“Well, you know it and I know it. Tell my Mother that,” Sam sighed.

“Hey, you know that Mom and I don’t feel that way.”

Sam nodded, “Yeah, I do.” She sat there quiet for a moment as she stared out the window. “So…when’s Sarah arriving at your house?”

“She should be there by the time we make it home.”

Thinking about seeing her sister after four long years of exile, Sam’s face sparkled. “Then step on it, Girl. I want to see my lil’ sister.”

Crystal eagerly complied, letting her foot weigh a little more heavily on the gas.

Busying herself with everything she could think of, Brooke hoped that the hours without Sam would pass quickly. After taking Mario for a long walk along the sandy shoreline of her community, the woman had emptied the dishwasher, looked at yesterday evening’s paper and finally made the bed that she and Sam had shared the night before.

Looking over at the clock, Brooke almost died when she realized that only two hours had passed by. Her hand slipped down to the cell phone on her belt, but she decided against calling the sorely missed woman. Hearing her voice would only make her want to be with the blonde more. “Damn it,” Brooke cursed as she turned to leave the bedroom wanting to distance herself from the craving she was having. “Come on, Mario. Let’s find something for us to…”

The sound of the phone ringing on her hip startled her thoughts. She quickly grabbed it, then hesitantly spoke into the receiver, “Uh…Hello?”

“Hey, Sis,” C.C.’s cheerful voice came through the phone. “Sorry we couldn’t make all the arrangements yesterday when you came by the dorm. So what time do you want me to meet you at Mom’s for dinner? You know, so no one knows that Sam’s with you.”

“Oh…ah…I don’t know. Did Mom say what time?” Brooke’s mind obviously wasn’t on what she was saying.

“Hey, are you alright? You sound a little down.” The brunette was becoming concerned. “Come on, tell C.C. all about it. Did you two have another fight?”

“Ah…No. Not at all.” Brooke let out a long sigh. “I’m just um…a little down. Crystal came to pick her up about two hours ago. Sam’s staying at her aunt’s tonight. Her sister is going to be there overnight, too.”

“You mean that wasn’t just a cover story for Randi?”

“Nope. Hey, I’m excited for her, don’t get me wrong. It’s just that…” Brooke sighed, “My God, C.C., I miss her terribly. I swear it feels like my heart is ripped right out of my chest every Monday when I take her back to the dorm.”

“Jeez, Brooke. You sound like a lovesick puppy dog. I never thought that I’d say this to you, but Sis…Cupid sure did hit you dead center in the heart with that arrow.”

“Yeah, he did,” she admitted. “Hell, the last time I was over your way, I picked up apartment guides and started to look for something close to the campus.”

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

“What am I gonna do? What should I do?” Brooke shook her head, hearing Sam’s voice in her mind, imploring her to wait until she was finished with school.

“For you…or for the two of you?” C.C. asked, unable to decide whose need was greater between the two. “If you ask me, number one on that hit parade list this week would be to come out of that damn closet again and let everyone know that you love her.”

“She’s not ready for that. She said that she wants to spend more time with me, just the two of us, before everyone knows.”

“And why not? Is there something that she’s not sure of with you?”

“I mean, her cousin knows, and her aunt does, too. Obviously Peter and James know. You know,” Brooke smiled at that fact since it was C.C. that got them together. “And believe it or not, Mom guessed it, too.”

“Could Sam be…” C.C. started then stopped abruptly, “No.”

“Could she be what, C.C.?” Brooke asked, emphasizing her concern.

“Ah… not sure about the rest of our family. I mean, how they would accept her… or ah… you two as a couple?”

It was something that Brooke had never thought of. “I think…” she mumbled, “maybe she’s worried about Randi, Terri and Dad.” There was silence for a moment then Brooke’s voice boomed over the airwaves, “Hey, you never did tell me what you thought of us being together.” Even though her younger sister couldn’t see it, one eyebrow rose on her forehead.

“Me?” C.C. giggled, “Oh, I ah… think it’s kind of cute, you two lovesick kids.”

“Cute?”

“I knew it from the start. Why just the way you looked at her when I brought her home for dinner…”

“What do you mean… the way I looked at her?” Brooke took offense.

The younger sibling laughed openly, “Makes me kind of happy that I got the two of you togeth…”

“I KNEW IT!” Brooke turned around, then slammed her hand on the wall she was standing near.

“Knew what? What did I say?” C.C. asked nervously.

