Hello again, sorry for the prolonged absence, life has just been chaos!
Thanks for the interest in this fic & my others, I love hearing your thoughts!
Thanks to kelly2727 for her awesomeness & support! You guys will love her fics too, so check them out!
Chapter 25- Close Quarters.
Sam pulled over at a really crappy motel, Andy following and cutting the engine to the truck once she pulled to a stop in the parking lot.
He turned the key in the ignition and tilted Betty to rest on her stand. His helmet came off and he handed it to Andy when she neared him.
"Wait here." He said sternly before heading for the door marked Office with a really lopsided sign.
He got a double bedded room for seven nights and paid in cash. He told they guy that handed him the key that they'd be eating out so they wouldn't be disturbed.
Making his way over to Andy, Sam stopped at Betty to retrieve the spare helmet and then headed for the truck. He opened the door and hoisted her bag out before looking up and waiting for her to tell him where Boyd's parcel was.
Once he had that too, they headed for their room; Andy keeping her distance as she followed behind him.
Once inside, Sam set everything down and gave her a look that told her to go take a shower before he slipped out the door again and left her alone.
He walked the two blocks back up the street to the late night store still pretty mad at her for running back towards more trouble than she could imagine. By the time he reached the door to the store, he had calmed down marginally now that he'd had time to think about what Andy had said.
He really couldn't blame her for trying to end it all because he didn't know what it was like to be in that position.
Sam spent some time walking around the store selecting what he needed and wanted. He had none of his own items and no toiletries so he started there first.
He grabbed them some bottles of water and pies from the warmer oven for dinner.
At the checkout he ordered two take away coffee's and added several packs of gum to his items laying on the counter.
Taking hold of the coffee's and his bags of groceries Sam made his way back to the motel room in a much calmer disposition than the one he had left with.
Andy was freshly showered and sitting on the bed when he walked through the door. She had a really distraught look on her face and he was guessing that it was the longing she felt for Jared that was finally seeping into her soul.
He set the coffee down first then the bags. He pulled a cup from the cup holder and held it out to her. She rose to her feet and crossed the room.
"Thank you." She said reaching for it.
Sam saw the sadness in her eyes so he fished his phone out of his pocket and searched for Dov's number.
Holding it out to her he wished that there was another way for them to do this, another way for Andy to look out for Jared.
Andy looked down at the phone and then up at Sam, a million smiles reflecting in her eyes as they lit up.
She took the phone and hit dial, but didn't bother to walk away from him.
After thirty seconds Sam was able to watch Andy's world seep away as Jared said hello and she focused every last inch of her attention on him.
After ten minutes Andy handed the phone back and said thank you, a sad smile replacing the unhindered look that she had; had on her face moments ago.
"I have no idea what I'm doing." She stated flatly and Sam nodded in agreement. He had absolutely no idea what she was doing either.
"I get it." He added when holding her dinner out to her.
Andy smiled and took the bag of food from his hand, her head tilting to the side as her mind blazed with questions.
"Why are you still here?" She asked taking him by surprise. He hadn't really expected her to ask a question like that so blatantly.
"You're one of the good guys?" He answered and let his eyes sweep away from her face as he jabbed at her badge ever so subtly.
Sam heard her blow out a soft breath, one that seemed to come from deep down like she had kept it locked away until she couldn't anymore.
"Besides, Jared's a good kid." Sam reached for his coffee and his his smirk away behind it as he took a sip.
If only she knew the real reason that he was still here... Or reasons with a capital S because frankly; there was more than one.
Andy was looking at him like she was expecting more, so he wiped his thoughts from his mind and face. "Get some sleep, we leave at two."
Andy did a double take when he said two. His whole idea was to get a few hours sleep and then hit the road again to arrive back in Toronto in the early morning hours under the cover of darkness.
Andy turned away and took her food and coffee with her to where she sat down on the end of the bed and looked up at him.
"Just get some sleep." He repeated seeing the look on her face.
...
