A blast from the past

Zoe could feel Sam’s hands resting on the small of her back as they continued the kiss. She could feel his heart beat accelerate underneath her fingertips and it gave her a small thrill that she had this affect on him. After a minute or so it ended and Sam seemed to be having issues recovering from the kiss, he stuttered and sounded breathless.

His arms were still around her and his eyes were intently searching her face.
“I kissed you because I haven’t quite made up my mind about you Sam Locke,” Zoe said honestly, running her fingers lightly down the side of his neck before moving the hand back beside her. “Besides, I think we scarred your cat for life.”

She was telling the complete and honest truth, the silver ring glinted on her hand faintly in the dim light. “Now, why did you kiss me back?”

The last time Sam kissed a girl was when he kissed... Well the last time he kissed someone and it felt that good was a very long time ago, several years to be exact. Sam felt a tiny shiver as she said his full name, no one calls him by his full name, it has been a long time since someone has even spoken his last name, but he liked it when Zoe said it. He felt her hand run down the side of his neck as she pulled it away, Sam looked over to see Amber lying on the ground with her paws covering her eyes, it looked like a sign of disgust and shamefulness, she probably thought better of Sam. "Aah, she'll be fine." he said, it didn't look like she was fine, but Sam would be able to explain it to her.

She asked him why he had kissed her back, there was an all manner of reasons he wanted to do it, but he could not explain them all "Because, Catalina, I find you very intriguing and the kiss that we shared in the alleyway a month or so ago, all be it a kiss simply to get away from the cops, was great and was hard to get out of my brain, believe me." Sam realized that he still had his hands on Zoe's back, but if she did not want him close she would have swiped his hands away or walked away altogether so he kept them where they were. "What is it about me that you can't make your mind up about exactly? Does a mere mortal like myself confuses someone as knowledgeable as yourself?" Zoe was usually a woman with all of the answers, but it appeared on this occasion she was unsure about something, and that something was him.

The cat looked slightly queasy, it was a rather interesting and amusing at the same time and she slunk down the hall again; in fear that they would start kissing again. Zoe felt a small smile flutter over her lips before it vanished again and she looked at Sam seriously.

“You know, you better be careful were you using that name. People do want Catalina dead, one of the reasons I’ve changed my name.” She stated this lightly, in a playful tone but still a serious expression. She lifted a hand to play with his hair, the color black still bothered her but the haircut was fine. “As for you, I can’t make up my mind on why you don’t freak out half the time. Kissing a girl with fangs is rather dangerous.”

Now they were flirting… great. Zoe arched an eyebrow, a usual look for her; more strands of wild red hair had fallen into her face as she waited for what Sam would do next.

Sam couldn't tell if he was being told off for using her name or if she was making a joke, she tried to disguise it with a playful tone but the message hit home, best not to use her real name in public, who knows who could be listening, the demon they faced today seemed to appear almost out of nowhere.

Zoe began to play with his hair once again, it certainly did seem to get a response from her, she didn't seem to be a fan of it despite telling him she did, although she was drunk on chocolate at the time, so maybe she didn't mean it then. That wasn't the point, the point was that Zoe was surprised Sam had not run off scared at the fact she is a demon that had retractable fangs, Sam has seen a lot of crazy things, he sometimes crept himself out when he thought about what his power made him do. The first meta-human he had ever met was a man back in London, his name was Coronel and he tore an arm off of the Big Ben clock and launched it at Sam, from that point on, Sam would be surprised to see new things, but not surprised enough to be scared by them. Sam looked down to notice he had been so busy making sure Zoe was safe that he had not replaced his slightly torn shirt. Sam stood up, now stuck between Zoe and the table, still having his arms around her, he moved some strands of her hair that fell over her face before saying "If you was going to use those fangs on me, you would have used them by now, and as for kissing goes, I'm willing to take the risk." Sam let go of Zoe and walked towards his bedroom, he slipped his shirt off and tossed it into the bin before going to his wardrobe and pulled out another shirt, a regular one this time, a black shirt with pink writing on it that said "Only true men wear pink" a shirt that he was sure Zoe would recognize, he pointed it out as he walked back over and picked up his coffee off of the desk and took another sip, this time it was a lot colder than lat time.

