I was impressed that for the few times Salem had seen me, she was able to draw a size choice from her memory. I’d see if Sam could show me how to use his washer today so I could wear fresh panties. I sat on the bed and pulled on a pair of black leggings.
“Garrett actually asked Sam for the size info. I think Josh gave it to him.”
Josh?
I’ve been underestimating Josh. We lived together though, so chances were he had seen something in the dryer that I’d left behind or something like that. Unless he was sneaking into my room. Maybe Josh had snagged a pair of panties and used them to jack off with. Hmm, that idea was kind of hot to me.
“I’m sorry about what happened last night.” Salem’s voice was just above a whisper.
It was as if last night’s event was a secret from Sam or Josh that she wanted to make sure they hadn’t heard it from her. Or maybe her low tone was something that she needed for her own sake. The world wasn’t centered around me, I reminded myself. Salem wasn’t even twenty yet, and if her experience was anything like Brandon’s, she had already lived through and experienced more situations like the one I had last night that she probably lost count of them.
“Thank you,” I managed to say as I stood and pulled the leggings the rest of the way up.
I sat on the bed again and folded the other pair of leggings. I suddenly felt the urge to explain, or try to explain, how I was feeling. Maybe she could relate to having lived through that shit and then finding herself in the arms of someone she’d eventually fallen in love with.
“It’s kind of a weird feeling. I would never want to experience that again, but if it weren’t for that terrible event, I wouldn’t be here with Sam.” I looked up at her to see if she was following where I was going. I smiled, and when she did too, I felt my cheeks getting warm. “I've kind of been crushing on Sam for a while,” I admitted.
Salem’s smile told me that she understood. I wanted to tell her that she could come into the room and that she didn’t have to stay in the doorway. But again, maybe it was for her comfort, and I needed to be respectful of that with her.
“I know what you mean.” Salem opened her mouth, but then closed it again and looked down. I let the silence hang between us for a few moments, and then she spoke up. “My counselor told me that I can’t be afraid to move forward or be afraid to love. I crushed hard on Garrett almost instantly. The feelings never went away, and I finally stopped trying to fight them. When I’m with him, I feel like the most important person ever. Once we turned that corner, it was difficult being … sexual with him at first. But he always helps me relax and is thoughtful of how I might be feeling. I’m not afraid of it anymore, and I don’t avoid it. I don’t think I could find that level of understanding from a guy my age.”
Everything that rolled out of her mouth sounded much wiser than coming from an eighteen or nineteen-year-old. Brandon was like that with some stuff. Salem didn’t seem to have much difficulty expressing anything to me. Maybe it was because Garrett and her counselor had worked so much with her since she was rescued. I imagine she had setbacks like Brandon, but overall, she seemed really grounded and put together. Salem might have been a confident girl before she was taken. Or sold. I didn’t actually know her exact situation. I didn’t know if she had been abducted or sold by someone.
It had crossed my mind that she might have felt so comfortable sharing this with me because I now had something in my background that was in hers. I remembered Sam telling Josh and me at breakfast that Garrett was trying to help Salem socialize with people. She and I could be friends, just like Josh and Andrew were good friends with Brandon.
“If the situation presented itself with Sam, my mind and body would be on board,” I admitted.Yes, if I woke up to Sam stroking my pussy, I’d be all over that.
Salem smiled and nodded. She understood. We spoke the same language.
“We should get coffee once a week, or grab lunch or something,” I suggested.
“I would like that a lot. I didn’t have many friends at school before everything happened, so there weren’t any for me to go back to. And Garrett has been wonderful, but I’m hoping to make some friends too.”
“Well, I’d love to have a female friend. Josh would be a good friend too,” I offered. I quickly backpedaled, though, because I wasn’t sure of her comfort level around other men aside from Garrett. I didn’t want to seem pushy or make her nervous. Brandon! Maybe if I connected him with Brandon, she’d feel better or less apprehensive toward him. “Josh is good friends with Brandon,” I offered up. She couldn’t be afraid of Brandon, could she? Brandon was as harmless as they came.
“Garrett said he was going to see if we could meet James and Brandon for lunch or dinner sometime. I haven’t really talked to Brandon much. But I would love to be friends with you guys.”
This girl had opened right up to me. Maybe she just needed some friends, and it probably helped that I was a female too.
“You’ll like Brandon. He’s very sweet,” I added. Salem smiled and then leaned her head back to look into the hallway. I could hear footsteps coming this way, and then I heard Sam’s sexy voice.
“Is she dressed?” he asked Salem.
“Yes, she’s dressed.”
Salem leaned snugly against the doorframe so Sam could walk into the room. It had only been about ten or fifteen minutes at the most since we had been upstairs, but I felt like it had been forever since I had seen him.
“I bet you’re glad to be out of my gym shorts,” Sam ventured as his eyes roamed up and down my legs. I stood sideways and did a little modeling pose that made Salem laugh.
“I liked your shorts, but the leggings are more my speed. Your t-shirts will work well with the leggings,” I added.
Sam held his hands out for me to take them, and he pulled me into an embrace. He kissed my forehead and said he was happy that I was happy.
“Are you ready to talk to Garrett?” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied while I nestled my cheek against his chest. I was perfectly content right where I was, but I knew it needed to be done.
Once we were downstairs, I sat on the couch between Josh and Sam. It was cute the way Garrett put his arm around Salem when she sat beside him. She really was in good hands with Garrett. He patted her hip and then pulled his arm around in front of him and reached for his cell phone that sat on the coffee table.
