Punch Drunk Crazy

Sam stared at the long, awkward boxes that held her new bed that were leaning against the wall next to her apartment door. She had her arms crossed over her chest and her lips pursed, before she glanced over to the door to her left. Finally she took in a breath of air and walked over to the white door and knocked.

Her heart started thumping in her chest when she heard footsteps on the other side and she jumped slightly when it swung open. Tom smiled at her and leaned against the door frame, his smile morphing into a smirk as he asked, "Can I help you?"

She rolled her eyes and turned to the boxes against the wall and then back to him and told him, "Apparently delivery is only to the door not inside."

Tom's eyes flickered over to the boxes by her door before he looked at her, smirked and asked, "And so what? You thought neighbor Tom, he's a big strong guy maybe he could help you out?"

Sam smiled and said, "It may have crossed my mind."

Tom grinned at her and told her, "I might be able to help."

And so as he closed the apartment door behind him Sam followed him to the boxes and when he picked the long one up in one swift motion she told him, "Don't hurt yourself."

"I'll be fine, this is nothing." He told her with a lazy smile as she held the door to her apartment open, and she stayed there with the door propped open against her as Tom set the box for her headboard and footboard against the wall and went back in the hallway for the platform box. Once he was inside again Sam let the door close behind him and as he gently set the box down by the door Tom glanced over her apartment and asked curiously, "New furniture?"

Sam followed his gaze, the only furniture left in the living room and dining area was the record shelf by the windows and the kitchen table and chairs. She nodded, "Yeah, Paula's brother just bought a house and honestly I was more than happy to give him all of her old furniture."

"Not your style?" Tom asked, and he wasn't surprised when she nodded her head. Since getting to know Sam more Tom had always wondered about her apartment and the neutral decor, he just didn't think it fit her and, turns out, he was right.

"Yeah, so I ordered a new bed last week when I couldn't sleep one night... turns out you should really read the terms and conditions before you pay extra for delivery." Sam stated, and Tom chuckled. He watched her as she collected her cell phone, one of the smallest wallets he had ever seen anyone carry, let alone a female, and her keys, before she caught his glance and explained, "So now I get to spend my Saturday couch shopping."

"You want some company?" Tom asked her, and she looked up at him in surprise. Her surprise caused his cheeks to flush, and he chuckled in embarrassment rubbing the back of his neck, a nervous habit, telling her, "I have nothing to do all day."

So she nodded her head and he linked their arms together as she lead them out of the apartment and down the hall to the elevator. As they waited for the elevator Sam glanced up at Tom, and when he saw her look over at him from the corner of his eye Tom turned to catch her eyes, and Sam's cheeks flushed pink and her eyes pulled away from his. He nudged her, catching her attention again but the elevator doors opened so they stepped inside to find a handful of people already in it, so Tom kept his mouth shut for the whole ride down to the lobby.

In fact, it wasn't until Sam unlocked her vehicle and Tom saw the headlights blink on a white Tiguan that he turned to her, eyebrow raised and asked, "You drive a Volkswagen?"

She raised her eyebrow as they approached the SUV and asked him, "What's wrong with that?"

As they both got in, Sam behind the wheel and Tom in the passenger side, he looked over the interior of the vehicle and told her, "I just expected like... a Range Rover or something. Aren't you lawyers supposed to be loaded?"

As she backed out of her parking spot she fired back, "Says the millionaire who drives a Jeep."

"Touche."

Sam smiled at him and then turned her attention back to the road, but when Tom leaned over and cancelled her Navigation she turned back to him with her eyebrow raised, "What are you trying to get me lost?"

He let out a laugh and assured her, "Mike and I bought like all of our furniture at the same place, I'll direct you."

"See I don't know about this... I've seen your apartment." Sam joked, grinning when he rolled his eyes at her.

"Trust me on this." He told her, adding, "And our apartment is not that bad!"

"You use your Ping Pong table as a kitchen table..." When he shrugged at her statement she continued, "Your sectional is in two pieces."

"We're barely even home, and furniture is a pain in the ass." Tom stated with a nod of his head as he pointed to the left, telling her to turn at the next set of lights.

So as she switched lanes, and merged into the turning lane Sam told him, "And that is exactly why you'll never get me to spend any time in your apartment."

"Why, because we have minimal furniture?" Tom asked her curiously, still smiling as he instructed her into a parking lot.

"You don't even have a bed." Sam told him, she had caught a tiny glimpse into his room when she had been waiting for he and Mike to change before heading out for drinks the week previous. Enough to see that his bedroom appeared to be about as furnished as the rest of their apartment.

Tom defended himself by firing back with, "I have a bed!"

"A mattress and a box spring on the floor does not count." Sam stated as she got out of the car.

Tom followed her and said, "Mike has the same thing."

Sam turned her head to look at him, a near smirk on her face as she asked, "I'm not sleeping with Mike am I?"

"You better not be." Tom told her, a near growl coming from his throat. Jealous.

