AN: This turned out more juicy than I anticipated. It's still kind of a filler, but I was expecting a lot less substance. Oh, well. I'm not mad. Let me know your thoughts, my lovelies!
Andy felt the ground beneath her feet all the way through her calves, she felt the cold wind blowing around her as she exited the Langham building headed for class. Checking her watch, she realized that she was making even better time than usual. Running three days a week was working, not to mention the excitement in her gut at the chance to see Sam. Sleeping the night before was near impossible as she remembered her night in Sam's bed.
They spent it in each other's arms, legs tangled beneath his comforter. She woke up in the middle of the night to his lips on her collarbone and his fingers in her hair. It didn't take long for them to fall away into each other- her dream becoming a reality. She was trembling at the memory as her run slowed to a walk outside of her classroom. With labored breathing, she entered to find Sam watching her from his spot at the front of the room. She held up her hand in a wave, her face going even more red at the dark look in his eyes, and slid into her seat in the front row.
"You're early," Traci whispered. "Good run?"
"Pushed myself a little too hard," Andy said as she massaged her calf. "I had a lot on my mind," she continued, swinging her eyes toward Sam and Traci nodded while holding in a laugh.
"Heavenly, I get it," she said and Andy smiled, nudging her with her elbow. Just then, Gail entered the classroom and sat on the other side of Traci.
"Rumor has it Professor Boyko is out for the week with the flu," she announced, looking to Sam for confirmation.
"He might be back by Wednesday," he explained, standing taller now that the rest of the class was listening to him. "We still have work we need to get done, though. Don't get too excited."
"We still have work that we need to do?" Gail asked skeptically.
"Well, I still have to tell you about the work you need to do," Sam said with a smirk and Andy hid her laugh behind her hand. Sam caught it, though, and smiled at her. "Today's pretty easy, though. I know you all did the reading over the weekend," he continued, looking quickly at Andy who felt her face go red again. While she did the reading at his apartment the day before, his hand was roaming underneath her shirt. "I have a question set for you and a case study for you to read. Fun stuff."
As he handed out the papers, Andy watched him move through the rows. "You're drooling," Gail said, leaning over Traci's desk and Andy scowled at her. "You're picturing him naked, aren't you?"
"God, Gail," Andy sighed, retying her ponytail. "Can we keep my weekend activities quiet?"
"You were so talkative last night," she shot back and Andy slumped back against her chair. "Fine, I'm sorry. Your secrets are hereby safe with me."
"Thank you," Andy said offering a small smile. Gail smiled back and accepted the papers Sam was holding in front of her face. Andy wasn't sure how long he was in earshot, but she hoped it wasn't enough for him to hear their conversation. She couldn't say for sure, but she assumed it wasn't one he'd want spread around their class.
"McNally," he said, dropping her papers onto her desk. She glared at Gail who just put her hands up in defense before leaning over to start her assignment. "If anyone has any questions, you know where to find me," he announced, sliding into his seat next to Andy.
She looked at him and he was already watching her. "Good weekend?" She asked and he laughed, leaning his elbows on his knees which brought him just a touch closer to her.
"You could say that," he nodded and she smiled. Sam let out another single laugh and a deep breath, looking her up and down. "What about you? Better than you planned?"
"So much better," she told him and he smiled, biting the inside of his lip. He sat up and swung his legs so they underneath his desk—distancing himself so he wouldn't reach for her in front of everyone.
He'd heard her and Gail talking, but he was only standing behind them and no one else was paying attention. He also didn't really care as long as Boyko wasn't around. He wasn't sure of the rules about TAs and students, but he knew Boyko enough to know that he wouldn't care even if it weren't a school policy—he'd probably ream him out and Sam didn't want to deal with that. He'd dealt with it enough when he took CJ 101 himself.
She flashed him one last smile before tucking her leg beneath her and starting her assignment. And he studied the way her foot tapped against the floor and her free hand rested against her face. He spent a great deal of time watching her lips as they silently moved along with the words on her page. He watched as her tongue slid between them, wetting them, and then he had to look away.
"Sam?" She said just as soon as his eyes left her.
"What's up?" He asked, swallowing.
"This case study? Do we need to do anything other than read it?"
"Not today," he shook his head and she nodded as she looked it over. "If Boyko's not back on Wednesday, you'll have to write up a one page paper that will be due on Friday."
Andy folded her hands on top of the case study and turned to look at him again. He raised an eyebrow at her sudden seriousness and she smiled. "Do you have plans tonight?" She asked, tapping her pointer fingers against each other as he watched them.
"I think I remember something about a party," he said, narrowing his eyes and she laughed out loud, covering her mouth. He smiled and rolled his eyes playfully.
"Right," she nodded. "I forgot about that. Guess I don't need to invite myself over because I already did."
"Hey, McNally?" Sam asked quietly, leaning closer to her desk.
"What?" She asked, looking down at herself self-consciously.
"You want to come over tonight?" He asked and she nodded. "Do you want to stay over tonight?"
"Yes," she said, her voice was breathy and he could see her hand tremble against her desk. He quickly reached out and squeezed it and she smiled up at him.
"Okay," he said, letting go. "Good."
Andy sat through biology, next to Dov's yammering, and barely offered her attention. She felt bad as they walked back to the dorm together, but her mind was consumed by thoughts of Sam and what their night had in store for them. She especially felt bad because he had noticed her lack of interest and stopped talking altogether.
"We should all do something this weekend," she said and he looked over at her with a hopeful look in his eyes. "Just the five of us."
