A/N: Sorry guys that it took so long. Silly college with silly grades. I am going out of town this weekend, but I hope to be working on Chapter Ten as I'm on the long bus ride to Washington D.C. ("We're goin' to Washinton!!!"…erm…sorry folks.)
Thanks again to everyone who has reviewed. As my best friend can tell you, I get ecstatic every time. Then…thank you to said friend who is also my editor. (Holly4...who is winding up her current Buffyverse fic Harbingers of Beatrice, but who also wrote Sang et Ivoire. Both excellent as well as all her other works.)
I hope that you guys enjoy and don't get too annoyed by the slow updates. Have a good day!!
Chapter Nine
Dawn had never felt more content as she lay snuggled up in the bed. In her sleepy sate she remembered the fun that she had last night: the friends she made, the dinner, the dancing, the spending half an hour talking with Charlie about how there was nothing to worry about at Georgetown, and the way that Sam seemed to get annoyed that she spent half an hour talking to Charlie.
Yes. She was a happy girl.
She wished she could feel like this all the time. She arched her body forward as she tried to stretch her muscles to alertness. That was when she felt it. Felt the gentle pulse of her pillow. Her pillow that wasn't a pillow at all, but the smooth skin of the man beneath her.
Her hand came up and felt the smooth chest and she was startled as the final memories of last night came flooding back. She regretted moving away the next instant when she saw the look on her bed-companion's face.
"Uhh…hi," Sam said sheepishly when he opened his eyes to see a mollified Dawn next to him.
"Hiya," she replied awkwardly with a cheesy wave as he pulled himself up in the bed. Neither one wanted to admit that they were checking each other out to remind themselves that it probably wasn't a dream.
"This isn't a dream is it?" Sam blurted out.
It took Dawn a minute till she realized he had actually spoken. As her face grew to a deep crimson, she shook her head. "I-I don't think so. Well…my dreams aren't usually this awkward."
"Mine either." He gave a nervous laugh before darting his eyes briefly away from her gaze to examine the rest of her covered yet inherently nude form. Ashamedly, not enough drinks to constitute him taking a near-perfect stranger to bed were consumed. "Dawnie? Well, do you prefer Dawn or Dawnie? I heard both and I know that sometimes-"
"Either one," She interrupted him with a shy smile. "D-Did you sleep well?" She didn't know how more awkward the conversation could get.
"When we got sleep." The instance the words were out, his face darkened and he hastily sat up next to her. "Umm…I think I should explain something."
"You don't have to explain." Dawn was quick to swallow the tears that were forming in her throat. "You're a big politician and I'm just a college student." She chuckled humorously. "Good thing I'm not an intern."
"That's not what I meant," he said softly resisting the urge to lean over and tuck a loose strand of hair back behind her ear. "Dawnie? I'm sorry if I took advantage of you last night. I don't know how much you had to drink, but I didn't have all that much. I guess when we came back up here, I didn't stop to consider that a couple of drinks to me could mean a complete smashing for you—" He paused when he saw the smile on her face. Then it dawned on him. "I'm doing it again, aren't I?"
She nodded. After a minute pause she answered his question. "No. I wasn't drunk last night. In actuality, I may have drunk less than you. You did seem to favor the wine at dinner if I noticed correctly."
"Merlot," Sam admitted with a cheeky grin and smile. "Always my favorite."
"Chardonnay is always good." She stopped to shake her head. "But back to the point. As much as it almost embarrasses me…you didn't take advantage of me last night." A moment more passed between them. Dawn bit her lip and decided to ask the question that was on her mind. "What about the call girl?"
Sam nearly choked. "D-Does she tell everyone about that?"
Dawn smiled. "Donna was giving me stories to get to know you all better. That was one. She also told me this one about how CJ gave you the nickname Shmutzy Pants for a while because…Yeah."
He sighed. "Yes. Laurie was an exception."
"You don't think of me like a call girl, do you?"
"No!" Sam's face was red with embarrassment and Dawn's was growing pinker by the moment with the insinuation.
She did not stop him by calling out his name. Instead she simply brought her single index finger to his lips. Dawn didn't know exactly what possessed her to do it, but she was sure that a deep need to touch him had something to do it.
