It's a Wonderful Cover Life (Chuck Fan Fiction)

Chapter 6

23.  It Happened One Night

If it hadn’t been for the fact that Carina had gotten them arrested in their sophomore year of college, Sarah would have put this down as her worst idea yet.  Technically she knew she was to blame as well – she could’ve stopped this before it had gone too far.  She could have forced Carina to tell Beckman the truth or withdrew the offer of sale altogether.  But it was Carina, Sarah decided, who had started all of this.  And it was Carina who kept putting inappropriate thoughts in her head. 

Sarah sighed as she dropped the used piece of floss into the trash.  Chuck had finally accepted that he had no other choice than to stay, but not before he’d insisted on using the bathroom first, stating bluntly that he wanted to get in there while it was still nighttime.  She’d agreed, figuring that at least he’d be asleep by the time she was done and they could avoid any further awkwardness.  To be on the safe side, she’d taken her time going through her nightly hygiene ritual, all the while perking her ears for movement from beyond the door.  It had been quiet for a while, so she figured it was safe to emerge from the bathroom.

Sarah immediately noticed the distinct lack of two things, one of them being a lanky, curly haired nerd.  Her first thought was that Beckman had finally turned in and that Chuck had returned to his room, but that would not explain the absence of her favorite pillow. 

Sighing again, Sarah padded in her socks to her dressing room.

“What are you doing?” she asked from the doorway.         

“Trying to sleep,” Chuck replied, as if it wasn’t obvious, and pulled the blanket higher over his shoulder.

“Chuck, you can’t sleep on the floor.”

“Well, you don’t have a couch.”  He lifted his head and punched the pillow twice before lying back down again. 

Sarah bit back a complaint about the blatant abuse she’d just witnessed.  “Why would I have a couch in my bedroom?” she asked instead.

“All master bedrooms in mansions have couches.  Don’t you watch TV?”  His snarky remark threatened to dissolve Sarah’s last thread of patience.  “At least the floor isn’t gross,” he continued while trying to shift into a more comfortable position, “though this Persian does nothing in terms of lumbar support.”

“You could always sleep in the bed.”

Chuck propped himself up on his elbows and tilted his head back to look at her.  “But where would you sleep?”

“The other side of the bed,” Sarah replied.  His jaw went slack as he shook his head from side to side.  “Can’t we just be adults about this?” 

“I am being an adult and I’m choosing to sleep on the floor.”

Annoyed by his insistence, Sarah hunched down to reason with him.  Chuck tried to scramble away, but he quickly ran out of space. 

“Okay, Chuck,” she said, “play it your way, but this is my pillow – ”  She grabbed it before he could make a move to stop her.  “And if you’re all stiff and sore in the morning, I’ll tell Beckman it’s because we spent the night working on Maggie’s Christmas present.”

In a move that would make a professional gymnast jealous, Chuck twisted around and jumped to his feet.  “You wouldn’t.”

“Well, I can’t really tell her the truth now, can I?”  Sarah rose and spun on her heel, and just because his constant rejection was getting the better of her, she added an extra sway to her hips as she walked away, wishing she was wearing her normal boy shorts with her t-shirt, instead of the sweatpants she’d thought would make Chuck less uncomfortable.