Show Me A Secret:
Toni struggled, but only slightly, with the large box in her arms as she made her way up the stairs. She seemed to be able to manage it because she just kept telling herself that all she really had to do was make it to the door then she would be good. She was pretty sure that none of the other Freshman would have moved the dolly that she left in the doorway because thankfully there weren't many other people that were moving in this early in the day. Plus… Vanessa was supposed to be keeping an eye on it since Toni had offered (well insisted) on doing all of the heavy lifting and all. But she just couldn't shake the nagging thought in the back of her mind that reminded her that people would just let you down. No matter how low she set the bar of expectation people always seemed to fail to meet them and that threatened to break her spirit in the process.
She tried her best to push away her negative thoughts and reminded herself to just stay positive. This was a new school, in a new State with the possibility of a new Toni… So she should have a new outlook, right? She had repeatedly told herself on the drive to California that Stanford was her best chance for a fresh start… Well in all honesty, it was her brother Alexander that had first made the suggestion after he found her hiding away in their gazebo, bawling her eyes out after yet another ugly breakup with a boyfriend.
So she just took in a deep breath and shifted the box slightly while smiling stupidly to herself because she could sense the possibility of a positive shift in her outlook already. Or at least she thought that's what was causing this warm feeling in her chest right now.
"Hey! Whoa! That looks heavy!" A male voice called out from behind her. "Here, why don't you let me carry that for you?"
Toni tried to just ignore him, but when she felt his fingers lightly graze against her own, she figured that she had to brush him off verbally so he would get the hint, "I'm good, but thanks."
He either didn't hear her objection or he was too chivalrous to let up and tried once again to take the weighty box again from her without saying anything else. They were close to the top of the staircase, so Toni made sure that she was on the top landing before twisting her torso to regain control of the box.
While her back was still turned to him, she juggled the box slightly until it was comfortable in her arms once again before more forcefully replying, "Are you deaf? I said that I've got it! Thanks for the offer but I really don't need your help."
"Oh… Sorry… But… At least… Let me grab the door for you," he proposed shyly.
"No, that's fine… My…" Toni started more civilly, but stopped when she notice that the door she had had propped open was now closed. As she stared at the small window in the dense metal she did notice a dark 'Vanessa' shaped figure on the other side.
"Fuck! I guess she isn't," Toni grumbled, but mostly to herself as she was forced to set the box down.
Once it was on the cement, she finally turned to look at her potential 'helper' and fell completely mute for a moment. She wasn't sure what she had expected to see, but she knew that she hadn't anticipated turning around and finding the personification of the dictionary definition of 'Tall, dark and handsome' standing there behind her. She could feel that she was blushing but she desperately hoped that her voice wouldn't betray her true feelings.
"What I meant to say was that my roommate WAS supposed to be waiting for me here… With the door open… With my dolly… But she must have… Ahem… Gotten 'distracted'. But honestly, I'm pretty sure I've got it from here. Thanks anyway," she explained almost politely.
"Oh… Okay… Are you SURE I can't help you with this to your room?"
Toni smiled to herself when she got the door open and saw that the dolly was in fact in almost the exact same place that she had left it. Then without having to be asked for any aide, the stranger helped Toni to put the large box onto the dolly.
"Huh… A mini fridge… That could come in handy," he commented under his breath after he finished reading the description on the box.
Toni still had a mischievous grin on her face as she playfully replied, "Well I have to thank you again for the offer, but I don't really know how safe it would be to show you where my dorm room is… I mean… For all I know you could be some kind of a stalker that will wait and break into my room to rape me… Or steal all of the cold drinks out of my fridge."
She quickly winked then started to push the dolly while he stood dumbfounded in his place. Toni felt pretty proud of herself because she could see that he wasn't sure if he should be genuinely offended by her comment or if he should laugh at the joke she had made at his expense. Either way… He shook his head in response and finally turned to leave.
Vanessa caught up with Toni at their room and nearly clapped and shouted as she excitedly asked, "So who was that Roomie?"
Toni was fighting with her key in the lock and answered distractedly without looking away from the door, "Who was who?"
After realizing that Toni wasn't going to pay attention to her until the door was open, Vanessa swatted Toni's hands away and easily opened the door. Toni took a step back and scowled at the other woman, but didn't get a chance to verbally announce her annoyance before her roommate launched into her interrogation.
"Who? Who? That beautifully tall, shaggy haired, rock hard piece of Adonis ass, that's who! What was his name? What Hall does he live in? Come on Toni, I know I gave you more than enough time to get his details, so come on! Spill!"
"Oh… Umm…" Toni answered in an uncharacteristically timid tone. "I… I didn't get them… I was… You know kind of more focused on not dropping our new fridge and all."
