Hey guys! Here's the next update! It is a bit short, but I have family coming in tomorrow night so I'll be too busy to write much over the weekend. I wanted to give you a little something to hold on to! If I'm slow at work, I MIGHT try to start the next part so I can update ASAP. Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews! Means so much to me!
Much love~
Magarooski
"Sam?"
The sound of his voice murmuring in her ear jolted her a bit. They had watched the sun go down without saying a word and she had been so relaxed in his arms that she almost drifted off a few times.
"Hmm?"
"You believe me, right? About not liking Carly that way anymore?"
Sam sighed…their peaceful quiet moment together had come to an end. "I don't want to talk about Carly right now."
"We don't have to," he assured her. "I just want to make sure you believe it…I really don't feel that way about her."
She shrugged. "Whatever."
"Don't casually shrug this off, Sam…It's important that you know exactly how I feel about Carly."
"Fine," she groaned as she sat up.
"What are you doing?" he asked when he felt her start to get up from his lap.
"Going back to my chair…I'm not sitting on your lap while we talk about Carly."
He frowned when she left his lap and immediately felt alone, which was ridiculous of course, she only moved a few inches to his left. She didn't go anywhere. "I wouldn't have brought it up if I knew you were going to shut down like this."
"I'm not shutting down," she fired back as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Just talk already…I'm listening."
"There's not much to talk about, I was just bringing it up so you knew I was serious…I've even talked to Carly about it."
"Really? When?"
"Right after you bailed to go eat fried chicken."
"Oh."
"She freaked out," he started as he tucked his hands under his arms. He badly wanted to take her hand, but knew she wouldn't accept it…for now. "She thought I still had feelings for her, too, and was afraid you'd get hurt, but then I quickly assured her I didn't feel about her that way…that what I felt for her was never really genuine."
"Why do you say that? You loved Carly."
"No, Sam…I didn't…I never really did. You see…she was my foreign bacon."
Sam's jaw dropped. "What?"
"You heard me."
"But…but…how?"
His lips curved. "You're a clever girl…what do you think?"
She threw her hands up. "Heck, I don't know!"
"Sure you do."
She sighed as she rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess…maybe because…she was always so ridiculously nice to you?"
"Ding, ding, ding!" he exclaimed as he playfully poked her sides. "Give her a prize!"
She jumped at his probing fingers and then slapped them away "Cut that out, Freddrick!"
He chuckled, but did as she asked. "So there, you see? Carly is now just my friend and my friend only. I do love her, Sam…but only as friend loves a friend…or a brother loves a sister. I guess I should have made it clear awhile ago, I just assumed both of you realized it."
"And how were we suppose to know that?" she snapped back even though she was squealing with complete utter joy on the inside. "We can't read minds, you know?"
"Yes, I'm fully aware of that…and if I could go back I'd do it differently, but how was I suppose to know that it mattered? I didn't know how you felt, Sam."
"Of course you didn't…I made sure of it. You still wouldn't know if it wasn't for your stupid Pear Pad App."
He lifted a brow. "Oh, really? Well…in that case, I'm glad Brad thought of it."
"Why?" she scoffed. "So you can rub it in my face?"
"Of course not," he balked. "Don't be ridiculous."
Her tough persona she was putting on immediately faded when she noticed the hurt in his eyes. "You're right…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I guess I'm just a little insecure about this kind of thing."
"You have no reason to be," he said softly and then took a chance by covering her hand with his. "You're an amazing person…I mean it," he added when she scoffed. "You're like no one I've ever met." He smiled as he lifted her hand to his lips for the second time tonight. "And that's the best compliment I can give you, Blondie."
Pleasure spread through her like wildfire and couldn't stop the corners of her lip from tilting up. "You're quite the smooth talker, Benson."
He grinned. "Thanks."
"It's a pleasant surprise."
He linked his fingers with hers. "Are we cool?"
"As cool as we can be, I guess."
"Good...doooeees that mean you'll come back on my lap?" he asked hopefully.
She blushed…dammit, he was making her blush like an idiot. "That would be nice, but…I should probably leave."
His heart dropped with disappointment. He literally felt it hit the bottom of his stomach. "Oh…okay."
"We've been out here for awhile," she continued even though she was dying to stay with him just a little bit longer. "Your mom will be home soon I imagine and my mom's probably getting worried." She sighed when he gave a look. "All right, probably not…but still…it's getting late and…I guess we need more time to think about all this."
"Probably right." He sighed as he slowly stood up and helped her to her feet. "I'll walk you out."
"You don't have to."
"I want to." He led her to the window…going through first and then helped her through. He never let go of her hand as he led her through the apartment. When he reached the door, he turned the deadbolt but didn't open it. "Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"I just want you to know that…well…your friendship means the world to me and I don't want anything to screw it up. No matter what happens between us, I don't want to lose you, so you'll have to promise me I won't, because…"
"Because what?" she prompted when his voice faded away.
He sighed. "Because my life wouldn't be right without you in it…I know that sounds cheesy, but I don't really care…it's the truth."
Sam felt her heart turn painfully in her chest. No one had ever said anything like that to her before…she would never forget it. "You couldn't lose me if you tried, nub."
A smile bloomed on his face and with a soft chuckle he pulled her in his arms. "Thanks," he murmured softly into her hair.
She circled her arms around his waist and nuzzled her cheek against her chest. "Of course…you're stuck with me, Fred-a-dork…whether you like it or not."
His lips curved against the top of her head. "I like."
She smiled softly as she held onto him a moment longer before finally pulling away. "I better go, but…I'm glad you asked me over."
"Me, too. I'll see you later then?"
She nodded. "Sure…I'll probably be over at Carly's for a little bit before I head home."
"Okay…well, maybe I'll come over later."
"Great…well…see ya."
"Bye," he said as he reached by her to open the door only to slam it back shut before she could go through. "Wait."
She blinked up at him. "What is it?"
He kept his eyes firmly on hers as he slowly turned back the deadbolt and the click of the lock echoed loudly. "I'm ready for another experiment."
