Thanks for your continued support of my stories, and your patience in waiting for them...
* * *
A harsh glare lit up the inside of Sam's eyelids. Blearily, he opened one eye to investigate. He was facing toward the window, and little strips of bright sunlight coated his face from between the window shade slats. Laying his right arm across his eyes, he groaned. 'This is not going to be a good day,' he thought to himself as a dull ache settled behind the bridge of his nose. He tried to bring his left arm around so that he could massage his temples with both hands, but he found that it was stuck somehow.
In confusion, he turned his head away from the window in the general direction of his arm and quickly determined that it wouldn't move for the simple fact that Josie was sleeping on it. Josie!? What was Josie doing in his bed?
Suddenly, he remembered where he was�and why. The events of last night came swarming back so fast it practically made him nauseous. Or was it the bed spinning doing that? Ugh.
He pushed himself up onto his right elbow just enough to peer over Josie's head and read the numbers on her clock radio. 6:37 AM. Double ugh. He flopped back down on the bed, inadvertently shaking Josie. She stirred for a moment, but did not awaken. Instead, she snuggled herself closer to Sam's side, falling back into deeper sleep.
Sam breathed a silent sigh of relief. He wasn't ready to deal with her just yet. He wanted to have a little time alone to think things through before discussing them with Josie.
Looking back on the events of last evening with the clearer (albeit more painful) light of day, Sam realized that things were not really as desperate between he and Josie as they had seemed to him then. Sure, he had lost control�that much was true. But they had been nowhere near actually consummating their relationship, either.
Still, he acknowledged that things had progressed further with Josie than his conscience felt comfortable with. Knowing that Josie was a complete innocent, and knowing that after all this time she had decided he was the man she wanted to give that precious gift to, he wanted everything in that respect to be perfect. He didn't want to rush her. He wanted to allow her to lead and he would follow. And he'd promised her that he was strong enough to let that happen.
But when he'd made that promise to her last night, he reasoned, he did not yet know the full extent of the passionate nature that Josie possessed. He could not have predicted how much the wine would affect their inhibitions, nor could he have known how much she would be able to affect him.
He thought back to how adept she had been at using her eyes as well as his sensitive neck against him. It sent a shiver down his spine just thinking about it. She was obviously a quick study, he noted wryly. It didn't help that he was madly in love with her, either. Or that he was incredibly attracted to her. 'Heck,' he thought, mentally adding up the factors that had been working against him the night before, 'a monk would not have stood a chance against Josie last night!'
And so, for his temporary loss of self-control, he forgave himself. He vowed that, now that he knew what he was up against with Josie, he would be more careful in the future.
However, one thing he refused to forgive himself for was the way that he had hurt Josie. He had been so off kilter that it had taken his sudden and awkward withdrawal to regain his self-control. But in so doing, he had hurt Josie badly. He'd abandoned her and then left her to deal with her own doubts without his voice of reason there to make sure she didn't blame herself for it. No, he would never forgive himself for that weakness�not until he heard from Josie's own lips that she forgave him.
Sam sighed heavily, and then turned to smile softly at Josie's peaceful, sleeping form nestled in his arms. She was truly beautiful from the inside out. So beautiful that he had been attracted to her even when he thought she was his seventeen- year-old student. So beautiful that he broke off a five-year relationship (granted, it was an unhappy one�) just for the chance to be with her. So beautiful that she made him realize she was the only one for him, as improbable and unlikely as that had seemed at the time.
And if she had turned out to really be seventeen? (But thank God she hadn't�) He would have waited for her, for as long as it took. Because he was that sure they were meant to be together.
Every moment they spent together only served to strengthen that resolve. He was determined that, no matter what it took, they would work this out and move forward. He simply could not, would not, let Josie go.
