Oh my God, what did I just do? Carly thought, lying down on her bed. And did I just call Sam 'my girl'?
It occurred to Carly that she did, indeed, think of Sam as hers, and she was totally jealous of Sam's relationship with Freddie. What she had just done to Sam had been more exciting to her than she wanted to admit. She could still smell the musky scent of Sam, and she realized with a start that the smell was actually her own. Carly now knew she wanted Sam, badly, but if the Lock-In was any indication, Sam wanted Freddie. Now it was all messed up. She had clearly crossed a line with her best friend, and things would never be the same again.
A knock at the door brought her back to reality. She knew immediately who it was, but hoped she was wrong. "Carls!" came a familiar voice, through the door.
"Sam!" Carly responded, guilt evident in her voice, then hesitated. She wanted to say "come in" but on the other hand, she wanted to say "go away." She wasn't ready to face her best friend yet, but sending Sam away would only seal the fate of their friendship. Apparently, she considered her options for too long, and the door opened. The brunette was going to have to face her best friend, one way or the other.
"Carly? What were you doing up there?" Sam questioned as she barged in. She didn't really sound angry, as Carly expected, but more confused.
"I… I was just messing with you," Carly nervously began. "Can we just forget about it?"
"No," Sam countered, "I think we should talk about this." She paused a moment, then said,"Um, Carly, is there something you want to tell me?"
"What do you mean?" Carly played dumb.
Sam wasn't having it, "Well, I've never had anyone put there tongue there before. It's not usually something friends do to each other, even best friends."
Sensing an opportunity to weasel out of a confession Sam was trying to get her to make – about something she, herself, was unsure of – Carly decided to fight fire with fire. Her voice took on an accusing tone. "I think you have that backwards. I'm not the one who keeps secrets from her best friend."
Sam was taken aback, although she had an idea what this was about. Hesitantly, she queried, "What do you mean?"
Carly wasn't letting her off easy, either, "I saw you kiss Freddie at the Lock-In!"
Sam mouth opened and closed a few times, speechless.
After a pause, Carly continued berating Sam, "And I'm really upset that neither of my best friends – who both promised no more secrets – didn't bother to tell me after a week and a half."
"I didn't tell you because I'm still trying to sort it out in my head," Sam defended. "And Freddie probably didn't tell you because he's trying to be chivalrous and protect my honor or some chizz like that."
"Do you like Freddie?" Carly questioned.
"I thought I did," Sam answered honestly. "Remember a few weeks ago when I pushed him in front of that bike messenger?" When Carly nodded, she continued, "Well, when he was laying there battered and bloody on the ground, he looked kind of cute. He's not the scrawny little dork I've been making fun of all these years anymore."
"So you do like Freddie?" Carly tried again.
"I'm not sure. I kind of do like him, but I still think he's a nub, too." Sam answered. "I was trying to figure it out in the shower this morning, and ended up being in there almost as long as one of your showers. I kind of wanted to go out with him and see what it was like, but I felt like there was something holding me back. Something I couldn't quite figure out. I even considered checking myself into a mental hospital, but my mom's in Mexico and they wouldn't let me in without parental consent."
"Do you want me to help you figure it out?" Carly offered. "I'm not as good a psychologist as Spencer," she joked, "but I'm sure we can figure it out together. No one knows you as well as I do."
"Actually," Sam began, hesitantly, "you already helped me figure it out."
"Hunh?" Carly queried.
"Up on the roof," Sam answered. "It was so warm and sunny, I fell asleep right away. When I woke up, you were staring at me. Specifically, you were checking out my tits." Carly was now acutely aware of the fact that they were still in the same swimsuits, and the very breasts her friend was talking about were still threatening to spill out, and she blushed as Sam continued. "I noticed the look on your face. The only other time I've seen a look like that was on Pete's face, right before he asked me out." She took a deep breath before asking, "Carly, do you… like me?"
And so it had come full circle. Carly was back to admitting her feelings for Sam went beyond friendship, but she was no longer as unsure. Hearing Sam refer to Freddie as cute had driven her almost green with envy, and she knew that the dreams and fantasies she'd been having about her best friend truly expressed her innermost feelings. She wasn't sure how Sam would feel about it, but the blonde's description of the events on the roof didn't seem judgmental. She answered confidently, "No."
"No?" Sam repeated, sounding almost hurt, "because I'm pretty sure that…"
Carly cut her off, "No, Sam, I… I love you. I don't want you to date Freddie. I want you to be mine and only mine. I was so jealous hearing you say Freddie's cute I wanted to throw up. We've been together for a long time, and I know it's not like that, but it should be like that, and…"
This time, Carly was cut off – by Sam's lips against hers. She was confused initially, but recovered swiftly. Now this is what I'm talking about, she thought. When Sam pulled away, Carly stared into her lovely blue eyes, happy, but not quite comprehending.
The blonde read her friend's thoughts, and answered the unspoken question, "When I saw the way you were looking at me, I started to get a little, um, excited myself. I think I might have even had a wet dream about it, because when I woke up again, I was, well, wet. And you were still looking at me, this time with kind of a dreamy, faraway look on your face, like you were thinking about the stuff you wanted to do to me. I like having you look at me that way. A lot more than I like Freddie staring at me that way – that's just a little creepy."
Carly laughed, "Welcome to my world for the last six years."
"Yeah," Sam giggled. "Anyway, then I woke up to you tickling me, so I pinned you down, and you pulled your little, um, stunt, and Oh My God, Carls, I've never felt anything so exciting in my life. That's when it hit me. I knew what was holding me back from talking to Freddie – you!"
"Me?"
"You and me, we've already got something special, we've just never taken it that far before. Come on, think about it. We tell each other 'I love you' all the time. I always tell you how hot you look, and you're always giving me those looks, like I'm a mess, but you wouldn't have me any other way. I spend most of my time with you, and I sleep here half the week. We're practically dating already, only without the good part."
Now it was Carly's turn, "I have a confession to make. For a while now, I've been thinking about you, you know, at night," Sam was smirking as Carly continued, "when I'm… you know." The blonde's eyes said she did know, but her expression said she wanted the younger girl to spell it out. "Touching myself, alright!" Carly blurted, slapping Sam in the arm as she did.
"Damn, Carls," Sam replied, "that's hot. No wonder you looked so dreamy up on the roof. You were thinking about touching yourself right there, weren't you?"
Carly was defensive, but flirty at the same time, "How could I not be, with you lying there in that suit? It doesn't exactly leave much to the imagination, even though it certainly helped mine."
"So maybe we should try the 'good part'?" Sam smirked, already knowing the answer.
"I'll try anything with you, Sam," the younger girl replied, staring into her friend's blue eyes.
"We are standing here half naked," Sam pointed out.
"Only half?" Carly countered, her voice husky with excitement, reaching around Sam's back to untie the shorter girl's top. "We should do something about that."