Title: Never Been Kissed: A different story (1/13)

Part Two: The Meeting

Author: Jaycee

Disclaimer: Not mine and they never will be. Sam Coulson, Josie Geller and the whole gang of NBK are the properties of Flower Films and their affiliates. Okay? Get it? No suing please! I have no money!

Summary: Sam didn't kiss Josie on the pitcher's mound and two years later, they meet again.

Rating: G to PG – depends on the chapter really.

Author's note: Please read and review. I've posted this story in my stories. Com portfolio but I thought that to encourage more people to read and write more NBK stuff, I should post it here. Me posting the next chapters will totally depend on the reviews I get. Okay? So review! Review! And review! That is the food for my soul okay? Thank you so much for the first two people who reviewed the first part… I really appreciate it so basically this chapter is for the two of you. Have fun reading!

Josie smoothed her hair in front of her Buick's window and retouched her make up, knowing that she should look presentable in front of Maria Rodriguez. She looked down at her dress and saw that there were no wrinkles whatsoever. She was wearing a light green flowing dress with a white cardigan and her strappy green sandals. She walked purposely to the middle of the park and saw a petite young woman talking to and older woman, her hands waving animatedly in front of her.

As she looked at the younger woman's profile, she then realized that it was Maria Rodriguez. Plastering a smile on her face, she walked quickly to Maria's side and tapped her on the shoulder. "Good afternoon, Ms. Rodriguez, I'm Josie Geller from the Chicago Sun Times." She introduced her self and extended her hand. "Oh, yes! I'm Maria Rodriguez, but you can call me Maria, Ms. Geller." The pretty woman answered, with her Spanish accent that can be easily detected.

Josie smiled at the woman's easy manner and immediately took a liking into her. "Nice to meet you, Maria. And you can call me Josie. So where is your fiancé?" she asked as she looked around the park for Maria's significant other. "Oh, he's not here yet. He's on his way here from Dartmouth." Maria answered, smoothing her hair that was ruffled out of place due to the gentle breeze. "Um…Maria, what's your fiancé's name?" "Oh, yah, I guess my father didn't tell Rigfort huh? His name is Sa…" before Maria could say the name of her husband to be, a man, in his mid forties, tapped her on the shoulder and whispered something into her ear. "Oh, okay, Anton, yes, I'll follow you." Maria answered as she waved the man away.

Turning to Josie, she explained, "I'm sorry about that Josie. That was my driver, Anton. He said that my father's here, right there at the tent." She pointed to the red striped tent that was beside a big elm tree at the right side of the park. "Oh, that's okay! I know that you're very busy. Why don't I wait for you here? Since you're fiancé's not here yet." "That would be great Josie. Wait for me here." Maria called out as she went out on her way to her father. Josie smiled to herself. 'The guy that she's about to marry is a very lucky man.' She thought to herself, then bent her head down to her pad and began writing down her observations at all that's happening around her.

* * * Half an hour later, Sam finally got to the Lincoln Park. When he found himself a parking space, he hurried to the tent propped up at the side of the park, seeing from afar that Maria is already there, deep in conversation with her father. When he got there, he walked quietly towards her, "Hey, sweetie!" he said, and leaned in to give her a kiss on the top of her head. "Oh, hey Sam! I thought you would never come." She exclaimed, as she stood up to give him a hug.

"I'm sorry. Traffic is horrible." He said apologetically then turned towards Mr. Rodriguez. "Good afternoon, sir!" he greeted as he extended out his right hand to the older man. "Good afternoon, Sam! Now, you two better go to the reporter that Rigfort sent to cover your wedding." Mr. Rodriguez instructed, as he shook Sam's hand then turned to the newspaper that was beside him and started to read. Sam cocked his head to the right at he heard the name of Mr. Rodriguez' friend. 'Rigfort? I wonder why that name is so familiar to me?' he thought and then shook his head to erase the thought.

"Papa is right Sam. She's been here for about half an hour now. You're going to like her. She's very pretty and she has a very sunny personality. When she introduced her self to me, I felt an immediate liking to her. I just know that you're going to like her so much." Maria said ecstatically, as she held on to Sam's arm and pulled him towards the big oak tree at the center of the park. "Okay, sweetie. I know I'm going to like her, since you obviously do." He answered as they walked towards the reporter.