Sam had his coffee and then hit the shower.
When he went back into the bedroom Andy was fast asleep, her chest raising and falling with shallow breaths.
As the warmth from the shower seeped away, Sam looked around the room and suddenly regretted getting a room that had no chairs.
"I don't bite Sam." Andy voice was still fogged in sleep as she made a bad attempt to sit up and scoot over at the same time.
Sam ran a hand over his face wearily.
That was a really bad idea, even if she was sweet enough to offer him half the bed.
Andy settled down and he hit the bathroom light. It was probably what woke her in the first place as the bright light flooded the bedroom.
Letting out a sigh, Sam set his shoes down next to the bed and and sat down slowly just to test Andy's reaction in case she didn't recall what she said.
After a moment of silence he lay down and got comfy, his attention drawn to Andy's sleeping frame as she lay inches away from him.
What a sight to behold indeed...
...
The bed was soft, and warm, and really, really... Comfy?
Andy shifted around, she wasn't used to feeling this relaxed when she slept, or at ease. It was such an euphoric feeling that it felt wrong.
Cracking an eyelid open, she took in the view of the peeling paint on the wall in front of her.
And then she remembered that they were in a motel and no longer in Sam's childhood home.
Something in her hand moved and Andy glanced down to find her hand holding another; one that didn't belong to her.
And it was way bigger than Jared's.
She let it go as if it had marred her skin with flames that scorched her.
The action drew a soft chuckle from behind her as the arm that had been thrown over her hip retracted out of view and she bolted upright as Sam's voice whispered in her ear "Comfy?"
He was teasing her and not ashamed to let it show.
Sitting up and turning to face him Andy could feel her face flame up in color.
"Did I...?" She asked. She knew precisely how she liked to sleep.
Leaning up onto his elbows Sam tried to hide his smile, but it just wasn't happening.
Andy was so furiously embarrassed that it was incredibly amusing. And really cute.
"Yup," Sam teased some more. He just couldn't help himself.
Andy huffed out a breath and jumped up off the bed before stalking across the room and slipping behind the wooden bathroom door as she closed it.
As soon as she was out of sight Sam let out a sigh and flopped back down on the lumpy pillows.
Sometime after he had fallen asleep Andy had huddled closer. She lay really close and after a while became restless.
In an attempt to sooth her, Sam had traced random patterns up and down the arm that she had carelessly thrown over him, and down to her hand. She had allowed him to do it a few times until her fingers had caught his hand and held onto it.
When she rolled over, she didn't relinquish her hold on him and instead dragged his arm with her forcing him to roll over with her while she held his hand.
Okay, maybe using the word 'forced' was way out of context. He would honestly admit to the fact that when she rolled over, he went with willingly.
He could hear water running in the bathroom, but it wasn't loud enough to be the shower so he guessed it was the basin.
Turning his head to the side and looking at the back of the closed bathroom door Sam suddenly felt really bad for turning a moment like that into something so far from what it felt like, that it wasn't even funny anymore.
He'd seen Andy sleep holding Jared's hand hundreds of times and thought that it was a pretty clever way to know when he moved.
But she hadn't been holding Jared's hand, she'd been holding his.
And it fit perfectly.
And it made him feel like his hand belonged in hers, like he was destined to hold her hand.
And that right there was why his reaction to her waking up had been to cover the truth up behind a moment of comedy.
He was scared of how good it felt, especially knowing that when this was all over there just might not be anything left to hold on to.
Andy stared at her reflection in the mirror.
Her blush had faded to a pasty white and she still looked tired.
When she first woke up she was still clouded in a haze. When that subsided, she was embarrassed. Three seconds later she was in serious trouble.
That was why she fled into the sanctuary that the bathroom provided.
As soon as Sam's hand was out of her embrace she missed it.
She had never really slept holding another persons hand, besides Jared's.
But that had become a habit formed from her need to know if he moved or was taken from the bed beside her.
Holding Sam's hand had been different.
