Claiming What's His (12 page)

             
Behind her, he asked, “Where’s your first aid kit?” 

             
Without looking back, she answered, “In the bathroom closet.  I’ll get it in a minute, you can go.  I’m home safe and sound.  Thanks.”  She stuck her hand in her pocket, pulling out the camera and saw that the lens had cracked that ran across the glass.

             
Shit!

             
She flipped the camera to retrieve the memory card, pulling out the battery then the memory card, checking to make sure no damage was inflicted on it.

             
It was undamaged.  

             
Thank God.

             
Sam had been occupied checking the camera that she didn’t notice Alex returning with the first aid kit, standing in front of her.  He gently pressed her down to the counter stool, picked up and ripped open the alcohol swab and, as gently as he could, rubbing the scrapped areas, starting with her hand that he grabbed.  

             
She hissed in pain, trying to yank her hand out of his, only to have him tighten his grip.  He lifted her palm up to and softly blew the stinging pain away.  He stared into her eyes as he kissed the center of my palms, making my heart flutter.  

             
That flutter was something Sam hadn’t felt in a long time. 

             
Not with any of her previous boyfriends.

             
Not with any other guy.

             
The last time was when she kissed Alex in high school when she realized she started having feelings for him.  It was nice.

             
Alex leaned in and captured her lips, knowing what his lips would do to her.  Sam swiped her tongue in his mouth.  He captured it and sucked, deepening the kiss.                She moaned, loving how it felt.  He tasted great, that same wonderful taste she remembered back from high school under the bleachers.  He released her.

             
She was still dizzy from his kisses that she didn’t notice that he had pulled out a couple more alcohol swabs and cleaned up her knees, patching them with band aids.

             
He knew that using his kisses against her would get the job done quicker and, for this, she appreciated that.

             
His hands cupped her neck, sliding down her arms, waist, and over to her ass.  He lifted her up effortlessly, her arms wrapping around his shoulders, her legs going around his waist, causing the dress to ride up.  

             
What the hell was happening?  Why were they all of a sudden holding each other intimately?  For Sam, it seemed as if her body responded for her (like she had been doing this specific gesture forever).

             
Alex carried her to the couch and laid her down.  His body covered her as he fell between her legs.  Her hands slid into his hair, holding him.  His hands slid up the side of the dress to cup her breasts.  

             
Sam gasped.

             
As usual, he took advantage of that and kissed her. 

             
And as usual, it was hot and heavy.

             
His lips left hers, trailing across her cheek, down her jaw to her neck, and there, he stayed a while.  She hoped he didn’t leave a mark.

             
She reached her hands down, gripping his shirt, slowly pulling it up, and just as she was about to pull it off, a frantic series of knocks disrupted us before the door swung open.  

             
They both snapped their glances to the door.

             
There stood Maggie, Nat and Char with Danny asleep draped across her shoulders.  Both of their mouths dropped open, larger than earlier tonight.  In Nat’s hand was a container of the coffee grinds that she ordered.

             
Sam quickly released Alex’s shirt and tried to push him off, but he didn’t budge.

             
However, his hands remained cupping her breasts.  

             
Luckily the dress was still in place.

             
“Can we help you?” he asked as if he wasn’t affected by the three girls walking in, one with a child in her arms. 

             
Very
fortunately, he was asleep and didn’t witness any of this.  He didn’t need to be getting any ideas for the next twenty years.

             
“That looked
hot
,” Nat breathed, her eyes fluttering with envy.

             
“We stopped by to check on Sam, but it looks like she’s all taken care of,” Maggie answered, her lips twitching as she took in the sight.  She turned to look at Char and said, “I think she’s okay now.  We should go.”

             
“No!” Sam quickly shouted, moving Alex’s hand off her breasts and shoving him away, coming up to her feet as quick as she could.  ”Alex, you should go.  I’m fine now, thanks.”

             
His lips twitched as he stared at her.  He slid his eyes to Maggie and mumbled, “Talk about coitus interruptis.”

             
“
Ugh
, please don’t use that word.”

             
“What word?”

             
“Coitus.”

“Why?”

“It’s just wrong.  Just say sex like a normal person.” Maggie exasperated, rolling her eyes.

             
Char bit her lip to prevent herself from laughing but failed because she let out a snort instead.

             
Alex got up to his feet, adjusting his clothes, his eyes still on Sam.  He walked to her, tipped her chin, and kissed her (in front of Maggie and Char).  

             
For a moment, she had forgotten that they had an audience when she kissed him back.

             
When he pulled back, he whispered, “We’ll finish this later.”

             
Sam bit her lip to hide her embarrassment.  Or was it excitement?

