Crouched down, I breathed warm air into my hands to warm them. The night breeze had taken a sharp dip from the time I left my house with only a thin sweater. In my travels to Sam's house I hadn't come across him. His legs were much longer than mine and with his whirling mind he was much faster than I.
I cleared my throat feeling awkward kneeling down to peer into Sam's bedroom window. With all the lights off in the house, I saw it fit to make another entrance. Mr. and Mrs. Biggs hadn't hated me yet and I wasn't prepared for them to start now.
"Sam," I whispered in a hush.
The grass felt damp even though it hadn't rained in days. Kinking my neck I poked my head down near the window. His bedroom light was off like the rest of the house. Steading myself against the paneling I used my knuckle to knock on the glass.
"Sam," I said a little louder hoping not to wake the parents. It was late enough for everyone to assume and awkward walk of shame would follow.
Without a response I pulled out my phone sending a cryptic text that read, 'I think I saw someone trying to break into your house'. After I hit send, I waiting like the perfect stalker. Sam's phone lit up and I witnessed movement amongst the shadows.
"God damn it Sam. It's cold," I hissed again knocking on the glass. My shoulders recoiled at the sound, praying I wasn't heard.
The light flicked on illuminating his meticulously tidy room. Unlike the rest of the basement he only kept the necessities here. He had a bed, dresser and desk. When I first saw it, I recalled Sam quoting an article saying plain bedrooms with few things helped people be more productive.
Sam turned sleepy eyed and squinting to the window. After realizing who his stalker was he took strides, maneuvering his desk chair to under the window. Standing on it, he slid open the window leaving only the screen between us.
"What." He blinked. "What are you doing here?" He asked most likely more surprised at my appearance at his window than actually being at his home.
"I know you're new to this but you can't just start to say something and then stop. It was either come here or lay awake for hours and contemplate and over think everything that's ever happened since birth," I sighed, disappointed with having such a girly response and attitude. I had always thought myself above petty jealously and over reacting.
"It couldn't wait 'til morning?" He yawned.
"I'd be a wreck by then." My arms wrapped around my sides trying to keep myself warm.
"Would you rather have me freeze to death out here or invite me in to talk about this?" I asked him.
Sam smirked and appeared to be contemplating the idea of closing the window and crawling back into bed. The devilish smirk was one I enjoyed; it meant that he was up for going toe-to-toe with my attitude.
My eyes pierced through the screen. "You let me in right now or I'll." My eyes searched through his room for a solid object to threaten him with but instead I found my eyes staring at his bare chest as he removed the barrier and offered me a hand in. I gulped, oh God I was going to be in trouble.
After shimming awkwardly through the window, I was eventually on my feet. On my tip toes I slid the window closed to stop the night time breeze.
"I can't believe you weren't going to let me in," I joked in a hushed tone.
"I can't believe you climbed through my window. You should have just texted me and I would have just opened the front door." Sam slouched on the end of his bed giving me a sideways glance.
"But then we would have had to tip-toe like robbers across the living room and then down the basement stairs and we mostly would have woke your parents up." Smiling, I couldn't help but feel rebellious sneaking into my boyfriend's room in the middle of the night. There was something thrilling about being forced into using a hushed tone and caution.
"No doubt your graceful decent has already woke them up." The notion was terrifying. Mr. and Mrs. Bigg were kind people but no parent no matter how forgiving could be happy about this.
"Oh no. Do you think?" I asked petrified.
"Well they aren't deaf," he smirked.
"See and I thought you were supposed to be waiting at my window sill, throwing pebbles and reciting poetry; trying to win my heart and whisk me away." Knowing it was tempting I still proceeded to sit next to him.
We had come a long way since stripping naked and jumping into the ocean. When we first met, he would have covered himself up or at least been beet red; Hell, he wouldn't have even opened the window.
"I don't mean to bother you but I wouldn't be able to sleep. I just made a total idiot out of myself and then you just left, took off, ran like the wind, ran for the hills," I trailed off attempting to make light of the situation.
Sam remained silent and for a bizarre reason, I felt I needed to fill the gap.
"You can't just run after a girl tells you she likes you. It is dreadfully bad for the ego."
"Juliette," Sam sighed, drawing my eye in again to where it shouldn't. Mentally I had to swat my nose with a rolled up newspaper.
"You have to understand that the point of this was so it was easy. It was supposed to be a mutual agreement and that was it. I purposefully did it this way so there was a clean break. Adding emotions just complicates everything."
My heart plummeted into my stomach forcing my stomach to fall out of my ass. The hitch in my breath was painful as I closed my eyes wishing I hadn't heard what he had said.
My voice croaked, "So all of this is just part of your experiment?" I questioning, although now I wasn't positive I wanted to know the answer.
My shoulders tensed as I waiting for him to dismiss me.
Did I miss understand everything we have between us? Did I miss hear what he was saying earlier? How could I be so stupid? The questions whirled around in my brain as I tried to grasp of straws with no luck.
