iGive in

Trust was not the issue. Carly did trust Sam – with everything. She trusted Sam with her life –with the heart now thundering in her chest, with the secrets she would tell her in due course, with all that she was… but this had to be on her own terms.

Carly broke their embrace, pushing Sam away gently. She needed her to understand that this wasn't over – just that the game was to be played out using Carly's rules. She kissed her one last time for good measure, sucking slightly on Sam's lower lip.

"You don't eat dessert before dinner, do you?" she said with a sly grin. Carly's eyes had glazed over, completely lost in the moment. It was a calculated gamble. She knew Sam had eaten entire meals worth of Fat Cakes God-knew-how-many times. She bent down and scooped her dress from the floor. She slipped it over her head, unconcerned that it was wide open down her back.

Sam knew that she had come on too strong. She let Carly lead her by the hand to the table, with its rapidly cooling takeout. They sat.

"Carls, I…" Sam stammered, seeking an appropriate apology.

"Hush. You were excited, that's all…" she said, excusing Sam's inate instincts.

Carly always wanted to see the best in people. Sam knew that. She raised her bottle of root beer, toasting her Cupcake.

"Carls, this is…wow…How did you…?"

"Had a little help," she chuckled. "Now, EAT!"

Sam Puckett was ravenous. Carly laughed, watching her mighty hunter, stalking strips of beef, forking them to an unnecessary death.

" ' Tsgoo…" Sam spoke, her mouth full of Kung Pao. Carly chuckled.

"I love you, Sam… but you're so damn butch!"

From anyone else, such a comment would elicit violence, but from her precious Cupcake, Sam's response was more of the trademark Puckett smart mouth.

"Bite me."

Carly's eyes widened.

"Oooh, you promise?" She teased.

They both smiled. This was the part of Carly that Sam was beginning to truly love – the part she was just now getting to experience for the first time. Sam loved the naughty, sassy, devil-may-care part of Carly that was just now coming out to play. In a very strange way, Sam Puckett was falling in love with herself.

"Chicken?" Carly offered, extending her fork, a cube of chicken breast speared on the end, to Sam.

Sam felt her breath hitch in her chest. She had suddenly come down with a case of the jitters, at least internally. This was by far, the closest thing to legitimate intimacy that she had ever experienced. She was being fed. Fed by Carly Shay. She leaned in, careful to avoid her plate, as Carly gracefully placed her fork into Sam's mouth.

Sam smiled as she chewed. This was amazing. She was having a romantic dinner for two with the one person who mattered to her in the whole world. What had she ever done to deserve this?

Carly surveyed her better half. There was so much she wanted to say.

"Sam, you look… you look so…very…" Sam cut her off, positive she knew what Carly would say next.

"It's okay, Carls. I won't be offended if you say I look handsome."

She giggled. Sam knew her better than anyone.

"I was afraid that if I said that, that you'd think that I … because…" her voice trailed off. She couldn't bring herself to articulate it.

"Come on, Carls… I won't be offended if you say I look handsome. In fact, if you like it, it's one of those things that I need to know, because, well, it's all about you and me, Kid."

Carly flushed pink. Her fork fell to her plate with a clatter. She stared into her lap, then looked up, returning Sam's gaze.

"Sam… I love the way you look. I love everything about you. You're beautiful, handsome, you're… I don't know… I just…"

In a fit of impulsivity, Carly pushed her chair back dramatically. She so badly wanted dinner to be over.

Sam decided she was no longer hungry. Carly Shay was suddenly far more interesting than food. Her fork fell to her plate, landing in beef gravy with a subdued splat. She pushed herself back from the table and ran to Carly, who was now at the foot of the bed.

"Sam, I just… the words are in my head, but they just won't come out."

Sam Puckett took the opportunity and kissed Carly Shay fully on the mouth.

"Mmmm…. Tastes like chicken."

Carly laughed.

"Carls, whatever I'm wearing, it doesn't matter. I'm still me." She brushed a strand of hair from Carly's face. "Besides, I've always worn the pants in this relationship anyway…"

For what seemed like the millionth time in the past hour, Carly Shay stifled a laugh. Did love always feel this wonderful?

She gazed into the abyss of Sam's ice blue eyes, knowing she was home. She kissed her sweetly on the mouth.

"So… How was dinner, Sweetheart?"

"Don't change the subject, Shay."

Defiant, Carly Shay stuck her tongue out, as though she was five years old again.

"Don't tempt me, Little Girl…" a mock arrogance in Sam's voice.

"Oh no, big, bad Sam Puckett says Carly's a tease…"

Carly's voice was sing-song. She knew exactly what she was doing. She had been scared earlier, afraid of what it meant if she liked this masculine side of Sam. Now, it was nothing more than a means to an end.

Sam shot her a look. Her blue eyes locked on Carly's.

Carly raised one eyebrow, daring Sam.

Sam kissed Carly hungrily, letting her teeth graze the soft flesh of her neck. Electricity lit the base of Carly's spine.

Carly's breath hitched in her throat, deflating back into her lungs. Defeated, Carly Shay allowed herself to fall backwards onto the bed.