Authors: M. R. Joseph
“No not really. It was a very brief conversation. He was busy. “
“I’ll say” Georgia mumbled. I nudged her arm.
“Oh Savannah I hope you get to talk and work out your differences. It would be such a shame if you didn’t. I so seldom see you sweetie and I would feel better knowing that you talked. You have too much history together. You are like the daughter I never had. I’d like to see you at least part on good terms.” She looked sad. I felt bad. She was like a second mother to me at one time.
“Well you may be seeing more of me around if I get this job at a school in Center City. I have an in person interview Tuesday before I head back to Boston.”
“Oh my goodness! Savannah that would be such a joy for you to be back here! Would you live here or in the city? “
“In the city. It would be an hour commute from the school to here, so I’m doing this so I can be closer to mom and Georgia. I have a few places I've seen online that I may be interested in if I get the position”.
“Of course you will get the job! Maybe if you get the job Sam could show you around since he lives there as well.” I didn’t want to say to her that that scenario was never going to happen. I think she still held out hope for me and Sam. She grabbed me again and squeezed me. She whispered in my ear.
“Talk to him Savannah. Listen to him. Listen to what’s in his heart. What’s in your heart sweetie.” She broke away and grabbed a few menus and seated us at a table.
Georgia kept her sunglasses on and her head down. I gulped down 2 cups of coffee and a glass of water. Our food came rather quickly. I was starting to feel better after I popped 3 Advil in and passed the bottle to Georgia for her to partake. “ Geez girls. You’d think as you got older you could hold your liquor. It appears you cannot.” My mom laughed at the sight of us hung over as hell. We ate and chatted as much as our heads would allow us. I heard the familiar bells at the door and glanced up.
“Oh shit. Look what just strolled through the door.” Georgia mumbled to me.
“Son of a …”
“Georgia Claire don’t say another word” my other scolded.
“Sorry ma.” She looked up with her too big for her little face sun glasses. It was Sam. My heart sank and I clutched my forehead with my hand. I was in no mood for this. Maybe he wouldn’t see me since my hair was in a baseball cap I had my sunglasses on. I watched him walk up to his mom and give a kiss on the cheek. I saw her point to our table and she said something to him that I couldn’t hear. She grabbed him by the shoulders and looked at him intensely. Then the inevitable happened. He began walking towards our table. Dark mirrored Aviator sunglasses, gray sweat pants and a soft baby blue t-shirt that clung to his body and defined his muscular abs. A baseball cap on backwards and his tiny waves doing a peek-a-boo from behind his ears. Shit he looked good. I bet he smelled good too. That shirt was hot and the color made him look even more tan against his sandy blonde hair. He walked up to the table.
“Hi Mrs. Garrett.” He bent down to kiss her cheek. “ Sam. How are you?” My mother looked up at him smiling. She loved that boy. He was a permanent fixture at our home when we were dating.
“I’ll be much better once I have something to eat and some coffee in these veins.”
“Long night was it? “ My mother asked.
“Oh yes ma’am. A very long night” He over exaggerated the very long night and my stomach went into knots instantly.
“Good morning Georgia. Enjoying breakfast?” He smiled at her. She looked up stuffing her face with pancakes and mumbled “Good morning ass hat.” and went back to eating.
“Georgia” My mother said through clenched teeth.
“And good morning to you Savannah.” He smirked. Again with the Savannah. He hasn’t called me Savannah since the first time I met him at the beginning of 11
th
grade.
~
I was rehearsing with the girls choir in the hallway near the boys locker room. He ran by me on his way there and knocked me down.
“Oh geez. I’m so sorry.” He helped me up and I stumbled against the wall at the sight of him. Wow he was gorgeous. Tall, thin and slightly muscular and he had on tight football pants. What an ass on him. My 17 year old hormonal head was thinking that mind you.
“What the hell! You need to watch where you are going stupid jock.”
“Well listen to the mouth on the choir girl.”
“Watch it jock.”I snapped at him.
“Whoa oh. Ok sorry about that Ms. Sassy.” His hands were waving in front of him. “What’s your name choir girl?”
