Title: Again

Chapter Eight:

Author: Jaycee

*All necessary formalities are in the first chapter.

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Sam slowly walked towards his office on Thursday morning, his thoughts not on work but on the one person that has always been in his thoughts for three years. Josie. He walked into the door and heard his phone ring.

He shrugged and figured that he'll just let his machine answer it. As he was rifling through his notebook, he heard the voice that he's been least expecting to hear. "Sam? It's Josie. I guess your still not there. So, um… anyway, I made a decision, and I want you to hear it. Just call me and um…" He heard Josie say in a nervous voice to his machine.

Sam ran towards his phone and lifted the handset before Josie hanged up. "Josie!" He exclaimed. "Sam? I thought you weren't there." She said. "No I'm here. I was just checking something… why did you call?" He asked as he ran a nervous hand through his hair. He can't believe that Josie called him. "I have to see you." She said simply.

"Okay." He answered. 'Okay? Okay? How about great? Or that's wonderful? But… okay? How lame is that?' He thought to himself. "When?" He asked breathlessly. "Friday. At the baseball game. I'll meet you at the locker room door five minutes prior to the first pitch. But this time, please tell me your coming." She said, nervousness apparent in her voice.

Sam's heart constricted in pain as he was reminded of what he did three years ago. "I will come Josie. I promise." He said. "Okay. I believe you Sam." She whispered. "Thank you for saying that Josie. I really want to see you." He said in a husky voice. "I really want to see you too Sam." Sam smiled at that. "Bye." Josie whispered. "Bye. Take care." He almost said 'I love you' but he stopped his mouth at the last second.

"Take care too Sam. Bye." She answered quietly and then she hanged up. Sam hanged up too, a blissful smile on his face. 'Josie called me! I can't believe she called me!' he thought excitedly as he opened his briefcase to prepare for his day. As he walked out of the office, there was an added spring to his step, as seeing Josie again made him look forward to doing all his work for the day.

* * * On Friday afternoon, Josie paced around in front of the locker room, anxiously checking her watch for the time. The five minutes before the first pitch has started, and now, Sam only has two minutes to get there. It would really break her heart if Sam wouldn't come this time.

She has checked inside the locker room, and she was sure that Rob isn't there, and so is the rest of the team. They are all outside, warming up for the first big game of the season. "One minute left Coulson. Where are you?" She asked herself as she looked around the hall, waiting for him to appear.

* * * "Come on you stupid truck! MOVE!" Sam yelled inside his car as the truck in front of him slowly backed its way to its parking slot. He beeped his horn impatiently, as he checked his watch, and seeing that he only has two minutes left until his five minutes are up.

"I can't do this to Josie! I have to get there on time!" Finally, the truck was in its place and Sam finally had the chance to move. When he was only a minute away from the baseball field, he stopped and saw that traffic is slow, for so many people had turned out for this game. He checked his watch.

Only thirty seconds to go!

"I can't sit here and watch the time tick away! I just have to park here!" He decided as he turned of the ignition and got out of his car. He ran towards the field and he heard the announcer's voice on the loudspeakers saying, "Now, for the opening pitch, we have Dane Stadensky!"

"Oh no… I'm late!" Sam said breathlessly as he dodged a group of little kids. He ran down the stairs to the locker rooms and turned the curve. "Just a few more steps." He told himself as he saw the sign saying, "This way to the locker rooms".

Finally, he's in front of the locker room door, but Josie was nowhere to be found. "Oh no. I'm too late!" He said to himself as he looked around, straining his neck to see a particular blond head. "Josie… where are you honey?" He asked.

Then suddenly, he saw her, walking out of the bathroom, looking so beautiful in a simple pair of pants and a red shirt.  "Josie!" he called. She turned around and to his surprise he saw her smile hugely when she realized that it was he. "Sam!" She called out and ran towards him.

He ran towards her and met her halfway. He caught her in a hug, and she came willingly. "Sam…" he heard her sigh as she snuggled into his embrace. Sam closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of Josie's closeness, and the fact that she came willingly to him.

As they pulled away, he looked into her eyes. "Sorry I'm late. It took me forever to get here." He said, smiling gently. "I know what you mean." She answered as a tear fell down her cheek. Sam stared at her, as he realized that the words from his mouth have a deeper meaning than he meant it to be. He touched her soft curls and gently rubbed her cheek to wipe away the errant tear.

"I'm sorry for everything Josie. Please forgive me." He whispered. "I forgive you Sam. You've forgiven me for everything I've done right?" She asked cautiously. "Of course I have. I love you so much Josie." "I love you too, Sam. I never ever stopped loving you." She confessed, looking into his eyes.

Sam nodded and hugged her again, squeezing her tightly. "It's so great to hear that from you." "Not here Sam. Someone might see us." She whispered. He nodded and looked around. Josie pointed to the locker room. "There?" She asked. He nodded, grabbed her hand and led her towards the room.

As soon as they got in there, they fell onto each other, lips and tongues meeting hungrily. Sam sighed as Josie returned his kiss, her moans creating shivers up and down his spine. He broke away, panting. "Are you sure?" He asked. Josie closed her eyes and slowly nodded. "Yes, I've never been more sure of anything in my life." She whispered. "

It's going to be hard Josie. We have to hide from everybody." He explained, giving her the easy way out even though all he wants to do was hear her say yes. "I know it's going to be hard Sam. But I want to do this. I love you so much." She answered. "Really?" He asked again.

As an answer, she grabbed his face and brought his lips down to hers and kissed him hungrily, just like what she did that night at the beach. He returned the kiss, running his fingers through his hair. He brought her to a bench and slowly laid her down, his lips never leaving hers except for the much-needed breath of oxygen.

