Whoops. Couldn't help myself, looks like there's going to be more chapters.
Here's another part!
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"Would you like something to drink?" Sam asked as she stepped aside to let Charles in. "I'm having tea. I could make you some if you like?"
Charles shook his head, "No, I'm fine, Samara." He looked down at her pajamas and slippers, smiling. "You look cozy."
Sam couldn't help but blush a little bit, but she stood in mock defiance, her hands on her hips, "I am. This is what I normally wear on Friday nights for the raid."
He chuckled warmly, "I see. Well, I think this ensemble is missing one little detail…" His voice trailed off, and he gently placed the daisy he'd been holding in her hair.
Sam grinned, her blush deepening, "How do I look?"
"Sublime," Charles said simply. Bowser walked up to him curiously and then sat with a ceremonious plop, staring up at him. Charles looked down, "Well, hello again, little chap. Good to see you keeping your mother safe at this late hour."
Sam gestured to her couch, "Please, come sit."
Charles nodded and they walked over and sat. He peered over his glasses at her, resting his elbow on the back of the couch, "It occurred to me after you left this morning that while you proposed the two-week timeline for our little trial period that you hadn't laid out any guidelines for us. For instance, should this end up being a success, what our behavior should consist of within the office."
"Ah," Sam nodded, picking up her mug of tea from the coffee table. "You're right."
"Well," Charles went on, "I was thinking that while the company doesn't have any rules against… fraternization, there's still a level of decorum I'd like to maintain around the office. No reason to flaunt anything in front of everyone-do you agree?"
"I do," she said, nodding again.
He sighed, "So, as much as it might disappoint the two of us, I would suggest we keep our office doors open if we're both in either of them. It would encourage… restraint."
Sam smiled into her mug of hot tea, "Yes, it would cut down on the chances of-what did you call it? 'Snogging at the workplace'?"
Charles chuckled, "Indeed. Also, it would prevent office rumors making it back to your father, should we continue after he's returned from Hawaii. Which brings me to the question of what to do if he finds out, and are we actively keeping it from him?"
Sam pondered this a moment, "Hmm, I would say we don't actively tell him, or anything. But if he finds out, I'll be straight with him and emphasize that this was a decision we both made-especially if he gets… well, you know how he gets with you around me." Charles chuckled again and nodded at that. She smiled at him, "But if it comes down to it, I'll stand between you and him if I have to."
Charles smiled warmly back at her, "Well I appreciate that, and I hope it won't be necessary." He adjusted himself on the couch a bit, crossing one of his legs over the other, "Now that that's out of the way, there are some other things I wanted to ask you before we do anything… intimate."
A blush crept up Sam's cheeks again, but she was still smiling at him and meeting his eyes with her own, "A-Alright."
His hand came over to grasp her free one loosely, tracing the lines in her palm with his finger, "Samara… forgive me for the bluntness-I know that can embarrass you-but, do you ever… tend to your own needs?" Charles' face was a little pink asking the question.
At first, his meaning didn't quite reach her, "Tend to my own-OH!" Her face reddened considerably, "W-Well, if I'm being honest, n-no. I have, erm… watched some things before, but that was for a different purpose."
It was Charles' turn to be confused, "What other purpose?" He peered at her curiously.
Sam sheepishly went into a brief explanation about her friends' "exposure therapy" suggestion (but did not tell him about the crazy nosebleeds), and the afternoon she spent with her laptop.
He chuckled when she finished, "And did you learn anything?"
She shrugged, "I would say so. It helped me with my nerves a little bit, and I discovered… well, that I liked some of it."
Charles grinned slyly, his electric blue eyes staring intensely into her own, "That's good to know." He continued his line drawings on her palm.
Sam's cheeks pinkened and she took another sip of her tea, grinning into the brim of the mug. When she swallowed she looked at him, her own sly smile spreading across her face. "Do you think about that often, Charles?" she asked curiously.
He lifted an eyebrow, "Think about what?"
"Me tending to my own needs," Sam stated matter-of-factly (albeit, accompanied by her ever-blushing face).
Charles made a startled noise, apparently completely caught off-guard by her question. His own face flushed red and he looked down, clearing his throat. "I-I…"
Sam giggled, setting her mug down, "Seems you're not the only one who can tease." She took her now free hand and moved to take Charles' hand in both of her own.
He laughed softly, meeting her eyes again, "I've created a monster."
Sam shrugged again, "You were bound to rub off on me eventually."
"In more ways than one, apparently," Charles said, grinning.
She laughed, rolling her eyes, "Oh, I walked right into that one." Sam looked at him, "So why ask me that?"