Sam caught a glimpse of the woman that Maria was so fond of. He squinted at the woman and felt a pang of familiarity towards her. She was wearing a light green dress and was writing in a pad, clearly deep in thought. As they got closer, the woman suddenly turned around just when Sam was in enough distance to see her profile. He saw the woman tuck a stray strand of blond hair behind her ear and that gesture seemed so familiar towards him. He knew that he has seen someone do that so many times but he couldn't put his finger right into it.

"Hey, Josie!" Maria called out, as they got closer. Sam sucked in a breath as the woman stood up and turned around. It was Josie Geller.

* * * Josie was so deep into her thoughts that she didn't hear Maria approach her. A voice calling her snapped her out of her reverie and she recognized the voice of Maria. She smiled then stood up, smoothing out her dress. "Josie, this is my fiancé, Sam Coulson." Josie's head snapped up, squinting her eyes at what she thought she heard Maria say her fiancé's name was.

She looked at Maria, then at her companion. He was tall so she had to look up. When she did look up, she found herself staring into Sam's green eyes. She swallowed, then choked because she swallowed the wrong way. She started coughing, it wouldn't stop that Maria had to rub her back.

As the cough subsided, she smiled at Maria and looked back to her fiancé, hoping that Sam wasn't the one she was going to marry. She looked at the man and found out that she wasn't dreaming. That it was indeed Sam Coulson.

* * * Sam couldn't believe his eyes. Standing before him, was the former love of his life, Josie Geller. He found himself staring at her as he took in her lovely hair, her creamy skin and her wonderful blue eyes. He couldn't take his eyes away from her. Could it be possible that she was even more beautiful now than she was two years ago?

When she started coughing he realized that she was as surprised as he was. He learned that she didn't know that he was Maria Rodriguez' fiancé. She looked so adorable as she fanned her right hand in front of her while her left hand was covering her mouth. When the coughing subsided, she composed her self, then smiled at Maria for her apologies and her thanks.

Sam extended out his hand shakily towards Josie. "Hey Josie! I'm Sam!" he introduced himself even though he knows that Josie knows him already. He just did that so Maria wouldn't suspect that they know each other and might ask just how they got to know each other. Josie looked up and extended her own hand. "Hi Sam!"

When Josie took his hand, he wasn't prepared for the shot of electricity that he felt when he touched her. Her skin was still so soft, just as he remembered it when they were dancing at the Prom. They released their hands and he saw Josie turn around and gestured them to sit under the tree so they could all talk. He sat down, with Maria on his right side and Josie in front of them. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for the things that will be happening in the weeks to come, knowing that Josie would be with them every step of the way until his wedding day.

* * * Josie sighed as she sat down in front of the couple. She couldn't believe her luck. Here she was about to interview the man that she loved and was expecting to not see for the rest of her life, and the woman that he was supposed to marry. She took a hold of her pad and pen and ordered her heart to stop pounding so hard.

 'I don't love him anymore! I don't love him anymore!' she repeated her mantra inside her mind as she started explaining to the couple about her role in their wedding. "Okay guys, its like this. I'm the editor of The Chicago Sun Times Showcase Feature and so Rigfort sent me here to follow you two around in the next couple of weeks to know everything about you. You know, how you guys met, how you fell in love, the courtship, engagement and all that. Right now I'm the only one here, but tomorrow, my own crew is going to be here also to take pictures, stories, and all other stuff concerning your upcoming wedding. Hmm…oh yah! We're also going to take some videos, for Rigfort so that he knows what's going on, even though he's not here." Josie said, haltingly.

She looked down at her hands and saw that they were shaking violently. Taking deep breaths, she looked at Maria and Sam to gauge their reactions to everything that she said. Maria looked at her, with a smile on her face, not noticing that Josie was shifting uncomfortably at her seat. "Oh, that sounds fine, Josie. The video coverage puzzles me, but that's fine. What do you think, sweetie?" turning to Sam, who was staring at his own hands the whole time Josie was explaining everything to them.

"Yah! That sounds fine to me too! So when do we start?" he asked, looking up and found him self, staring directly into Josie's beautiful blue eyes. Josie blinked, as she lost herself into Sam's green eyes. She looked down and was about to open her mouth when she heard her cell phone ringing.

Smiling apologetically to the couple, she took her phone out of her bag and answered it. "Hello? Oh, hey Merkin! Yes! I'm here at the park. Oh he is? What? Oh, sure! Put him on the line!" "Hey, Mark! Yes, I'm fine! How was your flight? That's nice! You did? That's so sweet of you. Sure I'll see you tonight. I'm going there with Anita and Gus. I'm here at the park, interviewing Ms. Rodriguez and her fiancé. Lincoln Park. No you don't have to fetch me here, I have my car with me. Yah, that's okay. Thanks Mark. Nice talking to you. Yah, me too. Bye!" she hanged up then looked at Maria and Sam.

