All comments welcome here, or on the Message Board. Thanks for your interest!
* * *
With a little more than a week to go before the Prom, Josie felt like she was living a beautiful dream. The most popular boy in school had asked her to the Prom, but this time he was actually a pretty nice person, unlike Billy Prince. Thanks to Rob, she had become the most popular girl in the school. She was about to get her story for her first feature article as an undercover reporter. And the day before, amazingly enough, Gus had even told her that she was on the right track and doing a good job. For once in her life, everything seemed to be going her way.
But, Josie was beginning to realize that none of that really mattered to her-not compared to what she was feeling for Sam Coulson. And for the first time, Josie had started to believe that maybe, just maybe, he returned some of that feeling. She hadn’t let herself believe it at first because, after all, she had met his girlfriend and he had even talked about his girlfriend to her.
But little by little, she had started noticing things: like the way he watched her so intently when he thought she wasn’t looking. Then there was the way he had looked into her eyes and held her gaze too many times to count. She even thought she might have seen him drive by her parents’ house after she had mowed the lawn the previous Saturday. She had wondered at the time if it had indeed been him, but then decided she had been wrong when he hadn’t stopped to say hello or asked her about it later. Now she wasn’t so sure. She had kept telling herself to stop thinking like that, but after her conversation with Anita after the Sun-Times staff meeting the day before, there was no denying it that it was a definite possibility…
“Josie, your outfit is so cute, I just love it!” Anita gushed as she walked into Josie’s office and shut the door behind her, plopping herself in a chair and dragging it closer to Josie’s desk.
“Thanks. You know you almost blew my cover yesterday, Anita,” Josie scolded with a smile. “But I did enjoy your Sex Ed lecture and demonstration!” she teased.
“Ha! Yeah, sure you did,” Anita smirked. “Anyway, I enjoyed seeing that teacher of yours in person! God, you’re so lucky Josie! He’s such a hunk! And the way he looks at you… Wow!”
Josie rolled her eyes in disbelief. “C’mon, Anita, get your head out of the clouds, here… He’s got a girlfriend.” But then the second half of what Anita said registered and she dared to ask, “What do you mean…the way he looks at me? He’s my teacher!” Josie felt her heart rate accelerate as she thought, ‘So… Anita had noticed it, too…’ Josie was reminded of her mother’s comments about Sam.
Anita rolled her eyes heavenward as if Josie were completely dense. “I don’t care if he’s married with ten kids! That guy is yours if you want him…and if you don’t you’re crazy. He’s so gorgeous and he has no idea how attractive he is! Totally irresistible, if you ask me,” Anita finished on a dreamy sigh.
“He’s off limits to me, Anita! Or at least he thinks he is… And I’ve met his girlfriend. He’s been going with her for five years.”
“Well, I didn’t see the Delloser tape, but I’d say that there’s a big problem in that relationship… and her name is Josie Geller!” Anita said gleefully, rubbing her hands together…that was, until she got a dirty look from Josie. Wanting to make her point with Josie, she asked, “So tell me then, how did he act with her? Really think about it for a minute.”
Josie thought back to her meeting with Lara. “Well, when I first saw Sam, he was by himself, but then she came up behind him and grabbed his arm. She barely acknowledged my presence and then she started complaining about the bathrooms and then complained about him getting something out of his system and moving to New York. I remember that he looked kind of mad at her when she said it. I made a joke to lighten the mood and she pretty much dismissed me, but Sam thought it was funny - my joke I mean. He didn’t really look that happy when she dragged him off either….”
Anita’s eyes widened at Josie’s description of the encounter. “See? Think about what you’ve just said, Josie. He looked happy when you were talking to him…not her, right? And then she had to drag him away from you and he wasn’t happy about it, right? Helloooooo? Right, Josie?”
“I guess so,” Josie admitted. “But they’ve been together a long time. She is really pretty, tall, and sophisticated… Totally perfect, you know? Why would he want someone like me after being with someone so perfect for him?”
