Chapter 8

Sam awoke from her sleep in the still dark room. She climbed from the bed and went to take a shower. When her bathroom duties were done, she got dressed in a pair of cargo shorts, a short sleeve blouse and slipped on a pair of white tennis shoes before stepping out into the silent hallway.

She wandered through the house and finally made her way to the kitchen, where she fixed a bagel with cream cheese and brewed a cup of coffee. Looking at the wall clock, she was shocked to see that it was almost eleven in the morning. Sam had not slept that late for as long as she could remember.

I can only attribute that to the fact that my bedroom stays very dark, she thought. Her thoughts then turned to Amy and she made her way silently to Amy's bedroom door. Silently she opened it and peeked inside. She could see nothing in the pitch-black darkness so she tripped the switch for the overhead light. The room was instantly bathed in brightness and Sam left the light on just long enough to determine that Amy was indeed curled up on the bed sleeping. She extinguished the light and closed the door silently.

Now why did I do that? Why does it matter to me whether Amy has returned safely or not? She is the one who is keeping me here against my will, Sam wondered as she made her way to the library.

She entered and sat down at the computer. Booting it up, she began to search for some of the books she had in her inventory at her old store. When she found them, she picked the credit card that Amy had given her up and thought to herself, well, I guess I might as well see if this works.

She followed the instruction on the web site and when prompted, picked up the slip of paper Amy had supplied and entered the address that had been written on it. The transaction was completed and when prompted, she printed the invoice out on the printer that Amy had also purchased.

The time got away from her. She was so engrossed in her search that she did not even notice that she was not alone until a voice spoke behind her.

"So are you finding things?" Amy asked.

Sam jumped in her seat from being startled and then turned to face Amy.

"Yes," she stammered and then continued in a calmer voice. "Yes, so far I found most of the titles I was looking for and I hope you don't mind, I went ahead and ordered them."

Amy grinned, "That's what I gave you that card for, dear."

It was the first time Amy had addressed her as 'dear', and even though she was sure that it was not meant to have any deep affectionate meaning, Sam blushed nonetheless.

Changing the subject abruptly and without thinking, Sam asked, "So did you enjoy yourself last night?" No more were the words spoken, than Sam remembered what Amy had gone out for and her blush deepened.

Amy smiled as she saw Sam's embarrassed blush, and replied, "Oh yes, I am well satisfied now and will not need to eat for another week."

Amy laughed as she saw Sam's face turn beet red. "Shall we find something else to talk about Sam?" Amy suggested.

"Yes ... I think so," Sam managed to say softly as she bored a hole in the carpet with her averted eyes.

"Let's go into the Rec room," Amy suggested and the two of them walked side-by-side to the room where they played games of pool, air hockey and Amy introduced Sam to one of the five pinball machines. Soon the discomfort that at times existed between the two disappeared as laughter began to flow from both sets of lips. When they tired of the games, they went next door into the exercise room where Amy began her daily routine of exercises. Sam joined in and soon was covered in sweat.

"I'm going to take a shower. I probably smell like a horse," Amy said laughed. She sniffed the air and smiling looked Sam in the eyes. She continued laughingly, "I'm not the only one in this room who stinks. I'll meet you in the kitchen for a glass of wine in a little." She whisked through the door and made her way toward her bathroom.

Sam stood for a minute with her chestnut shoulder-length hair stuck to her wherever it touched her skin and looked at the sheen of sweat that covered her. She sniffed and said to the air, "You're absolutely right Amy, I stink too."

Sam ran down the hall and into her room, where she showered and changed clothes. The two women met in the kitchen and each had a glass of wine. They visited about non-important things for a while and then Sam yawned and said she was going to bed.

The week progressed with their daily workouts, the games in the Rec room and swimming. Sam became accustomed to Amy's skimpy swimsuits and seeing her totally naked quite often as Amy detested wearing clothing all the time. Amy did put forth an effort to be clothed whenever she and Sam were together though, although many of the clothes she wore accented her curves and other features rather than covering them up.

Her outfits scandalized Sam many times until at last Sam learned to just shake her head and look the other way. What was really disturbing to Sam though was when she caught herself peeking at Amy occasionally. She would look away then in self-disgust and turn beet red.

The days turned into weeks and each Friday, Amy would leave. Each time she wore the long coat and Sam would be sure that she was in bed with her door closed long before Amy came home. They never spoke of Amy's Friday nights. Sam did not really want to know what happened; in fact, she did not really want to know anything about them. Deep in the back of her mind, Sam knew what Amy was. Amy never exposed her fangs around Sam and even ate meals with Sam, though her plate did not contain enough to keep a small bird alive and Sam realized that Amy was only eating this amount for her benefit.

Sam's library was growing and her on-line business was expanding also. Amy had warned her not to access any of the former sites she had dealt with using her old passwords or accounts. Sam created an entirely new identity and using the credit card that Amy had provided, set up a web site to sell her books. She had even started going to garage sales, rare book sales and many other sources for deals in the surrounding area.

This was accomplished after many discussions with Amy that sometimes became heated. Sam assured her that she had no desire to betray her confidence and reveal her true identity and nature. She promised Amy that she would not try run away. Though Sam missed her old life and the personal items she had been forced to leave behind, she liked her new life. She cared very much for Amy and did not wish to see any harm come to her, especially any harm she could prevent. Finally, Amy had agreed but only if Sam went out disguised.