07 - substitution

Three consecutive knocks, a pause, then a single knock. It took Sam a while to recognize the pattern as exactly the same as his when he's knocking on the women's locker room to see Jules after shift. He didn't even notice that until Jules pointed it out. Although Leah's skill and friendship were admired and welcomed, he wouldn't lie that he kind of missed the old days when the locker room was solely Jules'.

"Decent," he called out, and a second later Jules walked in briskly. She was still in her SRU uniform, but her brown hair was loose around her shoulders. He smiled. "So I was thinking, for dinner, we could try that new place-"

Jules didn't listen to him. She closed the door behind her, and after making sure that the coast was clear, approached Sam's locker. Before he could say anything else, she practically grabbed a handful of his t-shirt and pulled him to the other side of the room where nobody could see them.

His confusion registered in her mind only briefly as she quickly lunged at him, crushing their lips together. Completely unprepared, Sam stumbled back a couple of steps, almost losing his balance.

Sam could barely close his eyes; one hundred and one scenarios jumbling around his head. Of course, Jules had been having some mood swings now that she was pregnant, but he'd never expected her to do something like this here at their work place, in the men's locker room where anybody could walk in any second.

Then her delicate tongue swiftly delved into his mouth and his mind went blank. He wondered why he even bothered to care about what their friends thought. It's not like they were breaking any rules (anymore), and the shift had ended almost an hour ago.

Sam wrapped an arm around her waist while the other cupped the back of her neck, angling her head so he could deepen the kiss. They stayed that way for another minute - tongues tangling together, breaths mingling, hands roaming to press each other even closer.

The kiss ended as abruptly as it had started.

Still snugly encased in his embrace, Jules licked her lips, eyes still closed. She almost purred, cheeks flushed. "Oh God. You taste like double-double."

Sam stared at her upturned face for a moment longer before her words -her action- finally made sense in his mind. He held back a laugh. "Sweetheart, if you really want some coffee, then you can still have two more cups this week."

Jules opened her eyes at that, her expression wistful. It looked like she was actually considering his very tempting over… but then she shook her head, glaring up at him half-heartedly. "Be a good sport and don't tease me, Sam. I had one yesterday and it's only Tuesday. I'll manage somehow."

Ever since they found out that she was pregnant, Jules was adamant to cut back her caffeine intake. Three small cups per week was what she had agreed on. She was substituting herbal tea for coffee nowadays and while the flavor began to grow on her, it was difficult to completely squash the need for coffee.

"To be honest, I kinda feel like I'm being taken advantage of right now," Sam grinned, secretly thanking Spike for making a pit-stop at Timmy's on their way back to the Barn. The truth was he had no complaints whatsoever even if this craving went on until their baby arrived. He would gladly offer his assistance in any way he could.

"Oh, please. I'm not sending you across the street looking for Timmy's," Jules wrinkled her nose, recalling his rookie days when he was driving everybody, especially Ed and herself, crazy with his arrogance.

"Well, actually when you think about i-"

Jules pulled his head down, her mouth capturing his again. "Shut up and let me enjoy my coffee."

Thanks so much for your reviews, guys! I can't believe we're on chapter 7 already. I really didn't think it would go this far. Here's hoping for more chapters to come :) Thanks for reading, reviews are double-double... though since we're talking substitution, reviews are Sam's smooches. Ha. Oh, and I also posted that smut I mentioned on chapter 4 if you're interested in some sexy Jam.