After they were through the door, Vanessa threw an arm around Toni's shoulders playfully saying, "Well it's a good thing you're bunking with me because you obviously have a lot to learn. By the time I'm done with you, you'll be able to get any guys digits in under five minutes."
Toni hesitated slightly in her roommate's arms then slowly wrapped an arm around Vanessa's waist. As she squeezed it slightly, she tried to mirror Vanessa's playful tone replying, "Yeah lucky me… But first things first… Why don't I set this son of a bitch up so you'll never run out of cold beverages to quench your thirst while you go through your lessons?"
With a loud laugh, Vanessa squeezed Toni tightly and exclaimed, "Oh my God! We are going to have so much fun this year!"
She never ran late. Never once in her life did Toni run late for anything. She even managed to make it to Palo Alto a week earlier than they had suggested so that she could scope out the campus, buy all of her books and even procure a part time job to make sure that she wouldn't have to live off cafeteria food for the whole year.
But right now she was late. As she weaved through the crowded hallways, she silently cursed Vanessa's powers of persuasion and her ability to convince Toni to go along with her schemes. Toni was now asking herself, who really needed their eyebrows plucked and makeup done for an afternoon tutorial anyway? Now not only did her face hurt like a son of a bitch, she was actually going to be way beyond late for the first time in her life.
Luckily for Toni, most of her classmates and ever her TA didn't appear to be as concerned with punctuality so she was able to slip into the last empty seat without bringing any undue attention to herself.
After offering practically every correct answer to the questions posed to her and her classmates, then offering just as many insightful counterpoints in an attempt to elicit longer discussions, Toni backed off because she could feel all of the annoyed glares some of her classmates were giving her. Even though she didn't have to, Toni felt like she should go the extra mile in her classes because she was at Stanford on a scholarship and she was finding out that this wasn't sitting well with her peers. Despite what Vanessa said, Toni wasn't here to fall in love… She was here to get her degree so that she could get into Law School and then she was going to make partner in one of the country's top Law Firms, no matter where that might be, before her fortieth birthday.
At the end of the class discussion, the somewhat apathetic Teacher's Assistant turned to everyone and announced while handing something out to most of the students. "So I have a 'Good News' 'Bad News' scenario here gang. Good news? You all don't have to show up here next week for tutorial…" Practically everyone sighed loudly with relief, but the cautious few held their breath in anticipation of the bad news. "Bad news? Professor Guile has come up with a project for each tutorial. You guys and gals are going to pair up, read over the next three articles in the Courseware and the do a 'Pro/Con' list of each point… Yes, you heard right, arguments FOR and AGAINST each point gang." After a few audible groans, he continued, "So anyone who got a black tile… Congratulations, look to your right, that's your partner. If you didn't get a tile and you haven't put two and two together, look to your left. That's the person that will be playing a role in determining 15% of your final grade. Remember to have fun with playing Devil's Advocate!"
Their TA then bid the class "Adieu" while all of the students made their introductions to their new partners. Toni was copying down their TA's speech practically word for word as she turned her head to look to her left.
Once her partner's eyes locked with her own, they both froze for a moment then he extended a hand saying, "Hey. I'm 'Stalker McRapey'."
Toni took his hand, hung her head shamefully and replied, "So I guess that would make me 'Ungrateful McBitch'… Also known as Toni… Toni McNamara."
Her partner squeezed her hand gently to force her to look up again then said, "Well shit… Now you just took all of the fun out of teasing you. I'm Sam… Sam Winchester."
Toni recovered quickly once she realized that he wasn't angry about their first meeting and smiled saying, "Nice to properly meet you Sam. So, my roommate's going to be tied up tonight and tomorrow night… So my dorm's free if you're good to go to get all of this done."
Sam quickly nodded with a quiet, "Sure why not?" then Toni got up to leave replying, "Good. See you at my room any time after five?"
"Wait!" Sam called out as she moved to leave the room. "Umm… I don't actually know where your room is, remember?"
"Really?" She countered with mock surprise. "Well, I guess you aren't that great of a stalker there 'McRapey'." Sam stared at her with a confused scowl on his face as she finished, "And you aren't that much of a Detective either… Phone and room number are on the paper next to your left hand Winchester."
"Holy crap! I can't believe you got all of this done already," Sam commented as he read over Toni's lists of points for their project.
She just shrugged and stood up to stretch replying, "Well your lists aren't exactly short… I honestly was just hoping that we could get this project done this week so I can work on my paper next week."
Sam placed her notebook on the floor and chuckled saying, "I thought that I was the only one that was going to get a jump start on that."
