Exposed (Free Falling) (29 page)

I shook my head.  “No, he just overheard you two on the phone, I think.”

She rolled her eyes, knowing that the word
‘overheard’
most likely meant
‘eavesdropped’
.  Since she brought it up, I went ahead and pressed for more details, though.  “So…are you guys still together, or…what?”

Her eyes locked on mine for a
moment before she reached for a second slice of pizza.  “Uh…not anymore, actually.  Not as of today.”

I had no idea.  I sat there quietly, wondering what happened, but knowing better than to ask – wasn’t really my business.  In this particular situation, I had no clue as to what would be considered proper protocol.  We’d just finished having mind-blowing sex, so consoling her concerning the breakup issue seemed like the wrong thing to do.
“Uhhhh…so, you’re okay?”

She looked at me with a serious look on her fac
e that faded into a smile.  “Yeah.  I’m good.  Perfect, actually.”

I looked her over
, letting my eyes linger on her breasts.  Perfect seemed like the best word to describe her, but that trace of guilt that was now haunting me made it impossible to stare as long as I really wanted to.

I didn’t bring Jason back up.
  We ate, I carried the leftovers to the fridge, and then lingered beside Sam’s bed for a moment, contemplating.  Did I want to stay? 
Hell yes
.  However, did I really want to deal with the emotional aftermath in the morning?  Knowing I’d feel even worse for not just going back to my place? 

I ignored the answer that came and
took my pants back off before climbing into her bed again.  She lay there watching as I slipped the shirt she’d borrowed down her arms, tossing it to the floor where it belonged. Just like I remembered her doing whenever we’d shared a bed in the past, Sam inched herself backward until her backside was pressed firmly against my groin.  Next she made my arm her pillow and then pulled the covers up. 
God…I missed this
.  Thinking of how many moments just like this one we’d missed over the past five years, I placed a kiss on her shoulder.

To hell with tomorrow
’s repercussions…I’d cross that bridge when I got there.

The clock on
Sam’s nightstand read ’12:06’ and I was starting to feel the effects of my long day catching up with me.  The rush that had me feeling like I wouldn’t need sleep for weeks was beginning to level off.  Having her warm body up against mine wasn’t helping either.  My eyes had just drifted shut when she stroked her fingers down my arm to get my attention.

“Sorry about your back,” she yawned.  “Does it hurt?”

I shrugged.  Despite the dull sting, I’d nearly forgotten all about it. “I’m fine.”

She backed into me a little more only to find that we were already as close as we could get.  Satisfied, I felt her breaths deepen and she drifted off.

Five minutes may have passed when I heard my phone buzzing on the nightstand where I’d set it after ordering the pizza.  Sam continued to snore softly like I hoped she would when it vibrated to the edge and then fell to the floor.  Without a doubt, it was Kira.  Mostly I was sure of this because I’d forgotten to return the text and phone call that she placed when my conversation with Sam took an unexpected turn.  My plan, after Sam requested a rain-check for dinner, was to head home, find something quick to eat, and then turn in early after checking in with Kira.  Clearly, I had a change of heart, and returning her call somehow got pushed so far out of my mind that I forgot altogether.

A single chirp alerted me that she ended up
leaving a voicemail and that hint of remorse grew exponentially in a matter of seconds.  To make matters worse, knowing her, she wouldn’t even jump to the right conclusion when I didn’t respond; she’d give me the benefit of the doubt and assume that I’d simply fallen asleep right after work.

Now I was wide awake, finally considering all the consequences Sam had tried to point
out beforehand.  Did I regret what we’d done? 
I can’t honestly say that I did
– not in the traditional sense; however, I did feel terrible about betraying Kira, a woman who’d been something like a best friend to me for the past several years.  These thoughts were enough to steal my chances of getting a good night’s sleep.

I’m n
ot a cheater.  Never have been a single day in my life, which probably meant I’d suck at it.  Even despite my father’s many shortcomings, being faithful was the one thing he’d gotten right.  Not once had he and my mother had issues concerning infidelity.  Up until now, that was the one attribute of his that I was actually proud to have inherited.  But lying here, having done what I’d done, I had to accept the fact that my clean record was now tainted. 

On cue, Sam repositioned her head on my arm and I inhaled the scent of her hair, feeling like I could stay here with her lik
e this forever if it was possible…regardless of what it’d cost me.  She made me feel reckless, like I wouldn’t mind letting my life crumble at my feet and give it all up just for her.  Look at me – already dodging Kira’s calls and spending the night here.  But who could blame me?  I lifted the sheet and stared shamelessly at Sam’s naked frame against mine, at her beautiful bronze skin, and acknowledged the fact that, if given the chance, I never would’ve let her go in the first place. 

Didn’t that count for something?  Didn’t I get a pass for my indiscretion because
,
technically,
she wasn’t just any girl?  She was the one I’d planned to spend the rest of my life with once upon a time before that dream was snatched away.  Didn’t the fact that I’d never really stopped loving her lessen my offense?

Kira sure as hell wouldn’t think so…

A sigh left my lungs, and despite how bad I felt, I held Sam tighter, acknowledging the fact that I couldn’t help the way I felt about her, no matter
what
label it meant I now deserved to be branded with.  Cheater?  I guess I’d be that if the outcome was having more nights like tonight.

Fantasizing about how our future may have shaped up, I drifted off, deciding not to taint the beauty of what we’d just shared with negative thoughts.