Sam peered up over Josie's head at the clock again. 6:44 AM. Geez. Josie was going to be late for work today if she didn't get up soon�
Leaning over her, Sam gently kissed her on the lips and then whispered softly, "Josie? Josie, honey, wake up�"
Josie was dreaming. She must be, she decided, because she could swear that she had just felt Sam's lips on hers and that his warm voice was calling her to awaken. But Sam wasn't here�was he?
Josie couldn't remember. Slowly, she opened one eye to peek. Nope, she was not dreaming. That was definitely Sam leaning over her and smiling sweetly. His hair was sticking up in too many odd places for her imagination to have conjured him up�
Seeing one of her eyes open and then shut again, Sam teased, "Come on, wake up, sleepyhead."
Josie smiled in response, stretched her arms up over her head, and then opened her eyes. "Hi," she replied softly.
"Hi," Sam responded. Then he asked, concern glowing in his eyes, "How's your head feeling?"
Her head? What kind of a question was that? Gingerly, she picked her head up off the pillow and turned it a little from side to side. Other than a strange, dull ache at her temples, she seemed okay, and said so. "Not too bad. Why?"
"Josie�don't you remember last night?"
Last night? She concentrated, trying to remember. Ugh, why was her head so fuzzy this morning? 'Let's see,' she thought, 'last night�' She remembered Sam as devastatingly handsome, dressed all in black (sigh)� She remembered they went out to eat and drank some wine at�Luigi's, she thought it was, and she met Maria. Right. Then they came back to her apartment and she made a fire and they had some more wine. They sat in front of the fire; Sam made that cute toast about Shakespeare. Then played Truth or Dare and they�Oh my God!
Sam knew the exact moment Josie remembered about their embraces on the rug and then here on the bed; her look of complete and utter shock was almost comical. Indeed, he would have laughed at her expression if it had not been such a serious matter.
Josie closed her eyes in shock and denial, but that only brought the scenes in view more clearly in her mind. She moaned, put her hands over her eyes, and rolled onto her side away from Sam, trying to hide, praying the bed would swallow her up. No wonder Sam had asked her about her head�the two of them had drank nearly two full bottles of wine last night!
God, she'd actually thrown herself at him! And when that didn't work, she'd tried to seduce him! She could feel tears start to leak out of the corners of her eyes and between her fingers. She felt so ashamed. Her sweet, wonderful Sam had been trying like heck to do the right thing, trying to protect her as he'd promised to do�all while she was trying with all her might to convince him to do otherwise.
Meanwhile, Sam watched Josie's withdrawal with growing concern. He placed a hand on her right arm and rolled her onto her back again. Then he pulled her hands away from her face, trying to read her expression. Seeing the tears, he immediately felt little daggers piercing his heart. He wiped away the wetness with his thumbs and then soothed, "Shhh, Josie, please don't cry�I'm sorry, really. It's all my fault�"
At Sam's words, Josie shot up onto her elbows, the sudden movement making her wince. Then she exclaimed, incredulous, "Your fault!? You think this is your fault?"
Sam pulled away from her and sat up, ignoring his throbbing temples for the moment. "Of course it's my fault! Why? Do you honestly believe this is your fault?"
Josie sat up also. She blushed furiously, but she continued, "I'm sorry Sam, but I don't see how you can call my throwing myself at you your fault�"
"Throwing yourself at me? No, no, no�you didn't throw yourself at me�" Sam protested.
"Ha! Are you kidding!?" Josie exclaimed. She spoke each word very clearly, with emphasis, "I sat on your lap and then tried to seduce you into staying with me. What part of that was not throwing myself at you?"
Okay, he admitted to himself, she had a point. "Okay�maybe. But you would never have done that if I hadn't let things get so out of hand in the first place," he countered.
"Probably true," Josie conceded. "But still�" She paused, and then another thought occurred to her. "Oh, God�What you must think of me now�" She covered her face with her hands again, mortified.