Toni leaned over the open fridge then turned with two bottles in hands. Sam hesitated as he took one of the bottles, so Toni retracted it offering, "Or I could grab you a soda… I was thinking that we deserved a beer as a reward for all of our hard work."
Sam laughed softly as he took the beer then relaxed a bit more against Vanessa's bed in his place on the floor. "No, no, beer's good. Thanks. So… Have you figured out your topic for the term paper?"
Toni sat down on her bed cross legged facing him and took a swig of her beer nodding then answered simply, "Yep. How 'bout you?"
"I think so… That chapter about crime being a learned behavior seemed like an interesting topic to look into," Sam replied as he smiled to himself inwardly.
When he and Toni had first been paired up, Sam had worried slightly that things would be awkward between them, given how their first encounter had transpired. Now he felt completely relaxed because it didn't seem to him like Toni held a grudge against him at all and she was turning out to be the first person he had worked with at college that was actually friendly.
"Huh… So you're thinking of looking into environmental explanations for your focal point?"
"Yeah… I guess so," Sam answered sounding slightly confused.
Toni got up and started shuffling through a couple of piles of books then turned explaining, "I still have to get a bookshelf… Anyways… If that's the angle that you're going with, this Sociology book might help."
Sam took it then as he flipped through the pages asked, "Thanks, but won't you need it?"
While she was still standing, Toni shook her head answering, "Nope. I won't need that one until next semester at the earliest. I kind of went overboard buying up all of the text books that crossed over between Criminology and Sociology."
"Wow… So you've got this all figured out, eh?"
Toni shrugged again trying to deflect his compliment saying, "Not really… I'm just making it up as I go and hoping that I keep from looking like I'm actually ready to vomit from the pressures of school."
Sam chuckled and agreed then continued looking through the textbook while sipping his beer, not noticing that Toni was standing in front of him still watching him intently. She was debating with herself if she should follow Vanessa's advice or not. Her roommate kept telling her that she should be bold, that real men didn't mind if it was the girl that made the first move, so she should just go for it and put herself out there. That approach had backfired numerous times in High School and she had been pretty successful waiting for guys to find her while at college, so Toni still wasn't sure if she should take that chance.
Fuck it, she finally thought to herself as she plucked the book from Sam's hands.
Sam looked up and tried to apologize for getting engrossed in the text book, but Toni quickly grabbed his cheeks and planted a soft kiss on his lips. He remained in a stunned silence after she leaned back, so Toni took a couple of steps away until the backs of her legs hit her bed.
"Sorry… Really," she apologized remorsefully. "I just… I just wanted to know what it would be like… Fuck… I didn't even ask if you were seeing anyone… Shit… Sorry…"
"I'm single," Sam stated very plainly without making any attempts to move.
Toni went to sit on her bed while still mumbling a few more apologies, but Sam leaned forward and pulled her onto his lap saying, "I hope that means you're single too…"
Toni nodded with a soft smile on her face as Sam brushed the hair off her face. "Good…" He commented quietly before leaning up to kiss her.
"Okay… It's even better when you're ready for it," Toni breathlessly observed after Sam sat back so they could catch their breath.
Sam chuckled quietly then said, "Thanks?"
Toni pushed back on his chest to stand up replying, "Oh that was a compliment… So… I was thinking of ordering pizza. You hungry?"
Sam scowled slightly, showing his confusion as he watched Toni pick up her phone while also unbuttoning her shirt. Before dialing the number, she caught the look on his face, so she stopped just before slipping her shirt off of her shoulders.
"What? Oh… Please don't tell me your stamina is so good that you need more than half an hour," Toni teased as she dialed the number for her favorite pizza place just off campus.
After she hung up the phone, Toni dropped her shirt beside her bed. Sam was still playing catch up with her, so Toni tried to make her intentions undeniably, crystal clear. She straddled Sam's lap and as she kissed him, she ran his hands up her ribs and over her bra covered breasts.
"Toni…?" Sam questioned against her lips while letting her continue to direct his hands. "Toni? Can you hold up a second?"
She quickly stopped and sat back with both of their hands remaining stationary.
"Oh shit! Fuck, I'm sorry. Fuck… Fuck! I'm… I'm such an idiot!" She replied as she tried to stand up.
Sam pulled her back down by the belt loops on her jeans then easily encircled his arms around her waist to keep her in his lap. "No, it's not that… As you can tell… But you and I? Where does that put us?"
Toni then smiled a bit easier and pushed his bangs out of his face saying, "It's just sex Sam… I'm not looking to become anyone's ball and chain… Really I'm not… Plus we're in college now… We're supposed to experiment, right? And I'm not really into girls…"
"So we're classmates and project partners who are going to have sex and then…?" Sam tried to clarify.