“Josie, please. Have you looked at yourself lately? Something’s happened to you since you’ve had that assignment. You’ve lightened your hair, you’ve lost-what?-ten pounds or so, you dress better, and you have more confidence in yourself. Josie, you look beautiful! I’ve had three guys ask me if I thought you’d go out with them after this assignment!”
Anita continued as Josie gave her an unbelieving look. “Not dweebs either, Josie…nice looking guys. Have you looked around when you walk into the office? Every head turns to look at you. When they watch you on tape all the guys talk about how hot you look, Josie…wake up! Face it; you’re beautiful, smart, nice, fun and sexy. You could have anyone you want right now. So what if you’re not tall? Gus has even said, ‘What’s happened to Geller?’”
Josie wrinkled her nose and made a face.
“From what you’re saying, it sounds like he’s tired of the girlfriend anyway. She certainly doesn’t sound too nice. And it’s a long distance relationship. You can’t tell me that after five years, he wouldn’t be with her if he really wanted to be.” Then Anita changed her tack again, “Did he send you any other…er…signals that night?”
“Well…” Josie reached into her memory and said uncertainly, “I’m not sure…I was pretty messed up after the club… But I had this dream… Well, that’s it, actually… I think now that maybe it wasn’t a dream…”
“Come on, Josie! You’re killing me, here! Tell me!” Anita begged.
“Well… I think that maybe he called me at home later that night to make sure I got home okay.” At Anita’s reaction, Josie said hastily, “But I was pretty sleepy, so I could have dreamed it.”
“Aha!” Anita said triumphantly. “That proves it. Josie, c’mon, he was with her, but he called you!”
But Josie didn’t want to read too much into it. “He was just being nice, Anita…maybe he was worried about how I would get home.”
Anita was not convinced. “So…what? He’s your guardian now? Get a clue, Josie! How many teachers would risk a parent’s wrath to call late at night and check on a student’s welfare? I’ll bet his girlfriend was thrilled with that! Ha! Was she there for the whole weekend?”
“No, actually… I saw him again the next night at Senior Nite down at the Navy Pier and he was alone.”
“What? I don’t remember that… Was that on tape?”
“No. I just went to relax and try to have some fun; I didn’t film it. I didn’t think anything interesting would happen there, since no one was talking to me at the time…”
“So you were with him the next night, too? Oh my God… Where was the girlfriend!?”
“I don’t know; he didn’t say. But I saw him every day that weekend and she was never with him.”
“I don’t believe this, Josie! What were you thinking!? Please tell me that none of this was on tape!”
“No,” Josie assured her. “It was the weekend, I wasn’t wearing the camera.”
“Okay… So start with Friday night and tell me what happened…” Anita cut herself off with a sudden thought. “You know what, Josie? I’ll bet the girlfriend got mad because of you and flew home! This is great! All right, now tell me…”
Josie took a deep breath and began, “I was on the Ferris wheel and he must have seen how embarrassed I was sitting there all alone in the bucket, because he came over to ride with me. Only he has a fear of heights… I think he forgot it and then remembered as soon as the ride started, poor thing.”
Anita’s eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “Good God, Josie! Do you hear yourself? He was so eager to help you that he forgot his phobia!? Do you honestly think he’d do that for everybody!?”
Josie shrugged. “He might. He’s a very nice person. Besides, he talked about his girlfriend while he was with me on the ride, so I don’t think it means anything that he did it.”
Anita looked astonished. “You’re nuts, Josie. So what exactly did he say about the girlfriend?”
Josie thought for a minute. “He said that being a guy was confusing… some kid around us was acting immature and he said that boys don’t always get better as they get older. And then he said that things only get more confusing…that his girlfriend wants him to move to New York and he knows he should do it, but they have their differences…and then he said he shouldn’t be talking about it to me.”
“First of all, Josie, the key word he used there was ‘confused’. Sounds to me like the guy was totally rattled. I’ll bet he was really mad at himself afterwards for even bringing her up! He didn’t say ‘I love her and have to be with her,’ did he?”
