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Chapter 22 – A Date

Samuel and Karen sat inside of a diner, not far at all from the dorms. It was full of students. Some sat studying with others, while others laughed and seemed to be enjoying themselves. Sam smiled as he looked around. The jukebox played Tina Turner's song, 'What's Love Got to Do with It'.

The sidewalks outside seemed to have had the snow shoveled off of them. It was dark, and the street lights seemed to make the snow glow beneath them.

Karen sat next to him on the bench. She had worn his wool coat that he had given her the night before, and it was presently lying on the bench between her lap and the wall. He had taken off his blue ski jacket and laid it on top of it. He found that he couldn't keep his hands off of her. He just wanted to either hold her hand, or feel her put her hand on his thigh all through dinner. Just the idea of her wanting to touch him, make his heart leap.

They had both had a hamburger and shared a large plate of chips. They were still working on them as they spoke to one another.

She sipped her soda, "And imagine that. I picked a place that serves….chips."

"Comfort food." He smiled at her.

She giggled as he laced his fingers into hers. "Did you have a better day, today?"

He looked away and thought of the terrible news he had gotten today. The fuss with his Dad. The demand that he had to join them to Caihiri. He realized, for the first time all day, he was relaxed about it. He wasn't cross. Not even a little bit. He must still be stoned. "Nevermind me. You?"

She grinned at him. "One of my professors told me that I'm eligible for a grant."

"A grant?" He asked in surprise.

She laughed. "I was shocked. She's sent in a paper I wrote to a prestigious magazine."

"What is the paper about?"

"Oh, this battle that took place in my hometown. I lost my mind and took five classes last semester. In three of them, I had to write term paper. I just, didn't have time with that. So, I decided to write one for all three classes."

He looked confused. "How does that work?"

"Well, I was taking physics, history and psychology. So, I wrote a paper about 'The Physics and Psychological Strain of a Forgotten Battle and Siege of St. Augustine.' That's what I titled it. Oddly enough, my history teacher gave me the lowest grade on it."

He chuckled, "That's bloody brilliant!"

"It was bloody long." She insisted. "It was about a battle that was fought in St. Augustine. I've heard the story a million times. Amazing at how different it became when I really dug into it. She said it was so well thought out, researched, and had such good theories to it that she wanted to put under some more eyes. I'll admit that I completely blew the twelve page restriction. It turned into a monster. The first page, to all of my professors, included an apology."

He smiled proudly at her. "I would love to read it."

She grinned. "Maybe I'll let you. It was fun. As crazy as that sounds. I researched as much as I could, but there are a lot of unanswered questions. I find I still want to get those answers. I'm still reading about it. I have two books in my dorm room right now! Ugh, Samuel. My roommate tells me that I have brain damage."

He laughed under his breath at her. "You know, Einstein said, 'The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.' You're just curious."

"Or crazy."

"Nah. You could lead a dig and get some answers. Is that what they call that?"

"Yes." She giggled, "And be like Indiana Jones."

He chuckled. "When will you know if they will publish it?"

"I'm not sure. I hope I get it. If for no other reason to show my parents that I was right to move here."

"They didn't approve?"

"There is a large school, right there at home. But, I wanted to go away. See something new. You grew up at the beach. Don't you get enough of the ocean?"

"Oh yes. I was actually back there. Not long ago. The breeze from the sea was nice, but I forget about all of the stuff that comes with that."

"Like having to put on sunscreen just to go run."

He smiled, "You run, too?"

She giggled. "Yes. I love to run. I usually run here, in the park when the weather is nice."

"Run in the park?"

"Well, of course."

He rubbed the side of his head. "It…just doesn't seem…safe."

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well…." Sam started to explain. She put her hand back in his lap which made him forget any reasons he had anyway.

"You sound like my parents, Samuel. Geez. But, the student center has a nice work-out room. That's where I've been running for the past few months."

He sipped his milkshake and felt butterflies in his stomach dance as she ran her hand up his thigh.

"Where do you usually run, Samuel?"

"A work-out room. My Mum loves to run and I sometimes run with her."

"Your Mum." She teased his accent.

"Mum." He laughed. "Yes. We will run there, or…just around where she lives. It's nice."

"Your brother doesn't run?"

He shook his head. "Not usually. He prefers to lift weights. I sometimes will go with my uncle, or Papa."

She smiled, "Papa. I've never heard anyone call their father that."

He smiled, "Well, he's not my father. I have a Dad, and a Papa. I didn't feel like running this morning, so I just did some chin-ups and push-ups. I actually won a bet because I did the most."

