Ben had silently watched this exchange, and now rolled his eyes as he mumbled something inaudible. He clapped his hands together, and then spoke loud enough for all to hear. “Ahh, Sammy! What d’ya say we get this show on the road?” Ben cackled with glee.
The three of them spent the next thirty minutes making as much noise as possible while they cooked the greasiest breakfast they could. Halfway through, Samantha finally emerged, her hair tousled, and alternately holding her head and her belly. “What is happening?” She groaned. “Dad?Mom?”
Maya hugged her daughter. “Not feeling so great, huh?”
Sam folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the counter. “Must’ve been some study session last night.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “Get your project done, did you?”
“What?” Samantha appeared to be supremely confused as she plopped down at the island and rested her head on it.
Maya kissed her daughter on the head. “I have to get to class. You’ll be in good hands here.”
Maya waved goodbye to Ben and rushed out the door. Sam quickly followed, barefoot, in his haste.
“I’ll come get her after class.” Maya pushed the elevator call button.
“Actually, I need to go into Queens to speak to my real estate agent.”
“On a Saturday?”
“The sooner the better.”
Silence. Sam moved closer to Maya, rested his hand on her cheek. “Maya, don’t go.”
She tensed and removed his hand. “I have to go to class, Sam.”
“Don’t go away. With him.”
The elevator door opened, and she stepped in. “It’s what I want.” She pressed the button for the lobby.
Something in the defiant way she threw those words at him spurred Sam into action. He stepped into the elevator just as the doors closed. “Are you sure?” His voice was low, almost a growl. They were alone. He had thirty-one floors to find out how sure she was. He reached behind her and released her hair from the ponytail. Thirty floors. Her breath caught as her hair cascaded in waves of dark silk over his hand. He threaded his fingers into the soft strands, cupping the back of her head. Twenty-nine.
“Sam...” It was a whisper.
He leaned down. “Don’t. Say. Anything.” He said the words softly onto her lips as he pressed his mouth against hers. His kiss was gentle, not pressing. She opened her mouth and he pulled back slightly in case she was going to protest, but then she pressed her mouth to his and kissed him back. This kiss was different than kisses on the porch, making out in the car, or even the early passion of the bed-and-breakfast. This kiss was about forgiveness and new beginnings. This kiss was about falling in love again.
When she did not push him away, his kiss became more insistent. Maya responded by pressing closer to him. He deepened their kiss, drinking in the honeysuckle fragrance of her, mixed with coffee on her lips, intoxicated by the essence that was Maya. She clung to him, her arms around him, pulling him even closer. He lifted her up and she automatically wrapped her legs around his waist. He brushed his mouth along the soft skin on her neck, and a low moan in her throat vibrated against his lips. He grinned against her lips as he pressed her against the elevator wall, his hands on her bottom, their bodies melting into each other. She loved him. It was right there in her kiss.
They weren’t the kids they used to be all those years ago. So while everything was familiar, it was also new. Sam was so lost in Maya, that when the elevator halted and the familiar ding sounded, it came to him as if from a tunnel. His time was up.
Suddenly Maya was scrambling to stand, her cheeks pleasantly flushed, her voice agitated. “Damn it, Sam. Let me down.”
Sam let her down, taking his time to remove his hands from her body. He finally stepped away from her, giving her space. He could still taste her.
“I—we—cannot do that.” She furrowed her brow as she put her hair back in its ponytail.
“Apparently, yes, we can.”
“I don’t know what the hellthatwas, but I’m still going away with Leo.” She stomped out of the elevator. The doors started to close.
Sam threw out his arm to stop the doors from closing. “Do you love him?” he called out. She turned around, eyes wide. He held her gaze, daring her to answer. He removed his arm and the doors began to close. “Because—” The doors shut. “I love you,” he said to his reflection in the closed doors.
Sam bit his lip and paced the empty elevator as it ascended back to his apartment. He smiled to himself. She wasn’t very sure. Not at all.
Sam burst back into his apartment to find Ben and Samantha exactly where he’d left them. Ben smirked at him. “Had to take her down in the elevator, did you?”
“She cannot go away with that guy.”
Samantha lifted her head, and both she and Ben stared at him. “So, what’re you going to do, Sammy?”