“No. He didn’t say that…exactly,” Josie sighed.
“So, did he say anything about you on this little ride?” Anita’s eyes sparkled in anticipation.
Josie smiled to herself at the memory. “He said that when I’m his age, guys will be lined up around the block for me. Then he said he shouldn’t say that because he’s my teacher. After the ride, we walked around together for about an hour and when I left, he walked me to my car. He was really sweet.”
“So then, he didn’t just get on the ride and help you, did he? He spent time with you and said all this stuff to you and walked you to your car!”
“Pretty much. Yes.”
As she was telling Anita her version of the events, Josie was starting to see for herself that maybe she had been seeing Sam’s actions in the wrong light. Even when he’d talked about his girlfriend, it hadn’t been in a positive way. And he had made an effort to be nice to her, Josie realized.
“So that’s Friday, what about Saturday?”
“He drove by my parents house, but I think that’s just a coincidence…at least, I’m pretty sure it was him. He looked at me, but didn’t stop to talk. I was out front playing with the dog. I don’t think he knew that I saw him. He sat there for a few minutes watching me, I think. That’s all that happened Saturday. He’s never said anything to me about it.”
“Think about that, Josie! Why wouldn’t he stop and say hello? You’re friends, right?”
“Well, yes… But I was thinking maybe he was curious about me being at a different address than the one he called…”
“Okay, even if he did pay that much attention to the address, he wouldn’t have had that information with him, would he? Does that mean he memorized it? Why can’t you be visiting a relative or something? For all he knew it could have been your grandparents’ house. Why would he pay that much attention to where you live anyway? Sounds more like he saw you and then lost his nerve. What does that tell you? You rattle his cage! So he just stayed there and stared at you a little… By the way, what were you wearing?”
Josie had to think. “Um, well, I had been mowing the lawn, so I think it was just shorts and a halter top, why?”
“Why!? Josie! I’m surprised he didn’t run his car into a tree! Okay, then Sunday, what happened?”
“I was with my mother at Home Depot and he was there with his friends and he helped us take flowers to the car. He talked to my mother for a long time while I waited in line and he helped us load the flowers. “
“Okay, so he stayed away from his friends a while to help you and your mom. He could have just said ‘Hi,’ and gone back to his friends, Josie.”
Josie had an answer for that one. “My mom asked him to help us and put him on the spot.”
“Did he look upset about it?” Anita pressed.
“No,” Josie admitted. “In fact, he was smiling the whole time.”
“Okay. What did your mom think of him, by the way?”
Josie hesitated. “She told me he has feelings for me and I should tell him I’m undercover so he won’t feel so bad about being interested in me…He spent more time with her than with me, actually.”
“See, what did I tell you!? And your mom said so, too. That proves it again! So what happened Monday?”
“I was at the Driving Range hitting some balls and that weirdo Ken-you know, the one you like to flirt with?-started hitting on me. I told him to get lost. Then, Sam came over to hit balls next to me and was teasing me about it. Then we spent the afternoon together talking and watching golf on TV. It was really nice.”
“Ah,” Anita commented sagely, “so he was jealous and came over to make sure Ken got the hint, I’m sure. Okay, so now you’re telling me that this guy, on his day off, this gorgeous guy who could have gone to New York for the long weekend or could be out with any number of women-including yours truly-this guy spends his free afternoon not on the phone with his girlfriend, not doing things with the guys… No, this guy spends his day getting to know his seventeen-year-old student. Now, Josie, I know you are smart; think about this for a minute. If he liked you just casually, I can see him spending a half hour with you or maybe even an hour if he was really polite, but a whole afternoon!? Please, seriously try to get a clue here, Josie!”
Before Josie could deny Anita’s logic, she continued, “And I have to tell you, in that Sex Ed Class I was watching him the whole time. Believe me, I had my eye on him…and his eyes were on you. He was walking around the room, but he was staring at you the whole time, Josie. He looked like a poor lost puppy. And I don’t know what you were saying to that girl next to you right before you hit him in the eye with that condom…”
Josie blushed at the reminder of that embarrassing moment.