Sam pulled them down again and then tilted her chin up. Her eyes were still closed. "Josie, look at me, please." Josie complied with his request. Her wide green eyes were filled with sadness, shame, and fear. He continued, his voice a caress, "I don't think any differently of you this morning then I did before last night. And I certainly don't think badly of you because of it. If anything," he joked, trying to make her smile, "I love you even more now, because now I also happen to know that you are a fantastic kisser�"
Josie lowered her eyes and blushed, but she was also shaking her head and smiling. When she made eye contact again, she said, "You are incorrigible, Sam Coulson!"
Sam's eyes twinkled with amusement as he wholeheartedly agreed, "Absolutely." Then he sobered and continued, "But I really am sorry. I got out of control and then to regain it, I had to get up and leave. I handled things badly. And I hurt you." He ran a hand softly down the side of her face.
Josie remained silent as Sam tried to explain, "After I left the room last night, I spent a long time sitting on the kitchen floor thinking about what I had just done. I felt awful. I felt like the scum of the earth for allowing things to go so far after being together such a short period of time�especially after having promised you that I would wait for you as long as you wanted me to."
Josie smiled wryly, and admitted, "Yeah, well, at that point, I didn't want you to wait at all."
Sam nodded and said matter-of-factly, "Yes, I know. But it would have been wrong; it's too soon. I guarantee you would have regretted it."
Josie felt the truth in Sam's words. If she felt this bad about a little foreplay and a lot of kissing, then how bad would she have felt if she had� Pretty bad, she decided.
Sam saw that Josie understood, so he didn't press her to answer. Instead, he continued with his story. "And while I was sitting out there trying to wrestle with my demons, I left you in here all alone to fight yours. When I finally felt I could come in here and apologize to you without having to worry about making things even worse," Sam smiled wryly at this admission, "the damage had already been done."
Josie knew darn well what Sam meant by 'damage', but she didn't want him to know how much pain she had really been in. After all, it had been from berating herself for her own behavior, not from condemning Sam for his. And he obviously felt guilty enough already. "Sam, I was okay, really."
Sam was not buying it. "Nice try, Jos. But I saw the way you were curled up in that little ball on the bed. I saw your red nose and your puffy eyes. And I saw the wet spot on your pillow."
Josie sighed. She wasn't going to get out of this easy. "Okay, I'll admit that I was upset. But I was upset with the way I had acted, not with you."
"You see? That's the point I'm trying to make� You wouldn't have had anything to get upset about if I could have just kept my hands to myself in the first place." Sam ran an impatient hand through his hair.
"Sam," Josie placed a reassuring hand on his arm, "don't you think you're being a little hard on yourself, here?"
"No, I don't. There is no excuse for hurting you the way I did. None."
"Listen," Josie reasoned, "It had just as much to do with me. I should have let you leave the first time you told me you needed to. I'm sure you would have handled leaving me more diplomatically then."
Sam was not convinced. "It doesn't matter. It never should have gotten to that point to begin with."
"All right, let's say, just for the sake of the argument, I agree with that. But it did get to that point. And if I had only had enough sense to listen to you, things would not have progressed to where you had to 'run for your life', so to speak."
Sam smiled slightly, embarrassed by Josie's rather accurate characterization of his behavior. "Yeah, but you weren't exactly thinking clearly at the time, and it's my fault you weren't, so the point you're trying to make is moot."
"Now, hold on a minute, buster." Josie was annoyed. "You are not going to take the blame for what I did; I'm not going to let you. I may not have ever done this before, Sam, but I'm not nine years old, either. I'm an adult. An adult who takes responsibility for her own actions, and, trust me, those were my own actions. I could have chosen to stop at any time, just as you could have. So don't feed me a line� I had responsibilities here, too�to you and to myself�and I also chose to ignore them."
"Yeah, but�"
Josie put up a silencing hand. "No buts." She tried another tack. "Okay, how about this? I'll forgive you for inadvertently hurting me when you left, if you'll forgive me for trying to seduce you into staying. Huh? What do you say?" She grinned.
"Josie, there's nothing to forgive."
