AN: I really wanted to get this up before I left for vacation. I hope you like it because I know I've been busy and distracted lately, but this story is still important to me. Thanks for reading!
Sam's hand was tangled in her hair as his mouth left wet kisses down her neck and across her chest. Andy's breathing had become ragged long ago and her hands were gripping his back, sure she was leaving marks on his skin. He didn't seem to mind as his mouth traveled back to hers and their hips matched. She moaned against his tongue and her legs tightened around his hips, making sure he couldn't move away. "Sa-"
"Jeez, McNally, drool much?"
Andy's head whipped up and her eyes met Sam's questioning ones and then she turned to find Traci and Gail watching her across the table. "What?" She asked, running her hand over her hair. She looked back at Sam and he smirked. "How long was I asleep?"
"About an hour," he shrugged.
"Why didn't you wake me up? I need to study!" She sighed, flipping open her CJ 101 book.
"That's why," he said, closing it again. "You're not going to retain anything if you don't sleep. Plus, you were studying the wrong sections, anyway."
"You could have told me which ones to study," she reminded him and he just shook his head.
"Hey, you don't get special treatment just because you make out with the TA," Gail said and Andy gave her a dirty look. "Was that supposed to be a secret? If so, you did a horrible job of keeping it that way."
"Gail," Traci said, reaching for her arm. "Drop it."
"Oh, look, more students," Sam said, changing the subject. Gail and Traci finally sat down and Andy opened her book again. Sam offered her a small smile and her eyes couldn't leave his lips. The same ones she had just been dreaming about. The same ones she'd been dreaming about for months.
She and Sam met up in the library after their last class of the day. He was holding a study group for the midterm that was taking place in a few days and Andy was studying for the three others happening the same week. Needless to say, she was freaking out. Which is why, she supposed, she hadn't slept much the night before and why she fell asleep nearly immediately after she sat down.
"So, what's your dog do all day while you're at school?" Gail asked, looking up from her doodles in her notebook.
"He hangs out at home and my neighbor brings him out for a walk a couple of times a day," Sam explained. "Wait. Where are Chris and Dov?"
"They're getting the study guide and notes for Soc with Oliver and we're getting the study guide and notes from you," Andy explained and Sam nodded.
"Great, then we should start." he said, passing out the study guides as more students joined them in the study room.
As the freshman left the study room, Andy and her friends stayed behind with Sam. He started to pack up his bag and looked to the seat next to him. Andy had been looking at him weird during the whole study group session. Every time he looked at her, which, he admitted, was more than he looked at anyone else, she was already looking at him. And as soon as his eyes met hers, she quickly looked down at her book or her lap or… anywhere but him. That is, until he looked away. He could feel her eyes boring a hole in his face, but he had to stop himself from looking back at her again and again.
"I should head home, make sure Boo eats something," he said, finally looking at Andy.
"Oh, okay," she nodded, smiling tightly before looking at her friends. "We should head back to the dorm anyway."
"But can you, uh, hang back for a second?" Sam asked, throwing his bag onto his shoulder.
"Um," she trailed off, glancing at her friends. "Sure."
Traci and Gail packed up fast and left them behind with a smile. "We can walk out together," Sam said before he stood up and started to walk out of the room.
When he looked back, Andy was slowly standing, looking like she was a fish out of water. "So, what's up?" She asked when they were walking down the stairs to the library's main level.
"I just felt like we should talk," he said slowly, making the sentence up as he went along. He really just didn't want her to leave yet or want to be the one to leave her. After her fight with Mike at Jerry's bonfire, they had spent the whole night talking on the tailgate of his truck while his dog moved his head from lap to lap.
Now, a week later, the two of them had only spoken a few times. Sam was starting to understand Andy as a studier. She took midterms seriously and, as much as he enjoyed watching her freak herself out for no reason, he was starting to miss the Andy McNally who joked with him between classes and smile at him from across the dining hall.
"I have to get back and find Dov," she said, stopping on the sidewalk. He past her shoulder, focusing on the next part of his plan, and shook his head. "Yeah, Sam, I do," she laughed.
"What does he have that I don't?" He challenged with a smug smirk.
"My sociology study guide and my bio notes that he borrowed," she smiled back, shaking her head with a laugh. "What can you offer me right now?"