             
Alex walked around Maggie, Nat and Char and left, shutting the door behind him.  

             
The three of them had matching expressions, they flat-out smiled.

             
Figures.

             
“Holy cow, Maggie!  He’s your cousin?  He’s hot, looks just like Alcide from True Blood,” Char exasperated.

             
“One of two cousins.”

             
“Holy crap,” Char breathed.  “I think I just had an orgasm with my son draped around me which isn’t good.  Never tell him this story.”

             
All three heads turned to her as they shouted, “Sam, details!”

             
Someone shoot her.

*******

              The ladies settled in and were lounging on her couch.  Before they began, Maggie and Nat thought it was a good idea to give Char a quick blurb of Sam’s current situation regarding Alex up to her running out after the company announcement yesterday.

             
After they finished, Sam gave them the play-by-play of events that happened after they last saw her at the fundraiser.  From the scouring of the parking lot, to the near-death car trampling and gunshot incident, to Alex taking her home to seducing her on the couch.

             
Their expressions remained the same - mouths gaped wide open, eyes bugged out, with no one making a peep.

             
When she finished, she asked, “Comments?”

             
Silence.

             
“Suggestions?”

             
More silence.

             
“Anything?”

             
Still nothing.

             
Sigh.

             
Finally Maggie said, “Wow.  I knew this would happen.”

             
Whoa.  She knew this would happen?  This was new to Sam.

             
Sam gave her head a shake.  “Knew what would happen?”

             
Maggie whispered with her eyes happy and warm, “You and Alex.”

             
Her brows came together.  “What do you mean?”

             
“Remember the incident?” She used her index and middle fingers to air quote ‘incident’.  “All those times he stopped by our place to see you and you refusing to see him. Well, sometime after he stopped coming by, he sat down with me and told me how badly he messed things up with you.  He said he regretted everything with Lynn, and if he could turn back time and take everything back, he would do it in a heartbeat.”

             
“He said all that?”  Sam whispered.  “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

             
“Because I knew how torn up you were at the whole thing.  You were ignoring him, refusing to see him, so I wasn’t sure if you wanted to know all of it.  That’s why I never told you anything about him for the past six years.”

             
“So this
was
my fault.  I should have given him a chance for him to have his say.  If I had, maybe it wouldn’t have eaten me up all this time.”

             
“All this time?” She teased.  ”You didn’t look torn up at all from what we say.”

             
“Well, I think the torn up part ended yesterday when he was here.”

             
Nat jumped in.  “He was here?” 

             
Sam nodded.

             
“What did he say?”

             
“Nothing much.  He wanted to know why I left yesterday afternoon.  I think he had a hunch as to why I left, but he didn’t say anything.  He also talked a little about our game plan on how to solve the issue at Conrad.”

             
“That’s it?” Maggie asked.

             
Sam shrugged.  “Pretty much.”

             
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but don’t you think it’s time to let go of the past regardless of how much it hurts especially when he’s back in your life again and obviously wanting more with you?” Char asked cautiously.  “I mean, if he didn’t want anything, then he wouldn’t be doing everything he had been doing so far.  From what I’ve seen in the short period of time, you mean something to him and he’s ready to make that leap with you.”

             
Char was right.  This hurt that Sam had been holding since high school had been a long time ago and if it was anyone else, she probably would’ve let it go already.

             
But this was Alex.  He was different.  He wasn’t like everyone else.

             
They had a history. 

             
A special history.

             
To her.

             
And he hurt her.

             
Something she hadn’t been able to forget.

             
Because of this, she wasn’t quite ready to let go and forgive just yet.

The alarm went off.

Five o’clock. 

Are you kidding? 

Snooze.

The alarm went off again.

Five ten.  

Still tired.

Snooze. 

The alarm went off again.

Five twenty. 

Nope, not quite there.

Snooze.

The alarm went off again.

Five thirty. 

Ughhh!  Time to get up
, she groaned.

Sam was never really a morning person.  If she had her way, she would sleep in until about ten or eleven, just in time to get ready and head straight to lunch.  But she couldn’t do that if she wanted to maintain her lean figure. 

It was hard work and with her schedule, she couldn’t work out
after
work; she’d be too tired to ready to go home by then.  So after much determination during college, she forced herself to wake up early to get in her morning run, a routine which stuck with her since.

Sam dressed in her running gear of a bra top tank, yoga pants, and sneakers and headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee, just to jolt awake her senses a little
.   The real pick-me-up was when she was able to get a cup of Cozy’s. 

It truly lived up to its name.

Cozy.

Cozy in Comfort.

Absolute heaven.