Zoe watched Sam vanish back to his room, thinking of ways to threaten him in if ever necessary. Her head still hurt so she moved over to the couch and curled up there, her pale forehead pressed between the arm and the back of the couch, as if wishing the pressure would alleviate the pounding headache.

The cat stalked over and sat on the arm of the couch, very unhappy about the day’s recent developments. Zoe cracked open a blue eye and stretched out across the couch, throwing an arm over her eyes to shield her from the light. Despite the fact she had fallen asleep and taken a nap, Zoe was still exhausted. Staying up past twenty four hours did that to a being.
Upon Sam’s reentering the room, he motioned to his shirt. Zoe lifted her arm and looked at him before chuckling slightly and covering her face back up.

“Let the sleeping demons lie,” She mumbled at the cat, who had started to paw at her hair. Amber had walked up the back of the couch in order to do so.

Sam watched Amber pawing at Zoe who mumbled something to her, Sam didn't quite make out but Amber looked to him and he shook his head, causing her to walk to the head of the couch to give Zoe some peace. Zoe looked very tired, apparently a few hours nap did not refresh her, she must have been awake for some time before hand, getting drunk over chocolate must have not helped.

Sam took a sip of his medium temperature coffee as he felt a small pain in his leg, he looked down to see Amber sitting below him, he knew what she was thinking, but he just shrugged to her and looked out of the window. Without Sam knowing, Amber had climbed up several shelves so she was at head height to him, she then leaped off and landed on Sam's shoulder, Sam suddenly felt some kind of furry, soft force push down on his shoulder, the change in balance almost caused him to spill some of his coffee. He looked over to Amber with a stern expression as she began pawing at the side of his face, it was indeed annoying, but he couldn't do anything about it, this was her way of shouting at him without actually having do it. He rubbed her head playfully but rougher than usual, that was his way of saying "...Stop" without actually saying it. This whole time he had his back to Zoe so for all he knew she could have been watching, but he allowed Amber to return to the floor before entering his spare room, which was now a make shift gym.

Zoe yawned and turned over onto her side, trying desperately to find sleep. But the illusive creature would not appease her need for such a thing. After attempting sleep for another half of an hour she got up and ran a hand over her face, propping her forearms on her knees. Sam had vanished into another room.

So Zoe was left to her own devices. Removing her jacket, she set it on the chair folded over. Then she stretched every muscle, avoiding her aching wrist. The cat walked back into the room giving her a dirty look, Amber did not like her much, Zoe guessed.
So, on a whim she shifted.

Moments later, Amber ran into the makeshift gym, her tail and hair all fluffed up, very freaked out. Zoe sat on the floor of the living room next to the couch; her large pink tongue ran over her massive black paw. She yawned again showing massive dagger like fangs and the big panther got to her feet. Zoe had decided to go see what Sam was doing. The cat moved languidly over to the door and poked her head around the corner.

Sam entered the gym and grabbed the tape he had left on the floor from a few days ago, he taped his wrists and the rest of his hands, after that he took his shirt off and tossed it onto a chair, it was far too restricting to work out in. He had a single punching bag hanging in the middle of the small room with the rest of his equipment around the walls, treadmill, weights etc. He made sure he had a clean towel near him as he went to work on the punching bag, getting up close and hitting it with everything he had, he could hear the vibrations pulse through the leather with each hit, it swung forward and backwards on the chain that was keeping it in the air, this allowed Sam to sidestep around the bag and continue to lay into it in several different directions, causing the swing to go off course. This training went on for a good half an hour or so, sweat was forming on his face and body as he watched some droplets fall in front of his face. He stopped and grabbed the punching bag to stop it from swinging when he heard a bell bring run quickly he stared at the door and waited to see Amber run in looking much more fluffy than usual, he wasn't quite sure what made her look like this, but the question was answered for him when a panther leaned its head around the corner.

Amber entangled herself around Sam's leg as he leaned over and grabbed his tail, wiping away the sweat on his face and chest. He flung it over his shoulder as he looked at the panther with shameful eyes "You just couldn't leave her alone could you?" he said, not fazed by the fact that a large black panther was staring into his eyes, he knew who it really was.

