Chapter 13

Sam had gone to sleep that night with a throbbing headache, concerned parents and a warm feeling of pride.

So it was no surprise that she woke up at seven o'clock, went downstairs and gobbled up five blueberry pancakes from Gram. But it was a surprise when the phone rang and Jen answered, sounding urgent and irritated.

"Why, Sahmahnthaaa." Jen sounded out in a ridiculous British accent. "Guess who is paying you a visaaahht?"

"You've got to be kidding me." Sam groaned. "The princess herself?"

"Yep. In all of her tan sleek beauty." Jen pretended to hurl.

Sam was so engrossed in her conversation that she didn't notice Jake saunter into the front door and greet Gram and Cody. Nor did she hear him come up behind her from her position on the couch.

"I thought Rachel Slocum moved away- for good." Sam sighed. "That figures. Why is she though?"

At that same moment Jen said, "I heard about you and Jake's pursue yesterday."

Jake was now leaned over by Sam's ear, and Sam was still completely oblivious to him. She didn't even hear Ace's mournful whinny from outside or Gram yelling goodbye.

"I'll answer first." Jen told Sam. "Okay, she's coming back to pick up-"

Sam didn't hear the rest of Jen's sentence because she felt a tickling sensation on her neck. She whirled around swiftly still holding the cordless phone, and her mouth collided awkwardly with Jake's cheekbone.

Jake inhaled sharply, but it wasn't heard over Sam's sudden gasp. If her heart wasn't already pounding from being scared out of her wits, she would have noticed that the speed picked up like it always did when she was close to Jake.

Despite the weird position, Sam's eyes felt drawn to Jake's mouth, and she scolded herself for acting like a lovesick flirty girl.

Just like normal, Sam was totally unaware of anything else. Jen had heard Sam gasp, and she uttered, "Um, Sam, are you okay?"

Too bad phone reception wasn't what it should be in the middle of River Bend Ranch.

If Sam did have any rational thoughts at all, they had all been shoved away when Jake's lips met hers. The phone was now sweaty in Sam's hand but her firm grip seemed to be cemented on to it.

"Samantha Ann Forster, what's your problem?" Jen asked annoyed. "Rachel is at my house and you seem to be dead."

She was going to respond to Jen when Jake shifted from being smashed against the couch and his mouth opened a bit.

"Oh, gosh." Sam finally muttered against her best friend/neighbor/boyfriend's mouth. Jake, however, seemed to be a complete different person when it came to kissing, and now Sam knew why everyone agreed that cowboys were hot.

Jen took this as a cue to go on. "Yeah, well, gosh is an understatement. Why is your voice so, like, out of breath?"

Jennifer Kenworthy could have been in Pluto for all that Jake and Sam knew.

Especially now that Sam could feel Jake's teeth. Unlike all the other tentative and hurried kisses that they shared, it seemed to last years. In reality, it was three minutes.

"Sam, are you eating breakfast? I seriously don't know what's wrong with you!" Jen exclaimed. At Diamond K, she was in her room thinking so hard about what Sam could be so quiet about that she didn't notice the click of the receiver being picked up.

Oh, my gosh, Sam thought; with a mixture of excitement, curiosity and freaked-out-ness. I can't believe I am kissing, and practically French kissing, Jake Ely!

Sam's on brown eyes were locked on Jake's black ones when she realized someone was yelling at her- loud.

"SAM! What the heck's wrong? YOU WON'T ANSWER!" Jen yelled.

"On speaker phone." Jake said out of the blue.

There was silence on the other end. Sam was leaning on the back of the couch still, her back cramping from the strange position.

"Wait, Samantha Forster." said Jen, soundly shocked. "Did I just hear Jake Ely? Are you eating with him?"

Sam bit her lip in realization. She was still on the phone with Jen! Feeling like the biggest ditz in the world, Sam told Jen that yes, Jake was at her house.

Jen thought for a second, and Sam flushed unbearably red. It wouldn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what Jake and she had been doing, and if anyone, Jen was practically a rocket scientist. Or could be, possibly, with her high IQ.

"Okay, so you're sucking on something, you're not answering me, and Jake; your boyfriend, is right there with you." Jen figured out loud, ignoring Sam's protests.

Meanwhile, a small click was barely audible over the sound of Jen's perplexed voice.

"-Sam, are you eating a Popsicle?" Jen continued. "Still, that's no excuse not to talk to me…unless Jake was like, strangling you with it…"

"JEN!" yelled Sam and Jake simultaneously, causing Jen to move the phone two inches within her ear.

Sam sighed heavily, still blushing. So fortunately Jen had no clue what they'd been doing, but relating Popsicle eating to kissing?

"Jennifer Kenworthy, I'll explain later." Sam interrupted her best friend's tirade for the fortieth time.

Jake, who was slowly inching away, a light flush darkening his face, shot Sam a look and mouthed, hurry up!

Okay, Sam decided. This day may have caused her heart to beat to fast, or maybe she was just tired from hearing Jen, but either way, she needed to get off the phone, quit kissing Jake, and get some work done before Gram came home.

A small gasp escaped the brunette British girl's pink lips. Maybe that Kenworthy cowgirl was good at figuring out math equations, but she was a blonde when it came to sounds. That filthy little, irritating cow-gull had been making out with Jacob Ely!