Monday, June 7, 2004
Samantha awoke Monday morning and searched her closet for something special to wear. She wanted to look great for Jack today because she was going to tell him that she had chosen him. She spent a little extra time on her make-up and then made herself stop, she didn't want the whole office to know her intentions. Due to her eagerness, she was the first one from the unit to arrive at work. She forced herself to sit at her desk and not turn around every time someone entered the room.
It seemed like hours before Jack walked in. He looked haggard, like he hadn't slept all weekend. She thought that he may have been thinking about her all weekend and she smiled to herself because today she was going to ease his mind. He entered his office and immediately shut the door. Not a good sign. Samantha decided her "talk" with him could wait for a few hours. She busied herself in work and waited until Jack's door opened again.
It wasn't until noon that Jack emerged from his office, he called the team together and relayed that a past missing child of theirs whom they had returned to her parents had been killed in an accident over the weekend. Jack had been very close to the case and had kept in contact with the family, the death hit him hard. Samantha seized her opportunity. The meeting ended and she approached Jack and asked him to have lunch with her. He agreed.
They walked to a corner café near the federal building and sat by the window. Samantha offered him her condolences and his mood seemed to improve so she worked to change the subject. It was a tough job though, beyond work and his family, it had been so long that she didn't know what to talk to him about. So they discussed the weather and the presidential campaign until she had worked up enough courage to bring the conversation around to them.
Samantha began, "So, Jack, I've had some time this past week to think, to think about us."
Jack tried to read her face, but couldn't determine what she was going to tell him so he prompted her eagerly, "And...?"
"And, I realized that the only reason that we broke up was because you wanted to make your marriage work. It seems that that's not your goal anymore, so we'd be crazy if we didn't take another shot at this."
Jack's face erupted into an enormous grin, he wanted to get up and embrace Samantha then and there. He had nearly convinced himself that Samantha was going to forsake him, especially after all the time she had spent with Martin. The other night he'd seen how awkward he and Samantha had been and how at ease she'd been with Martin, it was then that he'd begun trying to move on without Samantha. But now, her words were like candy to his ears. He couldn't think and asked dumbfounded, "Do you mean it? Do you really mean you want to be back together?"
Samantha knew that Jack would be happy, but to this degree, she'd never imagined. His normally stoic exterior had been transformed when he let his emotions show. It almost didn't even seem like the same Jack. "Yes, we should be together, we belong together, right? I think we should celebrate with dinner tonight, anywhere you chose. But now we have to get back to work."
"Work? Work? How do you expect me to go back to work right now? I'm too ... Wow, I know I'm acting like a schoolboy, but I feel like you've given me a second chance and I don't want to take even one minute for granted." Despite his protests, they reluctantly rose from the table and returned to work.
Samantha continually stole glances at Jack whenever he came within eyesight of her, but his usual exterior had returned. No one in the office would guess from his actions or expressions that they were going on a date tonight. She made sure that she left before he did, no need to start any office gossip unnecessarily. She raced home to shower and shave—all those girly preparations. She realized that she hadn't been this excited about a date in the two years since Jack had broken up with her.
Promptly at seven, Jack picked her up. Samantha thought that he looked amazing even though he was still dressed in his work suit and revealed that he hadn't had time to go home and change. Jack appeared nervous especially when he saw how wonderful Samantha looked. "Sam, I'm ..., I tried to get away, but couldn't make it home to change. You look gorgeous."
Samantha heard the familiar nickname that only Jack used, well that she allowed only Jack to use. Then she realized that that wasn't exactly true, Martin had called her Sam and she had liked the sound of her name rolling off his tongue. She jerked herself back to the present. "It's okay Jack, you look great. Do you know where we are going?"
"Yes, I was able to take the time to make a reservation," Jack intoned.
Dinner went well, Samantha and Jack reminisced about their past and hinted to each other about their future. They were even able to talk about Jack's divorce and Samantha's attack. The awkwardness that appeared before seemed to have been erased. Jack drove Samantha back to her apartment and walked her to the door. He had been waiting for this moment the entire evening. It seemed like so long since he had kissed Samantha and the memory of those past kisses had not faded from his mind.
Samantha was waiting for this moment too, but she recalled the awkward kiss he had tried to give her last week and how she had turned her lips away from him relegating him to only a peck on the cheek. She hoped that he was not thinking of that moment, but to be safe she leaned in close to Jack, encouraging him.
Jack took the hint and planted his lips onto Samantha soft mouth. He eased into the kiss at first, but passion took over. His arms wrapped around Samantha and concentrated solely on feeling the kiss. Samantha let herself be completely taken over by emotion too. Finally, the kiss ended and Jack spoke, "Maybe I should take you up to your apartment, I wouldn't want to worry that something might happen to you once you're in the building."
Samantha built on his excuse to come up, "Oh, I whole-heartily agree, I don't know what sort of mobsters may be waiting for me inside. I would greatly appreciate an escort up to my apartment." With that they clasped hands and entered the building. Samantha pushed the button for the elevator and they tried to keep at a distance waiting for it. Finally, the doors opened to an empty car and they stepped inside. Immediately upon the doors closing, Jack reached for Samantha and they feel into a deep embrace. Jack's hands ran through Samantha's hair and he moved his mouth from her lips to her supple neck. Her body shuddered and she realized that the real touch of his mouth was much better than the memory of it. The doors opened and they moved clumsily toward her apartment door. She fumbled with the key and tumbled inside the doors. The couch was the nearest soft surface for them to lay upon and they fell onto it, tearing at each others' clothes. Jack's hands were roving Samantha's body refreshing his memory of her every curve, his mouth moved to her breast and she suppressed a small moan of pleasure.
The clock dinged the time in eleven long bells and Samantha's concentration was broken. Her head finally got to interrupt her heart to remind her that she had wanted to resume things slowly. Too much had happened recently to allow her feelings to take over completely. She gathered the strength to push Jack away. Jack, reluctantly, backed off with a puzzled expression on his face. Samantha apologized, "Jack, we shouldn't, not yet. It's too soon. We need to ..., I want to go slower. I want to go on some dates and make sure this is right. For God's sake you just moved out of you from your wife last week. Promise me that you're not mad."
Jack looked into Samantha's pleading eyes, "No, I'm not mad. But I won't lie, I'm frustrated. I think that we have two years of time to make up and I don't want to wait another minute."
"But we have a long time to make up for those two years, we have the entire future," Samantha reassured him.
Jack's confidence soared as Samantha talked about them being together in the future. He felt great and that made waiting a little better. He backed off and began to rebutton his shirt. Jack looked at Samantha again, "So, can I take you out tomorrow night? I'll drop you off at the front door, scout's honor."
Samantha laughed at her big Boy Scout, "Of course, tomorrow night sounds great. The hard part will be getting through the day knowing that you're only fifty feet away."
After Jack had left, Samantha got ready for bed. She was excited about this new-old relationship and couldn't imagine anything getting in the way of her happiness.
TBC
