Restriction
Sam groggily opened up her eyes, blinking from the sunlight that shone through the open window across from the bed. As she slowly began to wake up, though, she started to realize that something was different…
She wasn't in her own bedroom. She wasn't in her own bed.
For a second, Sam felt very confused, but then she felt the bed shift next to her, and she looked over to see Freddie turning around, still fast asleep.
And that's when it started to sink in, and the events of the previous nights began to play back in Sam's mind, and she fell back onto her pillow next to her boyfriend.
Oh my God…Sam thought, staring up at the ceiling. Freddie and I…we-we did…we-we were-we had…Oh my God.
The night before, Sam and Freddie had celebrated their eight-month anniversary. Sam hadn't been planning on making a big deal out of it; who celebrated eight months of dating, after all? She figured she and Freddie would go out for pizza and see a movie, something simple and easy. But when she arrived at his apartment and picked the lock to let herself in, she had found herself in the middle of the most romantic set-up she could have ever imagined.
Freddie had evidently spent the entire day creating the perfect date night environment, taking full advantage of the fact that his mother was away for the weekend at a scalp hygiene convention. All the lights in the living room had been dimmed, and the only light in the room came from the glow of the many candles Freddie had set out for them. He had picked up an already-prepared (for he had long ago accepted that cooking was one skill that he most certainly did not have) dinner of baby back ribs, and had prepared, as a surprise, a beautiful slideshow on his computer of pictures from back when the two had first met when they were ten and sworn enemies, until now, when they were seventeen and in love.
…
"I can't believe you made this," Sam said softly, gently setting down her plate of ribs as she continued to stare at Freddie's computer screen, where an image of him and her at Carly's New Year's Eve party from a few months back flashed onto the screen, followed by a picture of her twelve-year old self laughing as she shoved Freddie into a trashcan at school. "I mean there must be at least five hundred pictures here. It probably took you six hours to make this."
"Three," Freddie corrected her, absentmindedly playing with the ends of one of her blonde curls. "Give your tech-doof boyfriend some credit."
"Still," Sam chuckled, nuzzling closer to him. "It's amazing. Seriously, nobody has ever done anything like this for me."
The two were silent as they continued to watch slideshow, chuckling every now and then when a humorous image from the past would appear.
"It's crazy, isn't it?" Sam said. "I mean, we went from not even being able to stand the other in the same room when we first met to being, well-"
"Absolutely head-over-heels in love?" Freddie finished, cockily raising an eyebrow.
"Well I wouldn't have put it so disgustingly, but yeah," Sam said, rolling her eyes. "That."
"I know," Freddie nodded. "Seems like it happened in a blink of an eye…"
"It did take seven years," Sam reminded him.
"I guess that's why everyone always tells us we're hopelessly stubborn," Freddie pointed out. "But, you know, even when we were ten and you would give me extremely painful wedgies or would spread rumors around school that I collected human hair as a hobby…I never couldn't stand you."
"Really?" Sam said.
"Really," Freddie nodded. "There was always something about you that even back then I was, well, attracted to. I couldn't really figure out what it was until recently, but…better late than never, I guess."
"Aw, I guess that's why you put up with me and my antics for so long then?" Sam grinned.
"I guess so," Freddie smirked.
Sam craned her neck, giving him a gentle kiss. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, the only reason I did all that stuff to you was to try and get you to notice me. Because, well, I guess back then I knew there was something attracting me to you too. Something that made me want to get your attention…"
Freddie put his hands on her waist, shifting her so she was hovering above him as he kissed her passionately.
"Well you have it now," he whispered in her ear. "You always have, and you always will."
He kissed her again.
"And right now, I really love you," Sam said, her heart racing. "Always have…always will…Nub."
"Right back at you, Demon," he said, pulling her even closer to him. "Right back at you."
…..
And from there, it had all been one giant swirl of events. One giant, incredible, breathtaking swirl of events.
Sam remembered how the two of them had somehow wound up in Freddie's room, on his bed, both out of breath from the realness of it all.
She remembered how they had both locked eyes and instantly knew where things were going to go.
She remembered how Freddie had asked her so many times if she was really sure, and how she had nodded and told him she had never been more sure of anything in her life.
She remembered how evident it soon became that neither of them had any real idea of what they were doing. She remembered how both of them seemed to wish they had some set of rules or guidelines or restrictions to go off of…something that would clue them into if they were doing everything correctly.
She remembered, though, how they soon quickly overcame their inexperience. How soon they established their own rhythm.
She remembered the whole time feeling an overwhelming sense of emotions. She remembered the whole time feeling closer to Freddie than she ever had before.
As she lay in bed now, a smile crept onto her face. It had been an amazing night. One she would remember for the rest of her life.
The only problem now, she realized, was she didn't know how to proceed from here.
Her smile faded as she looked over at Freddie, still fast asleep.
She had never been in this situation before. Was she supposed to stick around until Freddie woke up?
And suddenly, before she could even stop herself, the euphoria that had been swimming though her body was replaced with a familiar feeling of fear.
Last night she had been closer to Freddie and more vulnerable than she had ever been before. She had completely disregarded her old rule of never getting too attached to a person, so that when they left her, she wouldn't feel so hurt. What if Freddie actually regretted the previous night? What if he turned out to be like nearly every other person in her life who she had let down her walls for and simply left her? Now it would be that much harder for her to handle.
Maybe I should go, Sam thought to herself. Before he wakes up…that way I can go and try to get rid of this stupid happy feeling and-
Just then, she felt Freddie move again, and this time as he turned towards her, his eyes blinked open.
"Hey," he said softly, yawning. "When did you wake up? I never thought in a million years I'd sleep longer than you."
"Um, a few minutes ago," Sam replied as Freddie slowly sat up. She tried not to think about how cute his hair looked all messed up first thing in the morning. "Um, sorry I sort of fell asleep here…I guess I was too exhausted after we, well, you know…"
"Yeah, I know," Freddie grinned. "But hey, don't be sorry about sleeping over. My mom's still away at her convention, so we're in the clear on that. And you know I don't mind. You can sleep over any time my mom's gone."
Sam gave him a small smile.
Freddie moved closer to her and gave her a long kiss. "Sam, last night was…wow. I-I don't think I've ever felt so…wow."
Sam felt her cheeks redden. "Yeah…yeah, it was incredible. For Ridgeway's biggest dork you sure know how to, well…Good work."
"You too," Freddie beamed. He took her hand and gently started tracing circles on the back of it. "I love you."
And as those words left his lips, Sam felt herself melt, as she always did when he said that. Sam stared into his dark eyes, which were looking right into hers with such a sense of devotion and passion.
He loves me, Sam told herself. He loves me…As crazy as it sounds, Freddie…Freddie wouldn't hurt me. Freddie actually cares about me…
Maybe the days of her running before she got too close were finally over…
Sam slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing him down to meet her lips as she kissed him senseless.
"I love you too," she whispered.
