Not How You'd Expect

Sam’s openly frowning, but in a way that’s more thoughtful than displeased. She doesn’t seem angry or worried by Heather being alone with you, and she nods to the brunette.

“You alright?” The redhead’s question seems to startle Heather, who takes a moment to answer.

“Yeah.” Breathing in, she speaks again, stronger now. “Yeah, I am. I just needed to talk.”

“And things are cool?” Your girlfriend seems far more calm than you might have expected.

“Yeah.” Heather glances back to you before smiling at Sam. “Well, no, but I think they will be.”

“Good.” Sam smiles a little and reaches out to give Heather’s shoulder a quick squeeze before starting to walk toward you. The brunette catches her arm and whispers something in her ear, and the redhead nods with a smile before your (former?) crush waves slightly and walks down the hall.

“You were waiting outside?” You hadn’t even realized that Sam should have gotten back to the apartment at some point while you and Heather were talking, but now you wonder how much she heard. She rolls her eyes and shrugs.

“Yeah. I heard you talking and thought it would be rude to interrupt.” She makes eye contact and your vision is once again overwhelmed with blue blue blue. “Why?”

“Nothing, really.” You glance away. “Just… I didn’t expect the way you responded.”

“Ah.” She nods, smiling teasingly. “Expected the jealous girlfriend thing.” She rolls her shoulders. “Sure, I was a little put out when I first heard you talking, but it didn’t seem like there was anything else. If I had thought there was something happening, I would have come in. But I figured that she needed to talk and didn’t want an audience, so…. Yeah.” Walking into the apartment, she drops down onto the couch and crosses her legs. “Besides….” She smiles at you, her eyes sparkling and her pink lips glossy. “I trust you.”

“I….” You blink awkwardly, a little overwhelmed. “That much?”

“Of course.” Sam’s smile is a little sadder, a little more distant. “I waited three years to have even a chance, Michael. And I heard all about your old relationships, remember?” As you sit next to her, she happily leans in and closes her eyes, resting her head on your shoulder. “I know you’re not the type to screw around like that.” Opening one eye, her grin widens. “At least not without permission….”

And holy shit does that conjure up any number of images. Your face must indicate that your mind has descended into myriad fantasies, because you hear Sam giggle.

“But I….” She wraps her arms around your neck, leaning in and pressing her forehead to yours. “Am quite happy to finally….” Her fingers seem to leave trails of heat burning where they touch you, even through your blazer and your shirt. “Have you all….” She punctuates each word with a tap to your lips with her pointer finger. “To….” Is her smile always that sexy? “Myself.” Her blue eyes are bright and you almost see light flicking about in them as her eyelids fall, leaning into you.

This kiss isn’t quite the intense affair of your first, or the innocent, simple contact that began your second. The first was passion and lust and shock. The second was relief and hope and **** need. This feels different. As your breaths mix and mingle and you feel her press herself into you, you do feel the arousal and attraction that resulted earlier that day, but it’s secondary to a warmth that seems to wash over you. Your heart still beats faster and your lungs burn, and she tastes like mint and she’s soft and pliant against you, but you feel… safe. It feels like a reassurance, even a promise. It feels the way it did when you kissed the other girl, even if it’s different. You’d almost say that it feels like home.

That she feels like home.

You’re left breathless and gasping as you separate, Sam’s face flushed as she bites her lip and the sapphire of her eyes dances merrily.

“I think we might want to cut things off there.” She giggles again, and if you were more of a hopeless romantic you might compare the sound to bells. “We’ll probably want to get up early tomorrow.”

“Yeah.” The reminder that Bella will (hopefully) come to rescue you the next morning helps calm you down. “Right.” You nod. “Best to get a decent night’s sleep then.” Looking at the girl in your arms, you press a kiss to her temple. “Later, though….”

“Later, when we’re safe, I’d love to.” She sighs happily, and you consider the merits of sleeping on the couch in your normal clothes before deciding that waking up with a sore neck would be unpleasant, even if you would have your girlfriend curled up in your lap.

“I’ll see you in the morning, then?” You watch her face as her lips curl into a thin line, this time out of nerves if her flicking eyes are any indication.

“Actually I was wondering….” She looks up at you again. “If we could… stay together? Since, I mean….” She glances away. “We probably won’t come back here, and I’ve kind of wanted to know what it feels like to be here… with you. You know?” She’s blushing now and her lips are pursed and it’s absolutely adorable.

“Moving a little fast, huh?” You let your smile break out into a massive, suggestive grin, and the exaggerated groan she gives in response almost pushes you to laughter.

“Not like there are many people who could say it’s moving fast anymore.” Sam rolls her eyes, but the quirk of her lips makes it clear she’s not offended. “Besides, we kinda went from zero to a hundred earlier today, if you recall.”

“Oh, I recall.” You imagine there will be a time when you can’t recall the sight of this gorgeous girl between your legs, the warmth of her breath against your skin, the tightness of her throat around you as you….

“Okay, calm down there, captain, calm down.” She’s grinning madly as she swats your arm. “We agreed that we’d save that for later, remember?”

“Yeah, yeah….” You sigh with feigned resignment. “You’re such a tease, you know that?” You open your arms as she climbs off your lap, and you take the opportunity to let your gaze roll over her, drinking in her curves like you’re in the desert and she’s an oasis. She glances over your shoulder and you quickly meet her eyes, but you get the feeling she caught you.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Her tone is so dry that even someone with no understanding of sarcasm could tell she wasn’t sorry at all. She coquettishly holds a hand to her lips and lets out a soft gasp as she bends forward, causing you to be drawn back to her long, tights-clad legs and the short, short skirt that does nothing at this angle to hide the glory of her soft, shapely ass from your view. “Are you complaining?”

“Nope.” You swallow, and you hate that she keeps doing this to you, but you also feel as though you’re never going to actually try to stop it either. When you win, you imagine she’ll be adorably irresistible. Like this, when she knows she’s won? She’s hotter than the sun. “Not complaining at all.” Her grin tells you that she knows the effect she’s having, but you’re pleased to see that her own blush has spread down to her neck.

“Good.” Straightening, she flounces away, leaving you to recover. “I’ll go get changed in my room. Get ready for bed and I’ll join you when I’m done.”

You’re left on the couch, staring blankly into space for an embarrassingly long moment as her words sink in. The sentence washes over you like a wave, and after perhaps the fastest run-through of your nightly routine ever, you’re left in your room debating between wearing one of your little-used pairs of pajama pants and staying in nothing but your boxers. You’re sitting on your bed - which now that you think about it is only just large enough for the two of you, and you briefly thank Sam’s genes for making her smaller and slender - still undecided when you hear your door open.

“You alright?” Her voice is soft, and you shake your head to clear your thoughts as you move to face her.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.” That statement is immediately contradicted by the way your lungs contract at the sight of the girl herself. No one should look so cute in loose shorts and an oversized t-shirt. Pulling up your bed covers, you settle in as she moves closer, the sappy corner of your brain squeeing at the little smile on her face. As she climbs in with you, you wrap her into your arms and revel in the warmth.

“This is nice.” She hums as she wiggles slightly, moving closer and tucking her head under your chin.

“Yeah.” You silently curse yourself for having denied you the opportunity to have this for so long before pressing your lips to the crown of her head. “Sam, I don’t think it’ll take much for me to love you.” You feel her smile against your collarbone as fatigue and comfort begin to drive you into unconsciousness.

“Love you, Michael. ‘M willing to wait….”

And then sleep claims you both.