Sam smiled, linked her arm with his and told him, "Get a bed and we can talk about me spending the night in your apartment."

"Done." He told her, guiding her into the large furniture store. As they approached the rows upon rows of couches and chairs Tom asked her, "Sectional or regular couch?"

"A small sectional at the most." Sam stated, looking over the rows of couches to find something that she liked. Tom wondered what her definition of 'small' was, but as he watched her approach a chaise sectional he knew what she meant. She sat down on it, before immediately standing back up and telling him, "Sit on that and tell me who would buy that."

So he did as she told him and took a seat on the near hard as a rock couch and stated, "I wouldn't even be able to watch TV on this, let alone fall asleep on it."

Sam nodded her head and they continued their search, sitting on a few couches here and there, until Sam sat on a pale turquoise chaise sectional, similar in size to the first one, and she said, "Okay, I found one."

Tom's nose crinkled up at the sight of it, "Blue?"

She nodded and patted the spot beside her, and he groaned as he stepped over her legs on the chaise section and sat down beside her. He immediately sunk into the plush cushions, let out a small sigh and Sam grinned at him, "Told you."

"But it's blue." Tom stated, looking down at the couch again, inspecting the color even closer.

Again Sam nodded, and she told him, "My couch in Baltimore was purple."

"You should get a red couch." Tom told her with a wide grin, she rolled her eyes and gave him a gentle shove against his chest as he said, "You know, support your favorite hockey team."

"Please, Bruins all the way." When she said this he paused, turned his head to stare at her, a look of complete shock on her face. She raised her eyebrow, "What?"

He made a face of disgust, "The Bruins?"

Sam laughed and patted his leg, "I'm kidding. My dad on the other hand is a huge Bruins fan."

"I'll try not to hold that against him." Tom stated as they both got up off of the couch.

Sam turned her head over her shoulder to look at Tom, and she grinned as she told him, "Honestly though... if Bergeron were single..."

"Shut your mouth right now." Tom told her and when she giggled he reached out, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her back against his chest. When she was tightly secured against him he spoke softly into her ear, "What's he got that I don't?"

"Uhm... an accent? A pretty face? The ability to grow facial hair?" Sam listed off, counting on her fingers as she went for good measure.

Tom pouted, an actual, literal pout, and told her, "Take it back."

She shrugged her shoulders and tried to pull herself out of his grasp but his grip was tight and she got nowhere. So she turned her head to him and told him, "Fine. You're prettier than him, and I much prefer your accent."

"I was talking about the facial hair thing. I already know I'm better looking." Tom told her cockily.

Sam rolled her eyes and told him, "I like that you don't have facial hair actually."

"Sure." Tom said, smiling as he let go of her and Sam settled in to walk beside him.

She slipped her arm around his back and told him, "No really. I once dated a guy with a '70's porno moustache... not fun." When she stated this Tom looked over and down at her, eyebrow raised and an amused smile on his face. She told him, "I made some bad choices in college."

"Isn't that the point of college?" Tom asked her with a grin.

She shook her head in amusement and they both dropped the subject as they approached the counter so that Sam could order her couch. She filled out the paperwork, and then Tom's interest was peaked when she was asked, "What name do I put down for the delivery?"

"Samantha Montgomery." She said, handing the woman her license, and when she was given it back she paid for her couch and they were on their way back to her car in the parking lot.

It wasn't until they were back in the car that Tom noted, "I've known you for weeks and I never knew your last name until today."

"You never asked." Sam told him as he directed her back to their apartment.

"True." Tom stated, nodding his head slowly. In the need to get to know the little things about Sam, like how she liked her frozen yogurt, her favorite kind of wine, the way she liked to be kissed, he had somehow managed to forget the most important things. So he turned to face her a little better, the best he could, and asked, "When's your birthday?"

She raised her eyebrow, "Why?"

"Just curious." Tom stated with a shrug of his shoulders.

So she told him, "March third."

"Mine's the twenty-ninth." He offered up freely, surprised that he didn't know, up until now, that they shared a birthday month. Curiously he asked her, "Where all did you grow up?"

"What do you mean?" She asked him curiously.

He explained himself, "You said you moved around a lot, with your mom. What kind of places?"

"Mostly in the south. We were in the North End in Boston until my parents got divorced, and then we moved to Shreveport, Louisiana, it's where my grandparents lived. Then we moved to Jackson, Mississippi, we stayed there for about two years. Then we went to Huntsville, Alabama for a year. After that it was Chattanooga for two years... a couple middle of nowhere towns in Arkansas for a year. Muskogee, Oklahoma for another year and then Amarillo, Texas which was the longest we ever stayed somewhere, right until I graduated high school."

"Damn." He knew she said she moved around a lot but he hadn't been expecting that much. He couldn't imagine that, having to be the new kid and make new friends every year or so. When Sam nodded he asked, "And then you went to Boston for school?"