He cleared his throat again, "Ah, yes-we got sidetracked… well, the reason I asked is because I'd been thinking if you didn't tend to your own needs that you might… start-and that's because I feel it might give you a sense of… familiarity when we're together, some manner of knowing what to expect." He looked at her hands holding his, "I've noticed when I'm close to you, or when we've kissed, that you tremble a great deal. I feel if you were more, erm-prepared, in a sense, I might not make you as uncomfortable."
Sam squeezed his hand, "Charles, you don't make me uncomfortable at all. I'm just nervous… and excited." She smiled softly, feeling the largeness of his hand, "I trust you, Charles. I'm not, like, scared of you."
He looked up and smiled, "I'm glad." But then his expression changed to concern, "But you are scared in general? Of what?"
She sighed and shrugged, "That I'll do or say something wrong. That I'll mess up. That this is too good to be true. Any time I've tried to pursue something like this, it… it hasn't gone well."
Charles nodded, "Well, Samara, those men were fools." He blinked, giving a soft smile, "May I confess something to you?"
Sam's head tilted, curious, "Sure."
Charles brought his other hand to join hers, and he looked at her earnestly, "Those things you're scared of, those fears you have? I have them, too."
"You do?"
He nodded and patted her hands, "I do. And that's okay. As long as we're honest with each other and communicate clearly about what we both want, we'll stay afloat. We're in this together, okay?"
Sam smiled, nodding, "Okay." She felt relieved.
"There's one last thing I wanted to discuss with you, if it's alright," Charles said gently.
"Of course," she agreed.
"When the time comes for us to be intimate-the first time, your first time-I'm thinking we shouldn't plan it out too much. One's first time is… I feel there should be some semblance of spontaneity to that moment to keep it special," he said thoughtfully. "So I think booking a hotel room is out of the question-as I said before, it's important to me you're comfortable with me, and that you feel safe, and I think a hotel room would be putting pressure on the moment, wouldn't it not?" When he looked up at Sam, she was staring at him, her eyes warm. "What?"
She smiled, "I really appreciate how much thought you're putting into this, Charles. You really do worry about me, don't you?"
Charles seemed a bit sheepish, but he looked at her earnestly, "I'd be a fool not to, Samara. Not about the worrying," he added hastily, "but putting real thought into your first time. You said I was special to you, and I want to make sure I do everything I can to make this memory worthy of that statement."
Sam brought his large hands to her mouth and kissed his fingers gently, "You will, I know it. Besides, this is a two way street. It's not just about me." Her face heated up again, "I… I want to know it'll be good for you, too. Don't put so much pressure on yourself, Charles. Like you said, we're in this together."
"Right," he said, smiling gratefully. He went on, "Anyway, with a hotel room out of the question-that just leaves my place and your place. Ideally, I think it should happen here. It's your home, you have your inhaler and other medications here in case things are too taxing…"
Sam nodded, "That sounds good."
"Now, another thing is protection," he said seriously. "I will of course carry some on my person when we're together, so you don't have to worry about buying any-however, it may be more beneficial to take some kind of birth control as well, just to be safe. Though, I realize getting in touch with a doctor in a two week time frame might be difficult to achieve."
Sam sighed thoughtfully. She hadn't thought about birth control, but she was glad Charles had brought it up. "Hmm, I agree that I should take some extra precaution, too. It shouldn't be too difficult to get an appointment, not with my medical history-it's just a matter of keeping Jay out of it," she told him. An idea came to her then, "I might have a way to do that. I'll let you know."
"Good," Charles said with a sigh of relief. He relaxed back into the couch, "If it's not too much trouble, Samara, I believe I will have that tea now."
Sam grinned, "No trouble at all, Charles. Coming right up."
She went to the stove and eagerly began to boil some water in her kettle, excited for the coming week. The butterflies were back, and she welcomed them as she got the tea bags out of the cabinet, trying not to grin too obviously. Patiently, she waited for the water to boil, absently touching the daisy in her hair. When the kettle finally whistled, she poured the water into a mug with the tea bag and carefully brought it over to Charles, who was petting Bowser when she turned around.
"Here you go," she said cheerfully. "Sorry if it's not as good as what you're used to. Us silly Americans and all that."
He chuckled, "I'm sure it'll be just fine, Samara. Thank you-but if you'd like me to show you how we make it back home, I'd be happy to."
Sam sat back next to him, grabbing her mug again, "I'd like that."
Charles smiled at her, "It's a date, then." He raised his mug, "To staying afloat."
Sam grinned back at him, touching her mug to his, "To staying afloat."
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You guys see what I did there? Eh? Eh? "Afloat"? You get it?
Lol, hope you liked this one. Not really any goodies in this chapter but there will be in the future.
Y'all be safe and healthy!
Glacier