|October 22 | Sunday Morning |
~ Megan's POV ~
I crept softly back into our bedroom and admired Sam from the doorway. Judging from how hard she had slept last night, I deemed our homecoming game a success. She seemed to have had a ton of fun. I was just hoping she didn't wake up with a raging hangover.
I placed two painkillers and a glass of water next to her head on the side table before stepping back and smiling to myself. Sam was always one-hundred miles-an-hour, so seeing her still with sleep was nice.
I allowed my fingertips to graze over her back that was exposed in a tank-top – my tank top – but she wore it better, anyway. Her scars gently pulled against my hand as I tried to remember the time when she would've never let me do this. When she wouldn't have let anyone do this.
She had really come a long way.
Then she stirred and turned to look up. Her deep blue eyes glowed and turned silver as the morning light danced in her irises. She smiled.
"Good morning," I whispered.
Her arm wrapped around my leg and pulled me to the bed. She scooted over and allowed me to join her back under the covers. I loved mornings like this.
"How are you feeling?" I wondered.
"Better than expected," she revealed.
My hands roamed under the front of her tank and pressed against the soft skin of her stomach. The coldness of my hands shocked her warm body as she flinched, but refused to move away. She never moved away.
"I didn't brush my teeth," she stated shyly.
"I don't care," I said before moving into her.
My lips met with hers but she wouldn't get into it. That was one of the weird quirks Sam had. She could never get past her own morning breath. I thought it was hilarious.
She pulled away. "Just gimme one second."
As she jumped out of bed I couldn't help but laugh at her. One of these days I would force her to stay in bed.
She was back in a flash, returning to our previous position. I wrapped one of my legs around her hip and pulled her closer to me. On mornings like this, we usually stayed in bed until lunch. That's if I didn't have any homework to do, which I fortunately did not.
My nose touched hers. "So did you have fun yesterday?"
"It was alright," she teased with a grin.
"Don't lie, you had a blast."
"Only because I was with you."
Once again, my hands roamed under her shirt. "You were out as soon as your head hit the pillow last night."
She smiled. "Were you disappointed?"
"Just a little bit," I whispered.
This time Sam took initiative to close the gap between our lips. The taste of mint touched my tongue as I felt one of her hands roam up my exposed leg. The warmth inside my chest spread through my veins, traveling and radiating from every pour of my body.
Usually we just made-out, but something was different this morning.
Sam rolled on top of me and wedged her hips between my legs. She gently rested her body against mine, as if the chill of October had made its way inside and my body was her source of heat. It was as if she couldn't get close enough.
"How much work do you have to do today?" she questioned in a whisper.
"None," I responded. "We can stay in bed all day."
The mood was playful, which was a groove we often fell into in bed. Intimacy was fun with her. It was fluid and ever-changing. One morning she would wake up and desperately need my touch, which would result in a passionate thirty minutes. Then the next would be like this, teasing and pillow-talk that would extend until the afternoon. And everything in between.
I allowed my hands to grab the edge of her tank.
"Did I say you could wear my clothes?" I teased.
"Hmm," she hummed against my neck. "I didn't know I had to ask permission."
I smiled and closed my eyes at the vibration that ran from my right ear down to my toes. My hands squeezed the shirt a little tighter.
"You look better in it than I do, anyway," I said, breathlessly.
I tilted my head back as her lips gently glided down my neck and kissed my shoulder. My skin burned under her lips, but it was a sensation I craved.
I reached up and brushed a strand of her long blonde hair that was tickling my face. Her hips moved against me and caused a quick shiver to run up my spine. My hands gripped the hair on the back of her head in response, which was only encouraging.
"Did you dream about me?" she spoke against my mouth.
"Maybe," I confessed.
I had. It had been a wonderful dream. It had just ended too soon. Maybe that's why I was here, lying under her, because I was dying to finish it.
Sam hooked her hand under my left knee and turned over, forcing me on top. I felt the heat rush to my face at the sudden change of power.
I stared down and admired her. Her messy blonde waves spread over the pillow like a flowing wheat field. A tiny smirk spread over her pink lips.
"Wanna show me how that dream went?"
I moved down and brought my face close to hers. Our lips met again and I realized I did want to show her. Desperately.
Until the ringing of her phone interrupted us.
We just stared at each other for a moment.
"Just ignore it," Sam said as she leaned up and caught my lips.
"What if it's important?" I asked.
"Then they'll leave a message."
The ringing stopped and I tried to find the moment we had almost lost. Then before I could, the ringing started again.
"It's Blair," Sam growled.
I allowed her to get up and retrieve her phone.
"Blair, can you not-"
Her sentence stopped.
"And what exactly do you think I can do about that?"
The exchange between Sam and Blair made me giggle. Even when she hated being interrupted, maybe we could return to our previous positions after. If it wasn't anything serious.
"No, Blair," Sam spat. "I'm not asking Megan."
My head perked up. "Ask me what?"
I heard Sam mumbled a small shit under her breath before she stuck her head back in the bedroom.
"Nothing," she smiled, but I knew better.
"Sam," I coaxed.
She broke.
"Someone dropped off a litter of puppies at Blair and Tony's apartment complex and she doesn't know what to do."
I felt my heart pull at the image of a batch of small puppies cuddled together in a box. Lost, cold and shivering. Their little whines, crying for attention...
I hopped up and threw on some clothes.
"Well, then it looks like we're going to Blair's."
Sam must've hung up the call. "What the hell are we gonna do? They're gonna end up at a shelter anyway?"
I gave her a pleading look. "She called you for a reason. Maybe we know some people who would want to take them."
Sam approached me. "But Megan... We were busy..."
I smirked. "Let's go."