"We should," he agreed, opening the door for her. She smiled and walked past him. She remembered finding him alone the morning before, sleeping in Traci's bed because his room was occupied, and she felt bad that they were all leaving him behind all of a sudden. Traci had Jerry, Andy and Sam were figuring out their new relationship, and Chris and Gail were interested in no one but each other. Dov had spent enough time trying to pick up girls when they got to school, but no one seemed interested and now he was fending for himself while everyone had coupled up.
"See you tomorrow," Andy said, stopping outside of her door.
"See you," he said, and they walked into their rooms at the same time.
"Dov and I think the five of us should do something this weekend," Andy said when she found Traci and Gail at their desks.
"We should go apple picking," Traci said. "I haven't been in years."
"I could go for some apples," Gail agreed. "Apparently Chris can make a mean apple pie."
"Too bad we don't have anywhere to bake an apple pie," Andy said, unpacking her backpack.
"You and Traci are dating dudes with their own kitchens," Gail reminded her. "I'm sure Swarek wouldn't mind if you used his oven."
"I know, but I thought we should keep this between the five of us," Andy explained only to receive a questioning glance from both her roommates. "Dov's all alone and we're off hooking up with grad students and his best friend. I think we should do this as friends."
"You're probably right," Traci agreed and Gail shrugged before getting up to take a shower. "What are you doing?"
Andy looked down at her bag, now filled with an outfit for tomorrow along with her Sociology homework. "I'm staying at Sam's tonight," she said, smiling over her shoulder.
"Your weekend really was good, huh?"
"I like him," Andy said, slipping into her desk chair and wheeling it across the room to Traci's side. "A lot."
"I can see that," Traci laughed. "Does he feel the same way?"
"I don't know, it's not like I asked him," Andy said with a laugh. "I can't ask him."
"Well, what do you think?"
"I think he likes me a lot," she admitted. "I don't know, I found out that he usually keeps to himself on Sundays and would send exes home so he could have the day. But he practically begged me to stay with him. That means something. And I don't need to try anything with him, he's always the one to pull me closer or reach for me. Even when we were on opposite sides of the couch while we doing our homework, his arm was on the back of the couch with his hand in my hair."
"Yeah, that sounds like he likes you," Traci smiled. "The age thing doesn't bother you?"
"Does it bother you and Jerry?"
Traci thought about it for a second before shaking her head. "I was worried about it for a while when we first hooked up, it was part of the reason I didn't want to be his girlfriend," she admitted. "But men age differently than women. He may be twenty-four, but we're at the same level of maturity. He's way more mature than Dex ever was and being here and being with him has made me grow up just enough to be on that level with him."
"Sam has been through a lot," Andy said quietly, looking down at her lap. "I'm not sure what exactly, but I can tell. He's got demons."
"So do you," Traci reminded her. Andy nodded, thinking of her alcoholic father and her absentee mother. "So do I. We all do."
"The age thing doesn't bother me really," Andy decided.
"Good," Traci nodded. "And if you want this thing with him to last, then maybe you should talk about your demons together."
"You're right," Andy nodded, standing up to push her chair back to the other side of the room. "But not tonight. I've got other plans for tonight."
"Oh, I bet you do," Traci laughed. "Have fun," she sang and Andy wiggled her eyebrows dramatically.
Laying in bed, with his sheets pooled around his waist and Andy tapping her fingers against his chest, Sam never wanted to get up. "Gymnast?" He asked as his hand slipped beneath the covers to spread across her lower back.
"How'd you know?" She asked, looking up at him with a mischievous gleam in her eye. He laughed but leaned closer to kiss her. "All my life," she confirmed.
"I might not let you leave this bed in the morning," he threatened, rolling them over so he was above her. She laughed and slid her hands up his chest to rest on his shoulders. "Or ever," he said before leaning closer to kiss her bottom lip.
"I might be okay with that," she smiled, pulling him closer again to kiss him. "Although, don't you have a huge paper due tomorrow?"
"Right, there's a world outside of this bed," he remembered before hitching her leg around him. "I hate that world."
"You and me both, buddy," she said, using her leverage to roll them over and straddle his waist. "Papers and homework and class. Who needs it?"
"You've been at it for two months," Sam laughed. "This is my fifth year. You've got a lot to look forward to, McNally."
Andy leaned over, her hands on his cheeks, and she rested her forehead against his. "What were you doing last year when you weren't here?" She asked, rolling off of him just to rest against his chest.
His hand slid up her bare back while hers gripped his shoulder. "I worked, saved up enough to pay for this semester and most of next, I was actually in Toronto," he told her and she smiled at him. "I worked for a mechanic, nothing exciting. I stayed with an old friend downtown."
"Where are you from?" She asked, propping herself up on her forearm against his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair and she smiled down at him.
"Scarborough, but my mom and sister live in St. Catharine now," he explained and she nodded. And before she could ask about his dad, he continued. "My dad isn't around anymore. Hasn't been for about six years."
She nodded, lookinga way from his face at her hand drawing mindless patterns in his chest hair. "My mom walked out on us about seven years ago," she admitted quietly. She almost looked relieved when her eyes landed on his again. "I have no idea where she is."
Sam could have told her where he knew his father was, but he wasn't sure she would understand or stick around after finding out the kind of man he came from. He didn't want to risk losing her, not yet. He wasn't lying the day before when he told her she wasn't like the other girls. She was nothing like anyone he'd ever been with and made him feel things he never thought he was capable of feeling. While it terrified him to be falling so hard so fast, it was nice to know he was capable.
"She's crazy to walk out on someone like you," he told her and she smiled softly before kissing him.
"Thank you," she said quietly and he took hold of her chin and guided her lips to his again, ready to move onto something less serious than their parents' problems.