"Oh fuck me!" I yelped as I spotted a familiar face acrossthe room.
Tom raised his eyebrow, obviously not seeing who I was seeing "right now, darling? I would've thought that I left you reasonably satisfied only an hour ago..." I slapped his arm and Tom snickered; his arm was draped around my waist but my sudden vocalisation had inspired his fingers to dig into the soft material of my dress, massaging small circles upon my hip.
"I think I just saw my ex" I said, trying to spot the mass of dark hair that I used to run my fingers through so lovingly at one point of my life.
"Your ex?" Tom echoed "Sam?" I had only told Tom the basics about my past relationships, Sam included; I didn't feel the need to dwell on the past and all its failures. Sam had been someone who I had truly loved and Tom knew this so it was no surprise to see him stand up a little straighter and pull me closer to him.
"Ugh, this is going to be so awkward" I muttered, watching Sam talking animatedly about something, rendering the audience of the story laughing helplessly. It hadn't been a bad break up and by all means, I didn't hate Sam but seeing the same dark curls and infectious smile evoked too many memories. Not to mention that I was entirely too awkward to execute any kind of exchange with Sam without stuttering at least once or making a bad joke or remembering something inappropriate like the how soft the rich, umber brown skin felt under my hands. I groaned at the memories and looked down, earning me an even tighter arm around my body as if Tom was trying to assert to a blissfully unaware Sam that I was, in all senses of the word, taken.
"I am not letting go of you" Tom said, pressing a quick kiss on the top of my head in an attempt to comfort me.
"Certainly doesn't feel like it" I ran my hand down the arm wrapped around my waist, feeling the tense muscles of his arm "By the end of this evening I think I'll have some sort of imprint of your arm over here." The comment makes him smile sheepishly and he loosens his grip ever so slightly so that it was just shy of constricting.
Tom stayed true to his word for the majority of the evening; everyone he conversed with greets me and accepts that they won't be talking to Tom alone. Most of the conversations were work related, Tom mentions some projects he's going to be working on or a funny story from his time on set but by the third time he's told the anecdote involving a naked Chris Hemsworth and Tom's own unfortunate timing, I start to blank out. I try to find Sam again, wondering whether or not my ex is anywhere close by but I don't see or hear anything so I become distracted by the other party goers, silently wondering where she got her pair of shoes from or exactly what that tattoo is on his arm. I get so wrapped up in my thoughts that when Tom squeezes my side I jump in surprise.
"I know I said I wouldn't let go of you but I don't think I can take you with me into the Men's" he said, nodding towards the men's bathroom.
"You could but I think people may get the wrong idea" I giggled, turning to embrace him. I ran my fingers down the buttons of his dark blue shirt, suggestively tracing my index finger on top of the square belt buckle before looking up at him with a triumphant smirk as his Adam's apple bobbed. Tom led me to outside of the bathrooms, where less people were and leaned down, hungrily kissing me. My toes scrunched up in my heels as a warm sensation zipped through my body.
"We will continue this" he groaned and stepped away to enter the door on the left. I shivered from the loss of his body heat and mourned the warmth. Tom always ran extra warm which was handy when it got to winter time, especially when the heating broke down and he would still somehow be magically toasty. I had even told him to put it on his CV; 'Special Skills: perfect cuddle partner'.
"Olivia?" Sam steps out of the door on the right and grins "what are you doing here?" If there was one word to describe Sam, it would be chill. Sam was the most laidback person I knew; capable of taking news (good or bad) calmly and with a smile or perfectly capable of talking to me without being nervous or clumsy like I was being.
"Hi Sam" I smiled shyly, offering a little wave which I regretted the second I moved my hand. Sam laughs, knowing full well of how embarrassed I am and instead pulls me into a hug. The embrace isn't unpleasant and my heart calms down a bit when I take in the recognisable scent of cinnamon that I always associated with Sam.
"Still such a shy little bunny" Sam coos, taking pleasure from the way I squirm under the touch of those thumbs on my heated cheeks.
"Shut up" I half heartedly murmur, attaining a laugh from Sam. Sam's laugh is indescribably contagious however and I find myself giggling too. Out of the corner of my eye I see a door swing and Tom stepping out.
"Is this your boyfriend?" Sam asked and I nodded.
"This is Tom" I said and Tom grinned, shaking Sam's hand.
"God, he's the complete opposite of me" Sam laughed "So tall and... so pale."
"I... like variety" I said with a shrug, flicking my eyes up to Tom's own which are very confused.
"Oh, I can see that" Sam said and turned towards Tom "I hope you take good care of her, Tom. Olivia is very special."
Tom is still confused but nods "I wouldn't dream of not doing so."
"I'm glad you found someone, bunny" Sam said, squeezing my hand.
"I'm glad I saw you again" I said softly in reply and I knew that Sam knew that I meant it genuinely.
***
On the way home it becomes apparent that Tom still hasn't caught on. His fingers tap on the steering wheel as he struggles to figure out who I was talking to and what they meant.
"Who was that girl you were talking to? What did she mean when she said I was the complete opposite to her?"
"Tom, seriously? You don't get it?"
"Enlighten me"
"That was Sam. My ex."
Tom grips the wheel "What?! That was Sam?!"
"Yup" I can't help but laugh at the shocked expression on his face.
"B-but, she's a she! And called Sam!"
"Sam is short for Samantha, silly!" I said "I thought you supported other sexual orientations, didn't you have that analogy with ice cream?"
"Well, of course I support it! I-I just didn't expect for you to be, well, not straight."
"Who wants to be heterosexual?" I said scrunching up my nose "girls are pretty, did you really expect me to ignore that?"
"No. I know I certainly didn't." He lets his left hand come away from the wheel and find mine, interlocking his fingers with my own. It's quiet for a few moments and then I decided to break it.
"You're okay with that though, right? My lack of heterosexuality?"
"Of course, my love" He kissed the back of my hand as if to confirm it "it's all good, it's all ice cream" his tongue darts out to lick his lips quickly "but why didn't you tell me before hand that Sam was a girl, I wouldn't have looked like such an idiot when meeting her."
"It honestly just slipped my mind" I said "a person's sex and gender doesn't really mean too much to me" I shrugged "I like people for who they are, not what's between their legs or what they identify as."
"I suppose that makes sense" Tom said "does that make you bisexual then?"
"I identify more with being pansexual" I shrugged "but for different people it depends."
"Right" Tom nodded "I still have some questions about that but I have an even bigger one on my mind, right now."
"Oh, yeah?" I grinned "what's that?"
"What did Sam mean when she called me 'so pale'?"
