Stripped Bare

Chapter 6

Unfortunately, I still don't own Chuck

He looked into her eyes. "I think the fact that you're making a point of telling me this before we "move forward with our relationship" tells me all I need to know about who you are as a person Sarah," he said. "But, by all means, tell me what you think I need to know."

So she did.

"Chuck," she started, sitting in the chair opposite him. "You already know that Sarah isn't my real name. It's just a nickname. Actually, Walker's not my birth name either. I was born Samantha Lisa Simmonds to Joe and Emma Simmonds in San Diego, California.

"When I was seven my parents got divorced. Even before that my dad was away for periods of time and I lived at home with my mom. Mom was really strict but when Dad was home, we did fun things and I didn't have to do my homework or go to bed early. So, when my parents divorced, they offered me the choice and I decided to go live with my dad.

"I had fun for the first few years, but we moved about a lot so it was difficult to make friends. I used to help my dad with his work. He described it as playing tricks on people. It was only as I got older that I realized that my dad was a con man. We did all sorts - pick pocketing, long cons, short cons, hussles."

Chuck moved to speak and she held up her hand. "Chuck, please let me get all this out. It's difficult enough as it is. If you still want to talk to me and you've got questions at the end, I'll answer them." He subsided and nodded.

"I became more and more confused about what was going on and my dad picked up on that. There was a period when I was about fourteen when Dad tried to lay off the cons for a while. It was the happiest period of my life. A whole year in the same place. It was tough because I was the new kid at school and I was an ugly duckling, but I threw myself into schoolwork and found that I really learning.

"But cash was running low and Dad eventually went back to what he had been doing, and we started moving around again.

"When I was 16 we were back around San Diego. I'd pretty much opted out by this point, which made Dad even more desperate. He conned the wrong person, who turned out to have mafia links, and they decided to settle the score. They kidnapped me and took me to New Jersey. Dad followed me and gave himself up in exchange for my safety. He really did love me, in his own way. They killed him but, because they were honorable, they let me go."

She was struggling with tears as she always did when she remembered that horrible time, and she didn't notice as he got to his feet, only noticing as he sat down beside her, wrapping his arm around her and cuddling her into his side. "I'm sorry Sarah," he said. "I know you told me to butt out, but you can't expect me not to try and support you after what you just told me."

"I just told you I was a con woman Chuck and you want to comfort me?" she all but wailed.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but your dad was a con artist. You stopped being one as soon as you realized it was wrong, didn't you? That is what you just said, isn't it?" he raised his eyebrows at her.

She supposed it was. She nodded into his neck. "I don't deserve you," was all she managed. After a while she got her emotions under control, helped by the reassuring pressure of his arm around her. She hoped it would stay there through the next part of her story.

She continued. "But then I was stuck in New Jersey with no papers and no money. I tried to reach out to Mom but couldn't find her. I found out subsequently she'd remarried and moved to New York state. As it happened, I was within five hundred miles of her but had no idea. I moved to NYC but it was a real struggle in New York to afford food and shelter. I was doing odd jobs, living in a hostel, sometimes on the streets. This Russian guy obviously saw me as an opportunity. He tried to kidnap me and I fought him off, but during the struggle I ended up stabbing him. He died and I was arrested for manslaughter. The cops were really apologetic; the guy was a high-end pimp so they knew of him, but he had lots of friends. I was convicted, even though a number of eyewitnesses spoke on my behalf. The judge accepted mitigating circumstances but still gave me four years. This creepy CIA guy tried to approach me and say that he could get the charges squashed if I went to work for them, but I didn't want to do it. I didn't like all the cheating and pretending, and it had already cost my dad his life, and I just wanted to move on. If I had my time again, particularly since I've found out how difficult it is to get a job with a criminal record, I might have given a different answer."

She paused and he freed her, turning to face her. She flinched, but met his eyes. "So what you're worried about telling me is that you have a criminal record because you protected yourself?" he asked, expressionless.

"Yes," she replied in a small voice, looking down. He lifted her chin with his hand, forcing her eyes to meet his.

"All I get out of that is self defense, and they convicted the wrong person. It sounds like a miscarriage of justice to me." She stared at him with disbelief as he gently pecked her on the lips. "Tell me the rest," he said, keeping hold of her hand.