"I did my undergrad in Chicago, law school in Boston. You know this isn't fair." Tom raised his eyebrow at her and she explained, "You're asking me all these questions and I don't have any to ask you."

He chuckled as she pulled into her parking space and he followed her out of the car. As they walked into the building Tom offered up, "I grew up in Toronto, played juniors in Plymouth… moved to Washington three years ago. My younger brother plays hockey, older brother is a writer… I'm not too private honestly. You could just Google me."

"I'd rather hear it from you honestly." Sam told him as they stepped off of the elevator and started down the hall to their apartments. As she stuck her key in the lock on her door Sam paused, turned to Tom and asked him, "If I feed you dinner think you could be a handyman for an hour or two?"

Tom turned, hand hovering over the doorknob to his own apartment door, smiled and countered back with, "Tell you what, you feed me tonight and let me take you out on a date sometime soon and I'll do it."

She thought about it for a minute before she told him, "Deal."

He nearly dropped his jaw.

"Really?" He asked, giving her the option to take back her choice if she wanted to.

She nodded her head, and walked into the apartment, holding the door open for him. He followed quickly, slipping out of his shoes and Sam laughed when he immediately grabbed one of the boxes he had left by her door and carried it down the hallway to her bedroom. He came back for the second box, and Sam dug a little toolbox from under the sink and followed him into the bedroom.

As they built the platform together Tom glanced over at Sam and asked tentatively, "So… that boyfriend with the porn 'stache… how long did you date him?"

"Six months." Sam stated, surprising him with how quickly, and easily she answered him. Most girls that he had met didn't like talking about their exes, and Tom had never really cared to know about them either... until now. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted to know about all the guys Sam had dated. Maybe to compare himself, to see if he really had a shot.

"What about… other boyfriends?" He asked her, looking back down at the set of screws and washers he was putting in.

Sam smiled as she watched him look away, and she told him, "If you want to know how many boyfriends I've had you can just ask."

He looked over at her, cheeks pink, and asked, "Okay, how many?"

"Five." Sam told him, and, knowing he had been trying to figure out how to ask anyway Sam told him, "Two in high school, two during my undergrad, and one through law school right up until about a year and a half ago."

"So… it was pretty serious then… that last guy? Six years is a long time." Tom couldn't imagine spending six years with someone, he had never had a relationship last more than a year and a half and even that seemed like eternity.

Sam surprised him, so much so that he dropped the screw driver he was holding when she told him, "We were engaged actually."

"You were engaged? Whoa. What happened? If you don't mind me asking." Tom picked up he screw driver and looked over at Sam, she had her eyes on the platform bed between them, her cheeks were pink and Tom knew he shouldn't have asked.

Still, she told him, "I ended things, partially because I realized I wasn't ready to get married. It's a big deal and I just… wasn't ready for it, but mostly it was because he preferred his secretary to me."

She swore she saw a look of anger flash across Tom's face, and her thoughts were confirmed when he commented, "He's an idiot. What kind of idiot would cheat on you?"

He meant it to, he didn't really understand the allure of cheating in he first place, if you're unhappy or want something else Tom figured why not just end your relationship? But the though of anyone being stupid enough to cheat on Sam made him angry for some reason. He barely knew her but he knew her enough to know that he would never, ever, cheat on her. She was the perfect package, in his opinion. She was sweet, and soft and warm but he also had a feeling that she could probably kick his ass into shape if she really wanted to. Sam was literally everything Tom thought a woman should be, he was beginning to think he had really found his dream girl, too bad she was nine years older than him.

Sam smiled gently, and this time she turned the conversation on him, asking him, "What about you? How many girlfriend's have you had?"

"Three." She must have been expecting a higher number because she looked surprised at his response. So he told her, "One in high school, and then one for a few months when I first got here… and then one that ended in February."

Curiously she asked, "So why'd things end with her?"

"Ari?" Tom asked and Sam shrugged, she didn't know her name. He explained, "We just didn't… we wanted different things. I wanted… I wanted a girlfriend but nothing that was like spend the rest of our lives together serious… she wanted that. She just kind of monopolised all of my time, I was never allowed to go out with the guys, she hated Mike so I was barely at the apartment, I basically spent all my free time with her because I was too afraid of what she would do if I said I wanted to go out with the boys even one night. I'd get pissed off at the guys when they'd make comments about it but I knew they were right about her I just didn't know what to do. You know? Like I thought I loved her, but the way things were… I wondered how I could feel that way about someone and yet feel the way I did about our relationship … it got to the point where I started feeling guilty about going on road trips, but at the same time they were like the best few days of my life because I got away from all of it, and then I'd get home and she'd accuse me of cheating on her on the road and it was just... not a good thing for me."

Sam then remembered about the time Mike had told her about how all of his girlfriend's had taken advantage of Tom, the thought, now that she knew him better, made her a little sad. She wondered how anyone could honestly do something like that to someone so kind and warm.