There's Too Much Green To Feel Blue

Sam didn't show up until the next morning. Peter was fixing himself a cup of coffee on the counter. The door burst open.
"Storming through the party like my name was El Nino!" Sam sand as a greeting, "Peter!" she closed the door, rushed to the counter and sat.
She placed two plastic bags on the counter, "I've figured it out! The purple ones are sweet."
Peter nearly choked as she shoved a grape into his mouth.
"And the green one's are sour." she stuffed another grape in his mouth, "Do you taste the difference?"
"Yeah," Peter said, "Sam, I called you and searched everywhere for you yesterday, where were you?"
"Well, good morning to you too, chippy." Sam said sarcastically.
"Good morning?" Peter asked, "You shoved grapes down my throat!" he gave her an exasperated look, "Come on."
Sam sighed, "I was in the tub, I forgot my phone on the couch."
"Why was your door locked?" he asked
"I'm in the tub, Peter! Some guy with a butcher knife could come in and make me into meat pie!"
Peter frowned, "You're never without your phone."
"Yeah, well," Sam raised her hands helplessly, "I've been forgetting things lately, especially the phone. Where's Lily?"
Peter wondered at that. Sam never forgot anything. What could possibly be making her act like this?
"She's asleep." Peter answered, "Do you have your phone with you now?"
Sam patted her pockets and her eyes went wide, "Ah, fuck." she suddenly gasped and her eyes went wider, "Aw, man, I hope I didn't leave my keys in there and locked myself out of the apartment!" she jumped up and ran out of the apartment.
"Daddy?" Lily called.
Peter exited the kitchen and peered into Lily's room. She was sitting up in bed, "Daddy, I had a dream that I was a lady who was going to have a baby."
Peter blinked at her, "Oh, no, you don't." he walked toward her and helped her off the bed, "Don't grow up too fast, Lils." he tusseled her hair.
"Okay, daddy." Lily smiled up at him.
"Go wash your face." he said.
He returned to the kitchen and sat on the counter. He stirred his cup of coffee and deeply inhaled the smell as it wafted into his nose. Suddenly there was a scream and hurried footsteps. He spun in his chair and saw Lily standing there with water splashed across her face and pajamas.
"Daddy, the sink wants to eat me!" she pointed at the bathroom.
"What?" he stood up, "Lily, what happened?"
"The sink is hungry!" she screeched.
"Let's go see." Peter made his way over to the bathroom.
He entered and stood in front of the sink. There were squirts of water on the floor. He looked over his shoulder, Lily was cautiously peeking into the room from behind the wall.
"Lily, there's nothing wrong." he placed his hand on the knob and turned it.
Water gushed out like a fire hose from the knob and the pipe that connected the sink to the wall burst. Peter cried out in surprise. Lily screamed loudly. She ran as fast as her little feet could carry her into her room and slammed the door shut.
"Ah---Lily cover your ears!" Peter yelled.
Inside her room, Lily's hands flew to her ears.
"Motherfucker!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.
As the water exploded from the sink and splashed his shirt and legs, he threw and arm over his eyes and quickly made his way toward it and reached for the knob. He squeezed it shut and the water ceased.
He sighed, "It's okay, Lily."
They both exited their rooms, met up in the kitchen and turned to look at each other.
The front door was thrown open, "I took a step back as the room was filling up...." Sam's song died in her throat as she took in Pete and Lily's appearance. She glanced down at her tight red dress, red converse and tight black slip-on sweater and then looked at them.
"So....what's new?" she asked slowly.
Within two hours, Pete had changed to a pair of jeans and a white shirt. Peter had decided to try to fix the sink. Currently, he was on his knees with a box of tools (that he had to go buy) and Sam was laying on the floor, her upper torso was hidden under the tub, only her legs stuck out.
Peter laughed, "Why are you under the tub?"
"I have a headache." Sam answered.
"So you're under the tub?" he asked, "What are you doing under there?"
"Contemplating." Sam said, "You know, about life, decisions, moments, events, problems, choices..." Sam said gesturing with her hands.
"What choices?" Peter asked fiddling with the pipe.
"I don't know, like...like your choice of wearing a white shirt while handling water." Sam said.