"This morning?"

He nodded, "Yes. After I left."

"Gosh, that was so early."

"I had some stuff on my mind. It seems to help me think if, I just…." He looked away and lost what he was thinking about.

"Well, we should run together sometime." She smiled at him.

He grinned at her. "Sure. A little snow doesn't frighten me."

She pointed out the window. "Samuel. That's not a little bit of snow."

He laughed. "Alright. Well, if you are published. What then?"

"I get the grant to research it further. I would probably take a semester off from school, and live in the library. Make a few trips to Florida. It would be a lot of work. If they don't….well, nothing changes."

"You could always add to it, publish it yourself."

She laid her head back dramatically and sighed. "A paper turned into a book. Oh God. I think I'd just die. Can you imagine the work that would go into that?"

He laid his arm behind her on the bench and leaned into her. "Why Karen. That almost sounds lazy. You haven't managed to get distracted by a boy, have you?"

Karen grinned at him. "A cute boy."

He smiled. "He's cute?"

"And I haven't known him long, but I really like him."

He bit his lip and chuckled. He felt as though his heart was about to beat out of his chest. He wondered if she could feel it from where she sat.

She smiled at him and whispered. "Samuel."

He smiled, "I love how you say my name."

She put her hand on his cheek and he leaned down to kiss her proper. The electrical current moved through his body and made his brain short out. All he wanted was her.

He could feel her hand grip his thigh as it moved closer to his groin.

She stopped and sat up. "Wow. I just….we need to…"

He ran both of his hands through his hair. "Yeah. Oh wow. Slow down."

She looked back at him and giggled. "Yes. Slow down. I'm determined to get through dinner. So, behave."

He nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Dinner." He blew out slowly to steady himself. The tension between them was so thick, he wasn't sure how he was going to control himself. He looked around and reminded himself that it was a public place. He couldn't actually take her there in the booth. Although, he began to daydream about doing exactly that.

He rubbed his hands together and cleared his throat. "Ummm…. published. That's brilliant!"

She shook her head. "Ugh. I'm thinking about changing my major to something completely different. How does this even happen?"

"I have no idea about things like that."

She smiled at him. "That's a nice shirt."

He looked down at his dark blue oxford. "This?"

"Yeah. You didn't have to dress up for me."

"I was wearing a suit earlier today. I just…took everything else off but this."

"A suit? With a silk shirt? What did you do? Go see the President?" She teased.

He nervously scratched his head. "Umm…"

"And I love your hair."

"Not too short?"

"No. It looks very nice."

"Thank you." He grinned at her.

She smiled at him. "You know Sam. I really don't know a lot about you at all."

He smiled. He loved hearing those words. He tossed some chips in his mouth and wiped his hands. "Well, we haven't known one another for very long at all."

She smiled. "That's very true. I know it sounds crazy, but I hoped that we could get to know one another a bit better…."

"If we went someplace where we had to keep our hands to ourselves?" He teased.

She giggled. "Yes. Samuel, I swear. I'm never like this."

Sam looked her up and down and couldn't help undressing her in his mind. He sipped the last of his milkshake. "Slow down." He mouthed to himself.

She was clearly having as hard of a time keeping her hands to herself as he was.

"So. I should, ask you some questions. Get to know you."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "That's what your room mate suggested?"

She smiled, "Rather oblivious, huh?"

"It's alright. There are things I want to know about you, too." He chuckled. "Ask me anything. You get the first question."

"You're not a student."

"No."

"So, what are you?"

He smiled, "I actually just took a job today. I'm a teacher."

"Oh God, not here-"

"No." He laughed. "Not here. It's a private school."

"Like a high school?"

"Yes. There are some younger students, but that's a case by case thing."

"Wow. You're 18 and a teacher?"

"Yeah." He tossed another chip in his mouth.

"What? Did you graduate really early? Are you some sort of genius kid? Or something?"

He smiled and shook his head. "Would, it be alright, if we didn't talk about that?"

"What's wrong?"

"People, find out things about me and start to treat me differently. I really am enjoying this between us."

She nodded. "Well, I suppose that's better than my asking and you telling me something that isn't true."

He held up his hands. "I can promise you that I'll never, knowingly, tell you something that isn't true. But, there are just a lot of things that I would prefer not to tell you at the moment."

"Want to be..."

"Mysterious." He teased. "And I've, never met anyone like you."

She nodded, "Okay. Start simple. What's your favorite color?"

"Blue." He told her. "You?"

"Brown." She giggled.

"Brown?" He laughed.

