Love and Marriage
Chapter Twelve

Two hours passed by slowly for Martin and Sam. They had eaten the pizza for dinner and then moved to sit out in the living room still dodging the issues that Leslie wanted them to talk about. Instead they had turned on the TV and were talking about the shows that they watched. There were empty beer bottles strewn all over their coffee table. What had started out as a way to relax and be able to have a civil conversation with the other one had turned into an unspoken competition to see who could drink the most. There was no winner yet; they were both equally drunk, but their extremely drunken states had succeeded in making them relaxed around each other—maybe a little too relaxed though.

Sam tipped her beer back and expected to feel the cold beverage slip down her throat but the bottle was empty. She frowned. "My beer's gone."

Martin laughed at her without turning his attention from the television. "So get another one."

"Maybe I will." She quickly hopped up from the couch, becoming slightly dizzy from the effects of the liquor. But she brushed it off and disappeared into the kitchen. A few seconds later, she returned to the living room. "There's only one beer left," she told him with a smile as she started drinking it, "and it's all mine."

He turned to look at her with a sad look. "Can't we split it?"

"Nope." She shook her head. "It's all mine." She went back and sat on the couch, staring at the TV commercial.

"Please?" Martin scooted closer to her.

She looked at him strangely as he closed the gap between them. "No."

He wanted that beer and knew exactly how to get it. "Come on, be nice." Martin pleaded, rubbing his hand up and down her arm.

She closed her eyes, amazed at what an effect he could have on her just by touching her arm. It had been way too long since he's consciously touched her like that.

Just by looking at the smile that was on her face he could tell that he was getting a reaction from her and grinned. Soon that beer would be in his possession. He leaned in and lightly kissed the spot on her neck that always made her melt into a puddle.

As soon as she felt his lips touch the sensitive skin on her neck an involuntary moan slipped past her lips. He wanted that beer and wasn't playing fairly in order to get it, but she had ways to fight back. She moved over to his left ear and started nibbling on his earlobe.

He closed his eyes and enjoyed what she was doing to him. They hadn't acted like this with each other in…months…a year? He wasn't even sure how long it had been anymore. He'd lost count after six months. Maybe it was the beer, or just months of pent-up sexual energy, but he was certain that their bout of abstinence would come to an end tonight if she didn't stop what she was doing.

She could tell that she was affecting him with her actions and laughed on the inside. Maybe it had something to do with the large quantities of beer she had consumed, but she was feeling very mischievous and relaxed around him. Switching to his right earlobe, she wrapped her arms around his neck and shifted to straddle his lap.

Now it was his turn to release a moan. She was pressed up against him tightly and he could feel himself becoming aroused. It wasn't the right day to wear his tight jeans, but then again, he hadn't known that this was going to happen. As much as he didn't want to he knew they had to stop this before it went any further. This wasn't what Leslie had in mind for them to do and besides that, they were drunk. "Sam…" He gently pulled away from her so that she was still straddling him but no longer nibbling on his ear.

"What?" She asked breathlessly.

"We can't do this." He told her.

A look of anger flashed across her face. She couldn't believe the nerve of him! He started something like this, getting her going, and then rejects her? "And just why not?" She bit out angrily.

"Because we're drunk." He pointed out.

"That's never stopped us before." She countered, starting to unbutton his shirt. But he cupped her hands in his to stop her.

"Sam…"

She sighed, biting her lip and slamming the beer bottle onto the coffee table. Then she got up from his lap and walked to the other side of the room. "Why don't we just be honest with each other about the real reason why you stopped me?"

He was confused. He really had stopped her because they were drunk and, even though his judgment skills were impaired, he still knew that this wasn't the best idea they had ever come up with. "What are you talking about? That was my real reason."

She crossed her arms in a defensive stance. "No. You stopped me because you don't want me anymore. You haven't wanted me in a really long time." She could feel the tears building up and, not wanting to give Martin the satisfaction of seeing her cry, she started to leave the room.

Martin caught a hold of her arm to prevent her from leaving the room and spun her around so that she was facing him. He couldn't believe that she thought he didn't want her anymore. That was completely untrue. Every night, he wanted nothing more than to reach out and take her into his arms to show her how much he cared about her, but something stopped him. "You really believe that I don't want you?"

She looked at the ground, not able to look him in the eyes. "What am I supposed to think? You won't touch me, you won't kiss me and you avoid me like I have the plague!"

"I just…" He was going to explain to her that the only reason he didn't do those things was because he didn't think she wanted him to anymore, but decided to show her instead. Wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her against him tightly, he pressed a hard kiss on her lips. He hoped that if he held her tightly enough, she would be able to feel his growing desire and realize that he really did want her.

Before she knew what was happening, she was being squeezed up against him and his lips met hers in a fury of passion. She resisted for about a millisecond before wrapping her arms around his neck and savoring the kiss. As they kissed she could feel his desire pressing up against her. Feeling slightly mischievous again, she slowly grinded her hips against him in a vertical motion.

As they continued to kiss Martin could feel Sam smile, proud of the effect her gyrations were having on him. Finally they had to pull their lips off of each other in order to take in some air. Their eyes met and he could see the uncertainty in her eyes. She was waiting for him to tell her, for the second time that night that they had to stop this but he could see it in her eyes that she didn't want to stop. For the first time in a very long time he saw that old spark of desire living in her eyes as she looked at him.

She waited for him to say something, expecting him to tell her that they couldn't go through with what they had started. If he did that to her again she was prepared to simply take a cold shower as she had been doing for months now but she would prefer to have the real thing tonight. Looking into his eyes she could see the conflict within him. He was trying to decide if this was a good idea or not. After all, this wasn't what Leslie had told them to do and they were slightly drunk right now. Maybe they weren't thinking clearly, their minds muddled by the alcohol and months of sexual frustration. But she wanted this. She needed this and she could feel that he needed this too.

"This isn't a good idea." She surprised him by saying.

"I know." He nodded.

She realized that saying this would make her vulnerable to him, and she usually tried to avoid being vulnerable around him, but she decided for once to be honest. "I don't want to stop though. Just for one night, I want us to make each other feel good again."

He brushed a piece of her hair back behind her ear. She was being honest with him, and that meant a lot. "I want that too."

A small smile graced her face. "So then what are we waiting for?"

He didn't answer; he just picked her up and carried her up the stairs, wondering if this was really such a good idea. Once they reached the bedroom he put her down but kept his arms snaked around her waist.

She started unbuttoning his shirt again, this time without any resistance, and started kissing him again. Her tongue found his and locked together as the kiss went deeper and deeper.

Once she was done unbuttoning his shirt and had pulled it off of him, it was her turn to lose an article of clothing. He reluctantly pulled out of the kiss. His hands went to the where her shirt ended and in one fast movement he pulled the tight shirt over her head. It had been so long since he'd been able to kiss her that he couldn't pull his lips away from hers for very long, so his lips soon found their way back on hers for another kiss.

While he had been taking her shirt off, she had been admiring his chest. He wasn't a professional body builder, but he worked out and it showed. She had missed having his strong arms wrapped around her. Forget the consequences that may come. She wanted him and was tired of pretending she didn't.

As they kissed and let their hands roam the other person's body, he realized that this wouldn't magically solve their problems. At that moment he didn't care. He just wanted her so much that he couldn't stop even if he wanted to. So he continued on, refusing to acknowledge the fact that this night would change everything.