Buoyed by the fact that he hadn't run away screaming, she continued. "The only bright spot was that my mom had seen the story being reported on and she recognized me. She reached out to me in prison, and we started to rekindle our relationship. Mom had remarried, as I said, but he died in a car wreck the year before Mom and I reconnected. But Mom had had Molly. She'd learnt quite a lot from her experiences with me and was a little more relaxed as a Mom and I think it was better for Molly.

"When they let me out of jail, I went to live with them in Buffalo. While I was in prison, I threw all my effort into replacing the time I'd lost at school with the view that I'd get a good job once I got out. That just wasn't possible. Even after I'd changed my name to Mom's married name. People looked at my record and I didn't even get in through the door. It got disheartening. I was staying with Mom and Molly, so I had a roof over my head, but I was doing shitty jobs."

She sniffled. The next part was tough to talk about. "Four years ago now Mom was diagnosed with uterine cancer. It was inoperable and she started fading before our eyes." Chuck squeezed her hand hard, and she could see the empathy in his eyes. She carried on, knowing that if she stopped now, she wouldn't be able to continue. She used his eyes to give her strength. "She had to give up her job and the insurance bills were sucking us dry. My paltry jobs weren't covering the costs. I'd known Carina in jail," Chuck's eyebrows rose at this revelation, but she pushed on, "and I'd stayed in touch with her outside. She'd got a job as a stripper in Buffalo and she said she could get me one as well if I wanted. Carina was making good money; certainly enough to cover Mom's bills and keep Molly fed.

"I didn't want to do it, but I had to. I genuinely thought about going back to grifting but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I never told Mom about the stripping. I don't think she would have approved. I told her I was working in a club. The money wasn't so good in Buffalo as it is here. I worked six nights a week and barely made ends meet. Mom died after a year. She fought hard, but in the end it wasn't enough.

"I was left with just me and Molly. Buffalo only held bad memories for us, and we needed a change. One of Carina's friends was working here and said that the money was much better. Carina came up here first and then encouraged me to join her. I had to wait til Molly finished her school year, but I spent the time getting the work permit then looking for a place for us and a good school for her. We moved up here two summers ago. Molly loves it here and made lots of friends. I've just been coping. I work, sleep, make sure Molly's OK, keep fit, work on my course and save money. All my savings are for when it's time for Molly to go to college. I want her to have the chance that I didn't get because I took the easy road in moving with my dad, rather than the right one."

Sarah took a deep breath. "So that's the entire sordid story," she said, facing him. She raised her eyes to his face, wondering if she'd see empathy or disgust.

What she saw floored her. Was that admiration?

"I'm not sure why you think that's sordid," he said, still gripping her hand. "To me it seems to be a story of courage and sacrifice. Of a little girl standing up to the only parental figure she had in her life because what he was doing was wrong. Of a father standing up for his daughter to save her life. Of a young woman standing up for herself and refusing to give in. Of the same young woman being treated unjustly by the law and then by society, and then being dealt a horrific hand. Of that same young woman doing what was right, taking a job that she didn't like in order to support her mom and her sister in their time of horrific need. And then that same young woman vowing to help, nurture and support her sister at any cost to herself. That young woman must be the bravest person I know. You are the bravest person I know Sarah." He leaned in to hug her as she subsided in tears into his arms.

"It's OK to cry Sarah. It's OK to ask for help. I know there haven't been that many people there to give it, but I'm here now. And I want to be there for you. I thought you were amazing before you told me your story. I think you're superhuman now." He smiled wanly. "I can't believe you honestly thought that that story would make me love you less."

She couldn't compute, the emotion of the experience too much for her. The tears poured down her face and, seeming to recognize this, he picked her up and carried her to her bedroom, laying her on the bed and moving up beside her. He cradled her in his arms, hugging her to him and whispering reassuring things to her. She lay there, revelling in the feeling of lying on her own bed being held in Chuck's arms.

Wait… "Did you say you love me?" she asked, mind just catching up with what her ears had heard several minutes ago.

