Mistletoe Magic
"Are you going to keep staring at my chest all night or are you going to kiss me and wish me a merry Christmas?" Addison smiled at Sam's startled appearance as his gaze snapped from her cleavage to her face, his expression slightly guilty. "You've been standing underneath that mistletoe for the last five minutes, or haven't you noticed?"
"I've been what?" Sam glanced up to the doorway, where a small bunch of mistletoe was tied. He groaned, and then glared at Addison as she laughed at him. She supposed she shouldn't laugh, really, since it could happen to anyone, but it didn't change the fact that Sam had been standing there for a good five minutes, completely oblivious, while half the women at the practice had kissed him on the cheek. "Damn."
"Come on now, Sam, it's my turn," Addison tried to soothe him, patting his shoulder as she moved in closer in preparation for a quick peck. She wasn't the biggest fans of holiday parties, but it was her first Christmas in LA and she wanted to do something to celebrate. "You can't let Violet and Charlotte King have all the fun."
She wasn't prepared, in any way, for Sam to wrap his arm around her waist and actually kiss her. It was an honest to goodness kiss on the lips, with just the briefest hint of tongue. The other thing she wasn't prepared for was the shiver of excitement it sent through her body. This was Sam -- Naomi's Sam! -- she shouldn't be kissing him at all, let alone pull him closer and tease him with her own tongue, wanting more of those delicious shivers.
It was over almost as quick as it'd started and for the briefest of moments, Addison wondered if she'd imagined the whole thing, if Sam the master kisser was a figment of her imagination, but looking at him, he seemed every bit as stunned as she was. The chemistry was unexpected. Wild and thrilling, yes, but also illicit. She'd ruined her friendship Mark, and his with Derek by being an adulterous bitch. Feeling this way after a kiss...
"Wow," she managed to say, wondering if it was her imagination or if she really was weak on the legs like she felt she was. She glanced around the room, trying to discern whether they had been observed, but to her knowledge they were safe. Naomi was chatting animatedly with Cooper across the room, and Addison didn't know whether she should feel relieved or guilty that her friend had no idea that Addison had just kissed her ex with tongue.
She wanted to kiss Sam again but instead she moved away, drifting toward Violet as she watched him out of the corner of her eye. He had turned to Cooper and was chatting casually to him, and Addison got so caught up in watching that she almost didn't notice when Violet called her name.
"Addison? Hello, earth to Addison, do you read me?"
Violet waved her hand in front of her face and Addison snapped to attention, switching on a bright smile. This was her party, she was the hostess, and it was her responsibility to make sure that her guests had a good time, no matter how much she wanted to slip away with Sam.
He hoped she wasn't telling Violet anything. Not that he'd gotten caught staring at Addison's cleavage, nor that he'd actually gone ahead and kissed her. What had he been thinking? Addison was Naomi's friend! It didn't matter that she looked positively edible in a low-cut dress or that he'd gotten a jolt out of that kiss. Naomi and Addison had known each other first -- they were best friends, and he still cared about his ex-wife more than he should.
Addison, however, was... Well she was everything he'd once promised Naomi her replacement would be. Smart and beautiful, an adult woman and not a midlife crisis on his part, and why was he still staring at her chest? It was uncouth of him and his mama had raised him better than that. Besides, he wasn't considering Addison's womanly virtues, even though he'd seen her shaking her naked booty around, he wasn't interested like that.
"Look at them looking at us. Tell me they're not staring at us like a couple of dorks." Violet nodded her head toward the two men and Addison felt a little lurch in her stomach as she saw Sam and Cooper staring directly at them. She didn't know whether it was from fear that Sam had told Cooper or whether it was just an aftershock from the kiss they'd shared. Their eyes met from across the room and Addison looked down quickly, not wanting Violet to pick up on anything she'd rather keep to herself.
"I think it's that blue dress of yours," Addison improvised quickly, gesturing at her friend's garment and hoping that the distraction would work. "You'll have to tell me where you got it, because it's absolutely gorgeous." Violet beamed, and Addison knew that she was safe for a little while longer, hopefully.
She was across the room and Cooper had spent the last few minutes talking at him as Sam nodded his head, not hearing a word. He respected the hell out of Addison, both professionally and personally and it was perturbing to feel like he wanted to kiss her again. "Are you alive in there, or is your head bobbing on a timer?" Startled, Sam tore his eyes away from the heels and the ankles, and wondering what it'd feel like to run his hands up those long, long legs.