Zoe gave him a panther smile, showing the sharp teeth before she wandered in to the makeshift gym. Her sensitive predator nose twitched as the distinct smell of sweaty Sam hit her nose. Her muscled feline body brushed up against his leg before moving away again. The punching bag seemed to amuse her and Zoe batted at it with a paw. A panther paw was massive, with dangerous jagged paws concealed inside. The bag swung around slightly and the tip of Zoe's tail twitched, her yellow eyes fixed upon the bag.

However it did not hold her attention long as Zoe shifted back, "The cat started it.Your shirt seems to be missing by the way, in case you were interested."
Not that Zoe minded, but she moved past him and looked out one of the windows. It was a view down into the alleyway and nothing interesting seemed to be happening down there.

Sam felt Zoe pass by him, he felt the furry muscles of the panther brush past him as Amber moved from behind one left to the other to stay as far away from Zoe as possible. Sam cleaned himself up a bit more as he watched Zoe pat at the punching bag, she seemed interested by it slightly, Sam was wincing and hoping that her claws didn't tear it open and make the punching bag obsolete, luckily she got bored of hit fairly quickly.

Sam placed his towel behind him and moved back over to the bag as Zoe leaned on the wall, he laughed slightly at her statement of his missing shirt "Yeah it tends to do that" he said as he placed his hand on the punching bag to stop it from swinging around, when it stopped moving he continued with his training and started punching it again. He stopped when he noticed Zoe staring blankly out of a window, "You should try this some time, it's a good way to vent frustration, you've spent the majority of the day with me, you must have some frustration to get out of your system" he said, he had poked fun at himself which he did not mind doing for comedic effect, people tend to laugh at his jokes when he insults himself, he always wondered why that is. He stopped again a few minutes later, slightly out of breath as he had put more effort in this time, he had an audience this time. He stretched down and picked up his bottle of water, taking the cap off and drinking some of the liquid. "Looks like I won't be getting it back anyway" he said as he pointed to his shirt, Amber was using it as a comfortable seat and she knew it too.

Zoe laughed slightly at the joke, poking him in the ribs lightly as she moved past him.
"Better not make it a habit, in case you attract bad attention." She was totally teasing him at this point, leaning back against the opposite wall, toying with some weights. She moved them around quite easily before hanging them back on the rack.
"Most of my frustrations at the moment are due to a chocolate induced headache and my stupidity at that point," Zoe sighed and offered another rare smile, showing a dimple in her cheek. "Maybe later..."

Sam seemed slightly breathless due to his work out. After several moments he went back to what he had been doing, pounding the punching bag.
Zoe poked the cat with her toe and Amber showed no intention of moving, this caused Zoe to giggle. The cat gave Sam a haughty look before covering her muzzle with her paw.
"Guess you need a new shirt," Zoe stated, arching an eyebrow.

"Guess I do, and I'll buy it this time" he said, when he started to think of what shirt Amber was sitting under, he actually did not mind her being on it. He punched the bag a couple more times as he started to think of why Zoe still wasn't sure about him, Sam had felt differently about her since they kissed in the alleyway a few months before hand and the fact that they did not see each other on a regular basis was quite saddening, so this time he was intent on making it count. Sam stopped punching temporarily, "I tell you what, how about we go out for dinner tonight, my treat, think of it as a date... kind of thing... No chocolate for you though, and I promise I'll wear a shirt" he said mockingly once again. Sure it was kind of a date, but he hoped the two of them could have a good time, it could make up for an odd morning too. She seemed to ponder over it for a few seconds, she seemed to be under a small amount of pressure when Amber turned her head to look at Zoe as she seemed to be awaiting an answer as well.

Zoe’s lips twitched upwards briefly, that was the thing about Sam. He was one of the few people who could make her smile. But the thought of a date made her shudder; Zoe just didn’t have the energy to go out again tonight.

“Hng… maybe a purple shirt instead?” She teased tiredly. “Or something different? Like a musical stuffed animal.” Zoe leaned her head against the wall again, watching amusedly at the different facial expressions that crossed his face.

“How about we order a pizza and rent a movie instead,” Zoe compromised. “Because if we did go out, I might fall asleep and my face would land in whatever I was eating.”
Ordering a movie and renting a movie would be cheaper by quite a bit instead of going out to eat. “I’ll pay for the movie. I think I saw a redbox a block or so away.” She arched an eyebrow at Sam, “You would still have to wear a shirt though.”