"Yes," he replied, and she could hear the smile in his voice as she turned to look at him. "I did say that." He paused and kissed her on the nose. "And I meant it too. I know it's only been a relatively short time, and maybe four dates, but yes – I am starting to fall in love with you, Sarah Walker." He kissed her again on the nose. "Hopefully at some point I might persuade you to fall in love with me."

"I- I already am falling in love with you Chuck," she told him. "Do you think I'd tell just anyone my story?"

"No, I guess not," he replied. "And I am very grateful for your trust. I'll try to make it worth your while."

"You don't need to Chuck," she told him. "It already is." She held up her hand as he went to kiss her nose again. "My lips are down here," she told him.

So he kissed them, and then he stripped off her sweater and he started kissing other places. He kissed her neck and her shoulders, he stripped off her bra and he kissed her breasts and her nipples and her sides, as she slipped off her leggings and her panties, and then he kissed her core. He kissed and licked and massaged her core for what seemed like hours as she moaned and groaned and shouted his name and, by the time he took pity on her and slipped his cock inside her as she'd been begging him to do for the last ten minutes, her tears were forgotten, and she lost herself in the amazing sensation of making love to a fantastic man.

Once again, they climaxed together, and she collapsed across him, gasping for air. "Thank you for loving me Chuck," she gasped as soon as she was able to get the words out.

"You make it easy to love you Sarah," he told her, gently running his fingertips up and down her back as they rested together. And she felt whole and loved and cocooned in a way she'd never felt before.

This time he showered in her shower. He used her shampoo and shower gel and the robe that he'd taken for her, before hanging it in her bathroom next to her six year old robe that was completely tattered and threadbare. She looked at it and knew that every time she looked at that robe it would remind her of him and resolved to throw the old one in the trash as soon as he left.

She arranged the flowers he'd gotten her on the kitchen table and they looked fantastic. The vase that had come with the flowers was prettier than anything else she had and looked amazing, and she thanked him copiously.

She ended up driving him to the airport. She wanted to get as much Chuck as she could and they kissed goodbye outside the terminal. As she arrived home, she received a text. "Still love you. Cx" she smiled softly. How could he have known that she'd start to second guess the situation as soon as he was out of the picture?

Molly texted to ask if it was OK for her to stay at Jodie's for a second night and, after asking to speak to Josie's parents to make sure that it wasn't a burden, she agreed. She went to the Club and made more money than she'd ever made in one night and returned home to her cold, empty bed and the memories of the last night and the day they'd shared. The only positive was that her sheets still smelt slightly of him, and she resolved not to change them any time soon. She masturbated herself to sleep, dreaming of the feel of his tongue and his hands and his cock. When she woke up at 11am the next morning there was a new message on her cell phone. "Still love u. Cx" She grinned to herself and texted back. "Love u2. Miss u. Sxxx"

"Who're the flowers from?" Molly's excited voice echoed through the apartment. She'd literally walked through the door only a few minutes earlier, pausing to drop her bag off in her room and go to the bathroom. It seemed she hadn't noticed Sarah's new robe hanging on the back of the door yet, but the flowers, sitting in pride of place on the kitchen table, were kind of unmissable.

Sarah had been wondering how to broach this subject and had decided just to be direct. Chuck was her boyfriend, and was going to be in her life (she hoped). He knew about Molly and was keen to meet her and he wanted to introduce Sarah to his sister as well. Their lives were about to become integrated and there was no point in shying away from this. The plan was that Chuck would move to Toronto full time within a few months; he was just waiting for his work permit to come through.

"They're from Chuck," she replied.

"Chuck?" shouted Molly. "I didn't think people still called their kids Chuck?"

She grinned, heading out to face the music. "They didn't," she explained. "His name is Charles, but his sister called him Chuck while he was young and now all the people close to him call him Chuck."

"And you're close to him?" Molly asked, looking up excitedly.

"We've had a few dates," she said. "And I'm hoping to be closer."

"Excellent!" Molly gushed. "For real? He's gonna be your boyfriend?"

She grinned. "Yeah, that's what I'm hoping. He's hoping that as well. Of course, I told him it wasn't just my test he had to pass. I told him there's this bossy little madam in my life too that he has to charm!"

"I'm not bossy!" Molly groaned.

"But you don't deny you're trouble, do you trouble?" Sarah teased, reaching out to hug the younger girl who was literally vibrating with excitement.