I sighed. I was quite reluctant to give it to him but he was Sam Reynolds. Youngest quarter back ever for Brooklawn High and it didn’t help my case that he was major eye candy. I wanted to tell him my name and then I wanted to jump his bones.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out now isn’t it. Now be gone heathen jock.” I waved my hand to dismiss him.
“Don’t you want to know my name?” He asked
“Not really.” I answered him while I was reading lyrics to a song I was learning. I made no eye contact with him.
He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. He was waiting for some kind of response from me. I tried my damnedest not to stare at his long, muscular football pant wearing legs or the way his brownish/ blonde wavy hair kind of flopped on the top of his head and the cute way he blew a piece of it up with his breath. I didn’t want to notice how his mouth was chewing on a straw from the cafeteria. The way his lips curled around it and I wondered how that tongue would feel like curled around mine. I needed to shake those thoughts out of my head. He was Sam Reynolds. One of the most popular guys in school. Handsome, athletic, charming as I found out at that moment. There was no way I was leading on that I thought all those things.
“Well I’m waiting.” And he continued to chew on that straw.
“Then I guess you’ll be here all day, wont you?”
He pushed off the wall and came towards me. The look in his eyes was a mixture of want and stubbornness. He was only inches from my face.
“I’m not going to practice until I know your name. I know a lot of people so if you won’t tell me I’ll find out anyway. I have my ways.” He backed away.
I rolled my eyes and finally gave in. “You are so full of yourself aren’t you?” I shook my head and laughed at his blatant display of arrogance. “ Savannah. Are you happy now?”
He put his head down and I saw a peak of a smile and a look of total satisfaction.
“Very.” He stuck out his hand to shake mine. “ Nice to meet you Savannah, I’m Sam.”
I took his hand and that was the first taste of the electricity that I would feel for the next 5 years of my life. I shuttered at the touch of his hand. Our eyes met and I prayed my hand wouldn’t go clammy while it was still in his grip. I pulled my hand away first. He looked at me and smiled. Sam began running down the hall towards the locker room. He turned around still jogging backwards.
“I’ll see you around Savannah. By the way, you sound really good.”
He heard me? Was he listening? Where did he come from? There was no way he heard me unless he was standing behind that wall. How could he have…. Wait? I stepped forward and the thought of him made my knees weak again. I balanced myself against the brick wall. I was light headed. I shook my head away from my memory again.
~
“Savannah are you ok?” my mom asked.
“Yes sorry mom. Just tired I guess.” Sam interrupted “ I know how tired you must be Savannah. I was up most of the night so I can hardly keep my eyes open.” He yawned and stretched and his shirt came up revealing his six pack abs and a trail of hair going right to his… well you know.
“Asshole.” I mumbled to myself.
“What was that Savannah?” he asked.
“ Nothing.” I replied.
He smirked. “Well ladies I’ll let you get back to your meals. Mrs. Garrett always a pleasure. Georgia well… and Savannah I guess I’ll be seeing you tomorrow night at the reunion.”
“I guess you will.” I smiled without showing my teeth. “I really must be going. I need to rest. I feel like I’ve done about a thousand squats and stomach crunches. My thighs are killing me. Must have been all the strenuous activity I was doing last night.” He smiled and walked away.
I felt my French toast enter my throat. “ Later ass hat.” Georgia called out to him . He stopped in his tracks, shook his head and went back to join his mom who was waiting for him with a coffee and bagel.
My appetite was no longer there.
When we were done we went over to the nail salon I was at the day before and asked for the same color on my nails as I did on my toes. My mom went to work at the store and it was just me and Georgia.
“ Man my mouth hurts like crazy”. She muttered. “And why is that? Enlighten me.” I asked in return.
“Tyler practically sucked my lips off at the end of the night. Damn that boy can kiss”.
“Wait what are you talking about? I didn’t see you kiss him all night. Where was I?”
“Passed out in the taxi in front of Roy’s. Tyler followed us out to make sure we got off safely and he grabbed me and spun me around as I was getting in the car. He pushed me against the cab and we started making out like freaking animals. I threw some money at the cabbie and told him to keep the meter running. It was insane and if I had my way I would of fucked him 6 ways to Sunday right there in the parking lot.”