“…but he had the dreamiest, most far away look on his face. It was unbelievable! It was like he was totally wrapped up in what you were saying. Then when that kid said you’d have the answer for the Prom and you looked at-what’s his name, Guy?”
Josie nodded.
“Anyway, when you and Guy were looking at each other, he looked so hurt, I wanted to run to him and console him myself. How can you not see this? He looked like he was in total despair.“
In light of the overwhelming evidence, even Josie had to admit, “Maybe, he does like me.”
“Maybe, Shmaybe! He’s in love with you…head over heels I’d say. Take a good long look at the way he’s acted here and then tell me I’m wrong. You’re just lucky that Gus hasn’t figured that out yet. “
“So what do you think I should do, Anita?” Josie asked her friend. “How can I be sure?”
“I think you should try flirting with him a little, if you see an opportunity. If he responds, you’ll have your answer. Obviously, you’ll have to take the initiative here, because his hands are tied. You know, since he’s your teacher and all that stuff. And who can blame him? He’s probably already saying to himself, ‘What am I doing? I’m a pervert…’ Lolita, all that stuff. If you flirt with him and he backs off, then you’ll know I’m wrong…but I’ll bet you anything that he won’t back off. He might not fall all over you, but he’s certainly not going to say, ‘Josie, stop this.’ I can guarantee that. But if you like him, then you need to somehow let him know that you are receptive to his liking you. You are, right?”
“Anita, I love him with all my heart.” It was the first time Josie had said it out loud.
“Then, you’ll have to grab that bull by the balls again, Josie…so to speak. It wouldn’t hurt to let him know that Guy isn’t a threat either, if you can somehow do that without spilling the beans.” Anita suggested.
“Anita!”
“What!? The guy’s crazy about you and he’s thinking that he’s got no chance with you because of the girlfriend, not to mention that the coolest guy in school is after you. Plus, there’s the whole age thing, and he’s your teacher so his job is on the line…not to mention yours! So give the guy a break and give him a hint! Be careful though, and don’t let Gus find out. I don’t even want to think about what he would do with that piece of information.”
Josie took a deep breath and let it out in a nervous shudder. “Oh, God, Anita…I don’t think I can do this…”
“Sure you can! Just don’t be too obvious, especially when the tape is running. Although, I’ll bet that even if you kissed him and then apologized, he’d say, ‘That’s okay, Josie.’ This guy is not going to push you away at this point. And I’ll bet that Sam will find some way to see you this weekend. From what I saw, he won’t be able to stand two whole days without you, the poor thing!”
An idea began to form in Josie’s mind and the butterflies of anticipation started to grow in her stomach. “I’m supposed to paint a prom backdrop with him tomorrow after school,” she began, “but Gus already knows about that so I’d have to wear the camera then.”
“Yeah, well, that’s fine…but find a way to flirt with him! It sounds like a perfect opportunity.”
“But…how?”
Anita shrugged and replied, “Just have fun and go with it. You’ll be around other people so you don’t have to worry about things getting out of hand. But I think that if you make the first move, he’ll respond. I’d bet my life on it. Don’t do anything too obvious, though. We don’t want him to lose his job over this, so don’t go overboard, because from what I’ve seen of him, I’m afraid the poor guy wouldn’t be able to resist you!”
“Do you think I should tell him the truth about the assignment and my age?”
“Not yet. Gus would kill you and you would probably both be fired if anything went wrong with this assignment. I think you should wait and make sure that I’m right about this. I’m pretty certain, but let’s wait and see what happens.”
“Okay, wish me luck.”
Anita had confirmed what Josie already knew in her heart. She knew she had to figure out a way to let Sam know she was feeling something for him, too. She wasn’t sure enough yet to tell him the truth, especially since she still had questions about his relationship with Lara. She still couldn’t quite believe that Sam would pick her over Lara. And she knew that Gus would kill her if she revealed her undercover status to Sam. Then there was the question of whether or not Sam could ever forgive her once he knew that she had lied to him.