"And then whatever happens… Happens. No strings attached to complicate things," Toni explained while Sam worked at massaging her breasts.
"No strings?" He doubled checked as he leaned in and kissed her neck.
Toni was turning into putty under Sam's hands as she breathlessly replied, "None…" When Sam didn't move things along more quickly she more forcefully commented, "But if you don't hurry up, the pizza will be here and I'll be pissed if we get interrupted before you finish."
Sam laughed against her skin then picked her up in his arms. Toni had no doubts that Sam could handle her weight without any issues while she worked at undoing his pants and lavished his neck with hungry embraces.
As they loosened each other's clothing, Toni felt Sam's hesitation once again so she whispered, "My bed's behind me… Condoms are in the top drawer."
"Toni…? Sweets? Are you ready for another round?" Vanessa asked as she waved her hands in front of Toni's face, trying to regain her friend's attention.
"Sorry… Sorry… Umm… Yeah… I mean yes please and a water too. Thank you," Toni finally ordered before turning to her companion saying, "Sorry… I didn't mean to space out on you, but…"
Vanessa followed Toni's gaze when she trailed off and playfully teased, "But Mr. 'I'm Stupid and Let You Go' just walked in."
When the words hit her ears, Toni's eyes snapped over to Vanessa's face. She wanted to object, but instead just slumped back in her seat honestly answering, "Shit… Fuck… Maybe… Sorry Vee…"
"So we really don't hate him, huh? Even though he broke your heart?" Vanessa asked quietly as the Winchesters started walking in their direction.
"No!" Toni answered in a hushed tone while shaking her head. "No! Vanessa don't hate Sam!" She quietly implored before the brothers reached their booth.
"Hey Ladies… Would you mind if we joined you?" Dean asked with a bewitching smile on his face.
Toni was just about to say 'Yes' as she shifted over to make room for the two men when Vanessa answered with a very serious sounding, "Maybe…"
All three of the others, including Toni, stared at her completely confused by her answer before she clarified more playfully, "Well you can IF you earn the pleasure of our company for the night." She nodded towards the pool table then added, "If you beat me, you're in."
Sam shrugged his shoulder then answered, "Sure… That sounds fair enough to me."
He and Dean took off their jackets and as the elder Winchester moved to take Vanessa's place at the table, she protested, "Nope, not you Sam. I already know that you can kick my ass… But Dean here…He still needs to prove that he's worthy… You in?"
Dean handed his jacket to his brother as he replied, "Sure… I'd be more than happy to show you how the game is played."
As they walked away, he looked over his shoulder with a slightly worried look on his face, but Sam was already saying, "Don't worry, I'll order your food."
Once they were guaranteed to be out of the other two's earshot, Vanessa slipped her arm through Dean's and quietly said, "And I was also hoping that you might be able to enlighten me about what the hell is going on with those two back there."
Dean stole a quick glance over his shoulder then replied, "Sure, I'll try my best."
Toni had already moved in deeper into the horseshoe shaped booth by the time that Sam finally took a seat. He wasn't sure where they stood with each other right now, especially after their slightly prolonged make out session, so he tried to give her some distance without appearing like he was being standoffish. Even though she still wasn't sure about her feelings, Toni knew that Vanessa hadn't whisked Dean away to play pool just to get to know him better, so she tried to do what she knew her friend wanted her to do.
"Fry to tie you over?" Toni offered as she pushed her plate partially towards him.
Toni hadn't pushed it far enough for Sam to easily reach the food, so he slid in closer to her and picked one up with a quiet, "Thank you."
"So… How'd it go?" She asked before taking a long drink from her nearly empty glass.
"Well we got one and everyone's safe at home now," Sam explained without sounding like he was going to offer any other details.
"Here you go Miss… Oh… Hi, I'm Cindy… What can I get you?" Their waitress asked as she placed the ladies' drinks on the table.
"I'll have a beer and a BLT on wheat and my brother will have a beer and a bacon cheeseburger. Thanks."
As soon as they were alone again, Toni slid in closer to Sam so that she could question him in a more hushed tone, "You said you got 'one'… Does that mean that you had to fight more than one dragon?"
Sam swallowed hard and licked his dry lips uncomfortably because Toni was gripping his thigh to maintain her balance while the talked. When Sam didn't answer her question right away, Toni squeezed his leg then gently shook it asking, "Well?"
"Yeah," he replied. "Yeah, there was more than one."
He quickly picked up his beer and took a large swallow to collect himself. Toni finally released his flesh and sat back against the booth with part of her back resting on Sam's chest. He moved his arm so that she could rest more comfortably against his side then relaxed in his place as he watched her pick at her food and nibbled on a fry.