"Juliette," Sam sighed.
With my eyes welded shut in embarrassment, I didn't see his hand rise to touch the side of my face. It cupped my cheek softly, his fingers gliding through my hair. His thumb started to trail along my cheek bone; my eyes fluttering open.
"It was supposed to be easy and it was supposed to be an emotionless attachment..." I watched as Sam's eyes searched into my, glancing at every aspect of my face. "But it isn't like that anymore for me either. Of course I like you, I just didn't think I had a chance if it wasn't for the agreement we made."
Breathing out a sigh of relief I leaned into his hand taking comfort in his touch.
"I've thought you were adorable since the day we almost got pneumonia and I saw you naked," I smiled laughing at the sheer idiocy between the two of us. Both of us thought the other was too good to like the other.
"Wait, just to be clear. You like me and not because I'm helping you with school but because you like me?" He asked sounding confused.
Knowing that he needed reassurance, my hand extended to his shoulder. "I think a big part of me liking you has a lot to do with you being kind enough to help me but yes Sam. I like you like like like you."
"Seriously?" he still seemed rather confused about the explanation I had given. It must have been the over use of the word like.
Sam's mind was whirling with ideas he wasn't yet prepared to share. His mouth was parted almost moving enough to form words. Puzzled. Sam was puzzled and speechless, two things I never saw and was quite enjoying.
"You need to relax and stop freaking out." My hand squeezed his shoulder tightly. His body was vibrating under my grasp.
"How?" he breathed, his hands bracing themselves on his knees as he leaned over the edge of the bed, panicking.
I maneuvered myself I front of him. My hands took a hold of either side of his face. Using my thumbs I pulled his face upwards to mine.
"This is the part that you over think everything now isn't it?" I asked hypothetically.
"Stop over thinking and panicking. Nothing has changed besides the fact we're being honest with each other."
Pulling his face in closer, I placed a gentle kiss on his panting lips. The tension seemed to dissipate. Eventually, I was able to release him.
"Oh God that was terrifying," I muttered as I flopped myself down onto the other side of Sam's bed.
The thoughts I had been thinking for some time were finally out in the open but now seemed to be replaced with hesitation on both our parts. We could both easily say that nothing had changed with our exchange of words but something had. This was no longer an agreement between two class mates but a relationship. The stakes were higher and both of us had more to lose this way.
"So is this something that's going to happen often?" Sam chuckled.
Propping myself up onto my elbows I gave him a sideways glance. "The breaking and entering or me in your bed?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Either." There was that cheeky charm.
"Says the tempting shirtless boy," I mocked.
The two of us laughed for a long while. Any of the awkwardness about our previous discussion had left. We had been enjoying our late night talk I hadn't noticed the flying time. Even when I did take note of the hour, I was enjoying lying next to Sam as we discussed a multitude of things.
"Can I ask you something?" I looked up at him, propping myself up on his side.
I nodded my head.
"Amber told me you and Kiran only dated for a couple months and weren't that serious. Is that right?"
"I'm surprised she told the truth for once in her life," I snickered.
"I'm sorry for getting jealous when he came around or when Dawson comes around," Sam sighed, embracing the idea of being honest with each other.
"Dawson and Kiran haven't been thoughts in a long while. You're not the only one either. I glared at the waitress for complementing your shirt." My statement got a loud laugh out of Sam.
"Shh," I hissed, laughing.
"I'm not supposed to be here remember." I stretched with a yawn. "I should most likely head home," I sighed saddened by the idea of leaving his side.
"That's alright, I'll drive you," Sam muttered as he rose to toss on a clean t-shirt.
I sat up quickly, following him with my eyes. "You drive?" I questioned. I couldn't remember a single moment of Sam driving or mentioning he even could.
"Of course I can drive. It's trivial to a point but convenient." After dinging through his closest he pulled a shirt over his head. "I don't like it but I don't want you walking home this late either."
"Are you sure?" I asked worried I had become a bother.
"Yeah, I'm just going to let me parents know I'm taking the car and we'll go."
If I had a drink I would have spit it out. "What?" I exclaimed. "The whole point of breaking and entering is not getting caught."
"Juliette, I'm not stealing my parent's car. It's easier just to let them know," he calmed me down easily. Remembering how relaxed his parents were I followed him up the stairs.
He disappeared to wherever his parents were. Sam returned quickly, grabbing a jacket and the keys before we left. There wasn't any screaming or yelling. Mr. and Mrs. Bigg were the dream parents. I bet Sam never gave them much trouble for them to be concerned.
"Thank you for driving me home, Sam."
"It's okay. I'm glad I remembered some of drivers Ed," he smirked from the driver's side. There were several times I had to grip the door handle but I'd let it slide this time.
"Well it seems my conversation with my parents will last longer than yours did." Looking towards the house, my parent's car was parked in the driveway and all the lights still on. I could see the living room curtains ruffle; most likely my mother patiently waiting to scold me.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked.
"Of course, if I'm still breathing."