Josie smiled, and then flopped back onto the bed. "Well, that's how I feel about you, too, so I guess we're even."
Sam smiled, shook his head, and gave up arguing with her. Josie was amazing. There had never been any question in her mind that she would forgive him. In fact, she already had. He was a lucky man, indeed.
Sam laid back down also, pulling Josie to him to kiss her sweetly, tenderly, with all the love in his heart. Their kiss ended with a long, mutual sigh.
Josie turned onto her side and played with Sam's hair, trying to tame its unruliness with her fingers. Then she traced the dark circles under his eyes with her fingers and asked, concerned, "Are you okay, Sam? You're looking a little green around the gills�"
Hearing the word "gills" made Sam think of all the sushi Lara used to eat (and make him eat). His stomach lurched violently. He swallowed painfully and then gave Josie a self-deprecating smile. "Oh, yeah, I'll be fine. Nothing a hot shower and a couple�dozen�aspirin wouldn't fix."
Josie giggled at his attempt at humor and then held her head when it started throbbing. She replied, "I'm not sure that I'm in much better shape, actually."
And then they both laughed softly, rolling back into each other's arms. Josie laid her cheek against Sam's chest, listening to his heartbeat. That was about the loudest sound her pounding head could take right now, she thought.
A thought occurred to Josie as she lay in Sam's arms. She looked up at him with her big green eyes and questioned, "Sam?"
He looked down at her. "Yes?"
"Since you left the room last night, how did you end up in the bed with me here this morning? Not that I'm complaining, mind you," Josie clarified with a smile.
At her question, Sam thought back to the sight of Josie so alone and miserable, curled up in the bed the night before. His chest felt tight, as if he couldn't breathe. He sighed and then gave her a little squeeze. "When I came back to apologize, and you were already asleep, I saw how miserable you were. I felt so terrible at having hurt you that I wanted to make up for it somehow. I thought that if I were there next to you in the bed, you might sense that you weren't alone and that would give you some comfort."
"As it turned out, I had started to re-think that idea, deciding that maybe I was just being selfish in my own need to be near you. I was about to get up from the bed when you rolled over and settled into my arms. That pretty much cinched my staying." He smiled.
"I'm glad you came back," she confided. "I think it would have hurt a lot more if I had woken up to find you still gone."
Sam's heart stung at the idea of causing Josie any more pain. "Then I'm glad I decided to stay," he said simply.
They lay quietly together for a couple minutes more before Sam asked cautiously, "Josie, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
She looked up at Sam with a warm smile. "Of course not, go ahead."
"Now, don't take this the wrong way, but� What on earth possessed you to wear this--" he tugged at the collar of Josie's makeshift nightshirt, "�to bed last night?"
Josie flushed a little, still thinking he found it unattractive. "I'm sorry about that. I know it's probably not very flattering, but I�"
Sam nearly choked. "Not flattering!?" he sputtered. "Is that what you think I thought!?"
Josie sat up and accused, "Well, isn't it? I mean, you stared at me last night like I had two heads or something!"
Sam sat up also, placing a hand on each of her shoulders. He looked her straight in the eye and explained patiently, "Josie, I wasn't staring at you because you looked bad in this shirt� I was staring at you because you looked too darn good in it."
Josie was completely baffled, and it showed.
"Josie," Sam continued softly, "do you really not know what seeing a woman in nothing but a man's shirt does to a guy?"
She shook her head no, still speechless.
Sam sighed. "I figured you didn't, because it would be unlike you to be such a tease. Josie, this kind of outfit drives men crazy. It makes them think of 'the morning after,' if you catch my drift, where the woman gets up out of bed and puts his shirt on to cover herself�" Sam paused a moment to let that sink in, and then concluded, "Now do you understand my reaction?"
Josie didn't get it at first. "Oh," she said stupidly. Then a second later, when the full meaning hit her, she exclaimed, "Oh!" She began to blush furiously. Then she playfully punched Sam in the arm and said with mock-indignation, "Sam! How could you!?"
