“Come here, you caveman,” she giggled.

I planted my arms around her shoulders and lowered my mouth to hers. Our tongues snaked together as desperation fired down my spine.

“Yeah, definitely should’ve woken me sooner.” I slid myself slowly inside her waiting warmth. “Fuck, agápi mou…”

We made so much noise, I couldn’t hear those demons until long after we finished.

* * *

SAMANTHA


The scent of sex tickled my senses as I sighed pleasantly after making love to Christos.

I snuggled into Christos’ arms. I couldn’t get close enough to squeeze the unfinished business of his trial out of the way. I wanted to talk about it. I also wanted to forget about it and never mention it again. But it wasn’t going anywhere. The heat of our infinite love could not burn it away, no matter how much I wished it would.

I considered Christos’ feelings. Would bringing up his trial make him feel better so he could get it off his chest? Or would enjoying the comforting afterglow of our intimacy best soothe him into restful sleep? I didn’t know.

Inadvertently I heaved a huge sigh. I couldn’t help it. My indecision was driving me nuts. I was a terrible girlfriend.

“What is it, agápi mou?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

He chuckled. “Come on. Tell me. I admit I ran out of your apartment somewhat hastily earlier tonight.”

“Is that an apology?”

“It is. I apologize for bolting. But I’ve got all this heavy shit weighing down on me. I’ve got to get up and go to my pre-trial in a few hours.”

“What’s a pre-trial, anyway?”

“More legal bullshit before the actual trial. The D.A. and my attorney tell the judge what’s going to happen at the trial, what they’re going to say in court. But mainly it’s my chance to officially accept a plea bargain, or turn it down.”

“What’s that mean?”

“The D.A. is giving me a chance to plead guilty in exchange for a shortened sentence.”

He was talking about it like it was a news story that was happening to a total stranger. But this was real. Christos was going to court. Worse, I really didn’t know anything about it. So far, all he had told me in the last twenty four hours was that he had punched a guy out and the trial was on Valentine’s Day. Beyond that, I was totally in the dark. Not knowing anything made it somehow more frightening.

I asked, “Are you going to plead guilty?”

A heavy silence filled the room.

I’d watched TV shows about court in the past, I’d seen news footage of people in court, but none of it was real to me. It was always happening to someone else. In fact, the most memorable courtroom scene I could think of was the one at the end of the movie Legally Blonde. Somehow, I didn’t think Christos’ court experience was going to be candy-coated with a bunch of laugh track moments starring Reese Witherspoon.

“We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” I said.

“It’s okay. I’m going to plead not guilty.”

“Wait, I thought you told me you hit some guy?”

“I did.”

“Doesn’t that mean you’re guilty?”

“No, because it was self defense.”

“Oh.” I hadn’t expected that. The way Christos had described it initially, I’d thought maybe he’d had a bar fight or something equally stupid. “Now I’m confused.”

“The District Attorney is going to try to make me look like a bad guy. Like I started it for no reason. My attorney has to convince the jury that it was actually self defense, that the other guy started it.”

“Did he?” I blurted. I slapped my hand to my mouth. I shouldn’t be doubting Christos like this. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. Of course the other guy started it.” I meant it. Every time Christos had ever fought someone in my presence, the other guy had started it.

“It’s okay, agápi mou. Yes, the other guy started it. Despite all the shit I’ve done in the past, I haven’t started a fight in years.”

“So tell the jury that. Tell them you don’t start fights.”

“It’s not that simple,” Christos sighed. “There’s all these rules about what constitutes self defense and what doesn’t. It’s different in every state, and I don’t understand half of it myself. That’s what my attorney is for. But I do know that we have to prove that the only option I had in that split second moment was to defend myself.”

“Was it?” I asked.

He looked at me thoughtfully. “Without a doubt,” he said confidently. “I had no choice.”

“Then you’re going to win!”

“That’s my plan.” Christos stood up from the bed. “I need a glass of water. Do you want any?”

“Sure.”

I heard the faucet running in his bathroom and he returned a moment later with a glass.

“Thanks.” I took the glass and sipped at it.

“Hey,” he asked, “what happened after I left you guys back at SDU?”