Peter laughed. "Sam, Sam, Sam." Peter murmured.
"Man, my head hurts." Sam said.
"You want an aspirin?" Peter asked.
"Ugh," Sam said, "no. I don't take pills for something temporary. I had a friend that took pills for everything that happened to her. If she had gotten stabbed in the gut, she probably would've swallowed something for that."
"Wow, your friend sounded nice." Peter said picking up a tool.
"I hated that ugly whore." Sam responded.
"Oh." Peter said.
"Where's Lily?" Sam asked.
"In her room hiding, I think." Peter said, "Sam, could you go to my room and find a dirty shirt or something to clean up the water?" he placed the wrench on a pipe.
"Why?" Sam asked.
"Because," Peter said, his voice strained as he pulled on the tool, "I have the feeling that this thing is going to--" there was a pop and then water quickly gushed out and spilled onto the floor and onto Peter's chest and face.
Sam slid out from under the tub and sat up, "Okay, sure." she stood up, "You win the t-shirt contest, by the way." she said as she walked out.
She went into his room, dropped to the floor and stuck her head under the bed to check for dirty clothes, "Hmm," she surveyed the place, "this is a good place to contemplate too."
Lily had gotten dressed in one of her favorite outfits that Sam had bought her. She made her way over to the living room. She climbed onto the couch and sat down comfortably. She quickly eyed the room with her eyes for the remote control. She spotted it on top of the tv.
Lily stared at it, "Help! Help! Heeellppp!"
Peter, who had managed to stop the flow of water, lifted his head in alarm and smacked the top of skull on the sink's porcelain. Startled, Sam banged her head on the bed frame. Sam moaned as her headache increased, faded away and then came back full force. They both got up from the floor and ran to the living room.
"What?" Peter asked.
"Daddy, can you help me get the remote from the tv?" Lily pointed to the top of the television. Sam and Peter both sighed.
"That's it," Peter said, "I'm calling a plumber. I can't leave this girl," he waved at Lily, "all by herself."
"And I'm going to take a nap." Sam said, "My head is seriously pounding right now. I feel just like I did when I saw Pearl Harbor." she placed a hand to her forehead. She went to the tv, grabbed the remote and turned back to give it to Lily, "Peace, ya'll." she flashed a peace sign and went to the door.
"You'll come back, right?" Peter asked.
"As soon as I wake up." Sam nodded.
"Don't forget your phone." Peter said.
"Good gravy." Sam muttered. She strode to the counter, swiped her phone, turned and left the apartment.
Sam had gotten home, slipped into her p.j.s and slept for a grand total of two hours. She was dreaming that Peter was giving her a large bouquet of roses on his knees.
"Sam, I need to tell you something." Peter said staring intensely at her. He opened his mouth--
"I wanna make love right now na na na. I wanna make love right now na na na."
Sam's eyes snapped open. Her phone was ringing next to her pillow. She grabbed it and looked at the picture of William in sunglasses.
"What, you son of a whore?" Sam snapped.
"Princess, I don't think you know who you're talking to, it's William." he said.
"I'm going to murder you." Sam said.
"Babe, you know the community pool a few streets down from where you are?"
"I'm not kidding, I will rip your throat open." Sam answered.
"Meet me over here in a few minutes, baby girl." William said ignoring her.
"I'm coming over there with a butcher knife." Sam said and hung up.
She layed on the bed. She hated being woken up, especially when she had been sleeping so deeply.
She stared at the phone, "Damn the phone, damn William and damn you Akon!" Sam threw the phone onto the bed and staggered to the closet.
Ten minutes later, she was walking down to the community pool. She had dressed in short black shorts, a long white muscle shirt that almost entirely covered the shorts, a light black jacket, sandals, dark sunglasses and a big black and white striped bag. She walked up to the pool and entered through the small white picket fence. She spotted William immediately. He was laying on a white chair by the pool in long blue swimming trunks and a baby blue unbuttoned shirt that revealed his marble chest. He also wore dark sunglasses. He stood up as she got close.
He spread open his arms, "Baby, you came!" He hugged her and kissed her cheek.
Sam slipped off her glasses, threw them in her bag and set it down next to the chair.