After Alex’s double near-death experience, she wasn’t able to sleep a wink.  She tossed and turned all night, thinking about Alex, seeing him again, him saving her life, and the number of kisses he kept giving her.  When she couldn’t think anymore, she managed to catch about two hours of sleep.

For years, Sam replayed the event that happened between them and wondered if she had just picked up one of his phone calls or opened the door when he stopped by, what would have happened between them. 

Had Maggie lied to her when she told her about Alex’s guilt?  Would they have still been friends?  Would they have been together?  Would Sam have lost her mind if he still ended up with Lynn?  Should she have become a nun and swore off men?

Six years had passed. 

She would never know now.

There was nothing she could do about that now except move forward.

She walked her usual ten to fifteen minutes to Meyers Park (depending if she was dragging her feet or not, which in this case she was) to jog her usual five miles.
 She tied her hair back and warmed up as she made her way to the park, stopping every few minutes to stretch her muscles and getting her blood flowing, but her mind had been reeling around Alex.  

However, this morning she needed to clear her head, get her juices flowing, and brace herself for the day and night’s activities.  Both old and new faces appeared at the park for their own recreational reasons, more people than those who are usually there.
 Sam knew for a fact this was because of yesterday’s fundraiser which was Comfort’s biggest event of the year.  They have always had thousands of visits each year for it, people from everywhere all over the United States showing their support for their local, state, and national heroes.

Sam inserted her
ipod headphones into her ears, clipped it to the elastic waist of her pants and began moving.  She had barely taken a few steps when someone came up behind her and lightly tapped her shoulders.  She turned around to see Parker all decked out for his run in a blue basketball shorts, wife beaters and Nike sneakers, smiling, nearly making her trip. 

Wow.  He had a great smile.

She managed to pull one earphone out of her ear when he stated, “Your shoe laces are untied.”

Sam glanced down to see that they were, indeed, untied.  Her eyes moved to his and she smiled as she said,
 ”Thanks.”   Sam bent down to tie them but noticed that he was still standing there.  She looked up to see him looking down at her, smiling.  She stood up and looked into his eyes, his green eyes.  

Emerald green.

Wow. 

He smiled huge as if he read her mind.
 He extended his hands and greeted, “Hi.  You were at the fundraiser last night at the kissing booth.  I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself last night.  My name is Cole Parker.  And you are?”

So his name was Cole and not Parker like how Alex called him (although Parker was his last name). 

Sam blushed when he mentioned kissing booth, hoping that she wouldn’t have to relive that embarrassment again. 

Clearly, she was wrong.

              Sam shook his hand and greeted back, “Hi, Cole.  I’m –”

“Sam!”
 Someone shouted her name from behind that interrupted her.  Sam turned around to see Alex heading her way.  

Looked like he was an early bird as well.
 

He came to a halt once he got close.  “Morning, Sam,” he panted, grinning.

“Hey Alex,” Sam greeted, returning his grin with a small smile.

His eyes were warm but dancing (probably from the run because it was too early to be anything else) but when he shifted his eyes from hers to Cole’s, his eyes went from warm to ice cold.
 It was as if something had possessed him.  He glared at Cole and growled, “Parker.”  

And there he went with Parker again.

Looking down, he saw that she still had her hand in Cole’s.  His jaw tightened and he growled softly, “Let her go or I’ll give you a reminder from last night.”

Cole’s lips tipped on the ends as he challenged, “What if she doesn’t want to let go, Conrad?
 What business is it of yours anyways?”

Sam hadn’t notice from last night that Cole had called Alex by his last name, just like he was doing now.

Parker?  Conrad?  Did these two know each other?  How did they know each other?  Sam knew majority of Alex’s friends from school before he left Comfort, but Cole could be someone he met sometime between the six years she hadn’t seen him.

“You two know each other?
” Sam interrupted, her eyes shifting back and forth between the two trying to determine who would answer her first.

Neither one answered for a while.
 They seemed to have a mental stare-down.  Sam felt the tension in the area shifted, circling specifically around the three of them. 

No one moved.  No one did anything. 

The only thing they did was stare. 

No words were traded. 

No one twitched or sneezed. 

No movement.

Just stare.

This was really starting to piss Sam off.  The guy who she had known for a long time and the guy who she just met are standing in the middle of the park staring at each other like two idiots.  People were passing them,
staring and whispering amongst themselves and, unfortunately, she was stuck in the middle of it.

There was no way she was going to be the center of attention.

Sam opened her mouth to say something but quickly shut it when Cole looked to over to Sam and answered, “Yeah, we know each other.  It was nice to meet you, Sam.  Hopefully I’ll see you around.”  He released her hand and continued his workout, but not without giving Alex a cold smirk.

