The Rescue

Chapter 34

"You alright over there, babygirl?" Sam teases lightly. "It's not like you didn't just see this."

"I- I know. I- I j- just wasn't expecting you to- to..." Alex stutters.

Sam raises an eyebrow. "To get cleaned up? Oh, honey... We both need to get cleaned up. We got pretty sweaty and sandy out there."

Alex gulps. Her eyes go wide in shock and a bit of fear. Sam, of course, immediately notices this and is quick to try to comfort her. "Together or separate. Naked or in our suits. That's up to you, sweetie. We go at your pace."

"M-my pace?"

"Babygirl, I introduced you to my daughter. You offered to come back with me to Metropolis to provide me comfort, and even offered to be there for Ruby's graduation. I already dropped the L-word. I'm serious about this- about us. I'm all in, Ally. Ball is in your court, and I'm not in any rush. So, don't feel pressured. I just wanted to let you know where I stand."

Alex's brain falters at the confession. She spent so much time just trying to convince Sam to give them a chance, she hasn't really evaluated where they are right now. It makes her heart flutter to know that Sam didn't just give her a chance; she's giving her a commitment. It's a relief that saying 'I love you' isn't just a habit or something off the cuff for Sam. On the flipside, it scares her. She doesn't want to mess this up. She doesn't want to hurt Sam or Ruby if she can't measure up to expectations. What if they go too fast and fizzle out? What if they struggle to maintain this connection?

"Hey," Sam walks over and cups Alex's face. "I didn't mean to scare you. I know commitment is scary and big. I understand if you aren't there right now. That's okay. And it's okay if it never comes. Well... obviously I'd prefer you get there eventually, but if you don't... well, I don't want you to try to force it either."
"That's- that's not it, Sammy," Alex cuts her off and looks up into those honey brown eyes. "I'm not afraid of commitment. Part of me knew it would be serious for you if I managed to convince you to try. It's more that I don't want to accidentally hurt you... or your daughter. I'm afraid of failing you."

Sam smiles broadly at that admission. "Relationships are never perfect, and at the same time, you just saying that tells me all that I need to know. If you want to take your time before diving into a more... physical... relationship, that's okay. If you need me to tone it down, you just say so. You were persistent enough to not give up on me; I can be patient enough to wait until you are ready to move forward with us."

Alex has tears welling in her eyes at the gorgeous woman in front of her. She curls up onto her tiptoes to kiss her gently and slowly. It isn't heated or rushed. It isn't chaste and innocent. It's somewhere in the middle. It's similar to the kiss on the beach, but it's still different. It's a promise- a gigantic promise of what is to come- of everything she will give when she is ready for it.

"Damn," Sam says with her eyes still closed after they part. "I think I could wait an eternity if you keep kissing me like that."

Alex blushes and ducks her head down. She's not used to the level of appreciation and flattery, but it shouldn't be a surprise that such an amazing woman like Sam would be anything less.

Sam hums to herself for a moment. "I'll go rinse off quickly, babygirl. And then after you shower, we can get some rest."

After Sam gathers her shower supplies, she quietly exits the room. Alex plops on the foot of the bed and lays back, letting her feet dangle. She lets out a deep breath before a smile slowly overtakes her face. Of course Sam would be ready for that stage. They have been very touchy overall; they also already had a couple intense make out sessions under their belts. But they've both stopped and slowed things down once it turned into heavy petting. Alex assumed that they were both at the same point, but now she realizes that Sam is being respectful of her own limits. It makes her so incredibly happy to have a partner that pays attention to her cues instead of just pushing for what they want. Alex smiles even brighter at the memory of Sam saying she loves her. Alex is so grateful that her girlfriend didn't push her into saying it back when she isn't ready to.

As she lays there, she thinks back to the beach. She doesn't understand what happened, but she knows that it was major. She blushes thinking about just how handsy Sam was getting with the sunscreen... and that particularly intense make out session. Alex shifts a bit on the bed and clears her throat. She turns her thoughts back to seeing Lena look so... frightened. She can't remember any conversation leading up to going to the beach that hinted that it would be a problem, but she wonders if Sammy's insistence to stay away from the water had anything to do with it. She's burning to ask Sam about it, but she thinks that it should be Lena's decision to share or not. She was very clearly vulnerable.

Alex decides to get up and to get her stuff ready to hop in the shower after Sam finishes. She wants to be as quick as possible so they can cuddle together and take a much needed nap. Just the thought of the nap makes her yawn. Just as she grabs some comfy clothes that were left from the last time, Sam comes back into the room wrapped in just a towel. Alex's jaw drops at the sight of Sam's long hair clinging to her face and neck. The towel barely covers the tops of those legs that go on for miles.

"You're going to start drooling if you don't close your mouth some," Sam teases.
Alex blushes like crazy and adverts her eyes. "Sorry!"

"I didn't say I wasn't enjoying the attention." Sam smirks at her.

"I- I'm- just." Alex points to the door and rushes out without finishing her sentence, listening to a cackling Sam in her wake. She shakes her head as she heads to the shower. This woman is going to be the death of her - but in the best way possible.

Sam moves about the room to get dressed. It was genuinely an accident forgetting to grab some clothes on her way out. Although, she isn't disappointed in the show it brought. She slips into the bed as she waits for Alex. She tells herself that she will just rest her eyes as she waits, but of course, she falls asleep instead. Her last conscious thought is how she is looking forward to spending time with Alex in Metropolis. She's hopeful it will give them time to just be them without anything drastic happening.

When Alex slips back into the room, she smiles softly at a fast asleep Sam. She moves about quietly to slip into the other side of the bed. She shifts deeper to the middle to wrap the woman up in her arms. The redhead can't resist; she gently kisses her girlfriend's forehead before getting comfortable and falling asleep.