It was like an hour has passed as they just lay there, kissing fervently, but to Sam, it seemed as if it was only minutes as he delved into her mouth. Kissing Josie was definitely the best thing that he has ever done. They heard footsteps approach the door and Josie heard a familiar voice.

"Sam! It's Rob!" She said urgently. Sam looked at her in alarm. "Rob is so mad at you. And he knows your marital situation. He's definitely going to beat you up if he ever sees you with me, and I can't let that happen." She said worriedly as she brought a hand to his cheek. Sam smiled and kissed her again.

He looked around and laughed when he saw a closet door. Josie followed his gaze giggled. "Come on." He said and they ran into the closet. Just in the nick of time, Sam closed the closet door as soon as Rob came into the room.

As soon as her eyes got adjusted to the dark, Josie smiled at Sam. He was looking at her as he leaned and captured her lips in his. She tried not to moan at the wonderful feeling of kissing Sam. They parted and chuckled quietly at the absurdity of their situation. Then, Sam became sober.

"Honey… it's going to be like this…" he whispered as he took her hand. Josie heard Rob walking around so she just breathed her answer. "I know… but I can't be without you anymore Sam. I love you too much." "I love you too. But I don't want to keep you in a situation that you don't want to be in." "I want to be with you. As long as I am, I don't care what anybody else would think or would say." She breathed truthfully. "Me too." He breathed as he kissed her deeply.

They just sat there, kissing, as they waited for Rob to go out. "What… is… taking… him… so… long?" Josie breathed as Sam began to kiss her neck. "I don't care… I love it here…" Sam answered, making her giggle softly.

A few minutes later, they heard Rob exclaim, "Here it is! Damn! You thought you could hide from the Robster?" They both laughed quietly, shushing each other every once in a while. They held their breath as they waited for Rob to go out. They heard the door close and Rob's retreating footsteps.

Sam was ready to get out but Josie stopped him and said, "Wait for 20 seconds." "Why?" "So that we'll be really sure that he's really gone." Sam looked at her in awe. "Ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one." They counted together.

They listened in and when they were sure that nobody is bound to come soon, they got out of the closet. As they stood up and dusted themselves off, Sam took her into his arms and then started to sway her around. "How did you know about the 20 seconds thing? Have you done this before?" He asked. Josie blushed. "Yeah, actually I have."

Sam pulled away from her and rested his forehead against hers. "Really? When?" "That day, when I first saw you at the PTA Meeting, I was so surprised in seeing you that I knew I couldn't talk to you. When I ran out of the auditorium, I know that you're bound to catch me since you're a really good hockey player." Now it was Sam's turn to blush. "And then?"

"Well, I saw a janitor closet and hid in there." "You didn't!" He exclaimed. "I did. Then you came and you leaned against the closet door. I was breathing so hard, smelling your sexy aftershave and hearing your even sexier voice. My heart was pounding so hard; that I knew it was going to come out of my chest… I was really sure that you're going to catch me."

By the time that she was finished telling her story, Sam was laughing so hard that he already pulled away and braced himself against the door of the closet they we're once in. "Oh… I'm so sorry that I made you go through that." He gasped.

"I didn't tell you that story so you can laugh at me." Josie said as she tried not to smile at the cute image that he's projecting. "No, I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at the situation you we're in." He laughed even more. Josie sat on a bench and crossed her arms. "Fine. Be that way."

Sam took a deep breath and stopped laughing. He sat beside Josie and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so sorry honey. I didn't mean to laugh." Josie leaned into his embrace, her hands on top of his. "I know. It's okay." "I'm so sorry you have to go through all of that." He whispered. "It's okay." She said again. "It's all in the past. Let's forget about all of that."

Sam nodded. "I totally agree." He whispered as he turned her around and kissed her softly, growing more and more intense. They pulled away and Josie looked at him. "Now what?" She asked. "I'm not yet ready to leave you Josie." Sam said sadly. "I'm not yet ready to leave you too. But where can we go? We can't go to my house, and we can't definitely go to yours." She said.

"How about in a… hotel?" He suggested. Josie's eyes became huge. "In a hotel?" She asked. Sam nodded slowly. "But that is, if your ready Josie. I don't want to pressure you or anything." He said immediately. Josie leaned towards him and gently kissed him on the lips. "You're not pressuring me Sam. I'd love to go." She said truthfully. "Really?"

Josie nodded. "Really. I've been waiting for you all my life." Sam took her hand. "So, where are we going?" He asked as he backed her on the closet door. "Um… how about the Drake Hotel?" Josie said. "Sounds great. Did you bring your car?" "Nope. Gus and Anita dropped me off." "Do they know?" "Anita does. She was there when I made this decision. But she swore that she's never going to tell anybody." Josie said hurriedly.

"I trust you honey. And I know that I can trust your friend too, because you do." Sam said as he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Let's go?" She said. Sam took her hand. "Yeah. Let's." He said as he slowly opened the door. "Wait Sam! We can't go out together. Someone might see us." Josie said as she quickly closed the door. "Okay, so now what?" Sam asked. "Okay. Let's do this like this. You go out first and go to the hotel." Josie said. "How will you go to the hotel?" Sam asked worriedly.

"I'll ride a cab. You can book a room." Sam smiled. "Listen to you, Ms. Secret Rendezvous." Sam teased. Josie blushed and swatted him lightly on the arm. "Quiet! I'm thinking here. Okay, I'll just follow you there, okay? Just leave a message for me at the front desk." Josie said. "Anything you say, my love. I'll see you there." He whispered into her ear.

Josie shivered. "I'll see you there." She whispered. He softly kissed her on the lips and walked out. As soon as he was gone, the enormity of what's about to take place dawned on her. "Oh. My. God." She said out loud and went out of the room.