Sam looked up to Alex to see him still looking after Cole.
 His eyes remained on Cole until he was completely out of sight. 

During this time, his jaw hadn’t relaxed.  It only did when he dropped his gaze to her, relaxing his face, though not completely losing that hardness.
 

“Stay away from him, Sam,” he ordered firmly.

Stay away from him?

Is he for real?

Not only did he not ask her to stay away, but he demanded that she stayed away. 

I don’t think so
!
she thought.

It was barely six in the morning.  She hadn’t even begun her workout and already she felt her blood pressure rise. 

              “You don’t have any right to tell me what to do, let alone, command me!  I don’t see you for years and this is what you do?”  She stepped forward and narrowed her eyes, nearly shouting at him.  “Are you fucking
kidding
me?  You can’t tell me who to stay away from!  And what the hell was last night about?”

             
Alex dipped his face up against hers.  “I sure as hell can,” his voice dead calm but dripping with a spit of acid.

             
Sam continued shouting, not caring who stopped to stare, “Based on what?  You’re not my father or my keeper or anything!”

“No, you’re mine,” he said calmly as if his words were as a matter of fact but still ignoring last night’s kiss.

What?  What does that mean?  Was that his way of telling her he liked her?  This type of statement this should’ve made her happy.  But it didn’t. 

Instead of being
melty with that declaration, she kept up with her anger and said, ”What the hell are you talking about?  I’m not yours–”

“Yes, you are, Sam.
 You’ve always been mine since they day we’ve met.  And after last night, everyone now knows it.  You stay away from Parker.  He’s bad news.”

She had been his since the day they met.  This was definitely news to her.  But she couldn’t let this warm jittery feeling interfere with what was really going on.

Sam inhaled deeply through her nose and took a step back.  She has never had anyone talk to her this way before and she was pretty sure she didn’t like it.  Not in the least bit.

“You come into town after not seeing anyone for six years.
 You come to my apartment last night for whatever reason you came.  And now you shout at someone I just met because you think he’s…,” she used her index and middle fingers to air quote, “…’bad news’ and tell me to stay away from them?  Are you fucking
kidding
me?”  she repeated in a shout. 

Nope, she wasn’t angry. 

She was flat out
pissed
off.

People stopped their morning routines and stared at us.
 Alex gripped her by the elbows, pulling her to the side near the playground. 

Still using his calm voice, he responded,
 ”You know why I went to your place that night.” He paused, his eyes still working as if he’s thinking.  Then he continued, “For work.  As for Parker, he and I have a history.  We go back further that you think.  And I know for a fact, he’s bad news.”  

“Then explain it to me.”

“No, not now.”

He didn’t want to explain it to her, but he expected her to stay away.  He didn’t know her very well.

Fine, if he wanted to play that game, then he can play it by himself.

“Save your excuses and leave me alone.
 I know you’re only here to work on this thing for George, but other than that, there’s nothing else between you and me.  Never was, never will.”

Now, he stepped forward, his eyes glistened and firm as he leaned in nose-to-nose, “You
wanna bet?” he challenged.  “I’m going to make sure there will be more than that.  Much… much more,” he promised.

Sam swallowed, her eyes widen, her lips parted. 

Now she was a little worried because she believed every bit of word he just said.  He would carry it out until it happened.  He never made a promise like that before.  And to be honest, he’s never said anything like that before.  The more time that had passed, the more it began to scare her, and not in a good way.

Then he did something that shocked the hell out of her, again.
 Then again, he had done it so many times that it shouldn’t be that much of a shock. 

His head dipped and he kissed her hard and quick.  He released, then
turned and continued his morning run.

What the
 hell was that?

And why does he keep doing that?

*******

Sam decided to skip her morning run and went straight to the office, after she stopped by Kroger and got a pint of Ben & Jerry’s.
 After that morning fiasco (meaning the kiss that left her dizzy and nearly breathless) and in combination with what’s happened the last couple of nights, she couldn’t get her legs to cooperate to do the running except walking straight to the store for the ice cream.

But, first
thing’s first.

Cozy’s
.

Nat spotted her walk through the Cozy’s door with Ben & Jerry’s in her hand and her lips twitched. 

“Already?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

“You have no idea.  Better make my usual caramel macchiato an extra large to go with my dates here.  Spoon,” Sam demanded, holding out her hand, waiting.

Nat reached down and handed her a spoon.  “Sure, Sam.  How’s it going with you and Alex?”

Sam froze, not because Nat asked about him but because Sam didn’t think anyone would mention his name (and she didn’t have to hear his name) again (at least for a while and maybe a slight hint of jealousy).