“When you called my office that day after you moved into the dorm. You were talking about Sam, weren’t you? She’s the one you wanted me to meet.”

“Can I help it that I’m always looking out for you? God, Brooke, just say thank you and let it drop.” C.C. smirked, proud of herself, “I was right this time. You and she are great together. I’ve never seen you happier.”

Brooke sighed and spoke in a subdued tone, “I’ve never been happier.” The woman nodded to herself as she smiled. “I guess you are right, aren’t you?”

“Well, thanks,” C.C. accepted the compliment. “Besides, if I was wrong, you could have just blamed it on all those times you banged me on my head when I was growing up.”

“Thank you,” Brooke said sincerely.

“I knew you’d come around and see it my way.” C.C. answered back cockily. “So speaking of your lady love and my Roomie… when do I meet you two for dinner tomorrow?”

“Hmm…Not sure. She told me she’d call when she was on her way.”

“Great. What am I supposed to do… hang out on the next block from Mom’s house and wait?” C.C. put her hand on her hip. “You know, I’ve got a life of my own.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone, then slowly Brooke spoke. “Well…You could come stay over here tonight and keep your big sister company?”

“You’re that lonely, huh?”

“You have no idea, C.C.” Brooke cast her eyes to the heavens. “God, when she’s not here I…” the woman sighed, then confessed, “I don’t’ want to eat. I have trouble sleeping. I can’t stand it. I just miss her,” Brooke’s voice trailed off.

“Sis?”

Brooke swallowed hard, then answered, “Yeah?”

“You’ve got it bad…real bad and I know just the thing to make it better.”

“What’s that?” Brooke asked cautiously.

“You springing for pizza and renting my favorite movies. How’s that sound?”

The older sibling laughed, shaking her head. “You’re on, C.C. Come on over as soon as you can. I’ll be ready for you.”

“Okay, Brooke. See you later this afternoon. Bye.”

“Bye,” the woman returned, then ended the call, placing her phone back on her belt. Bringing her hand around, she looked down at her watch. “Okay, that killed another ten minutes. Now what do I do until C.C. gets here?” Brooke looked down at the dog that was standing next to her, his face turned up toward her and both of them sighed.

The car came to a stop as Crystal turned off the engine. “Hey, looks like someone’s here to see you.” The driver pointed to the teen running down the sidewalk toward the car.

Sam looked up to see her sister. “God, Sarah.” The blonde threw open the door to the car and got out. “I missed you.” She greeted her sister with a warm hug as the longhaired girl embraced her.

“I missed you too,” the teen murmured, then vied for a better view of the backseat.

“Hey,” Sam held her sister out at arm’s length and looked at her. “What are you so interested in?” Following the direction of her sister’s eyes, Sam looked behind her to see her cousin get out of the car, then turned back to Sarah. “You can’t be that interested in Crystal.”

“What, you ain’t got a honey stashed back in there?” Sarah eagerly teased her.

Startled, Sam could hardly get the words out, “What…what are you looking for?”

The young girl smiled brightly. “Come on, Sam. You’re twenty-one now. You’ve got to have someone. I thought I might get a sneak peak at them,” Sarah blushed from embarrassment. “Oh, ah…Happy belated birthday, Sis.”

“Sarah, I think it’s time we had a little talk.” Sam looked around to see her Aunt Sandy coming off the porch of her house. “But I think that it can wait until…” the shorthaired blonde wrapped her arm around her sister’s shoulders and ushered her toward the advancing woman. “…later tonight when we’re getting ready to sleep. We’ll have a little talk just like we used to…like old times.”

“Great!” Sarah beamed.

“You miss those chats, don’t you? I know that I do.”

“Yeah,” the young girl bobbed her head up and down, “I do.”

Sam smiled. She felt like she’d never been away from Sarah for a single day let alone several years. “Come on, let’s see what our Aunt has lined up for us to do today. You know, you’re my birthday surprise from her and just about the best one that I’ve gotten.” The young woman’s thoughts turned to her birthday and the surprise she’d received from Brooke. That was great, too, but I know you’d understand, Brooke. You love your family just as much as I do mine.

Sarah looked up to her sister, “For real?”

“Yep,” Sam nodded. “Nothing will keep us apart. We’re sisters forever.” Sam hugged her sister again but the youngster was eager to get their time together started.

Coming off of the embrace, Sarah tugged at her sister’s arm, pulling her toward her aunt that was waiting for them at the foot of the steps. “Great. Come on, Sis, Aunt Sandy baked you a cake.”