He rubbed his arm where she had hit it and exclaimed, chuckling. "Hey, I may be a gentleman, but I'm not dead! I do notice these things, even if I don't comment on them."
Josie shook her head and rolled her eyes, but she was smiling.
Sam locked eyes with her and reminded her, "You never did answer my question about the shirt."
"Oh, yeah. Okay." Josie turned and crossed her legs Indian style, then covered her lap with the blankets. Sam faced her and crossed his legs as well. Josie smiled, a little embarrassed, and said, "It's sort of silly, actually."
"I'm sure it's not. Tell me," Sam urged.
Josie picked non-existent lint off the heap of blanket in her lap and then sighed. Without looking up, she started her story. "Well, when I was a little girl, my dad used to go out of town on business trips a lot. I was very attached to my father and had a really hard time dealing with his being away. So my mom thought of a unique way to help me out. She started giving me one of my dad's dress shirts to sleep with whenever he was out of town. Sort of like a security blanket, you know?" She looked up at Sam for reassurance.
As Josie related her tale to him, Sam watched the emotions crossing Josie's face. He tried to imagine her as the little girl she was describing. He was sure she must have had long golden hair and the same beautiful peaches-and-cream complexion she had now (but maybe with a few freckles sprinkled across her nose), sparkling, doe like green eyes and a smile that could melt anyone's heart. He felt sure that she must have been adorable. Breaking from his thoughts, he realized she was waiting for his confirmation, and he nodded, encouraging her to continue.
"Anyway, his shirts smelled like him, so they reminded me of him. It was like having him right there with me when I went to sleep. It didn't take me too long to figure out that crawling inside the shirt and wearing it to bed was even better; it was like having him right there holding me as I slept." Josie eyes had a faraway look, as if she were reliving that memory.
She continued, "Of course, as I got older, my dad stopped traveling and I didn't need to do that anymore, but the feelings of comfort I got from wearing his shirts remained. So, now, whenever I want to feel safe, protected, or comfortable, I wear a shirt like the ones my dad wore when I was a girl."
Sam was enchanted. "I don't think that's silly at all, Josie. I think it's very sweet."
Josie looked down at her lap and blushed. "But, if my 'nightshirts' bother you that much," she stammered, "I won't wear them when you're around anymore."
Sam felt guilty he'd said anything, now that he knew how important and special this ritual was to her. "No, no�" he said, his left hand lightly gripping her right forearm, "I don't want you to stop wearing them just because of me. I wouldn't dream of taking that happy memory away from you. It's okay, really. Honest." Josie peeked up at him with a hopeful glance.
He continued, "The only thing I ask is for you to warn me in advance if you want to wear one. Either that or wear some sweats with them or something, okay? That way I'll know you're in 'comfort mode' and then I can't get the wrong idea�"
Josie met his gaze, her eyes blazing with happiness. "Okay, no problem. I can do that." She smiled, and he smiled back. Caught in the moment, Sam leaned toward Josie, pulling lightly on her arm to bring her closer. He was just about to place his lips on hers for what was sure to be a wonderful kiss when the red LED display on Josie's alarm clock caught his eye: 7:13 AM.
Sam sat back abruptly. "Uh, Josie? Look at the time�it's getting pretty late."
Josie had been expecting Sam's kiss, so it took her a minute to switch gears. She opened her eyes to stare at him, confused. "Huh?"
Sam let go of her arm to point over her right shoulder. "The time�" he said with just a hint of impatience.
Josie turned her head and her gaze landed on the object Sam was pointing at. "Yipe!" she cried, tossing the covers off and swinging around to put her legs over the side of the bed. The sudden movement made her dizzy and she had to grip the edge of the mattress to steady herself.
Sam reached out to steady her as well. "Whoa. Are you all right?"