"Huh… There are dragons on Earth," Toni mused aloud.
Sam chuckled softly then said, "Yep."
Toni unconsciously slipped her arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder asking, "But you saved all of the girls, right? None of them got left behind?"
He gently ran his hand up and down her arm as he answered, "Yes, we got all of them home safe."
"Good… Good…"
Then both then fell silent, slowly eating their food. Toni molded herself even closer to Sam's torso in such a way that their position looked and felt completely norm to anyone that saw them together. When they ordered another round of drinks, their server asked them about their companions and both Sam and Toni froze completely in their spots.
"Should I take their orders to them?" She offered with a soft smirk.
Toni quickly sat up off of Sam's chest and replied, "Yes… Please… That would be great… They're over at the tables playing pool."
She then scooted over a bit more away from Sam, scooped up her water and chugged its contents while trying to slow down her thoughts. Sam's hand had slipped off her shoulder when she moved, but he made sure to keep it in contact with her back in an effort to comfort her.
"Toni? Are you okay?" He asked quietly as he rubbed soft circles on her back when she finally put her glass back down on the table.
She had started tearing up one of their napkins and refused to turn around to face him as she said, "I don't know if I can do this Sam."
Sam sat up straighter and tenderly gripped her shoulder to turn her so that they were facing each other as he tried to probe deeper, "You can't do what Toni?"
He watched her closely, trying to gauge if she was going to shut down on him completely or not. She in turn took a deep breath and shifted in her seat so that she was able to face him more comfortably.
"I don't know if I can do this… You and me together… Us, again," she explained gesturing between them with her hand. "Sam… I… I caught… I walked in on you in bed with another woman when…"
"Oh my God Toni! I am so sorry," Sam jumped in, engulfing both of her hands in his a little more roughly than he meant to.
Toni shook her head which silenced Sam immediately because of his confusion. "Don't Sam… Don't apologize."
"Why not? That's what I did that hurt you… Why shouldn't I apologize? Actually I should be doing more than that…"
"Because you shouldn't have to…" Sam opened his mouth to protest further, but before he could utter a word, Toni placed her fingertips of one hand on his lips. "Sam it shouldn't bother me because we've never promised each other a commitment… I've never offered or asked for that, so you can sleep with anyone you want to… Just like I can… Just like I did… But it did bother me and that's why this worries me."
She lowered her hand to Sam's lap and he held it tightly somewhat snidely asking, "Because 'no strings attached', right?"
"Sam don't say it like that… But yeah… It's mostly because of that… And now… Now…" Toni fought to find the right words to describe how she was feeling without causing the look of pain in Sam's eyes from becoming more pronounced.
"Now what?" Sam inquired hoarsely.
"Now… Our lives just aren't really set up for any type of long term relationship. I've never been one to be tied down to one person or one place, so this whole hunting gig is beyond perfect for me. And you said that the dream of having the All American Life died with Jessica…"
"I did?" He inadvertently interrupted.
"Yeah… You did… Back when… Well back in Mississippi," she explained.
"So that's it then? We're done?" Sam asked much more calmly than he had previously.
Toni looked down at their hands and answered just over a whisper, "I don't know."
He tilted her chin up and stared into her eyes for a moment. "I hear you saying 'I don't know', but you do… I can see it in your eyes… But if you don't want to talk about it…"
She shook her head and Sam could tell that she was getting mad at herself for not being honest with him. She stared at his chest for a moment while she collected her thoughts. Sam wanted to jump in and ask her more questions, but he just waited while she continued to stare at his shirt deep in her own thoughts.
When she finally looked up at him, a tear trickled down her cheek. Sam gently wiped it away then Toni took in a deep breath and quietly explained, "I already had to let you go once… I don't know if I could do that again."
Sam took her hand in his again and laced their fingers together and tenderly said, "Toni… That guy that I was when you walked in on me with another… I'm… I'm not that guy anymore… I'll never be… What? Why… Why are you laughing?"
Toni had started to chuckle softly while shaking her head. "No Sam. I didn't mean then, I meant…"
She started to blush and fell silent then Sam finished her thought, "Back at school." She nodded softly in confirmation then he slid in closer to her saying, "But you never said anything… You just told me that she had better treat me right because you always look out for your friends… Why didn't you tell me?"
"Yeah… Well… Back then I knew that I couldn't be the woman that you were looking for… To settle down with… And then you met Jessica and you looked so happy… I… I didn't want to do anything that would ruin that for you."
"Toni…" Sam said through a sigh as he held her face and ran his thumb over her cheek. "So… What do we do now? Do you want us just to walk away from each other? Because I'm not sure that I can do that… And I don't think that you really want to do that either."
