As Sam answered the phone, she began to doubt her memories of the elevator. Were Carly's lips really moving towards her or was it just her moving towards Carly? Maybe Carly hadn't even noticed? As she answered the phone with a cheerful "Hey Carls," she made the decision to stay silent. She didn't want to freak Carly out, and with her friend half a world away, it wasn't like she could just drop by and explain it away. Nope, she wasn't going to say anything about it until Carly did. That was for sure!
"So did we almost kiss in the elevator?" Damn that evil brain. It turned on her again.
Carly swallowed hard. Sam did remember. But how did she feel about it? "I think we did," she answered truthfully.
"Damn!" Sam said, and for a moment, Carly's heart stopped. Maybe the blonde didn't feel the same. Then Sam continued, "Next time I see Lewbert, I'm going to rip off his wart and shove down his throat until he stops moving."
Carly breathed a sigh of relief. Sam wasn't mad at her about the kiss, she was just threatening random violence against the world's meanest doorman. As much as she enjoyed letting Sam torture Lewbert, this time her friend might get in real trouble. "No, you won't," Carly replied commandingly.
"Why not? He…" Sam started to protest.
"Because, Sam, I don't want you to go to jail. They don't let you get as many phone calls there, and I want to be able to call you every night," the brunette explained. She paused, considering what she wanted to say next. This could be an irrevocable step. "I want your voice to be the last thing I hear before I go to sleep."
Sam followed her train of thought, "So that kiss wasn't just the emotion of the moment? You meant it too?"
"I guess I did, Sam," Carly answered. "I didn't realize… Now I wish I hadn't come to Italy. Now I'm here missing you terribly and you'll probably end up back with Freddie or something," she was rambling.
"Are you crazy, Carly? Kiss or no kiss, feelings or no feelings, this is the chance of a lifetime for you!" Sam replied, flabbergasted. "It's Italy, for God's sake. Spencer said you're in Milan. Isn't that like one of the fashion capitals of the world? For a girl like you that loves to shop, that's like heaven. Then there's your dad. Carly, I'd give anything to spend time with my dad." She laughed slightly, "Even to know who he is."
Carly considered that a moment. Sam's father had left when she and Melanie were just babies. Neither of them had any memory of him, aside from a single photograph her mother kept hidden away. Carly's own mother died when she was 7. At least Carly knew her, but the memories were starting to fade. Carly could barely remember when she still lived with her parents. Spencer had raised her for the last 10 years. While she loved him dearly, this was a chance to reconnect with the parent she missed out on. She knew Sam was right, but she wasn't ready to give up Sam without a fight.
"But I still miss you. We just, I don't know, discovered these feelings, and now I'm thousands of miles away from you. I still plan to come back to Seattle after high school, but what if Italy's too beautiful to leave?" Carly was trying to explain her reluctance, but Sam knew that wasn't the real reason she was worried. Carly finally expressed the real reason, "What if you decide to get back with Freddie? He's there and I'm not, and you're there, and… things happen… I don't want this to be over before it even starts."
"Give me more credit than that, Cupcake," Sam cut her off. "I feel the same way, Carls. A few days ago, I thought you were my best friend. But you never really were, were you? You were always my other half. We'll make this work, if you want it to. I'm not sure what it's going to take, but we'll make this work." Her voice got even more solemn, "I'll wait for you, Carly. I promise."
Hearing the commitment in Sam's voice reenergized Carly. They could make this work! Then another complication surfaced in her thoughts. She heard her father's voice, they're a couple, Carly. You don't need to be associating with people like that. Carly Shay had grown up in Seattle, one of the most gay-friendly cities in the US. She'd never given it a thought when she was downtown and saw two men holding hands, or two women pushing a stroller together. While she'd also never given it a thought that she, herself, might have feelings for another woman, in her mind gays and lesbians were by no means "people like that," they were people like her, who just happened to have different tastes in partners. Now she was legitimately worried. Her father clearly didn't share the same opinion. If he reacted with such disdain about two women on-base, how would he feel about his own daughter having a girlfriend? She sighed. If Sam was confident this would work, so was she. She'd just have to work around her dad for now.
Sam picked up on the sigh, "What's wrong, Cupcake?"
Carly considered telling her – for about 10 seconds – then she pictured Sam on a plane with a butter sock in her luggage, a sock with her dad's name on it. No, for now, she'd deal with her dad herself. "It's nothing Sam, really. I just miss you. Being away from Seattle is hard, and I'm tired and I feel alone."
Sam bought it, "Okay, Carls, get some sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow. I love you."
Carly's heart melted. Sam had never said that to her in a romantic sense before. "I love you too, Sam. Good night."