"I guess I can't stand up to bio notes," he said sarcasticlly. "But do you want to stop by the dining hall and grab dinner real quick?"
"Oh my god! Sam, yes, I haven't eaten since yesterday," she sighed.
"Come on, Andy," He said, putting his arm around her shoulders and dragging her toward the dining hall. "I know you've never done the whole college midterm thing before, but you need to eat and sleep. You're going to really regret it when the tests are all over. Plus, you still have finals to look forward to."
"Wow, thanks for that reminder," she said, giving him a dirty look and she squeezed her shoulders before putting his hands into his pockets. "I'll just grab something quick. I can't stay to eat."
"Yes, you can," he said, pulling open the door for her. "Andy, midterms aren't the end of the world. Your life still exists and you need to sit down and eat. Then, you can meet up with your friends and study, and then you need to sleep. Okay?"
She looked up at him with her wide eyes and her defeated face. "I don't want to mess up my freshman year. I can't."
"You're not going to," Sam insisted. "Trust me. I won't let that happen. I've taken all of these classes, you know?"
"I also know that you have your own midterms and your own life."
Sam just smiled as they stood in line and she shoved him lightly. "My midterms ended last week," he admitted. "The grad school runs on a different schedule than you guys. And my life has been pretty… quiet this week."
"Oh yeah? Why is that?"
"Doesn't matter, I just want you to know that if you need any help, I'm pretty good at my job."
"I'll let you know, but when midterms are over, I'm definitely going to need a favor."
"I don't like the sound of that," he told her and she narrowed her eyes at him until he laughed.
"Just let me hang out with Boo," she said and he laughed even louder, definitely not expecting that to be the favor. "I want to see if that dog therapy thing really works. And Boo loves me."
"Fine, McNally, you can hang out with my dog so he can calm your nerves."
"And you can come, too, I guess" she smiled playfully at him and he was tempted to kiss the smile right off of her lips, but he had places he needed to be.
Andy said goodbye to Sam before they headed in separate directions. She was actually happy that she stayed behind with him and decided to have dinner with him. She kind of missed him over the week she was stressing about midterms. And hanging out with Sam, even for just a half an hour, had really calmed her down.
"Andy, hey."
She looked away from Sam's retreating back to find Dov running toward her from the library. "Hey," she said and they fell into step together on the way back to their dorm.
"I have your notes from the soc study group, but your bio notes are in my room," he told her and she nodded.
"Okay, I'll just grab them tonight so I have them to study over the weekend," she decided and he smiled at her. "How's the soc test look?"
The rest of the way to their building, they talked about the study groups the other missed. Neither were worried about soc; that professor was very straight forward. They were both, however, terrified for Boyko's test. Even though Sam went over every possible question that could be on the test, Andy wasn't convinced she'd pass with flying colors.
As they made their way into their building, Andy noticed Luke Callaghan waiting outside. "Hey, do you know where Gail is? She's not answering and I was supposed to pick her up ten minutes ago," he explained.
"I haven't seen her since before dinner," Andy said. "You can come in and I'll check my room."
"Thanks," Luke said and the three of them walked up the stairs to their hall. Andy opened her door, but only saw Traci sitting at her desk.
"Where's Gail?" Andy asked and Traci checked her watch.
"She left to get more index cards," she told them. "She should be back any minute."
"I'll wait for her outside," Luke said once Andy closed the door again. She smiled tightly and nodded while Dov opened his door. He and Andy walked in together, but Andy was the only one that screamed.
She pushed Dov quickly out of the room and pulled the door shut behind them. "What was that?" Luke asked, turning back towards them.
"Chris," Dov said simply, stunned.
"He was naked," Andy lied. "Alone and naked."
"Oh, weird," Luke said. "Have a good night, guys."
"Bye, man," Dov said, turning quickly to look at Andy—finally coming to terms with what they had just walked in on. "What the hell was that?" Dov asked as soon as Luke was down the stairs.
"That was your roommate and my roommate having sex," Andy said, rubbing her eyes with the heel of her palm. "And something that I'll never be able to unsee. I'm scarred."
Dov slowly and unsurely opened his door again. This time, Chris was standing in the middle of the room with a pair of jeans on while Gail remained covered by his sheet on his bed. "When did this start happening?" Dov asked once he and Andy were both inside. The door shut loudly behind them and Gail smiled.
