Townhome #3820, Home of Samuel and Emilia Varez

[Samuel]

"If he only knew that you spoke about him that way," teased Sam. "I won't tell though. But I will try to pass on whatever knowledge I possess but I only have so much influence on him as his partner, you know."

He paused. "But Rico is a good guy. I am really glad he's my partner because he's very knowledgeable; very dedicated and I think we work well together."

As they both laughed softly, Sam caught the words a little too late because the next thing he knew he felt a pair of lips pressed against his. Soft, supple, smooth moving over his in a gentle, light kiss. Sam was caught so off guard that at first he didn't move with her; didn't know what to take of this. Why did she have the impulse to kiss him? Then after quick thought he acknowledged who he was dealing with ... Teresita. In no more than five seconds, his lips moved with hers.

[Teri]

Teri drowned in the kiss. She hadn't kissed anyone like that in...a long time. The enjoyment didn't last long however. It couldn't with the little voices crowding in. Mama always said you were a slut. Didn't take you long to start kissing all over him did it? Who's next on the list? You never stick with one guy very long. Gotta keep passing the goods around don't you Teresita?

She pulled back without finesse, averting her eyes as she bit down on her bottom lip. "Sorry about that...Look, it's getting late. I should go..."

[Samuel]

Before she could pull away completely, Sam took her hands and tried to obtain her attention again. There was something in the way she looked at him that made him feel uneasy ... that he wasn't sure about. Was he supposed to kiss her back? Maybe he shouldn't have ... but resisting was too hard and he gave in to it, kissing her with such gentle passion.

"I'm the one that should be sorry I shouldn't have kissed you back." He took a breath. "Did I do something wrong? Do I have bad breath? Was it sloppy?" he asked, thinking that she didn't like his kiss or regretted it the moment she had.

[Teri]

She let out a harsh breath and slipped a hand free from Sam's hold to shove her wavy mass of hair from her face. She had to be the world's most ungraceful woman ever. Sometimes she wondered why she even bothered with people. Horses were so much easier.

"It's not you, Sam and I really mean that. It's not. I just...I have a few issues, okay?"

[Samuel]

Sam couldn't understand Teri sometimes. One moment it was all good, easy, fun and the next it was a little awkward and weird. So he was a little used to the awkwardness of certain situations but it flip flopped a lot with Teri. He really liked her though and was willing to just be patient.

Of course she had the issue of blaming herself for the death of those five people. She thought she was only putting him at risk but what could it be now? He wanted to know ... needed to see if this was something he could help her with.

"I'm not judging you Teresita ... and I'm here for you so don't be afraid to open up to me. I can't hurt you," he said softly to her. "What is the issue? I want to understand you."

Sam cupped her cheek, accepting the way she leaned into his hand.

[Teri]

She sighed. She wanted to look away, wanted to brush the entire discussion under a rug somewhere never to be brought to light again. She knew that wasn't going to happen though. Sam was gentle but he was also persistent. He wasn't going to let it go.

"There's just...I wasn't exactly viewed as the purest girl around if you know what I mean," she finally whispered.

[Samuel]

I wasn't ... the Purest Girl. It rang in his ears and he already knew what it meant without having her go into a detailed explanation. The past seemed to come up often when they spoke. If it wasn't about the death of those five or about her bad behavior ... he remembered her saying once that the mothers didn't approve of her back in her home town. This must be why.

"I know what you mean ... but what does that have to do with us or even now? We all have things we aren't proud of but don't cower beneath them. You're better than to let people dictate your life with their words."

[Teri]

She glared and pulled out of his grasp. "I'm not saying I wasn't pure. Damn it! Why are we even having this discussion? This is pointless." And she didn't want to see the acknowledgment in his eyes. She hadn't been anywhere near as promiscuous as the gossips had tried to make her seem. It had all started when she'd taken pole dancing classes for a thrill.

See, look at you. He could believe you hadn't been pure. What does that say about you?

[Samuel]

"Wait, that didn't come out right," he said sincerely, shaking his head and sat up in the couch, looking toward her. "This is not pointless either. Obviously people have hurt you in the past and have said things to taint you. I don't believe it. I don't care what they've said even if they told me themselves this very moment. You know why, because I've been around you and have seen for myself what kind of girl, I mean, woman you are."

Although he wanted to reach out to her, assure her that nothing could change his mind, he didn't. He crossed his arms over his thighs and cast a glance in her direction. "Pure. Impure. A saint. A bad girl. To me, you're just Teresita. How can I make you understand that in my eyes you are untainted; that I care about you as you are? I'm serious too. Look at me ..." he asked of her.

[Teri]

"It's really hard not to feel silly when you say things like that." She sighed and combed her fingers through her hair. "For a long time I used to deny that it hurt. I had thick skin. Or that's what I made everyone believe. Mama knew though and so did Clint. They did their best to help me passed it but that kinda thing sticks with you sometimes."

"It didn't matter too much in the last few years because I was really heavy in the circuit and running the ranch when I was in town. And then there was Lance. Most everyone is nice now but I know what they're thinking behind those smiles and I know some of the things they've said to Lance that he's tried to hide from me. It's hard to believe people can really look past all of that."

[Samuel]

"I hope you don't ever deny that those things hurt. No matter how thick your skin is, words do affect you. They soak into your mind and try to make you look at yourself differently. But you always have to know that you're not the person they think you are. People are just jealous ... you're beautiful, hard-working, fun, daring, out-going, loving. They only want to be like you; to have the freedom you allow yourself to have. They dream but could never achieve what you have despite all the challenges you've faced."

Sam looked down at the floor, thinking of the endless teasing he'd gotten in school. How he was bullied, taken advantage of. He shook his head and reached out to touch her hand.

[Teri]

"You sound like Clint." She laughed softly at the thought and made a mental note to call the older man later. She missed him. "Like I said, him and Mama tried and for the most part it helped. It's hard for me to find a balance with it all though. I'm a social person. I love people but things like that hold me back sometimes and it's just easier to spend most of my time with horses."

[Samuel]

"It's like me ... spending time alone. That's my balance. I can meditate, I can hear myself think and I don't have to worry about people bullying me or anything." Sam lifted his eyes to her. "You had those problems and I had my own when I was younger. I was teased and harassed a lot in school. Not only because I was really nerdy and was really quiet but because I also didn't speak a lot of English. I had, and sometimes still do, have an accent and it landed me on the bullies top five list."

[Teri]

"Aww Sam, you poor thing." She wrapped her arms around him. At least she'd chosen what she'd done to get her reputation. She'd taken those classes because she wanted to. Sam hadn't had a choice at all. "That's so unfair. And for the record, I'm absolutely in love with your accent."

[Samuel]

"Thanks for your sympathy," he chuckled, circling his arms around her waist and hugging her back. "I survived it though even the toilet swirlies, the atomic wedgies, the steal my lunch money, the 'throw food on Sam because it's fun.' I hated middle school. I swear, it's harder than being a police officer. High school, was a little better. That's when I met Amelia."

Sam shifted back into the couch and pulled Teri back into a comfortable position against him. "But before all that happened I took several English courses until I was fluent. I started taking karate and tae kwon do classes. I was really active into sports. I lost my kid fat." Sam laughed. "I started getting muscles. High school girls really liked me because of the accent and in sophomore year I met Amelia, the head cheerleader. It was like I hit popularity overnight but I really didn't care for it. I hated the attention it drew to me."