She giggled and sipped her drink. "Yes. Strange, I know."

He smiled, "Very Indiana Jones."

She giggled, "Okay, another question. Your favorite sport?"

"To watch? Or to play?"

"To play."

He thought. "Well, it really doesn't have a name. Back home, there are a lot of, really tough men who live close to us. We all get together and play football."

"You mean, soccer?"

"Yes. But, you can beat the hell out of one another. Anything goes."

"Isn't that actually called, 'rugby?'" She teased.

He laughed, "Rugby has rules. Our game, doesn't. Except that Mum can't find out that we're playing. That's the only rule."

She giggled. "What sport to do you enjoy that your Mom can know about?"

He rubbed his hands together and thought. "Boxing. My Uncle and I enjoy that."

"The American?"

He nodded. "What about you? Baseball?"

She smiled, "Softball, actually. And I'm not bad. I was the pitcher for our team back home."

He looked impressed.

"Ever played baseball?"

"No. I've watched it, but didn't really like it. Seemed to be a lot of, waiting around."

"Have you seen it….in person?"

"Yes. My uncle took me to see….the playoffs…."

"World Series." She helped.

"Yes. That's what he called it. But, it was…. Long. Boring. And then I found out that one game didn't even determine a winner. Strange."

She giggled, "Okay, another question. If you didn't have to sleep, how would you spend your spare time?"

"You have to answer that first." He grinned.

She sighed, "I suppose, I'd study. Take another class. Something."

He looked at her up and down.

"What would you do, Samuel?"

He smiled, "Listen to you say my name, as you lay in my arms, covered in sweat from us making love over and over again."

She blushed. "What if I needed to sleep?"

He looked in her eyes, "How long would you need to sleep?"

"Until ten the next morning."

He nodded. "Okay. I can work with that."

She leaned over and kissed him. He was sure his hair had to have stood on end. The energy from her seemed to spread all over his body. She was such an excellent kisser, but the sensation she gave him only left him wanting her more.

She looked into his eyes and asked quietly, "Can you walk me back?"

"Sure." He smiled.

Samuel quickly paid the bill and they left together, walking with her arm hugging his. It had started to snow again and the campus was quiet. Some students threw snowballs and laughed loudly in the distance.

"So, I don't know how to ask you this." She began.

"You just ask. It's that simple."

She stopped walking and seemed to be having a hard time thinking what she wanted to say.

He looked back at her. "What is it?"

"I don't want to make you angry or hurt your feelings."

"Phhh. Don't worry about me." He smiled at her.

She bit her lip. "My parents will be here tomorrow…."

He rose his eyebrows, "And?"

"Can I ask you, not to come?"

He laughed. "I'm relieved."

They began to walk again. She hugged his arm again. "I haven't told them about you."

"Well." He shrugged his shoulders. "It's all so new."

"Yes. And, I just, really don't know what to say."

"They wouldn't approve?"

"Honestly, Samuel. I don't know you well enough to say that I approve."

He nodded. "That's fair. And I've been trying to find a way to tell you that I can't come to see you for a few days."

"Why not?"

"I'm going out of town. Some….annoying family thing that I can't get out of."

"Ugh. Those are the worst." She groaned. "But. In everything, there is something you can look forward to."

He nodded. "Where we are going is beautiful. I've not been there in a few months."

"Where is it?"

"Hmm… my Uncle's place. It's in the mountains and this time of year, it's just lovely."

She smiled, "Oh, that does sound wonderful. What do you do there?"

"Usually, we play cards. Go hiking. There's also rafting and rappelling."

"That sounds like you will be busy."

"The busier the better. Keeps me from having awkward conversations."

"Samuel. If you look for bad things to happen, they always do. I don't know what's going on, but keep an open mind."

"You're right. Easier said than done, really."

She took off her gloves and put them in her coat pocket. "I want to give you something."

"Really? What?"

He watched as she took off a small gold necklace that she wore. It had a small pendant of a lighthouse hanging from it. He leaned down and she fastened it to his neck. "There. Reminds you, of me. And you have to bring it back to me when you return."

He beamed at her. "I'll bring it back to you, Karen."

She sipped back on her gloves and smiled back up at him.

He heard a shout in the distance that made him look up. But, relaxed when he saw it was just some students playing in the snow. Karen didn't seem to jump at all. "That looks like your brother."

He grinned, "It does."

Arles ran up to greet them. As he got closer, he slipped on a patch of ice and grabbed a tree limb to catch himself.

"Whoa, are you alright?" Sam asked as he helped his brother up.