"How did you meet?" she asked.

Sarah took a breath. "At the club," she said.

Molly looked disappointed. "So he's a dirtbag?" Molly had a low opinion of her clientele, primarily based on stories she'd overheard between her and Carina. Normally they only compared notes about the absolute douchebags so Molly didn't have a fully representative view of the clientele that they dealt with.

"Not every guy who goes to strip clubs is a douche," she warned her sister. "Chuck came in a few weeks ago and it was his first time in a club. He was so nervous it was funny. He would only look at my eyes while I was stripping."

Molly raised her eyebrows. "So why'd he go to a strip club then anyway?"

"He's from LA and he's trying to do a deal with a Canadian company. They dragged him to the club but he wasn't comfortable at all. He was so different from guys I normally meet there," she explained. "Anyway, the chemistry was off the charts, and he hid his card in my tip."

"So that's the card you've got on your desk," Molly worked out, face falling. "Oh, I thought that was for a job. I looked up Carmichael on the internet and it looked really exciting."

"You did?" Sarah asked, surprised. "What did you find out?"

"It's an up and coming company and its CEO is some kind of new wunderkind. He got a double distinction at Stanford and is supposed to be the best thing since sliced bread….wait…is Chuck the CEO? It's the CEO's card on your desk?"

She grinned, interested by this new information. "Yes he is," she replied carefully.

"Wow, definitely not a douche then," Molly stated. "I found a local news article about all the charitable work he does. Apparently he's an orphan and he and his sister grew up dirt poor. She's a doctor and he's this IT prodigy, but they don't forget their roots. He helps out at homeless shelters in LA."

That chimed in with what Sarah knew apart from the charity work. That sounded right though. Again, she was sad that the internet had pretty much passed her by. It hadn't been big when she'd been in school, and she'd just never quite got her head around it. Not the way that Molly had, anyway.

"That sounds like Chuck," she smiled. "I'd love to see your research," she added.

"So you saw him today," Molly said. "How many other times?"

Sarah hemmed but decided to come clean. Molly had this way of ferreting out information and it was better to face the music now rather than get the slow drip, drip of Chinese water torture.

"We met for lunch last week," she replied, "And we met for dinner last night…" she paused.

"And?" Molly asked excitedly, "Because I'm sensing an "and" here?"

She swallowed, "And we spent last night together after work and most of the day today."

She wasn't disappointed. "You slept with him?!" Molly exclaimed. "You actually slept with a man?! Oh my God! You're a real woman! I had wondered!"

"Enough with the sass, young lady," she snarked. "Otherwise I'll tickle you." Molly didn't know Sarah was ticklish, but Sarah knew Molly was.

"No!" Molly exclaimed, flinching away and out of reach. "So," she ventured, "Was he good?"

Sarah had wondered how she'd deal with this question which she was sure would come up. Molly was a fifteen year old girl after all. They didn't shy away from talking about sexually-charged topics between them. Molly had already had boyfriends, although Sarah had urged her not to give away her virginity too early, recounting her own experiences at school. She knew that Molly had got to third base with Richie Wyatt, but she'd refused to go further.

"Yes," she replied, seriously. "Yes, he was." She looked the girl in the eye and saw her incredulity.

"That's it?" she asked. "That's all you're gonna say?"

Sarah smiled. "Yeah, it is." She knew she was yanking Molly's chain but what was she gonna say to her sister? He gave me more orgasms in 24 hours than I've had in the whole of the rest of my life…I loved cuddling in his arms after sex just as much as the sex itself…he made me feel emotionally replete…he made me cry tears of happiness. Most of those were things that she didn't think a fifteen year old girl would really be able to get her head around. They were things that this 27 year old woman was still struggling to comprehend, after all. "He makes me happy," she said simply as Molly continued to stare at her.

She was surprised by the look of happiness that came over his sister's face then. "Good," she replied seriously. All traces of joking gone. "You deserve it, and it's about time." She paused. "When do I get to meet him?"

"Hi Chuck!" she exclaimed, pleased to hear his voice. It was Sunday night. Molly was in bed thank God, because the endless questions about Chuck had been starting to do Sarah's head in.