* * *
It was Friday and Sam’s week hadn’t improved much. As much as he was looking forward to being with Josie that afternoon to paint the backdrop for the prom, he also partially dreaded it. Sam had learned, as he had feared, that Josie was to be Guy Perkins’ prom date. If that wasn’t bad enough, he had also overheard Guy say he was writing a song for Josie. He knew that Guy played the guitar and sang, and that he was good at it, too. To top it off he had seen the two of them together a few times now without the previously ever-present Rob. He knew that if he had to hear Josie talk about Guy, it would just kill him inside.
And to top off his problems, Sam had been unable to contact Lara all week, and therefore was totally stymied in his efforts to end their relationship. He was becoming increasingly depressed and frustrated with the whole situation, not to mention insanely jealous.
He felt that Josie was slipping away from him and that he could do nothing to prevent it. But Sam thought that his feelings for Josie had only strengthened and intensified from the time he’d spent getting to know her as part of the prom committee and otherwise. He knew that he still couldn’t say or do anything to give away his feelings for Josie, but he also knew that he was inching closer and closer to crossing that line, and it scared the hell out of him.
* * *
After sixth period class ended, Josie walked up to Sam and smiled at him pleasantly. Sam felt his pulse start to race in response.
Josie placed a hand on his arm to gather his attention, and then said, “I’ll just go change and then we can start painting… Do you want me to just meet you there in the courtyard?”
Sam smiled back at her. “Yeah, sure. That sounds good. I’ll change and meet you there. I already set out the brushes and the paint; you can’t miss it. Brett and David will be helping us, too, but they won’t be there until after school, so for a little while it’ll be just you and me. Is that all right with you?” Sam regretted having to include other students, but he figured that it was probably a good idea, especially considering his growing feeling for her. And besides, he could still be alone with Josie for the first hour.
Josie nodded, slightly blushing, and said, “Yes, that’s fine with me. Be right back.” Then she grabbed her bag and headed out the door.
Josie went to the ladies’ room and changed into an old blue T-shirt and some casual pants she’d worn when she painted her apartment. She also had brought an apron, which was already covered with paint marks from when she and Rob attacked each other with paint when painting her parents’ house.
She walked into the courtyard and saw that Sam was already out there waiting for her. He had changed into an old white golf shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers. She sucked in a deep breath as Sam bent over to retrieve some of the brushes that had blown onto the ground, because his untucked golf shirt rode up to show off his wonderfully snug fitting jeans. Letting out her breath in a sigh and squaring her shoulders, she told herself, ‘Okay, Josie…it’s now or never. This is your chance.’ She knew that this was her golden opportunity. She and Sam would be alone for almost an hour, surely in that time, she’d find some way to innocently flirt with him…
She looked at him and thought for the hundredth time how beautiful he looked.
Sam looked up and noticed Josie walking toward him. Instantly, he noticed how the blue in her shirt brought out the blue in her eyes. He hoped he could concentrate on what he was painting, but he knew that with Josie in such close proximity, it would be a struggle. She looked adorable with her hair up in a ponytail, he thought.
As she came to stand before him, she interrupted his train of thought, saying, “Could you please tie my apron for me?” putting the apron over her head and turning around.
“Sure!” He said it, smiling, praying his hands wouldn’t shake too much. He bent down to tie the apron and stood as close to her as he dared. He noticed the floral scent she always wore and felt a little dizzy. He swallowed hard, trying to get a grip and not take forever to tie her apron.
“Thanks.” She smiled at him again. He felt happier than he had in days. Just to be near her like this was enough to make him happy…and drive him crazy.
Josie was trying to get her nerve up to do what Anita had said to do…flirt with Sam. But with her inexperience in the subject, she was at a total loss as to how to do this. She was so preoccupied with trying to decide what she should do, that she wasn’t paying attention to what she was painting. Before she knew it, she had painted a streak of white paint on Sam’s forearm. Noticing her mistake, she started to laugh. When he looked down at his arm and then up at her with amusement, she mumbled, “Sorry,” but she couldn’t stop laughing at her own clumsiness.