"Who was that?" Maria asked as she tucked a strand of hair into the back of her ear. "Oh, that was my boyfriend, Mark Springsteen." She explained.

* * * At the mention of Mark Springsteen being Josie's boyfriend, Sam felt a strong urge of jealousy swallow his whole being. 'She has a boyfriend?' he asked himself incredulously. Shaking his head, he thought, 'Duh! Of course he has a boyfriend, you dufus! It's been two years since you last saw her. We're you expecting for her to keep on pining for you? You already have a beautiful and sweet fiancée. What else are you looking for? Besides, you're not in love with her anymore, are you?'

Sam took a deep breath and realized that Maria was talking to him. Looking at Maria, he said, "Sweetie, what is it?" Maria gently grazed the side of his face with her fingers and smiled at him, "Where we're you? I was saying that you should tell Josie here how you first learned that you were in love with me." "Oh, sure! Um…I never knew Maria when I first worked at Dartmouth. I first met her at a baseball game…."

* * * Josie listened halfheartedly at Sam's description of his meeting with Maria. She has opened her voice recorder so that she wouldn't miss anything in her interview. When she saw Maria graze Sam's face with her fingers, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. She closed her eyes for a second to collect her thoughts.

She looked up at Sam and Maria and was relieved to see that they were still talking about their meeting that they didn't notice her not paying attention to them. 'Why would I feel jealous? I have forgotten about Sam Coulson! I don't love him! I love Mark! Mark's my boyfriend now! I DON'T LOVE SAM COULSON!' She shook her head and decided to listen to Sam and Maria. She looked up and listened.

It was a pretty sweet story. It wasn't love at first sight but they did notice something about each other that made them both take a second glance. She sighed and was relieved when Maria's cell phone rang, signaling a stop to their conversation. Maria stood up and motioned that her father was the one on the line and that he needs to talk to her personally. Sam and Josie nodded and they watched her walk away. 'Okay! Now I'm all alone with him. What should I say?'

Good thing for her, Sam spoke first. "So, how are you?" he asked, smiling at her. Seeing him smile, Josie felt all the pain that she felt slip away. But, she didn't completely forgot all about it. She straightened up and answered, "I'm fine! Never better!" "Oh, that's nice!" Sam answered, clasping his hands together on his lap. "Thanks! You? How's your life?" Josie asked, tucking her hands under her thighs, trying to hide her shaking hands. 

"I'm fine!" he answered, smiling at her, yet again.  "Oh, good!" she commented, and then groaning inwardly with her pathetic try at a conversation. Not knowing what to talk about, both Sam and Josie looked around the park looking for something to busy themselves at the moment, since they both know that they have absolutely have nothing to talk about. 

* * * Sam looked around the park, sighing to himself, thinking why his pulse wouldn't stop racing. He saw Josie turn around, fishing something from her bag. Sam took this as an opportunity to observe Josie without her knowing about it. She's still very gorgeous. Her eyes are bluer than ever; her blond curly hair had grown longer, but still not up to her shoulders.

Sam looked at her lips and saw that it was redder and more kissable than before when she was still his 'student'. He remembered his dreams about her. Kissing her, hugging her, holding her close…. every imaginable way of having Josie by his side, close to him. He dreamt of it all. He looked away from her when he noticed where his thoughts were leading him. He can't feel this way about Josie Geller anymore. It's all over. He should know. He was the one who finished it all.

* * * Josie fished around for a packet of tissues, since she felt that her face was breaking out into thousands of beads of sweat. She finally got it and looked up to Sam and saw that he was looking at something behind her. She stared at him. His hair is still the same, the same color and the same length. It still curls appealingly above his ears.

Like always, Sam's hair looks like he just ran his fingers through it. Some say that it was unruly but to her, it's part of his charm. His eyes are greener that ever, she noticed that it has a sparkle in it and she knows that it's because of Maria. His adorable dimples are still there (Of course!), which would always appear when he smiled or laughed. His body was more athletic than ever and as she looked at his hands, she remembered that night when they danced at the prom, soft and gentle but yet, very masculine. Josie closed her eyes and tried to console her aching heart, wishing that Sam wasn't the one who was getting married within three weeks.