The Following Morning

Sam dreamt that he was wandering out in the middle of the woods. Appropriate, considering the circumstances of his physical whereabouts. Then suddenly, a snowstorm blanketed the woods in three feet of snow and iced all the trees. Not knowing it was a dream he was sure he was going to die out there, alone. But then, just when all hope seemed lost, he spotted a cabin in the distance. Running through the snow to get to it, he tripped a few times on snow-covered rocks and stumps. But finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he made it to the front door of the cabin and just as he was about to try the handle, the door swung open. Before he could get a look at who was on the other side, he woke up.

It was bright in the hotel room, too bright, he blinked his eyes a few times letting them adjust. He was lying on his back, and turned his head slightly to glance at the clock. 8:06 am. Luckily, he wasn't required on the President's trip to Olympia National Forest today so he didn't have to get up yet.

As he adjusted his body, Sam froze mid-spin. Looking over in the direction of where Ainsley had been sleeping last night, he noticed she had moved, and so had the pillow that he had put between them. But that wasn't what made him freeze. A hand was resting on his chest, a woman's hand, that could only belong to one woman. He lifted up the bedsheets slightly to get a better look at the situation. Sure enough, Ainsley Hayes' small, delicate, gorgeous hand was resting on his chest, almost gripping his T-shirt in her fingers.

Looking back over at the rest of her body, he hadn't even realized how close she had gotten during the night. Her head lay on the edge of a pillow just a few inches away from where his shoulder currently rested and her body had shifted positions completely into the center of the bed. He didn't need to look under the sheets to know if he moved his leg two inches to the left he would be touching her thighs.

What should he do? What could he do? If he moved a single millimeter he feared she would wake up and catch him, maybe even accuse him of moving during the night. Maybe she would regret her decision to let him sleep in the bed with her and never speak to him again. He didn't want that…

After another long minute of deliberation, he decided he would try his luck by moving her hand off of his chest, if they weren't touching, she couldn't possibly be mad at him, right?

Sam lifted the sheet ever so slightly, reached down with his free hand, and hesitated before picking hers up. He had never touched Ainsley Hayes' hands before, never like this, and he couldn't deny that her fingertips on his chest did make him feel…wanted. No, he told himself, snap out of it. And he did, Sam picked up her soft hand with his almost forcefully gripping it in his own and began to move it carefully off of his chest.

During this process, he hadn't seen her eyes open slowly and a sudden realization streak across her face, leaving behind a grinning and fully awake Ainsley Hayes.

"Sam," she whispered, but loud enough for him to hear. He dropped her hand immediately and it fell in the space between his side and her torso, underneath the sheets. He glanced over at her.

She hadn't worn any makeup to bed, and yet, she was absolutely the most beautiful woman he had ever woken up too. The light that shone in through the blinds on the window illuminated her smile, casting him deeper into a daze.

"I uh, you…your hand was…I was just…," He mumbled not sure exactly where he had been going with that grouping of words. He had the skill to write the most powerful speeches for the most powerful man in the free world, but when it came to talking to Ainsley, she always left him speechless.

"Did you scoot closer to me while I was sleeping?" she asked softly. Sam couldn't take his eyes off her hair now, it graced her pillow with magnificence.

"No," he mumbled, "I think it was the opposite actually."

"Hm," Ainsley mumbled. She then slowly turned around and climbed out of the bed on the other side, stretching her arms and back as she did so. She stood up from the bed and walked into the bathroom, but didn't shut the door. Sam let his head crash back down onto his pillow. Phew.

"Did you get a good night's sleep?" Ainsley asked loudly from the bathroom.

"Um, yes. Yes, I did," he answered as he lie there trying to catch his breath. Of all the stressful situations that his job had put him through in the past few years, he never thought sharing a bed with Ainsley Hayes would be the one that took his breath away.

"Great," she replied a moment later as he heard the sink faucet come on. "So what are you working on while the President is up at Olympia?"

"Helping Will Bailey draft a speech for the Vice President's visit to Japan actually," he responded, sensing any talk of what had occurred last night was over. Thank God. He much preferred work mode to…whatever mode had existed between him and her over the past month. He climbed out of the bed and checked his appearance in the reflection of the sliding glass door that led to the small porch. His hair was a mess. He breathed into his hand, Christ…he needed to freshen up. He picked up his cellphone off the bedside table and walked to the front door, passing by the bathroom as he went.

Her voice stopped him from leaving. "Off to see Will?" she asked turning her head towards him as he turned his towards her. She was washing her face with a moist towel. They only stood about four feet from each other.

"Not yet, he's probably still sleeping," Sam lied. Will was a worker bee, he would've been up until 3 am last night and gotten up at 6 am this morning to finish whatever project he had been working on last night. Or to start on the Vice President's speech.

"Sam, you know you don't have to sneak out of here," Ainsley said as she approached him, coming out of the bathroom and into his personal space.

"I'm not sneaking out of here, I'm merely going to go back to my room quietly before anyone else gets up in hopes that no one will see me," he said truthfully. He knew lying to her wouldn't do him any good, but telling the truth might only encourage her. To do what, he didn't have a goddamned clue.

"All we did was share a bed Sam, it's not like we slept together," she said, almost giggling on the last three words. He had never heard her giggle before, it was cute, adorable even. And he couldn't help but grin.

"I know that, and you know that," Sam pointed out. "But Josh doesn't know that, and if anybody sees me, he'll find out, and then he'll carry that bag of rocks over my head until Inauguration Day."

"Well you can't shower in your room," Ainsley said firmly.

"I'll borrow Will's," he replied quickly and decisively.

"You're already here," she said softly and he swore she had gotten closer to him yet again. She was a minx.

"You need to shower too and I don't want to waste all your hot water," he answered.

"We can always share," she said simply and casually, like she hadn't just suggested that they shower together. She must have seen the absolute look of horror on his face because she quickly followed up on that statement. "Relax, I'm yanking your chain. I swear Sam, you are so easy sometimes."

Yeah, and you make me that way, he wanted to say. Instead he repressed his desire and opened the door to her room, nodding to her as he left. He shut the door behind him, trying to forget the look of disappointment on her face. He shook it from his mind as nothing more than a friend wanting to spend more time with another friend and proceeded down the hallway to his room. He was in desperate need of some fresh clothes and something to work on.