"Hi Sarah!" came the enthusiastic response from the other end. "How was your day?"

"Oh, tiring," she moaned. "Molly just did not stop asking questions about you all day."

"And what did you tell her?" he asked, slightly nervously, she thought.

"That's for me to know and you to find out," she teased.

"I see how it's gonna be with you Miss Walker." She could hear the grin in his voice.

"Whatchou up to?" she asked.

"Just looking at some apartments the real estate people sent over after I cancelled the meeting," he replied.

"Oh, found anything interesting?" she asked.

"Not really," he replied. "There are only two in the right area."

"The right area?" she asked.

"Within easy reach of you," he said like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"But we can drive," she said.

"Not gonna work Sarah," he replied. "It's gonna be difficult enough to fit in time to see each other as it is, without wasting loads of time driving back and forth. And, realistically, if we end up moving in together, it needs to be near where you are now so we don't disrupt Molly's schooling."

"You amazing, beautiful, lovely nerd!" she couldn't prevent herself from saying. The fact that he'd considered moving in together was one thing. The fact that he'd considered not disrupting Molly's life was just an order of magnitude more.

"I told you Sarah, I love you. Molly's the most important thing in your life and we need to do the right thing for her." He gets it, she thought. Thousands wouldn't, but he got it. How lucky was she to find someone like him?

"Now before you get all weepy, there is something else we need to talk about," he ventured.

"What's that Chuck?" she said, trying to keep the trepidation out of her voice at his serious tone.

"I've got some meetings in New York next week," he said. "Tuesday and Wednesday. I wondered if I might come out next weekend and meet you and Molly for lunch on Sunday. Would that work for you?"

"You move quick Bartowski!" she told him.

"I don't want anyone else nipping in and stealing the best woman in the world!" he joked.

"Newsflash, Chuck," she said. "You don't have any competition."

"Well it's just a matter of time before the idiot male population of Toronto wakes up and realizes what they've been missing and I want to stake my claim before then!" he joked.

"Hmm, I think we could fit you in next Sunday," she replied. "What about Monday?"

"Well, I wondered if you'd like to come and meet Ellie for lunch?" he asked.

That was going to be a stressful weekend, she thought. But good to get it out the way in one go, perhaps. And she wouldn't rule out him re-organising his whole calendar to have it work that way.

"That sounds good," she replied.

"Great, I'll let Ellie know," he exclaimed, sounding enthusiastic.

"Do you wanta stay over here on Sunday?" she asked.

"Sarah," he replied sounding serious, "I would like nothing more than to spend Sunday night with you and Molly, but I don't think I should."

"Why not?" she asked, a little hurt.

"Because of Molly," he replied. "This is gonna be a big change in her life. Until now, she's been the only thing that's important to you. That's gonna change now. This'll be our first meeting. She'll want to come back to her ground and relax afterwards. If I'm staying with you, she won't have that. I don't want to crowd her on the first meeting."

"God, when you say things like that I just want to jump you," she said. He'd never met Molly. How could he honestly be looking out for what was right for her before even meeting her? "I honestly cannot believe you're for real just now."

"I was just trying to put myself in her shoes," he said. "If it was me – whether it goes well or badly, I'd wanna come back to my own space afterwards to talk to you about it."

"Well, you're probably right. I dunno how you are, but you are," she said.

"So it's decided then?" he asked. "I'm assuming you'll recommend somewhere for us to meet?"

"Yeah, I'll probably ask Molly!" she said.

"Coolio," he said. "I just got one more question for you." She was surprised by the change in his tone which went from serious to flirty.

"Shoot!" she said.

"So which was better? The reality or the expectation?" he asked, and she could just picture him grinning at her.

"Fishing for compliments are you, Mr Bartowski?" she replied.

"Just interested," he sent back.

"As you well know, the reality," she paused. "I'm just looking forward to seeing how you top that!"

"No pressure then," and she could hear the grin his voice.

"None at all," she replied.

"Great, well I'm sure it's getting late there, so I'll leave you to dream of me being in that bed next to you, and I'll get on with finding a way to make it happen."

"I like the way you think Chuck," she said. "Good night, and I can't wait to see you again."

"Night Sarah," he replied. "Sleep well."

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