From her reaction, Sam was unsure whether Josie had done it accidentally or not. They way she was now giggling about it, he thought not. Well, she wasn’t going to get away with an attack like that unscathed, he thought. So he looked at her from the corner of his eye, pretending he was concentrating on painting, but then ‘accidentally’ dabbed her arm with the yellow paint from his brush. “Oops, sorry,” he said, his tone giving away that he was not at all repentant.
Josie turned to look into Sam’s face. He was trying to hold back a smile and his eyes twinkled with amusement. He’d actually painted her on purpose! Then it dawned on her that he must have thought she had meant to paint him, and that he was simply retaliating. She responded by giggling more and then blatantly dabbed a splotch of paint on Sam’s forehead.
Sam smiled back at Josie and then reached up to wipe the smudge of paint off, laughing. Then he painted a small streak of yellow paint on Josie’s cheek before turning back to aim his attention to the backdrop.
Josie stared for a moment at Sam's back, surprised and amused. Apparently, the flirting had begun.
They continued painting, leaning in close to each other to paint the center of the backdrop. Once in a while, they actually had to reach around each other to get to the paint buckets and sometimes they were actually touching when that happened. Neither commented on it, but once in a while, their eyes would meet. And still, they both laughed and painted each other once in a while until they ended up with quite a few dabs on their faces and shirts. At one point Josie noticed his shirt and was immediately repentant.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I’ve ruined your shirt!”
“That’s okay, Josie, it’s old. I expected it to get dirty.” With a grin, Sam added, “Your apron looks like you’ve painted like this before…”
“Yes, I painted my …er…Aunt’s apartment. And I helped my parents paint the house, too.”
They continued to paint, dabbing each other occasionally, which would immediately set them both into laughing again. Sam watched her eyes sparkle as she laughed, utterly enchanted by the sight. He’d never seen her laugh this much. He knew that once the other kids came they’d have to tone it down, but for the moment he was just enjoying being with her.
Josie looked at her watch and realized that school was almost over and her time alone with Sam was coming to a close. So she decided to get in one last good swipe at his face…only he saw her coming and ducked.
He instantly retaliated by trying to paint her apron. But Josie had been expecting this and moved so that Sam ended up poking her in the stomach with his brush.
Josie, being extremely ticklish, squealed and grabbed at her stomach, losing her balance. She fell forward into Sam’s arms and he caught her. As he caught her, they both froze, suddenly very aware of each other. Reluctantly, he helped steady her then slowly, gently let her go.
Sam expected her to look away in embarrassment, but to his utter amazement, she took her paintbrush and successfully completed her original assault by painting his nose!
“Hey! That’s not fair, Josie,” he laughed. “You distracted me!” not even realizing what he’d just said.
“Well, you have a height advantage and you tickled me, so I think it is fair!” she said, looking deep into his eyes. Her eyes were sparkling and she wore a devilish grin. “And just for arguing with me about it, I’m going to do it again!” She dabbed at his nose with the end of her paintbrush.
Sam was totally astonished and thrilled at the same time. Josie was now blatantly flirting with him. He didn’t know quite what to make of it, but he certainly wasn’t going to tell her to stop... This was way too much fun. But with his competitive nature he wasn’t about to let her have the last word. He looked at her and laughed, wiping the paint off of his nose and onto his already dirty shirt. He sighed as if he had given in, and then he suddenly pointed behind her and said “Wow, Josie! Look at that!” When she turned away from him to see what he was talking about he gently yanked on her ponytail.
Josie turned back to Sam to see his triumphant smirk. Her eyes were open wide in shock and her mouth was a perfect O shape as she looked at him in amazement.
“You pulled my hair!” she said finally.
Sam shrugged innocently, but his smirk gave him away.
“Do you know what I do to my brother when he does that?” she said before she could think.
“No, what?” he challenged her, eager to see what she would do next. He wondered briefly if she was about to shake her finger at him and throw him on the ground.