Cooper looked like he'd been trying to make a point for the last ten minutes or so, and Sam dearly hoped he hadn't asked for a consult on some case. Losing track of your work, losing your headspace over a woman after a kiss was just ridiculous. "I'm sorry, man. It's been a long week. What were you saying?"
"I'm thinking of asking Addison out. On a date."
She wanted to listen to Violet, she really and truly did, and she wondered what it said about her that she kept stealing glances over at Sam instead of listening to her friend's story about a little ten year-old girl who had been one of Violet's first therapy patients. It seems wrong, somehow, to be thinking lustful thoughts about her best friend's ex instead of sharing in what Addison was sure was a heartwarming story. She was a grown woman, for god's sake, she told herself, not a hormonal teenager. She should have better control over her lust.
"Here's my baby sister," Archer grinned, coming from out of nowhere to drape one arm around her and one around Violet. His voice was slightly slurred, he was obviously drunk, and sneaking another glance across the room, Addison could see Sam glaring at her brother. "Whatcha lookin' at, Addie?"
"That's... Tha-- " He lost his train of thought, not that it had been much of one, when he contemplated Archer Montgomery. Doctor, writer, manwhore, brother of Addison. "You'd want that guy for your brother-in-law?"
It was Cooper's turn to look startled. He'd matured since dating Charlotte King, but he obviously hadn't considered that Addison was a wholly different kettle of fish. She would need more from Cooper than he'd know how to give. Before Charlotte, Cooper had never been in a real, committed relationship and while he was a loyal and good man, dating Addison...
Sam wondered what it would be like to date Addison. Would she like to take a walk on the beach, when they got home from work, to look at the sunset? Would she curl up next to him, underneath a blanket, to look at the stars from either of their balconies? Would she possibly want him to kiss her again, sometime?
"Go away, Archer." Addison scowled at him and turned back to Violet, hoping he would give it up as a lost cause. The last thing she needed was for her brother to start cross-examining her about Sam. That was just too horrifying to think about and now Violet was looking curious, which wasn't helping matters any. "This is a private conversation. Girl-talk, if you will, and I know how you feel about that."
"Aw, you're talking about me?" Archer smirked, squeezing her tightly to him and grinning broadly at both of them. "Are you discussing my good looks, or my devastating charm? Or perhaps the topic is my formidable skills in the bedroom, no?"
"You're disgusting," Addison announced, turning her head away. Which wasn't such a smart move, come to think about it, since that brought her into eye contact with Sam, who was looking decidedly pissed off.
When she suddenly smiled right at him, Sam wanted to go over there, to ask Addison if she'd have dinner with him. He even started to make his way across the room, much to Cooper's consternation at him running out on their conversation. He didn't really care, since he'd resolved to be the man, to do something impulsive and unexpected. Like Naomi had, in sleeping with Archer, only Sam's sense of adventure was less gross. Addison was beautiful and desirable, a good kisser and now, Sam really wanted to talk to her in private, see if she had felt that connection too.
"Sam, don't." Naomi stepped right in front of him and Sam wondered how the hell she knew he was having these thoughts about Addison. "You cannot go over there and cause a scene." Her mouth was a set line, her face serious. "It was my choice to sleep with him. I'm an adult and we're divorced. You have to let it go, Sam." She didn't know! Yes, he disliked Archer with every fiber of his being, and had tried his utmost all evening to give the guy a wide berth, which should please Naomi, who didn't know that Sam had kissed her best friend and wanted to do it again.
Addison's heart started to pound as Sam moved toward her, and she didn't know if she was relieved or disappointed when Naomi intervened. The last thing she wanted was to have an ugly confrontation with her best friend in front of all their colleagues, but Sam's kiss had awoken something inside her and she wanted more. Perhaps he would stay after the guests had gone home, and they could kiss some more, and now she was staring straight at Sam. She caught herself and looked away quickly, hoping that her guests couldn't see the longing and desire on her face.
"Whoa, showdown at two o'clock," Pete said quietly, joining their little group. All eyes were on Sam and Naomi and the tension in the air was electric. It was obvious that everyone was waiting for something to happen between Sam and Archer. Addison knew that Sam probably had intended to confront Archer, but there was a significant part of her that wanted him to be coming over here for her, to kiss her again or more.
He felt so relieved! Truth be told, Sam didn't have much game, or any at all and if he was to be really honest, he was intrigued by Addison. Maybe that was in part because she was Naomi's friend, giving it a hint of danger and making it a transgressive act to date her, but she was also... She was Addison and Sam wanted to discover what it was about her that had made him feel so alive when he kissed her. He didn't want Naomi to give him a reality check about how she felt about the whole thing. She had slept with Archer and she 'knew things would be okay when it was his turn.'
