Sami leaned her head against the passenger window of Charlene's new car as they drove back to Jackson for the Christmas Holidays. Charlene and Debbie had graduated the previous May, and moved together to Houston where they had both secured jobs. Debbie would be with her family in Dallas for the holidays, as Sami and Charlene would do with theirs, in Mississippi.
"Thanks for detouring to pick me up," Sami said as her eyes took in the swamps that they crossed over, leaving the City behind them.
"Not much of a detour, baby, it's interstate all the way," Charlene smilingly replied and sneaking a quick side-long glance to the cousin that she loved so much; beyond the sex, she loved Sami as if she was the sister she never had. In truth, they were more like sisters, than cousins; well, except for the sex of course, Charlene thought, which caused her to wonder if she would've fooled with Sami, had she been her sister, all those years ago.
Yeah, probably so, Charlene thought, which, in turn, troubled her to no end.
"Still, I appreciate it; I owe you," turning to look at Charlene when she said it.
"Show me your appreciation over the holidays sometime, Sami-girl, when we can sneak away, okay?"
"You bet," Sami replied, and turning back to look out of her window, she took stock of the fall semester that had just ended...
Scholastically, it couldn't have gone better for Sami. She had pulled straight A's in all of her courses, and had been accepted as the new RA for her dorm. With Casey's help, Sami already had her stuff moved into 312, ready for her return after New Year's.
She and Casey had bonded as roommates, and though each had flirted with the thought of crawling into the other's bed some night, neither did. Both of the girls 'knew' the other would welcome a tryst of the Sapphic sort, though neither openly spoke of it; they 'knew', was what it was.
She and Bea had one, last final night of fucking before Bea left for graduate school, and both would miss the sex with each other terribly. Since that night, in October, when Bea came to Sami's sexual rescue, they continued to meet for sex at least once a week.
A week after that night with Bea, Sami showed up, unannounced, at Jena's door one night. When Jena opened the door, she knew by the look on Sami's face and in her eyes, that she and Sami would make love that night, and Jena was soooo ready to welcome Sami into her bed, once again.
Charlene dropped Sami off at her house, running in to say a quick hello/goodbye to Sami's parents before she drove the mile or so to her parents' home. The girls had made tentative plans for some private time for themselves and after a couple of days doing the family thing; both were ready for that private time, in a big way.
Telling their parents that they were going to Oxford to see some friends at Ole Miss and that they'd be back in a couple of days. Charlene and Sami did go to Oxford, but rather than crash at somebody's house, they opted to get a motel.
"Sami, how are you doing, babygirl, you know, since Bonnie's..." Charlene stopped, searching for a word or phrase that wouldn't upset Sami, but coming up short.
"Death, that's the word you're looking for Charlene, Death; Bonnie's dead, you can say it, I won't go ballistic on you," Sami offered to Charlene, "and to answer your question, I've learned to deal, and have quit cursing God for taking her, okay?"
Sami's tone was harsh, something she rarely was with Charlene; but Sami wasn't the same person and it would be fair to say that Sami had taken on a slightly harder edge.
"I'm sorry Sami, I didn't mean to upset you," Charlene apologized, meaning every word of it.
Blowing out a breath of air, Sami pulled Charlene to her body, and apologized for her shitty attitude, kissing her cousin's cheek afterwards.
"Let's go see your friend and score some weed," Sami suggested out of the clear blue sky, "I need to mellow out, really mellow out."
Charlene agreed that Sami-girl definitely needed to mellow out, but she wouldn't dream of saying that out loud. Since Bonnie's death, Charlene thought, being around Sami was like walking in a minefield blindfolded; you just never knew which step would be the last one.
The girls scored their weed, they got high and they fucked; but, it wasn't the same, for either of them, though neither would say so.
No, they both decided, independently, that they'd rather bury their heads in the sand than to confront the issue.
Their familial duties for the holidays completed, the girls left on their return trip; Sami to begin the Volleyball season's play, and to the new spring semester, and Charlene to her job and of course, to Debbie.
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T and Sami were still friends, of course, but they were no longer lovers on the road trips, or anywhere else for that matter; they hadn't talked about it, they hadn't discussed it, it just became so. Strangely, they were both okay with that and felt their relationship had transcended the sex; no, the sex didn't matter to them anymore was the simple truth of it all.
But, make no mistake; they still had each other's back, both on and off the court.
Sami pounded away at her game and at her studies, loving the solitude of her private room. There was very little intrusion into Sami's time from being the RA for the dorm; oh sure, there was the occasional roommate squabble that she had to mediate, but in the end, it really wasn't demanding at all.
All in all, as Sami matriculated in her senior year, things were good for Sami-girl.
Occasionally, she'd retreat to that private place in her head and think about Bonnie, which made her miss her all the more; and in those moments, she would cry, alone, in the solitude of her room. That it took several months for her to cry for her Bonnie was something that would trouble Sami to no end.
But make no mistake, Sami-girl grieved for her Bonnie Sue.
The spring semester was moving along quite nicely and Sami had decided that instead of going on spring break this year, she's stay and work instead. Besides, she was doing modeling shoots weekly now for a couple of PR agencies and really couldn't spare the time to get drunk on the beaches of Texas or Mississippi.
About a week before break, there was a soft knock on Sami's door.
"Come in, it's open," Sami called over her shoulder and then turning to see who she had invited into her room.
"Casey, damn, I was just thinking about you," Sami said and getting up from her desk to hug Casey in welcome, "it's really good to see you."