She beckoned him to come closer with her finger. “Come here and I’ll tell you.”
When Sam lowered his head to listen, she turned toward him and messed up his hair with both hands. Taken aback, Sam stood up abruptly and stared at Josie. He was shocked at the jolt of pleasure he’d received from her touch, even if it had only been to mess up his hair. He was beginning to realize that being this close to Josie made her dangerously irresistible.
Josie noticed his shocked look and suddenly realized what she had done. “Oh! I’m so sorry, Mr. Coulson,” she stammered. “I don’t know what I was thinking.” And suddenly she remembered the hidden camera. ‘Oh, God…What did that look like to Gus?’ she wondered. To Sam she said, ”I’m an idiot.”
Sam could feel her pulling back emotionally so he said, “No, no, Josie, don’t apologize. There’s no reason to. After all, I did provoke you.” He grinned impishly at her. He knew without a doubt that if she weren’t his underage student he would’ve kissed her by now. Trying to drag his thoughts from pictures of that scenario, he figured he’d better change the subject for both their sakes. “I didn’t know you had a brother.”
‘Uh oh,’ thought Josie. “Yes I do and he likes to tease me.”
“How old is he? Is he here at South Glen South?” Sam was interested.
‘How can I answer without lying?’ she wondered. She was so tired of lying to Sam. “He’s twenty-three years old, with the maturity level of a fifteen year old, but he’s a pretty nice brother. He helps me a lot.”
“What’s his name?” Sam asked.
Josie hesitated. But she was so fed up with all the deception. “His name is Robert.” Josie figured that should cover all the questions about Rob.
Sam decided to change the subject. He had something else on his mind anyway. Against his better judgment, he decided to ask her about Guy, since she hadn’t brought him up once in the whole time they’d been together. “So, are you going to the prom with Guy?”
Sam looked a little sad now, she noticed. “Yes,” she said. She wanted to reassure him and suddenly thought she saw a way to do it. “He was nice enough to ask me to go … and …” she smiled at him, “it would break my friend Rob’s heart if I didn’t go with him after all Rob’s done to promote me.” She rolled her eyes. She knew she had to be careful with this topic…for both their sakes.
Sam looked puzzled. Then he thought about what she’d said: she was going with Guy for Rob’s sake! He thought he understood what she meant but he had to ask. He swallowed. His voice was a little hoarse. “Just for Rob’s sake?” he asked quietly, hope starting to fill his heart.
She looked into his eyes deeply and nodded. He felt that she was begging him to understand and not ask more questions. She didn’t have to say it; he knew what she wanted him to do. They were communicating again without speaking, he realized. He felt like she was trying to tell him more than she was saying, but he was afraid to hope that she might be trying to tell him that she felt something for him, too.
Something else about Josie’s expression made Sam hesitate. She had gone back to her more guarded mode and he saw the tension returning to her face. Trying to loosen up that tension, Sam said, “Well, I guess we should really paint a little, since Brett and David will be here soon. Otherwise they’ll know we’ve been goofing off.” He smiled at her.
Josie relaxed a little and smiled back. She thought again about what Anita had said. Sam certainly hadn’t tried to discourage her…and he’d actually flirted back! Still, she felt bad that things had gotten a little out of hand. Josie placed a hand softly on his arm, and he turned back toward her. She said quietly, “Listen, I still feel badly about what I did… The least I can do is fix your hair, since I messed it up. If you’ll just bend down a little…”
Sam looked into her eyes then quickly looked at the floor and bent his head down to comply. His heart was pounding and he found that he was holding his breath in anticipation of her touch.
Josie reached up, gently and slowly smoothing out his hair, then stepped back, admiring her work saying, “There, that’s better.”
They smiled at each other for a long moment, before they turned and started working on the backdrop once again. They painted more seriously, since Brett and David were expected at any minute. Still, Sam couldn’t help but wish they could stay there alone forever. And for the first time in days, Sam felt that maybe Josie wasn’t as far out of reach as he’d originally thought.
* * *