"I'm just going to thank our hostess for a really nice dinner party." While he still might want to sock Archer, if wouldn't do Sam much good to piss off Addison by ruining her Christmas party, or her living room and he wouldn't get to talk to her if she was patching up her miscreant brother.
Naomi still looked at him in silent suspicion and Sam tried to smile reassuringly. "All right," she finally said, "but if you break anything, you will buy Addison one hell of a Christmas gift."
Naomi moved aside to let Addison see that Sam was still coming in her direction -- most likely Archer's direction, but then he was there, smiling that smile of his and not looking at her brother at all. She smiled back at him before she could help it, and she hoped it didn't look as broad and thrilled as it felt.
"Thanks for dinner," Sam told her, and Addison felt her heart sink. He was leaving, already? While she knew it wasn't that big a deal -- he lived next door, after all, so it wasn't like she wouldn't be seeing him again soon -- she couldn't help feeling like he was going on purpose. It hadn't occurred to her that the kiss might have made him feel awkward, but perhaps it had. She did understand, and the last thing she wanted was for their friendship to become weird, she'd really thought there was something between them when they'd kissed. "I had a really great time."
She managed a smile, the perfect hostess saying goodnight to one of her guests. She felt stupid and beyond disappointed, and suddenly she wanted the whole party to be over with so she could take a long bath and try to forget the whole evening. "Thanks for coming, Sam. It meant a lot that you were able to make it."
"Sam," Archer wrapped his arm around Sam's shoulders, giving him what he, in his drunken state, probably presumed to be a manly squeeze. "For a single guy, you're really very sad. Never leave before dessert!"
"How about you and I get another slice of that pie, Archer?" Violet spoke as if she had no idea there was such a thing as a euphemism and much to Sam's relief, she managed to coax Archer away without Sam having to deck him.
"The dessert was delicious." It was too public a forum to talk, but he wanted Addison to know that he'd enjoyed her party, and her kiss. She smiled in response, a slow spreading but pleased expression, and Sam wished they could have an actual conversation about what happened. He was confused and curious, and he need to find out where things stood and where they'd go from there. "Can we talk...? Somewhere more private?"
Yes, please, Addison did want to talk somewhere more private. It was taking all her self-control not to grab him and kiss him again right now and she told herself to get hold of herself, that if she waited two minutes, they would be away from the eyes of others. As much as she wanted to explore this newfound chemistry between them, it would be much better not to do it in front of all their coworkers and Sam's ex-wife.
She nodded and touched his arm, letting him follow her back toward her bedroom. She was half afraid she would find Archer in there, having sex with one of her female guests, but the room was empty and she shut the door behind them. She hoped that Sam wouldn't think she was being too pushy, but it was the only room in the house she could think of where they were unlikely to be disturbed.
"Did you..." Sam didn't know how to start and he didn't want to fall flat on his face simply because he had no idea how to pick up women. "You felt that too, right? When we kissed?" He felt so pathetic, stumbling through his own thoughts.
"Mistletoe magic."
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Addison looked incredibly sheepish and Sam felt like kissing her again, to see if 'mistletoe magic' worked in -- he took in their surroundings, not really having paid attention before -- a lady's boudoir. Her sense of romance was endearing and maybe a bit infectious. It was Christmas, after all. Sam might have lapsed, but he was still Catholic and Christmas was the time for miracles. Not that mistletoe had anything to do with the Virgin birth, but the strong sense of wonder at that kiss...
"Mistletoe magic," he repeated, feeling himself smile like an idiot.
She kissed him, not knowing if it was a good idea but unable to stop herself. The chemistry between them was just as strong as it was the first time around and Sam really was an excellent kisser. She didn't know why that was so surprising -- perhaps because she'd never wondered what it would be like to kiss him? The seconds slipped away as they continued to kiss, all thoughts of the party and her guests forgotten.
Sam wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her close as Addison's heart beat louder in her ears. She rested her hands on his chest, feeling his muscles beneath her touch, and Addison really wanted to be closer, to do more than just kiss. Her hands shook slightly as she fumbled with the buttons on his shirt, managing to get the first two undone, when Sam pulled back out of the kiss and looked at her curiously. She grinned at him, unzipping the zipper at the back of her dress and letting the garment fall off of her and onto the floor.