She crossed her arms, "What's this about, William?"
"Damn." he snapped his fingers, "I was hoping you'd come in that bikini I've been hearing so much about."
Sam placed her hands on her hips and rolled her eyes while William sat back down.
"Mike didn't send you that picture, did he?"
"No, even after I begged him for, like, a million years." William said. He smiled up at her and he sat up, "Come, sit with old William." he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her down to sit on to of his lap. He placed his arms around hers and rested his chin on the crook of her shoulder.
Sam gave a small involuntary giggle but then squirmed and stood back up.
"So," he leaned back and rested his head on his folded arms, "did your boyfriend get mad that you sent that picture?"
Sam crossed her arms again, "Yes."
William clapped once and said, "Ha!"
"What are you doing here, William?" Sam asked.
"What? I'm just lounging by the pool with regular people." he gestured around at all the kids and parents, "It reminds me of home back at my parents mansion."
Sam stared at him, "Do you miss that life, William?"
William stayed quiet for a moment, "A little bit." he said in a low voice.
Sam took a step closer to him, "Why are you here, William? I mean, why did you leave all that?"
William slipped off his sunglasses and positioned himself to face her, "I'm going to be honest, princess. I don't know. I don't know why I left it all behind to live in a crappy apartment in front of a hot girl. I just packed my things one day and left." he turned and stared at the pool for a few moments as he contemplated.
After a while, he turned to Sam, "And what about you, hottie?" he gave a small smile, "Why are you here?"
"I left because I wasn't like them in the slightest." Sam said.
"And you don't miss anything at all?" William asked, "The parties, the technology, the people, the expensive clothes and buildings? Nothing?"
Sam shook her head, "Those are just material things, William."
William glanced down at the bag on the floor, "You have a Prada bag, baby."
"I happen to like the brand." Sam said, "But it doesn't mean the world to me."
William smirked, "Right."
Sam picked up her bag and pulled out the dark sunglasses. She turned to a lady that sat nearby, "Here, ma'am, these are Chanel sunglasses, you may have them." she then walked up to a passing mother and handed her the bag, "Hi, I'm Sam and this is my gift to you." she smiled at the woman and then returned to William, "Your turn."
"I don't have anything to give." William said.
"Give your phone." Sam suggested, "Or even better, throw it into the pool."
"You're crazy." William said.
"They're just material things." Sam said, "What happened to the days where people talked face to face? A cell phone was made to call people only when you needed to. But then they invented texting and mobile internet and all that crap and the cell phones became this little world that absorbs people. Now everyone talks without actually talking. How can we have become to dependent on a little box of wires? It's stupid."
Sam took a deep breath and William stared at her.
"Well, I'm going to go home and watch cartoons. Bye." She turned and walked away.
"Bye." William murmured.
He pulled out his phone and stared at it. He knew Sam was right. He stood up and walked closer to the pool. He gave the phone a final look and then threw his arm back and sent it flying into the pool. He stood there and watched it float. He supposed he could go a few days without technology, he had wanted a new phone anyway.
Sam went straight home, changed into loose cotton gray pants, a white shirt and a gray jacket. She sat on the couch with the lights turned off, the tv full blast and a bowl of popcorn in her lap.
"Watch out, Goku!" she yelled spraying popcorn.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in!" Sam said, her eyes glued to the screen.
Peter walked in and settled himself on the couch next to her, "Hey, what are you doing?"
"Watching some Dragon Ball-Z." Sam answered.
"Hell, yeah." Peter said.
He reached into her bowl of popcorn and stuffed his face.
"Watch out, Goku!" Sam yelled again.
Peter jumped and a spray of popcorn hit him in the face.
Sam sighed, "I love Goku." she said, "But I can't be with him because my heart belongs to only one man."
"Who?" Peter asked.
"Tuxedo Mask." Sam answered, "Where's my favorite little girl?"
"Her grandma picked her up." Peter said.
"I don't get it." Sam said, "She wants you to take care of her but she always takes her from you."
"I know." Peter said, "I think she just doesn't want her to be around you."
"Why?" Sam asked, "I'm perfectly sane--Goku, there's Vegeta! Kah-meh, jah-meh, ha!"