"Yeah." Josie took a deep breath to quell the vague nausea and vertigo she felt. "Well, it looks like no time for breakfast today�not that I think I'd want any right now�" she chuckled ruefully.
So, this was what a hangover felt like, Josie thought. Great. Another new experience under her belt�
Sam laughed softly. "You poor thing."
Then Josie realized that she wasn't suffering through this alone. By all indications, Sam wasn't faring much better.
Josie patted the hand that Sam had placed on her shoulder to steady her. "Don't worry, I'll make it. I don't know how yet, but I'll make it. I'll probably feel a world better after I get out of the shower." At least, she hoped so. Josie glanced at the clock again. "It's going to be a bit of a rush, but I should still be able to make it on time." She pushed off the bed and stood up carefully. "Okay, I'll be back in a couple minutes," she said with a glance over her shoulder at Sam, and then padded barefoot off to the bathroom.
Sam rested his left elbow on his knee and held his chin in his hand. He watched Josie's departure from the room and was struck yet again by how incredibly attractive she was. Her bare legs were very shapely, as was the rest of her, and her skin looked incredibly soft to the touch. Was incredibly soft to the touch, he amended, and then sighed.
After a moment, he heard the water in the shower tapping against the wall of the tub enclosure and then the swish of the curtain being moved. He decided it would be best to make a hasty departure before his overactive imagination got him into trouble again.
After climbing off the bed, Sam wandered out to the living room and knelt before his overnight bag to pull out his change of clothes. He laid out a pair of black jeans, a black T-shirt, underwear and socks, and a stonewashed denim shirt. Then he headed off to the kitchen to make the coffee.
Josie might not be in the mood for it this morning due to her hangover, Sam realized, but he had to have his morning coffee. Unlike most people, coffee actually settled his stomach. He searched a couple of cupboards until he found the ground coffee and a couple of travel mugs. Setting the mugs aside for the moment, he scooped coffee grounds into the strainer of Josie's coffeemaker. He resealed the bag of coffee and placed it back in the cupboard, and then walked over to the refrigerator to grab the pitcher of filtered water. He poured it into the coffee carafe, and then poured the water from the carafe into the reservoir. Placing the lid on the carafe, he set it under the strainer and pushed the "brew" button.
While the coffee was brewing, Sam grabbed the loaf of bread on the counter, untied the twist tie and pulled a handful of pieces out of the bag. He placed the four slices in his hand into each slot of the toaster and pushed down the handle, then retied the bag to place it back against the wall where it was before.
Sam strongly suspected that Josie had rarely, if ever, been hung over before, so she probably did not know that she needed to eat something to help keep the nausea at bay. He could probably use a couple slices himself, he thought as he pulled out the stool under the counter and sat down heavily. He had used up all his energy for the moment. He rested his forehead upon the cool smoothness of the Formica counter in front of him and closed his eyes.
* * *
By the time Josie had finished her shower, put on her makeup, and got dressed, she felt somewhat better. She wasn't quite as nauseated and the vertigo was almost gone. Her head was still pounding, but hopefully two pills from the Excedrin bottle she had in her hand would soon remedy that.
She stood in the doorway of her bedroom hopping on one foot, using the fingers of her right hand as a shoehorn, and trying to slide her black loafer on the other. There was no way she was going to face the world in heels today, she thought wryly. She turned the corner and entered the living room only to stop dead in her tracks at the sight of poor Sam slumped over her kitchen counter.
Josie's heart poured out to him as she realized that even though Sam was still feeling pretty rotten, he'd managed to make coffee and toast for them. She walked over to the other side of the counter and ran her hand over his head soothingly.
Sam felt Josie's soft touch on the back of his head and looked up at her. She was dressed and, apparently, ready to go. From what he could see of her across the counter, it looked like she was wearing black dress pants and a white poet's shirt with the top button left undone. It was at the same time totally businesslike and supremely feminine�a look that Josie wore well. "Hi," he croaked. "Are you ready to go?"