"The night of the bonfire," she shrugged her bare shoulders and Andy shook her head over and over, as if she could erase the image of Gail and Chris in the middle of sex.
"We all fell asleep in our room watching The Goonies," Andy said and Chris shook his head.
"I didn't," he admitted. "Gail and I came over here to talk and…"
"One thing led to another," Gail finished.
"I can't believe this," Dov said. "I can believe it, I just can't believe I had to see it."
"You could have knocked," Gail reminded him and Dov's stare turned dark.
"It's my room!" He argued and then turned to Chris. "Hang a sock on the door or something."
"I'm going back to my room," Andy said spotting her notes on Dov's desk. "I'll just take these and wash my eyes out with soap when I'm done studying. Gail, you should call Luke and cancel your date"
"Oh, right. Whoops," Gail cringed and Andy just dragged Dov out of his room and into hers.
"I heard screaming," Traci said, looking up from her book. "What happened?"
"You don't want to know," Dov said, falling back on to Traci's bed.
When Traci looked at Andy, she just shook her head and sat at her desk. She tried to jump back into studying, but what Sam had said to her really stuck with her. She needed to relax—she'd been in classes all day and studying all evening. It was Friday night and her first test wasn't until Tuesday. It was time for her to enjoy her weekend, not study so hard that she'd forget everything she'd ever learned.
"We should go out," Andy said and Traci and Dov both looked at her like she was crazy. "What? What's going to happen if we take a couple of hours off to get some drinks?"
"Andy, we can't," Traci said, spinning in her desk chair. "We have midterms next week. I already bailed on the Penny with Jerry to study."
"So call him and tell him we'll meet him out," Andy insisted. "I'm sick of reading and taking notes. I'm sick of bio and English and criminal justice and sociology. I want a stiff drink and I want you guys to come with me."
"Come where?" Gail asked when she and Chris joined them.
"Drinks at the Penny," Dov said, not quite able to look either of them in the eye.
"Let's go," Chris said, gently putting his arm around Gail's waist. It was enough for Traci to notice and ask what was going on. Which was enough to convince her she needed to get a drink with the rest of them.
So, they walked quickly through the chilled night to get to the Penny. Since it was the weekend before midterms, it was a little quieter than usual, so they were able to spot Jerry, Oliver, and Zoe immediately.
"Trace! Hey," Jerry said, walking to her and embracing her in a hug. "I thought you were studying."
"I needed a break," she smiled and then she kissed him on the cheek. "So, that's Zoe?"
"Yeah," Jerry nodded. "You guys haven't met her?"
"Nope," Andy said. "Introduce us?"
"Come on," he said, nodding toward her and Oliver. "Zoe, this is my girlfriend Traci and her friends, Andy, Gail, Chris and Dov."
They all greeted her kindly and while Chris and Dov ordered drinks, Andy noticed someone was missing. "Sam's not coming out?" She asked and Oliver's smile fell slowly from his face. Jerry looked pained when he finally answered her.
"He's out on a… date."
"Oh," she said, deflating against a barstool. When Chris handed her a drink, she smiled quickly and unconvincingly.
"It was a setup," Oliver told her gently.
"With my best friend," Zoe chimed in and Andy slowly raked her eyes from the floor to her face. "I think they'll be good together."
"Well, you know Sam," Jerry reminded her. "He's doing this because you asked him to, not because he's interested in her."
"He doesn't know her," Oliver agreed.
"Yeah, but Ollie, don't you think they're a good match?" Zoe asked and Andy looked at him, awaiting his answer.
"I told you it wasn't a good idea from the beginning, dear," he reminded her, looking quickly at Andy. "But he knows it's important to you, so he'd giving it a shot. That's all I think."
Zoe brushed him off and kissed him on the cheek before launching into a conversation with a girl next to her. Andy hadn't realized they were with anyone else, but now she was kind of happy Zoe wasn't going on and on about the girl Sam was on a date with.
"It means nothing," Traci said quietly and Andy nodded.
She was hoping Oliver and Jerry were right, that he was doing it because he's a good guy and a good friend. She remembered hearing that Zoe didn't actually think that highly of him and that it was important to Oliver for them to be better friends. It would make sense that he was on that date in order to do just that. At least, that's what Andy was going to keep telling herself.