A/N: This fic contains potentially triggering subject matter including but not limited to: suicidal references, gun violence, sexual trauma, homelessness, drug abuse, depression, homophobia, and cancer. It may contain inaccuracies. No copyright infringement intended. Thanks for reading!

BOOK TWO - PART ONE - CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

"You guys."

Sam and Cat continued to make out heatedly in the backseat of Robbie's car. Robbie and Bryson had offered them a ride home—it was only a five-minute drive—and now they were stopped in the garage. The girls didn't seem to have noticed that the car was no longer moving.

"You guys!" Robbie said again, louder this time. Bryson was laughing.

Cat drew herself away from Sam's lips, panting heavily with her eyes half-lidded. "Huh?"

"Uh… you wanna take it to the bedroom, maybe?" Robbie awkwardly suggested as he and Bryson climbed out of the car. When Sam and Cat didn't move, Robbie rolled his eyes and said, "If you're gonna use a car, can you do it in the BMW, please? It's easier to clean."

"No, we'll go inside. Sorry," Cat apologized, blushing. "C'mon, Sam." They both climbed out of the car, and everyone went inside the house. Without a second glance at Robbie or Bryson, Cat took Sam's hand and immediately led her back to the bedroom they'd been sharing. The instant the door was shut, they started kissing again, grabbing at each other desperately. But then Cat abruptly pulled herself away. "Go sit on the couch."

"What?" Sam's mind was foggy with excitement. "Why?"

"I want to try something. Just do it. Please." Cat pecked her on the lips.

"Um, mind if I take a few minutes to clean up? It's been a long day," Sam replied, stepping towards the bathroom.

Cat caught her arm. "Sam, please."

"I'll be quick," Sam told her, but Cat looked even more frustrated. So, Sam sighed heavily, walked over and flopped down on the couch. "Fine, but you're gonna have to deal with my BO."

Cat hummed softly and approached her. "Is it really bad right now?"

Sam sniffed under her arm. "Ugh. Yeah, it's pretty bad," she admitted sheepishly. She started to stand up. "Seriously, just give me a couple minutes to—"

Cat caught her by her shoulders and pushed her back down on the couch, careful of her left side. Then she climbed onto her lap, straddling her, giving no explanation.

"Um, what are you doing?"

Cat reached for the buttons on the front of Sam's shirt. "Can I take this off of you?"

Sam chuckled nervously. "Well, somebody's impatient tonight."

"Sam, can I?"

Sam bit her lip. Getting undressed was one of the more anxiety-inducing parts of having sex, and her recent operation definitely hadn't helped her confidence. Her terrible body odor at the moment only compounded her worries. Taking her clothes off too quickly when having sex was a turnoff for her, but she could tell Cat wouldn't be having much patience tonight, so she quietly agreed, "Okay."

Cat was so absorbed in her own excitement that she failed to pick up on Sam's discomfort. She eagerly started undoing buttons, all the way down to the bottom, then threw the shirt open. Sam was wearing a white tank-top underneath. Cat moaned and moved in to kiss the side of her neck, pushing her shirt off her shoulders and then flinging it away. Then she quickly removed her tank top as well, and it joined the shirt on the floor, leaving her entirely bare except for her bandages. Finally, she grabbed her right shoulder and pushed her to lean back on the couch.

"What are we doing?" Sam asked again, confused.

"Lift your right arm up."

Sam hesitantly did as she was told. "Why..?"

"I want to try something." Cat moved in and began kissing and nipping at Sam's neck, then down along her shoulder. When Sam tried to lower her arm, Cat caught it and held it there. She kissed her way over to her armpit, then inhaled deeply, whispering, "Mmmm, fuck."

Sam wasn't quite sure how to feel. "That doesn't gross you out?"

"The smell turns me on," Cat told her. Her face was flushed, and her pupils were blown. Then, without warning, she moved in and ran her tongue up the middle of Sam's armpit. There were short, soft blonde hairs there. She didn't mind.

Sam was frozen in shock. It was far from the strangest thing she'd ever tried sexually, but it still caught her off guard. She wasn't sure how to respond. "Uh… wow. Okay. Um…"

Cat repeated the action several more times, licking and kissing away all the saltiness and sweat. She wasn't even consciously aware that she was touching herself through her skirt; she just knew she was ridiculously horny and she had been fantasizing about this for over a third of her life.

Sam was slightly amused and extremely turned on by how worked up Cat was getting over this. She reached down and nudged Cat's hand away. Then she touched her through her panties underneath her skirt. They were very wet again.

Cat moaned and ground herself down against Sam's fingers. Sam rubbed her in exactly the right spot, and Cat rocked against her for the better part of a minute. Then she unexpectedly felt Sam draw her hand away. She stopped what she was doing immediately and licked her lips. "Why did you stop?"

Sam looked apologetic. "I'm really sorry; I tried to keep going, I just…"

That's when Cat realized that Sam had been using her left hand—her right one was suspended over her head at the moment. "Oh, jeez. I keep forgetting. Please stop trying to use your left hand; I don't want you to hurt yourself. I don't mind doing it myself." She moved her own hand back down and resumed her previous activities.

After a minute, Sam spoke up suddenly. "So, um—"

Cat pulled back slightly and looked into her eyes. "Mm-hmm?"

"Well, I recorded my song."

Cat thought that was a somewhat random thing to say right now. Then she realized what Sam was referring to and her lower stomach clenched with anticipation. "Do you want to go put on the strap-on?"

Sam lowered her arm. It was wet underneath, and slightly uncomfortable, which she failed to hide. "I'd really like to take a bath first. I feel gross and it's turning me off."

"…Oh." Cat was embarrassed and a bit hurt. She disappointedly climbed off Sam and stood up. "I'm sorry; I didn't realize you hated it so much. I… I promise I won't do it again."

"What? No, Cat—" Sam cringed, "That's not what I meant. I wasn't talking about the armpit thing; that's totally fine. I just feel all sweaty and it's hard for me to get in the mood right now."

Cat faked a smile and stepped away. "It's okay. Thank you for letting me try."

Sam groaned, "I'm being serious. What you were doing was really hot."

"I know it's weird; I can totally just forget about it—"

"Cat." Sam grabbed her arm and pulled her in closer. "I liked it, okay? I promise."

Cat didn't look convinced, but she mumbled, "'Kay 'kay," and stepped back again. "You can go ahead and take a bath. I'm gonna go shower upstairs, so no rush." She went to the door.

Sam still had a feeling that she'd fucked up. "Hey. I… I love you."

Cat returned a small smile. "I love you too, Sam." Then she let herself out of the room and closed the door.

END OF BOOK TWO - PART ONE