"Just about," she replied. Then she placed the bottle of Excedrin on the counter in his line of view. "Interested?" she asked, smiling.
Sam shot out a hand to encircle the bottle like a drowning man grabbing a lifeline. "Ahhhh, yes�thanks."
Josie then rounded the counter to enter the kitchen. She grabbed two glasses out of the cabinet next to the sink and half-filled each with cold water from the jug in the fridge. She placed one glass in front of Sam and then held out her hand. He opened the cap and tapped the mouth of the bottle on her open palm until two pills rolled out onto it. Then he did the same for himself, replaced the cap, and set the bottle aside.
Josie held her glass up like she was about to make a toast. "Here's to�hopefully�no more headache."
Sam smiled and clinked his water glass with hers. "I'll drink to that."
Josie swallowed her mouthful and then made a face. "Ugh. Please don't say 'drink'�"
Sam chuckled, placed the pills on his tongue, downed the water, and then got up to put his glass in the sink. "I need to take a shower," he told Josie, placing a small kiss on her cheek as he walked by her, "but I promise to make it quick."
As he crossed the living room to gather his clothing, Josie asked, a little confused, "Huh? Are you coming to work with me today or something?"
He stopped in the doorway of her bedroom and grinned. "I'm at least driving you� That is, unless you're planning on walking to work. Your car is at my place, remember?"
"Oh," she said in a small voiced, abashed. "Sorry� I forgot."
Sam's smile quickly put her at ease. "No problem. Be back in a minute." Then he continued on through the bedroom doorway and into the bathroom.
Josie gathered up her purse and briefcase and opened the latter to make sure she had everything she needed for the day. Not that she'd be doing much more than moving her stuff from one office to another today. She groaned at the idea of all that lifting and carrying in her current state. She sighed. 'Well, maybe if I ask nicely enough,' she thought with a smile, 'I might talk Sam into staying and helping me out�'
Josie moved to stand next to the coffee pot and hesitantly smelled the freshly brewed coffee. She didn't know if it would make her more nauseous or not. She waited. Nope, the coffee was fine. She heaved a sigh of relief as she could use the caffeine this morning. She poured the coffee into both travel mugs, put creamer and sugar in both, stirred them, and then screwed on the covers.
Next, Josie grabbed her butter dish from the "Dairy" shelf on door of the refrigerator and carried it to the counter near the sink. She reached over and pulled the four pieces of toast out of the toaster and layered each piece with butter. She had just closed the refrigerator door again and was licking the excess melted butter from her fingers after placing the knife into the sink when Sam reappeared.
He looked clean, refreshed, and utterly handsome. If Josie didn't already know he was suffering from a hangover, she never would have guessed. She could only hope she hid hers as well. She could imagine the teasing she would receive at the hands of Anita for this if she found ever out�
Sam crossed the room and dropped his T-shirt, sweats and toiletries into his bag and zipped it up. Then he stood up with the bag slung over his shoulder and announced, "Okay, I'm ready whenever you are."
Josie peeked at her wristwatch and gasped. 7:52 AM. And it usually took at least a solid half-hour in rush hour traffic to get to the Sun-Times building, and she started work precisely at 8:30. "We need to leave right now if I have any chance of getting there on time, Sam," she said, slinging her black purse over her shoulder. She grabbed the handle of her briefcase with one hand and her coffee and toast with the other.
Sam nodded and walked toward her. She motioned to where the coffee and toast was ready for him and he grabbed them on his way by the counter out the front door.
Sam fished in his pants pocket for his car keys while Josie hurriedly juggled her handful and locked the door behind them. Both of them were in such a hurry, in fact, that neither of them bothered to notice today's Chicago Sun-Times laying face down across the welcome mat. If they had taken a moment to examine it, they would have seen Gus's article displayed in a prominent spot on the bottom half of the front page. The headline read:
"Never Been Kissed" Teacher Suspended.
* * *