Nice.
And it felt right, but wrong at the same time.
Andy closed the faucet and took one last look at herself in the mirror before stepping out of the bathroom to face the backlash of her actions.
What she found was Sam with his shoes on and the helmets and Boyd's bag laid out on the bed looking like he was ready to leave.
He nodded her way before stepping around her as he made his way into the bathroom.
Andy changed into a clean shirt and jeans while Sam busied himself behind a closed door. She made sure that all her items were in her bag and then sat down next to her bag on the bed and waited for him to emerge.
When he finally did, she stood up and hoisted her bag up while Sam reached for the helmets and Boyd's parcel.
Silence followed as Sam held out the truck keys to her which she took and made for the door.
In the soft glow of the streetlights in the distance Andy made for the truck and shivered a little in the fresh morning air.
She set her bag down in the back of the truck and wasn't surprised when she found Sam standing right behind her when she closed the door and turned around.
Sam reached around her and took hold of her bag. He reached inside and pulled everything out, his hand sweeping nimbly to in behind the seat before it reappeared empty. In less than a minute he had emptied the contents of her bag and then he held it out to her and glanced towards Boyd's stock. Andy took the bag and put the newspaper wrapped package into it.
Sam had moved away and as she looked up he was before her again looking really wicked as he held out a helmet towards her.
"No." She shook her head.
"It's faster," Sam grinned.
"I'm not getting on that." Andy sighed out shaking her head.
"She is Betty, and yes you are." Sam stepped closer, his fingers wrapping around the loose strands of her hair as he scooped it to the side.
Without second guessing himself he lifted the helmet that she would be wearing and handed it to her before reaching for his own.
Andy took the helmet and flashed red, the far away parking lot lights doing little to hide her change in appearance.
"We can take the truck..." She stammered out looking up and over Sam's shoulder towards the truck parked outside their ground floor motel room door. "Besides, it'll get towed." She added turning to face him again.
Sam gave her a slight smile and stepped to the side, a tattered 'Do not disturb' sign hanging over the door handle.
'Mmm, already disturbed' Andy's mind thought as she glared at Sam for having the upper hand because he always seemed to have the perfect plan.
"Look Andy, this is quicker and I'll go slow," Sam quirked an eyebrow, his smile turning to wicked as he looked down at her.
"Funny." She snapped and spun away, Sam soon watching her hands lift the helmet up to her head where she slipped it on.
He had turned the TV on and left the sign up hoping that the room would remain un-entered. It would keep the truck from being towed too because it was parked in a designated parking spot.
It was a good way to store the truck and keep up the pretense that they were still here.
Sam slid his own helmet on, and lifted the visor to seek Andy out. He found her struggling to fasten the safety strap under her helmet, his hands making light work of his own.
Taking two steps over to her, Sam raised his hands and saw her roll her eyes as she dropped her own to allow him to help her fasten her straps.
Thirty seconds later, Sam climbed onto Betty and started her up, a soft purr sounding through the darkness.
He kicked up the stand and waited for Andy who had strapped her bag onto her back with Boyd's package in it.
When she eventually climbed on, Sam let go of the handlebars and sought her hands out. He pulled her a little closer and wrapped her arms around him laying her hands across each other so that she'd get the message to interlink her fingers.
He felt Andy tense slightly at their now close proximity, but within seconds he felt her relax.
Letting go of her hands, Sam revved the engine softly, shifted the bike into gear and pulled away from the motel- slowly.
Andy tried to keep her breathing level and paced, but she was having a hard time as Sam navigated the first block away from the motel with masterful skill.
It wasn't just a case of the fact that this was the first time she'd been on a motorcycle, nope wasn't the problem at all.
The problem stemmed from Sam himself, and the fact that she was forced to hold onto him like her life depended on it.
He smelled musky and and like a combination of the ocean and fresh pines in a forest.
And it was just way too close to be considered normal...
****Thanks for reading!
Hope you'll leave your thoughts?
Jbj.