Always There || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 12: Maybe This Time

Josh pulled into our driveway, coming around to my side of the car before I managed to open the door myself.
"I got it." He said simply, flashing me a wide grin. I felt my cheeks burn, still unsure of how to react to all of this.. new attention.
"Thanks."

He lead us across their lawn, subtly reaching over for my hand, almost as if by habit now. As badly as I wanted to, I would rather avoid all of the questions as to why "friends" were holding hands to begin with. I reached over, gently brushing my hand against his, peeking up at him. He smirked back down at me, his smile growing.
"No?" He asked. I bit down on my lip, holding my stare on him for a moment.
"Josh, w-what are we-"
"There you are!" We heard, instantly turning towards their back gate to see Jake already with a drink in hand. Cait hung back behind him, giving us a timid wave. "We thought you were gonna bail on us!" Josh shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"I can see he's already started without us." He whispered down to me. I nodded, giggling to myself. Jake was always the first one with a drink in his hand, so I was sure he had started long before anyone got there. Cait seemed less enthusiastic.
"Come on!" He yelled, waving us over. "There's plenty."

As we followed him through the gate, I could see that the entire neighborhood was here, and then some. Sam and Danny were with their girlfriends at one of the tables they had set up across the yard.

Great. Another couples night.

"You're right on time, we haven't even started the games yet." Jake said, bringing us over to the table.
"Jaime, what are you having?"
"Um.." I started, scanning the table that was filled with anything you could think of. I looked up at Josh, who was already reaching over for two glasses.
"I got her, don't worry. We'll meet you over there." He said, basically forcing Jake away. He smirked back at us before wrapping his arm around Cait, already stumbling across the yard. Josh sighed, shaking his head.

"You prefer red, right?" He asked as he poured the wine into my glass. I knew he already knew.
"Mhm.." I said, smirking up at him. He smiled back, handing me my glass and motioning over towards the table.
"If we don't go over there he's just gonna come back." He laughed. He wasn't wrong, but drunk Jake was harmless. If anything, he was the one who was able to get everyone to lighten up. And by everyone, I meant me.

"So, how long have you two been together?" Cait asked, holding onto Jake's arm. My stomach dropped, my face burning red.
"O-oh, um.. n-no, we uh.. we're.. not together." I said softly, sitting down as Josh pulled out my chair. Josh shot Jake a look, his eyes getting wide.
"Jaime lives next door." Jake said, turning to her. "We've basically known her our whole lives."
"Oh.." She said. "Sorry, I just.. the way you guys were last night and-"
"Yeah, they get that a lot." Jake laughed, taking another sip.

"What about you guys?" I asked, wanting nothing more than to take the attention off of me. "We.. really weren't introduced."
"Yeah, this one is horrible with that." She said, playfully shoving Jake. He shrugged, forcing a smile. "Only a few weeks though." I nodded, taking a big sip. The only thing worse than being surrounded by couples was being surrounded by new couples.
"Well, that's sweet." I said, peeking over at Jake whose attention already seemed to have gone elsewhere.

"So, I heard we were playing games?" Josh asked. I was always thankful when he brought the attention away from conversations like this. Jake instantly perked up, motioning over towards the table on the other side of the yard.
"Tables all set up." He said, practically hopping out of his chair. The rest of us were quick to follow, Josh subtly reaching for my hand again. I heard him laugh as I playfully smacked it away, but moving closer to him as we made our way over.

"Alright, we all know how to play, right?" Jake asked, gathering the pingpong balls from under the table. "What are the teams?"
"We'll go!" Cait said eagerly, wrapping her arm around Jake's again. I could see his face drop as he forced another smile.
"Alright.." He said, turning to me. "You guys wanna play us?" He motioned to Josh with a smirk, winking at him. Josh turned to me with questioning eyes, his smile growing.
"Fine." I laughed. I was never really one for drinking games but.. the wine was already starting to work.
"Don't worry.." He said, leaning down to me, gently caressing my arm. "I'll drink for you if you want." My heart jumped.
"Okay." I muttered, taking another big sip, already feeling my head starting to spin.