She shook her head and whispered, "You're right, I don't want to let you go again." She unlaced her fingers from his then started to pick at the buttons on his shirt to avoid making eye contact. "Sam… Do you… Do you think that we could maybe…? I don't know… Go back to how things were back then?"
Her eyes remained solely focused on buttoning and unbuttoning the button in the middle of his chest so Sam took her hands in his before speaking. He wanted to make sure that they were looking at each other in the eye while they continued their conversation.
"If we try we might be able to… But you might have to refresh my memory what exactly that relationship would entail."
Toni stared down at his hands holding hers and scowled while she once again carefully planned out what she wanted to say. "We'll be friends," She explained while raising her eyes to his. "So… If you need someone to talk to… You know, other than your brother, you can call me… If you meet someone that you want to… You know with… You can… Same as we could back then… But we just don't have to talk about those conquests."
Sam cracked a small smile then asked, "Would that possibly also include getting to see you in the flesh?"
Toni leaned up and kissed him then replied with her nose touching his, "You better believe it does."
Before she could sit back, Sam weaved his hand in her hair and pulled her lips back to his. She immediately relinquished all control to Sam and nearly sighed with relief when he took the lead willingly. Toni almost had to push out of the embrace when she found it hard to breathe, but she couldn't bring herself to push him away. Instead she twisted her fist in his shirt just to keep him as close to her as possible.
When they heard two glasses being placed on the table, both Sam and Toni sat back simultaneously. Toni turned to look at the back of the booth so that she could avoid facing their server, but she still heard the server's quiet apology before she retreated.
Sam then leaned down and whispered with a chuckle, "I guess we kind of got carried away there for a minute." Toni nodded, but still refused to face him so Sam teased her quietly in an effort to ease her mind. "So… It's a deal then? We go back to being 'Friends with Benefits' again?"
Toni sat back and playfully slapped his chest with an exasperated, "Sam! Don't put it like that… It makes this sound so… So…"
"Okay, when you're resorting to physical violence Toni, I will have to insist on stepping in," Vanessa joked as she slid into the booth.
Toni looked beside Sam and saw that Dean was taking a seat, so she tried to change the subject saying, "Well it looks like you passed Vanessa's test Dean… Congratulations."
Dean laughed then waited to reply until after he was finished drinking his beer. "Well she's a hell of a lot tougher than she looks."
They all laughed then watched Vanessa for her own witty retort, but she was looking at her phone instead of listening to the conversation. In one fluid motion, Toni let go of Sam's hands and turned towards Vanessa asking, "Vee…? Is something wrong? Are Joe and Stephanie okay?"
Vanessa looked up from her cell phone then noticed all of them looking at her with concern in their eyes. "Oh… Geez… Sorry guys…" She turned her phone to show Toni the picture of her daughter that she had been staring at then explained, "I hadn't realized how late it had gotten."
Toni checked the time then teasingly said, "Motherhood really has softened you up Vanessa."
"Oh… Gosh… I'm sorry," the mother replied with quiet remorse after she realized that 10pm wasn't exactly 'late' to most people.
Toni held her hand while softly saying, "Don't apologize. It's your first night away from Stephanie… And you're right; we should probably call it a night."
She then turned to say goodnight to the brothers but stopped when she felt Vanessa squeezing her hand. "No, you stay, catch up with the guys about the job that brought them here… It's still technically early for normal people."
"Are you sure Vee?" Toni asked in an attempt to have her friend change her mind.
Vanessa was already standing and started to pull out her wallet to pay her portion of the bill. Toni waved her off with a quiet "I've got it" so Vanessa leaned over, gave Toni a quick hug then said, "Thanks… I'll see you back at my place." She then turned to the males and continued, "Dean it was really nice to meet you. And Sam? You remember not to be a stranger, okay?"
They all agreed with her then watched in silence as she turned to leave. Their server returned and another round of drinks was ordered while the Winchesters went into further detail about their last fight. Their conversation didn't stray from the topic of hunting and Toni was more than eager to hear their stories to try to learn whatever she could about creatures that she knew little to nothing about. Anytime they mentioned a monster that she didn't know how to track or kill, Toni tried her best to keep her tone light-hearted as she tried to interrogate them and retain that information for possible future use.
"Oh my God! I read that book… I could totally picture you with your scraped knees… Honestly Sam, I felt kind of bad for laughing…" Toni explained while barely holding back her laughter.
"It was pretty pathetic," Dean agreed with a huge grin on his face.
