I've Never Cried

Chapter Twenty - "It's Not What I Feel For You"

"I've Never Cried"

Chapter Twenty

"It's Not What I Feel For You."

Scene...

Three Months Later

Joe's POV

"Demi?" I asked as I fondled with her small fingers. We were spread across her couch, her feet across my lap. Three months had passed since we'd officially gotten together, and I counted every second of it. We rarely ever kissed, mostly because we were so lost in learning about each other; but we just...didn't.

"Hmm?" She responded, her head leaned back and her eyes closed. This position elongated her neck, making her look oh, so, sexy.

I mentally reprimanded myself for my perverse thoughts. "Why were you home schooled?" Demi slowly shifted upward into a sitting position, her eyes fluttering open. She pulled her legs underneath her body, lifting her hands to readjust her hair behind her ears.

I could tell that what she was about to say was serious. Her eyes met mine as she began to speak. "I was . . . bullied pretty badly. Shoved against lockers, hate letters; that kind of thing." I felt my fists tighten at the thought of someone laying a harmful hand on Demi. "I told you I was a nerd back then." Demi placed her palm over my clenched fist, and I relaxed.

"I'm sorry," I began, curving my fingers into hers, "For asking." She pressed her jaw up against my shoulder, a feeling I was unfamiliar with, but adjusted to immediately.

"It's okay," she whispered, her cool breath unintentionally hitting my adam's apple. It sent shivers throughout my body. "You didn't know." 

We sat in silence for a while, enjoying the comforting position we sat in. I started to push my fingers into her hair, until I'd noticed that it was still slightly wet. "You're going to get sick if you leave your hair like that, you know." I whispered, taking in her fresh, clean scent. Her arms tightened around my torso, and she looked up at me. Her chin was parallel with mine, a smile on her lips. She looked as if she was about to say something witty, until her face began to change. I watched her smile fall, and her grip around my body weakened.

"Dem, are you okay?" I asked her as she released me and sat cross-legged. Nervousness seemed to take over her gorgeous features, worrying me heavily. I cupped her face in both my hands. "What's wrong?"

Demi's breathing became shaky, and right when I thought something serious would happen, her deep brown eyes met mine. "Joe?" She breathed, her hands coming up and pulling my palms away from her face. I waited for her to speak. "This might be a dumb question but...how do you honestly," She paused again, taking another deep breath before she continued, "feel . . . . about me?"

I froze, lost in the question she'd just hit me with. I hadn't expected her to ask me something like that; I felt like she had already known. I didn't think I would have to tell her. She looked distraught when I hadn't answered her right away.

"I don't really understand, Demi." I said, kind of unsure. Her face immediately dropped- the way it did at Disneyland- and I felt horrible. I honestly had no idea what to say. "W-what do you mean?" I unknowingly stuttered, my voice in its last rounds of recovery.

"I mean . . . how do you feel when I'm with you?" Her eyes were piercing into mine; almost painfully. Her breathing was ragged, and she looked a little skeptical about what my answer would be. I smiled, now that I fully understood what she meant.

"Dem," I laughed, pulling her body onto my lap, something I never had done. Myself cross-legged, she wrapped her legs around my back, dropping her hands onto my shoulders. "It's not what I feel for you. It's what I don't feel for anyone but you." I whispered, the same honest smile on my face. Demi smiled too, her lip tucked beneath her teeth. "I really care about you, Dem; I do. I mean, that whole argument we had so long ago was about how I thought I'd lost you completely. You're too important for me to lose." I watched her eyes suddenly change.

Demi's finger brushed across the stubble under my chin. I felt the slight pressure, and looked up at her when I'd received the message. Her fingers combed through my hair and around my ears, down my cheeks and mouth. She seemed in a trance as she traced my face, that pretty little smile playing on her lips. I felt slightly hypnotized, and just smiled with her, my hands on her sides.

Finally, both of her hands stopped at my cheeks, her thumbs brushing my faded beard. She pulled my face up toward hers, leaning her own down as well. My eyes closed as soon as her lips made contact with mine. It felt genuine and sweet; a lot different than our first on the beach, and it lasted a long while. Our heads began to move, the both of us changing positions once a feeling became uncomfortable.

It got slightly intense and almost a little too heated. Demi sat with her knees on either side of me, forcing her body closer to mine. My arms were practically hugging her waist. Our breathing began to get heavier; her abdomen repeatedly rubbing against mine. Her hands had balled the bottom of my shirt into fists, her upper half still over my body.

That was when I heard the front door open.

JJDL

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