She groaned in protest as she changed and hopped into her car. When we made it to Blair and Tony's there were a few people already there. I assumed they were neighbors of our friends.
We walked in and spotted the circle of fence in their tiled den. There were three of them. Okay, not too many. Maybe we could quickly find them homes.
But when we approached the puppies, I could feel my heart melt a little bit.
They were just so cute.
I picked one up and held her between my arm and torso. These puppies honestly couldn't be any more than seven to eight weeks. How could someone be so heartless as to abandon them?
"Sam, look at her little face." I scratched her chin as her pink sliver of tongue tasted my hand.
"Be careful, she might pee on you," Sam retorted.
I frowned. "Come pet her."
Blair laughed. "Sam's not an animal person."
Sam rolled her eyes. "I had a bad experience with a dog once."
I stepped closer. "That was one time. And what is this little thing gonna do to you?"
Sam's cautious eyes traveled from my own to the dog that was lying calmly in my arm. She yawned and looked at Sam, as if they were both studying each other. Except the puppy looked more at ease than my girlfriend.
Sam reached out an touched the top of the dog's head. She barely stroked her before she pulled away. The puppy seemed to sigh in disappointment.
"Sam," I scolded. "She wants you to love her!"
"Oh, really?" Sam mocked. "Did she tell you that?"
Blair approached us. "Okay, so our neighbor that lives below us said she'd take the solid white one and the other is going to someone's little brother..."
I gave the puppy in my arm a sad look. "What about her?"
Blair shrugged. "Everyone else we talked to said they couldn't take her."
Sam sighed. "Maybe Jas, Quinton or Sara?"
I couldn't keep myself from envisioning something bad happening to the pup. The only way I could be sure she would be okay was if she came home with Sam and I.
"I want to keep her," I blurted.
Sam's panicked eyes snapped up. "What?"
"Please Sam! I don't trust those people and she's obviously the runt."
"Megan," Sam said. "Who's gonna take care of it? And I don't even think our apartment complex allows dogs!"
"We will take care of her. And here..." I grabbed my phone and handed it to Sam. "Call the owner and ask."
The look on Sam's face screamed defeat, but I knew that the dog would grow on her. She just had to give her a chance.
Sam hesitantly dialed and tried to pace away from me, but I wasn't having that.
"Put him on speaker phone," I demanded.
Sam rolled her eyes and complied.
"Hello?" the apartment owner answered.
"Hey, Chad, it's Megan. Sam and I have a question."
"Sure. What is it?"
"What's your policy on pets?" My eyes caught Sam studying the dog.
There was a pause. "Only small dogs and cats. There is a pet fee, though."
I smiled in victory.
"Why? Are you two looking to get a pet?"
"We are now," I said as the puppy cuddled into my neck.
"What kind of dog?"
"Looks like some sort of terrier."
"Alright, well, our pet fee is one-fifty. We recommend you fix them as well."
Sam still had a look of protest on her face, but this would be good for us. It would be good for her too. She just didn't know it yet.
"I'll mail you a check," I claimed as I hung up the phone.
It was official.
Sam, on the other hand, didn't seem pleased.
I moved closer to her and allowed the puppy to sniff her hair. She seemed friendly. Plus, she wasn't a whiner and seemed calm. My last dog had been nothing like this one.
"Sam, just hold her."
"Not until she gets her shots." Sam stepped away.
"Don't be rude," I countered.
Sam could read the look I was giving her. She got the hint and stretched out her arms. I smiled and planted the dog in her hands.
"Let's go shopping for her," I beamed. "Oh, we can go pick out a cute little collar and a bed. And we get to name her!"
I was obviously more excited than Sam, but the more she held on to the puppy, the more I could see it growing on her.
"Congratulations." Blair patted Sam's shoulder. "You're now a dog mom."
Sam rolled her eyes.
The dog was handed back off to me as Sam took her place in the driver's seat. The puppy then started to squirm with nerves, but I held her close to my chest.
"You're gonna be so loved," I promised her. "Just give Sammy some time, she's not as mean as she looks."
"You know I hate when you call me that," Sam scoffed.
"And you know I hate when you try to be all heartless," I said. "Because I know you're not."
I watched Sam side-glance me and the dog, but her hard exterior was crumbling.
It didn't take us long to make it to the pet store to pick up a few essentials. A collar and leash, of course. Some food and food bowls, a bed for her to sleep in and some training pads. By the time we left there was no way we had forgotten anything.
When we made it home I set the puppy down.
"Why don't you go bring her outside?" I asked Sam. "Have some bonding time."
"I think you should have the first shift," she protested.
I folded my arms. "Sam, she's never gonna bond with you if you don't try."
Sam sighed and knelt to pick her up. I couldn't help but smile at the sight of Sam holding the small white and brown puppy.
But as I retrieved the collar and leash I heard Sam groan.
"Oh, my God, she's pissing on me!"
I turned to see a dark stain flowing down the side of Sam's shirt as she held the puppy away from her body. The distaste on her face was clear.
"It's just pee," I said. "She's excited."
"Or maybe she knows I don't want her and this is her evil side."
I took the dog from her and sighed. "Well, stop being such a scrooge then."
Sam narrowed her eyes as she disappeared into our room. Okay, the dog peeing on her was a bad start, but she was just nervous. This was a new environment and we were new faces. But we would grow on her just like she would grow on Sam.
"What do you think of the name Charlie?" I asked from the kitchen.
"Whatever," Sam said with little-to-no interest. "But Charlie's not sleeping in the bed!"
I looked at the small face of our newest family member and gave her a smile. Sam may pay majority of the bills, but it was my bed we slept in. Which meant I had the final say so.
"Don't mind her," I cooed Charlie. "You can sleep on my pillow."
Charlie just licked my cheek in response.