Arles laughed. "I'm fine." He let go of the tree limb and it snapped back, hitting Samuel right above his eye.

"Ow!" Samuel grabbed his eye.

"Oh man. Are you alright?"

Sam rubbed above his eye, not wanting to appear hurt in front of Karen. "I think I'm alright."

Karen looked up at his eye. "Well, it's really pink. Maybe we'll put some ice on it."

"It's fine." Sam smiled.

"Man, I'm sorry." Arles told him.

"It's alright." Samuel insisted. "Don't worry about me."

Arles grinned, "And, this is Karen? Was that right?"

Karen smiled, "Yes, it's nice to see you again Arles."

He smiled at her just as someone smacked him in the back with a snowball. He turned around and held out his hands. "Time out for me. Nutters!"

They laughed.

Sam pulled the stocking cap off that he wore and put it on Arles' head. "Here. You need this before you freeze. And take these gloves, too."

Arles sighed, "Going all doctor on me-"

"Just looking out for you." He told him as he handed him the thick ski gloves he had been wearing. "I'm going to walk the lady home."

"We're leaving at six."

He whispered, "Then don't wait up. You need your rest, big guy."

He pat Arles' shoulder and Karen and him walked away. Arles rejoined the snowball fight.

Karen rubbed Samuel's arm. "So, what did you think of Scott?"

"He's interesting."

"Did you see that drawing he did of you? Looks just like you."

He looked at her. "No. I didn't."

"That's why I was over there. He wanted me to see it. He said you looked so familiar to him, but he couldn't figure out who you looked like."

Samuel put his hands in his pockets in an attempt to keep them warm.

They made it back to Karen's dorm and found it empty. Karen shook her head. "And my roommate is supposed to be studying."

"Maybe, she went someplace else to study."

Karen walked into her bedroom and took off the wool coat. "Right. I doubt there is a lot of studying going on at that party two blocks away at the-"

She turned just in time for Samuel to catch her lips with his own. He pressed her against the wall and held her hands beside of her head as he snogged her. The tingling sensation was screaming in his body almost immediately. He managed to find the door, blindly, and push it closed. He felt her pushing his ski jacket off of his shoulders. His mind was full of nothing else but her. He had wanted to do this since he had first seen her this evening.

He ran his hands under her blouse and unfastened her bra. He massaged both of her breasts as they continued to kiss one another, her still pressed against the wall and palming him through his jeans that were tighter than he had ever felt them. Electricity seemed to come from her lips, her breasts, her hands and run completely through his body. He only wanted more.

As both of them lost more clothing, and more of their skin could touch, sensation that he had craved all day grew stronger. It was almost an electrifying sensation that he could feel all over his body with each passing second.

They lay down on her small, single bed. The draft from the window seemed to bring him back to his senses. He grabbed the quilt and pulled it over them. They lay in each other's arms, completely nude, looking into one another eyes.

The tingle continued and seemed to come from her hands that played with the hairs on his chest.

He asked her quietly, "Why do I feel this way with you?"

"Explain how you feel, Samuel."

He became lost in her eyes. They were the most beautiful shade of blue he had ever seen in his life. He ran his fingertips up and down her spine, sending shockwaves through his system. He closed his eyes and moaned. "It feels like, electricity. Does it feel that way to you?"

She whispered, "It feels like, comfort. Whenever you touch me, I feel like, no matter what, everything is going to be alright."

"Do you feel the tingle? The energy?"

She smiled, "You give me goose bumps, Samuel. Like I've never had before. Is that what you are feeling?"

He grinned, "It's like my hair is standing on end. Is it?"

She laughed quietly, "No."

"May I ask you something? And it's completely alright. It won't change anything."

She kissed his lips, "Ask me."

He looked in her eyes and asked, "Are you human? Or something else?"

She caressed his face. "I'm human. Completely. 100% from here."

"Are you sure?" He whispered. "It doesn't matter to me. I swear it doesn't."

"Yes. Oh, Samuel, I love the way I feel when you touch me."

He was sure that sensation was coming from her. He continued to stroke her spine.

She whispered to him. "Samuel, you are completely safe with me, and it doesn't matter. Are you human?"

He continued to look in her eyes and admitted. "I don't know what I am."

He wasn't sure what he expected from her, but her warm gaze into his eyes made him feel more relaxed than he had ever been. She began to stroke him slowly under the quilt.

She smiled at him, "I can tell you what you are."

He kissed the end of her nose. "Tell me."

"You are Samuel. And you are very good at this."

He crashed his lips in to hers.

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