"Aw, thank you so much for having me this weekend!" moaned Melanie as she hugged Sam before she went into the airport.
"Thanks for coming, kid," said Sam. "Text me when you land?"
"Of course," said Melanie. "Carly, my future sister-in-law, it was so good to see you!"
"It was great to see you Melanie, come back soon, okay?"
"Absolutely," said Melanie as she turned to Freddie. "And Freddie, I hope you call me."
"I sure will," said Freddie as he chuckled and blushed. He went for a hug but Melanie kissed him on the lips. As she pulled away Freddie pulled her back in and started kissing her again.
"Okay, gross," said Sam with a look of disgust.
"We're literally right here," said a dumbfounded Carly.
"Sorry," said Melanie looking slightly embarrassed. "And last but not least, Spencer!"
"It was great having ya, kiddo, safe travels home!"
Melanie took her rolling suitcase and waved to the group as she made her way into the airport.
With the squad exhausted from the weekend, everyone had a low-key night. Freddie went to bed early. Spencer fell asleep while building a duck sculpture in the living room. And Carly and Sam were going to have their first sleepover as a couple. Both girls put on their pajamas and hung out in Carly's room. They watched a sappy romance movie on Carly's laptop in bed while eating popcorn.
"This lady's always crying," said Sam while throwing some popcorn into her mouth. "Like seriously, all he asked was what she wanted to eat and she started bawling her eyes out!"
"Yeah, she's a bit dramatic. And her eyeliner could use some work. I'd cry too if my makeup looked like that."
"I get to choose the movie next time," said Sam.
"Fine," said Carly as she smiled and rolled her eyes.
"Hey Carls, can I ask you something?"
"What's up?" asked Carly as she grabbed the remote and paused the movie.
"When did you know...that this is what you wanted," Sam said while pointing between Carly and herself.
Carly thought for a few seconds. "You know, I think it really hit me when I talked with Melanie."
"You talked with Melanie?"
"Yeah, after the iCarly webcast," said Carly. "You ran downstairs with Gibby and Freddie and I held her back."
"Well...what did you two talk about," said Sam who was now sitting up straight.
Carly adjusted herself as well and was no longer slouched down in bed. "I asked her if you had a crush on me.
"Why'd you ask her that?"
"Because I didn't believe you when you denied it."
"Why not?"
"I don't know, I just didn't," said Carly while rubbing the top of her covers with her thumbs. "And I was right, wasn't I?" Carly joked.
Sam laughed. "Obviously! But wait, Melanie didn't tell you I did, right?"
"Of course not! But she threw it back at me and asked if I had a crush on you."
"Interesting. And what did you tell her?"
"I told her it was crazy for her to ask me that," said Carly. "And then she said it wasn't crazy and that we would make a good couple."
"That's my twin," said a proud Sam. "Planting the seed for me."
"I was literally so shocked that I couldn't process how the conversation turned back onto me," said Carly. "And then I just couldn't stop thinking about it all night. When you left to go home, I thought about our friendship since we were kids. I thought about you. I always loved you, but I didn't think of it romantically. But as we got older, I started to see how pretty you are. I didn't think anything of it because there's nothing wrong with knowing other girls are pretty, it was just a fact. But when Melanie opened that can of worms, I started to realize that I never gave us a chance."
"So you decided to give us a chance right then and there?"
"Well, I was looking at our relationship in a different light. I asked myself questions." Carly continued. "Are we actually compatible romantically? Is this what I've been wanting my whole life? I felt like I was having a mini identity crisis," Carly laughed. She grabbed Sam's hand and held it. "But when you came back to my apartment in that dress. I felt...different. I knew I felt different because I was looking at you differently. Now that I finally decided to look at our friendship as something more, I could see it. And when you kissed Brad at the venue...I knew I had feelings. I thought I missed my chance. I thought my ignorance got the best of me and there would be no 'us'. I felt like such an idiot for never considering us."
"Well, I'm glad you came to your senses," laughed Sam as she placed a kiss on Carly's cheek.
"And I'm sorry for leaving you and everyone at the venue, I didn't know how to react when I saw you kiss Brad."
"It's fine, Carls. I've acted out way worse for way less," said Sam.
Carly nodded. "That you have," Carly said before she paused. "So Freddie also knew about your crush on me for a while then?"
"Oh yea," said Sam. "He was along for the ride. Not like he had a choice. I threatened to beat him if he told you anything."
Carly laughed so hard she snorted. "He's too good of a friend."
"He really is," said Sam with a smile. "I hope he keeps in touch with Melanie. They make a good couple."
"They do," said Carly. "Want to go to bed? I'm getting tired and this movie is...suckish."
Carly closed her laptop and turned off the lights and they laid in bed in silence. Both girls were nervous. They had slept in the same bed before but it was different now. They were a couple. At first, it was awkward. They just laid there.
"Maybe we'll just go to sleep," Sam thought to herself. She didn't want to make Carly uncomfortable. After a couple of minutes of silence, Carly spoke.
"I guess I have to make the first move then, huh?" she giggled as she rolled to face Sam. Sam laughed and pulled her down and started making out with her. Both girls rolled around in bed, switching who was on top. They caressed each other's bodies and loved every second of it. After close to an hour of passionate kissing, Carly spoke again while Sam straddled her. "I'm ready."
"Are you sure?" asked Sam. She wanted to take the next step with Carly, but she wanted to make sure it felt right for her. She knew that Griffin had left a sour taste in her mouth and she didn't want that with her.
"Positive."