Sam glared at both of them, but directed his commentary solely at his brother, "Well at least I wasn't afraid to go to our room because it was on the fourth floor OR carry my gun… Or scream like a girl at a cat…"
Dean choked slightly on his beer but before he could respond, Toni jumped in excitedly asking, "Wait! What? What happened there? I mean you seemed pretty bad ass after the whole 'close encounter' and beating them and all… What could do that to you?"
Sam felt slightly dejected that his funny anecdote didn't elicit the same level of laughter that Dean's had, so he just went back to drinking his beer to let his brother explain.
Dean swallowed then very plainly said, "Ghost sickness… It spreads like any disease and is usually terminal."
"Whoa… That's nuts… How do you cure it?" Toni asked completely awestruck.
Dean caught his brother's jaw setting in a hard, frustrated line, so Dean answered with even less enthusiasm, "Same as you would vanquishing any spirit: salt and burn the remains. But…"
When he trailed off, Toni quickly asked, "But what?"
"But we didn't have any remains to burn, so Sammy had to get creative."
"Really?" Toni questioned, still completely enthralled. She squeezed Sam's thigh under then said, "Luckily you have a brother with brains Dean… I guess you'd be dead if he really was just another pretty face."
Sam shrugged then met Toni's gaze and realized that his jealousy was all for nothing. Toni didn't actually care who the story was about, she was just hoping to learn from their experiences. When it came to laughing about the ridiculous things that happened to him, he realized that Toni laughed harder BECAUSE it was him… She knew him so well that she could picture the scene more vividly or his voice more clearly in her mind's eye, which in turn caused her to laugh more heartily.
They were able to swap so many war stories that they completely lost track of time and soon they were hearing that it was last call. Reluctantly Toni slipped out of the booth and they all made their way to the parking lot together. Sam insisted on walking Toni to her truck and made sure to steal more than one good night kiss before returning to his room with his brother.
"Okay, so we'll catch a few hours of shut eye and then we hit the road for Bobby's," Dean stated so matter of factly that Sam knew his input wasn't desired or required.
"Yeah… Sure… Sounds good," the younger Winchester distractedly replied as he pulled out his phone.
He saw that he had one new text message that simply read 'ROOM 10'. He wasn't sure who it was from, but he knew he had to go there to find out or he wouldn't be able to sleep at all.
"Hey Dean? I think we might want to stock up on supplies before heading out… I'll just run over to the AM/PM down the street while I still have this adrenaline in my veins," Sam quickly explained.
Dean had pulled out his phone as well and was dialing it during Sam's narration, so he just waved at his brother saying, "Yeah, sure… Knock yourself out."
Seeing that his brother was completely engrossed in his conversation on the phone, Sam slipped out to walk over to Room 10. Once he was standing in front of the door, Sam checked the parking lot again, but found it just as devoid of human life as when he and Dean first arrived. He then tried to make out each vehicle to see if any of them evoked any memories for him at all, but sadly none of them looked remotely familiar.
While his attention was focused on the parking lot, the room door flew open and he was pulled into the room. The force of the tug threw him off balance and then he was quickly pushed onto the bed. Everything was happening so rapidly that his brain barely had a chance to catch up with everything that had happened before he had a woman dressed only in her bra and underwear straddling his midsection while he way laying on the bed. She pinned his hands over his head then kissed him so eagerly that she almost split his lip.
"I was worried you weren't going to show," she commented sounding completely out of breath as she moved one hand to work at undoing his belt and pants.
"Well… I wasn't really sure either," he replied biting back a moan as she worked at removing his pants. "Your name didn't show up with the message."
Toni sat back on her knees while she unlaced his boots trying to figure out that would be since she knew that Sam had put her number in his phone back in Louisiana. "Oh… Shit… Sorry I used my personal cell this time… You must only have my work cell number… You know the one that I put on my fake business cards and stuff?"
Sam removed his two layers of shirts then pulled Toni onto his lap and replied between the kisses he placed on her neck, "Well I'm glad I took a chance to find out if there was something good behind door number 10."
Toni removed her panties while Sam unhooked her bra then she cheekily said, "There's something AMAZING waiting for you."
She then repositioned them so she could reconnect them, but Sam gripped her wrist with a bruising force, ceasing all movement. Toni let out an involuntary whimper of either pain or fear, possibly both, and then held her breath while she waited for his next move.
"Sorry… Sorry," he quietly apologized when he saw fear overshadowing the lust in her eyes. "Let me just grab a…"
Toni chuckled nervously and once Sam's grip loosened, she lowered herself onto him. He tried to protest, but only verbally because his body betrayed him and started to respond immediately to the feeling of being with her again.
"It's… Taken… Care… Of…" Toni explained through bated breath, hoping that Sam was so lost in his feelings of ecstasy that she wouldn't have to elaborate further right now.
