"Well, that was about as successful as we could be," Lydia said, wheeling around to the other side of the table. Sam looked down at her with a smile.
"Yep," he replied, and saw Chelsea peek around the corner. "Hey," he said humorously, and followed her out the door. "What are you looking at?" he said, mockingly putting his hands on his hips and raising his eyebrow.
"You," Gina said, and clapped her hands over her mouth. She looked at Chelsea and giggled again. Sam continued to keep his eyebrow raised.
"Aren't you a little young to be looking at me, Chel?" he said with laughter in his voice. Please tell me they're kidding...
"I'm not that young," Chelsea replied softly. She looked up at him sadly. Oh, my, Sam thought. They weren't kidding.
"Here," he said slowly. He took Chelsea's hand and helped her to stand. "Come with me. Can you excuse us for a moment, Gina?" And before Gina could reply he was leading Chelsea around to the backyard. She was looking at him sadly, and the lightness in her step wasn't showing.
"I really like you," Chelsea said matter-of-factly. "I have for a while. I can't help it!"
"So, it's not just an 'I think that boy is cute' kinda thing?"
"Nope. I wish it was, but I really like you. More than I've liked anyone before." She leaned towards him, and he started to protest, but she began to kiss him, bringing his head down with her hands. He couldn't resist. The things that had been going on in his life just came out in one kiss. One kiss with someone who wanted him, desperately. He had never felt such longing in anyone before, and he continued to kiss her. They both pulled back at the same time, and she looked up at him with glassy eyes.
"Chel-" he started, but she put her hand over his mouth.
"Don't. Just don't say anything. You'll ruin the moment." And with that, she took her hand away and kissed him again, and his reaction was the same as last time. Maybe I could be with her, he thought as he kissed her neck, and then came up back to her mouth. We seem to be pretty good together. But the fleeting thought of Alyssa kept creeping back into his mind. We can't be together, he thought to himself firmly. I've got to make the best of the situation. So he continued to kiss her.
When they walked back around the house, Gina was talking to Lydia. Chelsea held Sam's hand and was bubbling with excitement. She kissed him on the cheek, and with a quick "See you later, sweetie" she disappeared into the house with Gina. Seconds later he heard a scream of excitement come from inside the house.
"What's going on?" Lydia said with a laugh as she wheeled over toward Sam.
"Well," he said, awkwardly scratching his head, "I'm sort of 'with' Chelsea, if that's ok with you."
"Oh, Sam," Lydia said with her eyes shining just the way Chelsea's did, "She's liked you for so long! I'm so happy for both of you." She reached up and gave Sam a hug. It was a good reaction, he decided, because she could have been angry.
"Yeah, I'm happy, too." But are you really?