*****

“OH MY GOD!!!
”

My head was ringing from the yelling before I identified the source.  My eyes zeroed in on a blurry figure standing in Sam’s doorway
, but it took me a second to recognize who the unexpected visitor was.  Red-faced and highly embarrassed, Angel stood there clutching Sam’s cell phone, the battery, and a piece of the broken case that she’d gathered from the floor on her way in to investigate.

Sam sat straight up in bed, pulling the sheet over her bare breasts when she realized we’d been caught.  Frantic and too frazzled to think clearly, she leapt out of bed, stealing all the covers and nearly crashing to the floor when her feet
got tangled in the comforter.  Shocked by the fact that she accidentally left me sitting there completely exposed, I grabbed the closest thing I could to cover myself – a pillow. 

Angel hid her face and ran from the bedroom, still yelling, “OH MY GOD!
!!”

Sam made it over to the door and slammed
it shut before holding her hands to her face.  Me?  I was already near hysterics.  She looked at me, her face red as a fire hydrant due to sheer embarrassment.  When I didn’t stop laughing, she picked up a thin book from her nightstand and hurled it at me.

“Shut up!  She’s
gonna hear you!” Sam whispered, trying not to smile as she crawled across the bed and attempted to put her hand over my mouth.

“You really think
me laughing is the bad part?” I asked.  “The only thing that could’ve possibly made this any worse would’ve been if I had morning wood.”

Sam
shoved my arm again as I got the last of my laugh out.  She scooted to the edge of the bed, running her fingers through her hair before preparing to venture out into the living room where Angel sat waiting.  Cloaked in nothing but her sheet, Sam managed to fake like she still had a little dignity left.

Angel started expla
ining and apologizing the second Sam stepped out.  “You weren’t answering, and Lamar told me about you and Jason, and I thought you might not be picking up because you were upset, and…I just…OH MY GOD!!!” 

It took everything in me not to lose it again
as I listened to their conversation.

“It’s fine…really…
,” Sam assured her.  “I’m gonna go get dressed and we can head out and I’ll…I’ll explain everything,” she added, already taking steps toward the bedroom before even finishing her sentence.  She quickly closed the door behind her.  Standing against it, her eyes were fixed on the ceiling.

“Come on
…you have to admit it’s at least a
little
funny,” I said, readying myself just in case she threw something else at me.

She rolled her eyes
and pushed off from the door.

“I can’t believe that just happened,” she said to herself, gathering her things to shower.
  Before she could run off, I grabbed her and made her kiss me.

“Stop!” she said, grinning from ear to ear.  “She’s
gonna know we’re in here messing around!”

Was she serious?
  “Sam…I’m pretty sure she knows we weren’t in here playing Monopoly before she showed up,” I replied, burying my lips in the side of her neck.

She giggled and pushed against my chest playfully.  “Quit!  I have to get dressed.”  Her mouth prote
sted, but the trace of fight that she attempted to put up dwindled away and I smiled at the feel of her arms encircling my neck when she finally surrendered.

Kissing her one last time, I let go. 
“Fine…call me when you get back then,” I said, giving her the space she pretended to want. 

“You’re not staying?” she asked.
  “I shouldn’t be out that long; I’m just gonna walk and get a new phone case.  That should be enough time to explain all this to Angel,” she said, hinting at a smile, but her statement came across with subtle undertones of a plea. 

“
I’ll be back; promise.  There’re just a few things I need to straighten up at my place, and I should shower too,” I replied. 

And
there’s also the small task of creating some sort of buffer so Kira doesn’t get suspicious…..

Sam
eventually nodded and lingered while I gathered my clothes and dressed, finally heading out to get in the shower after first inviting me to stay the night at her place again.  On her way out there was a look on her face that let me know that if Angel hadn’t shown up, this bedroom would’ve probably been our only scenery for the day.

Angel quickly
looked away when I stepped out into the living room to get my shoes and keys.  She pretended to be engrossed, reading the label on the back of a canister of peanuts she found to snack on in Sam’s cabinet.  Apparently the offbeat wakeup-call left her unsure of what to say to me.

“M
orning,” I said, half-laughing as I slipped my shoes on.

Barely lifting her head, Angel
smiled a little and gave a small wave.  “Morning.”

“It’s uh…
it’s good seeing you again.  Been a while,” I added.

She nodded.  “Yeah…it
has.  Things going okay?  You gonna be in town awhile?”

It dawned on me that Sam
hadn’t told her the news.  “Actually, I moved here a few weeks ago.  So…yeah, I’ll be around.”

H
er eyebrow hitched upward.  “Really?  I hadn’t heard.”

I nodded despite
the fact that she wouldn’t lift her head to meet my gaze.  Before things got any weirder, I decided to make an exit, but first I grabbed a hundred dollar bill from my wallet and shoved it in Sam’s purse on the table beside the door. 

“
Let her know this is for whatever she needs to fix her phone, would you please?” 

Angel looked up to see where I’d put the money a
nd then lowered her head again.  “Yeah, sure,” was all she’d say back.

I shook my head and unlocked the door.  “
Well…I’ll see you around, I guess.”

She only looked
up to give another polite smile and wave.  “Okay.  Take care.”

On the other side of the door
, I laughed again, thinking to myself that getting caught
this
time might’ve even topped Sam’s mom walking in on us when we were kids.  At least that time there wasn’t any full-frontal nudity involved…

*****

Sam

I tapped my fingers on the counter at the phone store, waiting in silence while the salesman searched for another glittery pink case like the one that’d been destroyed the night before.  Angel hadn’t said much to me and I hadn’t said much to her either.  However
, when the guy went to check the backroom, she turned toward me and leaned her elbow on the glass showcase beside us. 

“Okay…let’s just put it all out there. 
What the hell’s going on?”