One game turned to two, and two turned to three before all of the cups started to blur together and I was barely able to hold myself up without leaning against the table, let alone being able to throw the ball straight anymore. I felt Josh's hands slowly move around my waist, pulling me into a hug from behind, leaning his head on my shoulder. I felt my heart beating faster as I turned around to face him, slowly moving my hands up his chest, wrapping my arms around his neck. He stared back at me with bloodshot eyes, his lips stained red from the wine, looking as inviting as ever.

I couldn't remember the last time I had drank this much, stumbling while the ground seemingly shifted beneath my feet as his loving hands held me up, caressing me in every which way. It was as if every inkling of uncertainty and hesitation between us melted away with every pour, every empty glass bringing us closer and closer..

By now, everyone had gradually branched off, the rest of them joined at the mouth where I had never felt closer to finally being one of them. Every one of their parties, the couples secluded themselves while him and I were left alone, forced to pretend like we didn't know what was going on between them. All I wanted was to finally know how those girls felt. And with him. The only one I'd ever want to sweep me away and make me feel beautiful enough where he couldn't stand another second of us not being met in kisses so passionate they could only be had behind closed doors.

"Jaime.." He sighed, staring back into my eyes. His hands slowly moved down to my waist, cautiously pulling me closer to him. I leaned in further, as if to let him know that whatever he wanted, I wanted it just as badly, if not more.
"Yeah?" I slowly moved my hands up, gently running my fingers through his hair. He bit down on his lip, his smile growing as he held his dazed stare on me. What I would give to know what he was thinking, and why couldn't he just spit it out.

"Jaime, you.. you are.. so beautif-"
"Hey, come on you two." Jake laughed, shaking the table. I jumped, quickly moving away, now feeling like my whole body was on fire. I reached out, grabbing Josh's arm for balance again. Josh groaned, shooting him a look.
"What?" He snapped. Jake laughed, rolling his eyes, motioning back to the house.
"Come on, you'll get your change inside." He said, hopping up the steps, letting Cait linger behind. I wonder what was going on with them?

"What does that mean?" I asked. Josh shrugged, shaking his head as he grabbed my hand, pulling me in close, wrapping his arm around me. I leaned my head on his shoulder as he guided me through the yard, helping me into the house. We followed Jake as he lead us through the crowd of people that had made their way into the kitchen and finally down into their basement.

When we were younger, everyone always wandered down into the basement so we could drink and smoke without the adults catching us, but now that we were older, it was just a matter of keeping up with tradition. But as we reached the bottom of the stairs, I could see a majority of them already sitting in a circle on the floor with the dreaded glass bottle in the center. Over the years, Josh and I had always managed to dip out before they begun playing spin the bottle, but now I think it was too late to turn around and run, even if my legs would have let me.

But maybe this time.. it could work out in my favor.

I saw Josh peek over at me, his face dropping. He leaned in close.
"We don't have to play." He whispered. "It's okay, I know you don't like-"
"It's fine." I said, going over and sitting down. He bit down on his lip, looking around nervously before finally sitting down next to me.

"Alright, we all know the rules, right?" Jake called out, grabbing the bottle first.
"I don't think they do." Sam laughed, motioning over towards us. "Since when do you guys play."
"They always play, you're just too wasted to tell." He said, now smirking over at me. I couldn't help but smile.
"Alright, alright, for any newbies.. the rules are.. you spin the bottle, and whoever it lands on you can do a quick peck and spin, or take it to the closet to pick the next pairing. I'll spin first."

I reached over for Josh's hand, gently intertwining our fingers. He peeked over, smiling back at me, leaning in closer.
"I don't care what it takes, when it's my turn, I'm gonna make sure it lands on you." He whispered. My heart jumped, my face now feeling like it was on fire. I stared up at him to see him already smiling back at me, his eyes moving down to my lips. All I wanted was to just be alone with him right now, when suddenly I heard the room get quiet.

Looking over, I saw Jake's face drop as he stared back at me wide-eyed. The bottle was pointing at me.