Peter laughed, "Yeah, I don't get it either." he sighed, "You want to come to my place and watch a movie?"
"Yes." Sam said, "Let me just change."
Sam went to her room and changed into a cream spaghetti straped tunic, a tight black jacket and tight skinny blue jeans. Then they headed to Peter's place.
"Oh, let me just finish up the dishes." Peter said as the walked into the apartment.
"Okay." Sam sat on the couch and flipped through the channels.
Peter finished quickly, he'd only left a few dishes. He wiped his hands on his black pants and black shirt.
"What are we watching?" he asked settling on the couch.
"Um, I don't know." Sam said staring at the screen.
Peter looked too, "Is that Hilary Duff?!" he asked disgusted.
"Eew, no!" Sam quickly changed the channel to another movie.
Peter let out a sigh of relief, "That's better."
They watched a movie on another channel in silence.
"This movie looks interesting--oh!" Sam gasped and Peter reacted the same way.
"Oh, my God." Peter gasped.
"What kind of channels do you have on this thing?" Sam cried.
"I swear, I didn't know about that one." Peter said truthfully.
Sam switched it to a seemingly normal movie. Peter re-adjusted himself on the couch and rested his left arm on top of the couch.
Sam turned curiously to him, "Are you trying to hit on me?" she asked.
Peter looked at her, "No." he chuckled, "If I were trying to hit on you, I'd put my arm around you, like this," he lowered his arm and wraped it around her, "and hold you close," he pulled her closer, "and," he was whispering now, "put my hand right here," he placed his fingertips on her cheek and gently highered her head, "and then.....kiss you."
They locked eyes, Peter leaned forward and then paused. Then, he tilted his head and kissed Sam. His heart rose to the surface as he felt her lips and it rose even higher when he realized Sam was kissing him back. They parted and stared at each other, but not for long. They leaned into each other and kissed again. Sam snuggled closer to him and Pete held her tighter. Peter kissed her and kissed her until he was lost in the movement of their lips. Peter thought she only smelled like strawberries but she tasted like it, too. He loved everything about this moment. He loved the way her back felt in his hands, how her hands felt on his chest......but he was mostly infactuated by her strawberry lips. Lost in the watery, strawberry heaven, he hardly noticed when Sam began to move. She lowered herself down onto the couch. Peter gently lowered himself on top of her, their lips never parted. His heart was pounding so fast, he could picture it slamming itself against his chest. The feeling of elation he was experiencing seemed to be flowing from his very heart. This was very much like the feeling he got when he and Sam snuggled at night, except this feeling made his entire skin feel so good it was almost numbing.
He briefly realized that the tv was on. Still kissing her, he reached for the remote next to her head, he clicked the tv off and he placed the remote on the floor. When he had started kissing Sam he had drowned all noise out, but now he could hear their lips and their breathing with clarity. He held her tightly against him. He held onto her because if this turned out to be a dream, he wanted her to stay with him.
Suddenly, he pulled away and leaned over her.
"I love you." he said.
Sam laughed up at him, "Isn't it a bit too early to say that?"
"I'm sorry," Peter said, "but I care alot about you. I think I have from the very beginning." he said as he layed back on her, "I do." he kissed her again briefly, "I do."
"I care alot about you, too." Sam said smiling at him and stroking the side of his head, "A little too much, I think."
"Same here." Peter said.
He kissed her briefly again. He just couldn't keep away from her. Now his lips itched and burned for hers. He looked down at her, this was the perfect image of her. He touched her skin and fingered her hair. He wanted to squeeze her tighter.
Sam laughed at the intense look on his face. They hadn't been kissing for very long and already he couldn't keep his eyes off her. It was as if he'd never seen a girl before. And he thought women didn't look at him. He was so weird.
She sighed, "What are we going to do now, Peter? Now that the damage is done?"
"Let's bang up a few more things before we down." Peter said. He smiled, "Wanna kiss me again?"
Sam smiled too, "If I'm going down, I'm going down." Sam said placing her arms around his neck.
They grinned at each other and began to kiss again. They were falling, they were falling deeply for each other and they knew it. And it was at moment he knew that they were going down.