Fighting Fire - s.k.

Chapter Twelve

It had been three weeks since the twins left the lake house and since then, things have completely mellowed out for Stevie. She was shocked at how easily everything had changed. However, she wasn't about to complain about it. She thought Sam was kind before. Compared to where she and Sam started in the spring, their relationship was shocking. Once the twins knew everything, he had this new sense of confidence about him that Stevie hadn't had the privilege to witness thus far.

They would cook dinner together every night. He would make physical contact with her any chance he could; holding her hand, touching her leg, pushing hair out of her face, standing close enough to her that their arms would touch, anything. It grew easier for Stevie to understand how sweet and caring Sam was with each passing day.

Each day was more fun than the last, which made it increasingly difficult for her to think about the dreaded L word. She enjoyed spending time with him and all of the romance that came with that. However, Sam and Stevie never actually talked about anything serious in the context of their relationship. Or at least they hadn't yet.

And Stevie knew that Sam wouldn't press her about being his girlfriend. He made that very clear when he didn't seem to care that Stevie didn't want anyone to know they hooked up in the first place. While she didn't have to worry about Sam talking about labels, she still had to deal with Josh and his daily calls and texts, asking for updates. She stuck to the same response every time.

They were, to put it simply, having fun.

Aside from being insufferable, Josh kept his word about helping Stevie shop online though and she was slowly getting closer to the lake house being hers. It was easier for her to focus on redecorating now that most of her dad's stuff was rehomed, that's for sure. However, she kept a bit of his presence here. It wouldn't feel right if she hadn't.

Now, they were almost in the middle of June and the weather was beautiful. Stevie and Sam spent most of their time outside and today was no exception. The pair was utilizing the hammocks discovered in the garage clean out on the back porch. Sam lay facing the pool and Stevie lay facing the house. They both had their laptops in their laps and earbuds in their ears, Sam attending his therapy session and Stevie finally having enough mental stamina to try and write.

They didn't have to be together for this, but that's just something they started doing together and the earbuds were to help drown out Sam talking, so Stevie wasn't overhearing something she shouldn't or causing him to hold back on being truthful. Occasionally, they would brush against each other's hands and Stevie would hold on for a second before she went back to typing.

Stevie didn't necessarily know what her game plan was for her writing, but she just started anyway for the hell of it. She would never admit this to anyone, but most of her writing was about Sam. It helped her sort everything out in her mind, laying out the timeline of the two growing up together versus where they were now. She had only started writing about a week ago, so Stevie was still getting into their past. It was more like journaling than anything else.

When Stevie saw Sam smile, close his laptop, and lay his head back, facing the sun, she popped her earbud out.

"How was it?" she asked, and Sam sighed, "Good. Hard. She brought up stuff I don't want to start thinking about yet, but I have noticed that happens frequently."

Stevie laughed and nodded, "Ah, yes. Pretty frequent."

Sam sat up and smiled at her, squinting his eyes from the sunshine, "Whatcha workin' on over there?"

Stevie smiled, looking at her screen and shaking her head, "Just some writing. That's all."

He sat up straighter, "Oooh! Oooh! Can I see?"