Toni thanked anyone and anything that after that Sam exchanged using his mouth to speak for covering her flesh with warm embraces. She went nearly boneless in his arms, so Sam took advantage and flipped her onto her back. The only extra movement that Toni did while trying to meet the rhythm of Sam's thrusts was to grip the headboard so that she could shift to be more comfortable on the bed and grant him better access.
Soon enough, well sooner than she would have liked, Toni was nearly screaming with elation as her climax hit her hard. That completely pushed Sam over the edge and he threw his head back, mouth wide open, but his voice was muted by his own orgasmic state.
Toni's eyes were squeezed shut as she tried to catch her breath and Sam couldn't help but silently laugh at the blissful look on her face. He leaned down and kissed her more gently then rolled her onto her side so that they would be facing one another.
They didn't bother with trying to cover themselves up with blankets, but Toni couldn't help but tangle her long legs with Sam's to remain as close to him as possible. The fact that they both had the same tattoo felt like a strange sign to Toni that they were truly meant to be more than just friends, even though she would never tell him about the insane ramblings that was happening in her head at this moment.
As she kissed the protection symbol on his chest, Sam ran his fingers through her hair and was able to easily see the floor behind her.
"Umm… Toni? What's up with all of the shopping bags?"
Even though Toni already knew the bags to which Sam referred, she still stole a glance over her shoulder before answering with a shrug, "I figured that you'd tell Dean that you were buying supplies… So they're supplies… Including three flavors of pie."
Sam laughed softly then kissed her gently before praising her, "Smart and unbelievably gorgeous. I think this may be the start to a beautiful friendship… Thanks for helping with the cover story."
"My pleasure. Plus I figured that if I took care of that then you could stay a bit longer."
"Mmm hmm," Sam agreed as he relaxed against the pillows and wrapped his arms around Toni's torso.
"Sam?" Toni whispered to check if he was falling asleep or not.
"Mmm… Just resting my eyes… Just a sec Toni," he answered through a couple of yawns.
Toni didn't move from her spot with her cheek against his chest for fear that she'd wake him up. After she felt his breathing completely even out, she pushed off his chest and watched him for a brief moment. He didn't stir when she kissed his lips, so she took a deep breath to brace herself before she talked herself out of finishing what she had started.
Her heart started to race as she kissed his cheek then his ear. Sam's body language hadn't changed at all so Toni presumed that he had in fact fallen asleep.
"I love you Sam," she whispered so lowly that it was barely audible. "I always have… Always will."
Sam forced himself not to react, knowing that Toni only made that confession because she thought that he was in a deep sleep. Once he felt her settle against his chest again, Sam's eyes flew open and he tried even harder to keep his breathing steady so that she would fall asleep. He didn't even allow his mind to race until he felt the warm puffs of her breath hit his sweaty skin.
She… She didn't…? Did she? Man… Now… Now that makes sense… Fuck… What…? How…? Can we go back now?
When Toni woke up, she was tangled up in the sheets as she tried to turn over to cuddle into Sam's arms again. It was a bit of a struggle to roll over onto her other side, but she wasn't the least bit surprised to find herself alone on the bed. She finally managed to free herself from the clinging cotton sheet and sat up while laughing sadly to herself.
On the pillow beside her head there was a wrapped store bought apple strudel with a note. She let the pastry fall to the floor as she snatched up the note with nervous apprehension.
I PROMISE I'LL BUY YOU A LATTE THE NEXT BREAKFAST WE HAVE TOGETHER. I KNOW IT ISN'T A MUFFIN, BUT YOU DIDN'T INCLUDE ANY WITH THE SUPPLIES SO THIS IS THE NEXT BEST THING (JUST KIDDING).
WE'LL PROBABLY BE AT OUR FRIEND BOBBY'S IN SOUTH DAKOTA UNTIL WE FIND OUR NEXT JOB, SO I'LL CALL YOU WHEN WE GET THERE IF I DON'T HEAR FROM YOU BEFORE THEN.
TALK TO YOU SOON.
*HEART* SAM
Toni stared at the note, slightly dumbfounded and then she caught a glimpse of the beside clock.
"Shit!" She exclaimed quietly. "I overslept!"
Before she could begin obsessing over every word that Sam had written, Toni quickly dressed and left a tip on the table before rushing out of the room. Even though the sun had started rising, Toni hoped that she could sneak back into the Walker's house unnoticed. She already knew that she was in for a third degree interrogation after being caught kissing Sam in the booth at the bar, so Toni really didn't want to give Vanessa anymore fuel for the fire… Even though she also knew that she would be telling her friend everything… Eventually.