"I think I tend to ramble," Sam replied with a boyish grin.
"We both do."
"Yeah. What I meant was…I didn't mean to take advantage of you."
"You didn't."
"Because there is nothing in the world that I would despise doing more than making you sleep with me against your will. Except maybe physics. I was never good at physics."
"Sam?"
"Okay. Even more than physics."
"Sam."
"You do know that I was joking, right?"
"Sam." A smirk bestowed her features as she nodded.
He hesitated a moment. "You said way back there that I didn't take advantage of you, right?"
"I think I might have said it from the start, but yes."
They both spent several minutes staring at one another with simple little smiles on their faces. Sam was the one to break the silence. "I have to leave tomorrow to go visit my district." Dawn nodded. "I just wanted you to know that I'm not going to try and avoid you."
"Who said I'd call you?"
"Oh."
"I-I mean I want to call you, if you want me to call. I know that you are a powerful Representative and that it might not look good for your reputation to sleep with much younger women." She looked at him and nodded. "I am much younger, but legal. Very legal. I just know that you will want to be re-elected and Donna said that she counted on you running for President and with my family background…let's just say that there are a few questions that you don't want the press asking. Not that I did anything per se, but my sister has a record and where I lived, which by the way is in your district, is a little strange. Though I know Willow could-"
Sam couldn't tell you exactly what made her more appealing than any woman he had ever seen. Maybe it was her smile. Or the way that she possessed impressing intelligence, but with no clue about how smart she was. The way that she seemed so unconfident though she had absolutely no reason not to take command of the room. Or the fact that she wanted him, but wouldn't say it because she was afraid he didn't want her back, or that his career would interfere. Or maybe it was the fact that she was naked in his bed.
Or maybe it was the fact that he leaned over and sealed their lips with a kiss. It was meant to be a short one that would only cease the current bout of ramblings, but it turned into a much more slow and sensual experience that left both breathless when they parted.
"Sam?"
His panting matched her own. "I'm sorry…If you want…If you want, I can leave."
She sighed as she leaned to place her head upon his shoulder and catch her breath. "Sam, this is your place."
"Yeah…" He looked around to verify for himself that she was correct. "Well, I can still leave if you want."
"No. But if you want me to-"
"Dawn. Let me state for the record that I find you incredibly attractive. Incredibly smart, incredibly kind-hearted and incredibly remarkable. I know that it sounds cheesy, but I want nothing more than to see you again."
"Really." She felt like she might cry for an altogether different reason now.
"Yes." They were both grinning like mad. "I would like to take you on another date…well, technically a first one first."
"Okay." She giggled and he leaned over to kiss her again.
She wouldn't be leaving for about three hours.
*~*~*
Donna woke up content mid-way through Saturday morning. She was relieved to be finally receiving a day off that wasn't complicated with drunken ordeals and new roommates. She was infinitely glad that she now had her friends to help in making Dawn feel at home in Washington.
Speaking of Dawn, she couldn't remember her coming home the night before. That didn't necessarily mean that she wasn't present since Donna was thoroughly exhausted when she crawled into bed last night. Donna began to panic when she walked into her friend's room to find her bed was not slept in.
"Dawn?" She called out in hopes that she was lurking about. When she knew that it wasn't the case, she went over to the phone and dialed Charlie's number.
"Hello?" The other line stated.
"Charlie?"
"Yeah…Donna?"
"Hi. Do you know what happened to Dawn last night after I left?"
"She and I talked for a while and when I left she was still dancing with Sam."
"Was he giving her a ride home?"
"Yeah. They were getting along just fine when I left."
"Really?" This question was more out of intrigue. She wouldn't have suspected it from either one…well since Dawn wasn't a call girl.
"Yeah. And she said something about maybe forgetting her keys. Sam mentioned getting her a room for the night."
"Okay." She was smiling as she finger combed her hair. "I think I'll stop worrying then."
"Good." A pause. "One more thing."
"Yes, Charlie?"
"If they did get it on, will you let me know? It would just give me a little something to…well tease Sam with."
"Since you looked out for Dawn last night, sure thing."
As she hung up the phone, she knew that there were a couple of people who had some explaining to do.