“Jesus Georgia. Don’t talk to me about Tyler that way. He’s like my brother. Gross.” I said in disgust. “Well anyway he asked me to go with him tomorrow night to the reunion as his date and I said yes.”
I wasn’t surprised . Georgia was a permanent fixture in my circle of friends as soon as she started hooking up with Tyler. I was glad she was going. Even though she's my younger sister, she was sort of my protector. Georgia would never let anything or anyone harm me. What her fists couldn’t take care of, her smart ass mouth would.
Georgia went back to the city to dress the 11 o’clock news anchors and I needed to sleep. Mom was working late and I welcomed the peace and quiet. I flopped on my old bed and closed my eyes. The same bed I lost my virginity on. I didn’t want to think about it but I could see, hear , and smell everything coming back to me.
We stopped at a red light. Sam grabbed my hand a kissed the back of it. I smiled and he smiled back staring into my eyes. We had the same color eyes. Sometimes it was like looking into my own. Green in the middle with hues of brown and gold on the outside. I loved looking into his eyes. It was as if I was looking into a sunset. “Savy we are almost to your parents house. We don’t have to do this. I would never want to pressure you. I’ve waited almost a year, I can wait as long as you need to. I mean that. “
“I know Sam but I want to. I want you and I think I’m ready. I think we are ready.”
We couldn’t get into the house fast enough. I turned the key to the door as he was nibbling on my neck. Kissing that very spot that he entertained so often. We have been waiting for this night for so long. We’ve done just about everything else there is to do except for the full on sex part. He knew my body. He knew where to touch me. He knew how I loved it when he whispered my ear. “I love you Savy. You are so hot my little choir girl.” We kept kissing all the way up the stairs. We went into my room and I locked the door. We stood there looking at each other for what felt like eternity. He moved closer and grabbed my face with both his hands. “Savy I’m not going to do anything to make you feel uncomfortable and if we do this and you want me to stop, I’ll stop and we can do like we did before. I’ll wait for you. I always will wait for you till your ready. I love you. You are mine. Forever and always.”
“I love you Sam. Forever and always.”
He slowly unbuttoned my shirt and slid it past my shoulders. I was standing in my bra and as he came closer to my lips and his chest touched mine, I could feel his heart beating rapidly. I pulled his shirt out of the top of his pants and I felt the hard lines of his abs. I reached around and placed my hands on his back. I began to pull his shirt over his head. He stood before me shirtless and panting. Broad shoulders and a hard chest. Crafted and defined. I felt his erection on my leg and it excited me. I was turned on beyond belief. I unhooked my bra and pulled my arms out of the straps. It fell to the floor. He stared at me and stroked my cheek. I slid down my pants and he unbuttoned his jeans. We both looked at each other in our underwear and began laughing. It wasn’t that we weren’t comfortable with one another. I think the reality of what we were about to do hit us. Sam came closer to me and we began to kiss again. We moved over to the bed and continued the kissing frenzy. Our hands explored one another and soon both sets of underwear were on the floor. We climbed under the covers and held each other. I reached down to take his penis in my hands and he explored between my legs. The feeling was familiar because we had done this since we started dating and I told him I wasn’t ready for sex. We were so hot for one another and I thought if I waited any longer for him, I would burst.
“Are you ready Savy?” He asked quietly and cautiously.”
I shook my head. He reached over to his jeans and pulled out the condom. He slid it on and eased into me. I flinched slightly and he looked at me worried.
“Did I hurt you baby?”
“No Sam. It just startled me that’s all.” I smiled. He gently rocked back and forth into me and it began to feel better after a while. He was still being gentle but the feeling of him being inside me was unexplainable. It made my head rush and my heart race. He kissed me deeply and rocked a little harder.
His pace began to quicken and we looked at each other and I saw Sam’s eyes growing more hungry. His mouth opened and he moaned and collapsed on my chest.
I laid there quiet and I felt his heartbeat and the little beads of sweat from his chest on mine. He raised his head and looked into my eyes.
“Savy I love you so much and I know that that probably wasn’t the mind blowing sex you may have thought it was going to be but I know I can do better.” He got quiet.