I gulped down several swallows of water. Did I want to tell Christos that, aside from his trial, those rugby jerks were now blaming him for starting the fight? Not really. “Oh, uh, Romeo called campus security and a bunch of cops showed up. What happened to the two guys who chased you?”

“I have no idea. I hopped on my bike and ditched them. That was the last I saw of them. Did you get your phone back? I tried calling you.”

“Eventually. After the cops left, Romeo and Kamiko kept calling my phone while we looked around behind the Dining Hall. It took forever, but we found it in some bushes.”

“Sorry it was such a hassle. Those rugby buttplugs were a bunch of Upper Assmen.”

I giggled. “Is the upper ass like a high quadrant of the anus near the colon? Or is it someone who’s taking advanced courses in assery?”

“Both,” he chuckled. “Hey, if your phone is all banged up now, and you need money for a new one, let me know. I feel like I owe you.”

“Thanks, Christos. You don’t owe me. Those guys were to blame, not you. Anyway, if I need a new phone, which I don’t, I’ll pay for it,” I lied. I didn’t have any cash to spare, but I didn’t want him worrying about yet another thing.

“You sure? Are you getting a quarterly bonus from Grab-n-Dash?”

“Yeah. My boss promised me a free ICEE,” I grinned. “I’ll see if I can use it as a down payment on a phone.”

Christos and I crawled into bed after I finished my glass of water.

I had no idea what the next 48 hours would bring, but for the moment, Christos was in my arms, and I was in his.

* * *

CHRISTOS


Thoughts of my pre-trial had me wired and jolted me awake before Samantha. I showered and dressed as quietly as possible. I don’t think I’d put as much effort into going out on hot dates as I was for going to court. There was something fucked up about that.

After I shaved, I examined my shiner in the mirror. Nice. Black ringed in red. You couldn’t miss it. Loved it. I grinned at myself. My upper lip was redder and fuller than usual, but I didn’t think anyone would notice. With my rugged good looks, maybe the judge would attribute it to a recent collagen injection. Yeah, right. While the bruise didn’t say, “This guy went twelve rounds with Mike Tyson and lost,” it did say, “This guy fights more than most people.”

I considered bugging Samantha for some concealer, but then I remembered she’d worn progressively less and less makeup since we’d met. If she had any, it was at her apartment, and I didn’t have time for a detour.

Whatever.

After buttoning my shirt, I knotted my tie in the mirror.

“Sexy,” Samantha said, standing in the bathroom doorway. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you dressed up before. Or clean shaved.”

I flashed a cocky grin at her while cinching the tie up to my collar. “You like?”

“I love,” she smiled as she walked up behind me and slid her hands over my chest. “Do I get to see you with the jacket on?”

“Sure.” After giving her a quick kiss, I walked into the bedroom, pulled the jacket off the hanger, and slipped it on. I buttoned it and smoothed it down. “There.”

“Wow, Christos, I knew you could pull off ruggedly sexy like no one else, but damn, I think you put that guy from 50 Shades of Grey to shame!”

“I think my shiner adds that hint of street danger that the 50 Shades guy was missing.”

“Definitely,” Samantha purred. “Do I have time to shower?”

“What do you mean?”

“Before we go?”

I arched an eyebrow. “We?”

Her face sunk. “Don’t you want me to come with you?” she asked meekly.

I sighed and walked over to her. I grasped her arms and looked her in the eyes. “Agápi mou, it means a lot that you want to come with me. But this is just the pre-trial. Nothing is going to happen today. It’s going to be a lot of boring talk from the lawyers about technical details, and which arguments they’re going to use. Shit like that. Besides, you have classes, right?”

“Yeah, I guess. But I want to be there for you.”

“You’re here for me right now, agápi mou. I promise, you won’t miss anything.”

“Promise?”

I kissed her gently on the lips. “Promise. Now, I gotta run out the door. Don’t wanna be late for court. You still have your key, right?”

“Yeah,” she sighed.

“There’s food in the kitchen if you’re hungry. Take anything you want.” I kissed her again and went down to the garage and hopped in my Camaro.

* * *

SAMANTHA


After Christos left, I showered, dressed, and went downstairs. I opened the refrigerator in the kitchen and stared at the contents. Who was I kidding? I couldn’t think about eating when Christos was going to court. I gently closed the door and nearly jumped out of my skin.