch for the fear it might be time to leave", Sam said while looking down at Josie and falling for her eyes again.
Suddenly Sam eyes became unfocused, and his heart started pounding, and Josie knew something was wrong. He was staring at something and when Josie turned around she felt dizzy. She couldn't be sure—but was almost certain—the woman standing at the cocktail bar was Lara. She turned to Sam for confirmation, and the look in his eyes told her she had seen right.
" Sam, are you all right?" Josie asked, while waving her hand in front of Sam's eyes in an attempt at humor.
"Yes, Josie," Sam said, surfacing from his reverie.
"Are you sure?" Josie insisted. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Yes, I'm fine, I just got a little distracted", Sam said mumbling most of his words.
"That's Lara isn't it?" Josie inquired, looking Sam straight in the eye.
"Yes, that's Lara all right," and fear came into Sam's eyes. "Josie, can we please go sit down? I'm feeling a little dizzy," Sam begged.
Josie took pity on poor Sam. "Sure come on," and with that, Josie took Sam by the hand and led him back to the table, where the waiter had already placed the wine in the cooler next to the table. Sam poured them both glasses and started feeling better, knowing that Josie was there with him.
The evening passed quickly and Sam and Josie returned to their rooms, exhausted. As Josie was getting ready for bed, she suddenly realized she'd made a huge error. Knocking on their adjoining door, Josie called, "Oh no! I left my purse on the table…" Sam immediately opened his door also. He had removed his jacket and tie, but hadn't begun changing for bed yet. "Sam, would you please go get it? You're still dressed," Josie begged, looking down at herself wrapped in her bathrobe.
Sam left the room in search of Josie's purse. When Sam arrived at the table, he was glad to find that it was still where she had left it. As he reached for it, he heard a familiar voice from over his shoulder that made his body go cold.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't good old Sam Coulson…" It was Lara. He realized she must have noticed his from across the room. As Sam turned around, he realized he was afraid to face Lara, not knowing if he wanted to relive the past few years they had been seeing each other.
"Lara, so good to see you again," Sam said, knowing she probably knew he was lying.
"So, Sam, what are you doing here, and with who are you here?" Laura questioned.
"I'm here with Josie, of course. You remember her don't you Lara? You met her at the club that night," Sam answered, a slight sting to his voice.
"Oh yes, now I remember, she was the girl that danced that humiliating dance on stage, right?" Laura replied, with a huge acidic smile. "Wasn't she also the one that did that story on you in her newspaper?"
Sam knew Lara was trying to get him to lose his temper. "I have to go Lara…Josie is waiting…" he said in a sugary tone, trying to infer HOW Josie might be waiting (even if it was untrue), "but it was nice running into you." Sam turned on his heel and walked off, wanting to escape before Lara said something else to keep him there.
After Sam returned to the room, he forgot his run-in with Lara the moment he saw Josie in her pajamas. Because although it sat perfectly around her body, he knew that Anita didn't help her pick it out; it had a drunk duck on the front saying "sleep all day, party all night." Sam could not help but laugh, since it was so unlike Josie herself. He couldn't help making fun of it a little, in a joking voice to see how Josie would react.
The next day passed with Josie and Sam relaxing next to the swimming pool to get some sun. "Hey Josie, would you like something from the bar to drink?" Sam enquired.
"Oh, what a great idea Sam! It is quite hot, and a nice fruit cocktail would be truly lovely," Josie said, while pushing her sunglasses back from the low position of her nose.
A couple of days had passed without the presence of Lara, which Sam enjoyed and was truly grateful for. "Sam, can you believe that tomorrow this time we will be on our way back home? I will truly miss this boat," Josie said with a sigh.
Sam looked over at her and simply smiled and nodded his agreement.
That night after dinner, Sam began to feel ill, so he took some medicine he'd gotten from the Infirmary and went to bed early to sleep it off, leaving Josie to her own devices.
So Josie decided that she would go up to the deck for a drink, just to watch the moon on the water and enjoy the last night on the boat.
Sitting at the bar, Josie watched in fascination as the dancers on stage swayed gracefully in time with the music. Suddenly she heard a voice come out from nowhere, "So are you thinking back at that humiliating night you danced up on stage?" Josie turned and found Lara had sidled up behind her. She blanched when she saw her.
"So… Josie, right?… I see you do remember me," Laura said.
"Of course, how could I forget you? You were with Sam that night at the club and were making him miserable," Josie said, turning around to take a sip of her drink.
Looking up sharply, she took her anger out on the bartender, "I want a Bloody Mary, hold the celery…and make it snappy!" Laura demanded. Then she turned back to Josie and smiled evenly, "So you're the girl everybody is fussing about? Well, I can't see why…you're nothing special. You might have put Sam under a spell of some sort but, trust me, it will wear off. If Sam hasn't told you face to face that he loves you by now, then he probably doesn't. You know, Sam almost never told me he loved me, so don't expect a big tip from him," Lara said in false confidence, trying to make Josie feel bad.
"Are you trying to make me feel bad? If you are, it's not working," Josie replied.
"No, of course not," Lara said in her coddling tone, "I just don't want to see you get hurt. Tell me, Jodie…"
"It's Josie," Josie interrupted.
"Whatever… Has Sam ever mentioned his love for you?" Lara wanted to know while looking at her drink and preparing it for drinking.
Then Josie thought back at the words of compassion and love that Sam always shared with her, not a day went by that Sam didn't mention his undying love for her. Then Josie turned towards Lara and replied triumphantly, "I love Sam very much and he always lets me know how much he loves me, too… and no matter what you do, you can't change it." Josie was truly happy and confident in that moment, and not even Lara could break her spirit.
And without so much as a glance at Lara's face, she turned around and returned to her room, knowing that Lara was probably shocked.
As they were packing and checking the list of things to remember, Josie still felt a little heart rush at how she took the wind out of Lara's sails. Sam hurried down to where the car was parked while Josie stood watching over the bags. As Josie turned around to take a last look at the ship, there was good old Lara, and the business friends she had come with. Josie had decided to keep her little conversation with Lara between Lara and herself, not wanting to upset Sam in any way.
On the way home Sam was singing in the car, as usual, and Josie put a hand on Sam's and gave him her loving smile, the one that meant she was happy and didn't need anything else in the world but him. When Sam parked the car in front of Josie's home, she took a little gaze at it and then at Sam and thought, "Going away is truly fun, but there is no place like home."
**Hope you enjoyed the story it was something a little different.**