Brick by Brick

Part Twenty Six

Chapter Twenty Six

The local Chinese restaurant could win awards; the food was fresh and a lot lighter than a lot of the London takeaways he frequented. The four of them sat at the table sharing the food, along with a bit more alcohol, and Corinne was relaying tales of her and Mike's trip away to Manchester rather animatedly, and the three of them were laughing at her antics.

It was nice to see Sammy smile again, it seemed so long since he'd seen her happy, and he wasn't helping that. He'd leave; he'd decided that as the evening progressed. He would sort out the paperwork for Clifford, then drive back to London, that was what was best for her, he was an unnecessary complication. Plus it was the best thing for him. The glimpse of her bra through her wet t-shirt earlier had had a ridiculous effect on his body; he still couldn't catch her eye now. The cold shower and become icy before he'd got his libido back under control. He'd spent the day convincing himself that the kiss was a mistake, but tonight had proved he was wrong.

He liked Sammy far more than he should and he needed distance to deal with that.

Watching her chuckle, her face light up, even that did warm things to his body. Suddenly he knew how she tasted, and it was having a ludicrous effect on him. He wanted more and he couldn't stay around and not have that. The only option was to leave. Soon. For sanity.

"So do you?" Corinne was laughing at him as her words penetrated his deep thought pathway.

"Sorry, I was miles away."

She laughed again, "can see that. You need to keep your finger on the pulse Mr Edwards."

Mike joined in with the laughter, "she's right, she's talking about a half marathon, and YOU almost got yourself tied up in it."

Joel groaned, "I can't do running, football, volleyball, the gym at a push, but I can't do running, not for thirteen bloody miles!"

Sammy nodded in agreement, "see it's just you Corinne, you are the token crazy around here."

"Aw Sammy, can't you join me?"

She shook her head, "this body wasn't designed to run. Can't you see that?"

Joel had to bite his tongue to hide the moan that threatened to escape his lips at the images that conjured up. Because she was right, someone as curvaceous as she was could never run that far seriously, then there was the thought that she would lose some of that softness...he hated that. She was perfect. He thought back to the first time he saw her on that beach in Greece, it was an image he'd fought to expel from his mind for years, he'd hidden his attraction to her since the day that Marcus showed interest in her. But now it was there, in vivid technicolour, un-policed since they'd shared that kiss.

"You ok?"

He was in the kitchen stacking the plates when he felt Sammy approach, he sensed her before she spoke. Turning he studied her for a moment. She was pale, paler even by her standards, but then he knew that was the stress she was under taking its toll. But her eyes were warm, her full mouth soft, free of tension, she hadn't been this relaxed in days.

"Good, that was great food..." he took the plates she held then smiled, "company wasn't too bad either."

She smiled then, a real smile, "you're right, sorry I've been so distant, these last few days have been hard."

That was an understatement, but he wasn't about to make this more difficult, he was enjoying the fact that there was no animosity between them too.