Her eyes watched Sam’s face, dark blue and sparkling, like she was laughing at a private joke.

Sam finished his session with a random kick, when he bought the bag he was told specifically it was not for kicking, but what could one little kick do. Sam could understand why Zoe did not want to go outside tonight, by the looks of her eyes she was pretty tired, which probably meant she would fall asleep during the movie anyway. Sam wiped himself down one more time with his towel before throwing it into a corner, ready to go into the washing. Sam walked to the chair his shirt and Amber was sitting on, without hesitation he lifted Amber into the air, causing her to make a quiet squeak and she claimed a shocked expression, he slipped the shirt out from underneath her and placed her back, she gave Sam a glare and looked like she did not appreciate it.

Sam threw the shirt on, he didn't like it too much, but he kinda had to wear it. "Alright then, you get the movie, I'll order the Pizza and we'll meet back in the living room in about 20 minutes, and I promise I will wear this shirt" Sam wiped the shirt down and picked off a couple of cat hairs before looking up to Zoe and saw her blue eyes staring at him, what was he supposed to do now, kiss her? hug her? wave? handshake? It had been a very long time since he had been in this kind of situation and he couldn't quite remember what to do, to make it less awkward for himself, he waited and let Zoe do what was most comfortable to her, Amber's head darted between the two to see what was going to happen next, Sam was surprised she hadn't darted out of the room already.

“You don’t have to wear that specific shirt; it is covered cat hair after all,” The demon stated, standing up and dusting off her jeans. A few strands of her long red hair were stuck on her shirt and she pulled them off. Zoe realized Sam was staring at her, her ears heated up. What was he waiting for? She tried desperately to figure it out for a few seconds. She flashed him a quick smile before ducking out the door. The cat trailed out after the two, giving them suspicious glances.

The air was starting to cool down when Zoe opened the front door, the suction from the moving air pulled her hair forward slightly. With that she stepped out into the open air, her lungs sucking in the cool air. The walk was quick and brisk. The red movie kiosk was sitting outside the local grocery store. Wordlessly, Zoe picked out a movie. It was a relatively new one that had good rating and humor. After she paid she made her way back to the apartment. Zoe slid through the door before offering the movie to Sam.
“Will this due?”

Sam was dying through this awkward silence, Zoe smiled to him and exited the room along with Amber, Sam simply sighed, put his hands on his hips and closed his eyes "I'm such an idiot..." he thought, he opened his eyes and shook his head, he shot his arm out by his side and gave the bag one more punch with frustration before ripping the tape off and having a quick shower. He finished his shower and put on some clothes after ordering some pizza, he forgot to ask what Zoe wanted on it so he simply played it safe and ordered a Large Pepperoni and Zoe was right, it was a lot cheaper than going out to eat.

Twenty or so minutes late, Zoe had returned with the film of her choice, she said before that she hadn't been able to keep up with the technology of today, she did not even know what a television was, so she probably had no idea what she was picking out, but Sam had faith in her. She asked if the film she had picked was good enough, Sam did not really mind what film she picked, but she had picked out a remake version of Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, Sam had seen the original films already in his youth, but he had not been keeping in the loop with films lately and he was surprised to see a remake of it, "This will do fine".

Zoe entered the apartment and made herself comfortable, Sam had already thrown some cushions onto the couch to make it a little bit more comfortable. A few minutes later the buzzer rang, the Pizza man was downstairs with the pizza Sam had ordered, Sam scooped the money up that he had left on the table and jogged downstairs, he completed the transaction and returned to his apartment. The smell of warm cheese and tomato sauce filled the air of the apartment as he entered, he felt like he was holding treasure. Zoe was already seated on the couch, her legs resting underneath her, Sam placed the box on the table infront of her and tossed the lid open, revealing the pepperoni pizza to her, her eyes seemed to light up as he said "You're pizza" as if he was presenting it to her, Sam took the disc out of the case that was handed to him earlier and he threw it into the DVD player.

Sam hopped over the table and took his seat next to Zoe, he picked up a slice of the pizza and at it rather quickly, he was a big fan of pizza. Zoe seemed to be enjoying herself as much as she could, she must have still had that headache, but hopefully it was not as bad, for a second Sam wanted to give Zoe some chocolate to see what would happen, but he liked his apartment to be clean and not broken...