Josephine
"You spent the night with him?" Megan said excitedly to me.
I nodded furiously, failing to wipe the smile from my face as I rummaged through my bag, looking for clothes to wear. Dylan had brought me back to the hotel so I could shower and get ready for the day; he had gone to get breakfast from a cafe down the street after leaving me in mine and Megan's room.
I found a pair of jeans and a long sleeved shirt, turning to walk into the bathroom. Megan grabbed my arm when I began to move away from her.
"No! You can't shower yet, you have to tell me what happened!" Her eyes were wide with wonder as she looked at me with an awed expression.
"It was really nice," I said bashfully, looking down at the clothes in my hands. "Let me shower and then I'll tell you about it,"
Megan huffed at me, but let me walk away from her. I went into the bathroom, getting out of my clothes and climbing in the shower. As soon as the water had turned on, I heard the bathroom door open from behind the curtain.
I peeked my head out and laughed when I saw my best friend sitting down on the closed toilet seat.
"Megan!" I exclaimed.
"I'm sorry Jo, but I can't wait to hear about this," She said candidly with a smile. "You can shower, but talk while you do it,"
"You're impossible," I told her, pulling my head back behind the shower curtain and letting my hair fall under the water stream.
"We both know that," I heard Megan say. "So, what happened last night? I gave you time to go out and be with him by yourself, but I didn't think you'd go back to his place!"
I heard the giddiness in her voice and I realized that she thought Dylan and I had hooked up. I felt my body heat up as I blushed deeply, and I was glad that nobody could see me in that moment.
After hearing the implication, I couldn't help but picture it in my head, just for a second. I felt embarrassed at the thought of someone seeing me that way...a way that nobody had ever seen me before. I tried to shake off the comment, but then I remembered the way his lips felt against mine and I found myself drifting back to the beginnings of a fantasy.
I remembered our kiss last night and then the feel of his toned body under my hands this morning, like a perfectly sculpted man. I remembered his smirk and the look in his eyes when he caught me staring at him, the way he had said I don't mind if you look.
"Jo?" Meg snapped me out of my thoughts. "You okay?"
"Yeah," I coughed, squirting some shampoo into my hand and applying it to my hair.
"Okay," Her voice told me that she didn't believe me for a second, but then she changed the subject. "So what happened when you left?"
I recounted the events of yesterday to her, telling her about our walk through the city, simply people watching and talking. I told her about how he held my hand and led me around, smiling at me with his doe eyes that never ceased to make me melt inside.
I told her about our almost kiss in the street and then our actual kiss at his apartment. I told her about how he held me and spoke sweet words to me, making me fall even more in love with him than I already was.
I told her that we had slept together, stopping the story to put emphasis on the fact that sleeping was the only thing we did, leaving out the part about his nightmare. I hadn't told Meg about Dylan's abusive childhood, I didn't know if he would be comfortable with me telling her and it honestly wasn't my story to tell.
I thought about the marks on his body, those scars that reminded him every day about a hellish boyhood that nobody deserved to know, and I felt the happiness in my heart diminish a little. I thought about the burns and the cuts that adorned his perfect arms and chest, wondering how a person could live with themselves knowing they had hurt a child in that way.
I remembered his smooth skin that held small speed bumps of scar tissue, perfectly tan and warm, despite having been disturbed in such a way. I pictured his eyes and the hurt they held when I had cried over him, wishing I could take away those painful memories for him.
I remembered the way he cradled my face in his hands and kissed me, trying to bring me comfort when I was the one who should have been comforting him.
When I was finished in the shower, I told Meg that I was going to get out and she ran from the room, saying she loved me but not enough to see my naked. I had laughed at her words, letting them take my mind off of my depressing thoughts.
~
A knock at the door signaled that Dylan had returned with the food, and I quickly went to let him in. I opened the door, smiling when he lifted two bakery bags and smiled back at me with joyful eyes.
"I've got the goodies," He said, stepping past me into the room.
"Good, I'm starving," I replied, taking one of the bags from his hands.
He chuckled, pulling me close and kissing the top of my head. I dug into the bag, pulling out a chocolate chip muffin and taking a bite of it.
"Okay, kids, enough of the kissy kissy stuff," Meg said, coming out of the bathroom.
I stuck my tongue out at her, going back to my food as Dylan unwrapped himself from me and sat down on the small couch. He kicked his legs up on the coffee table, tucking his hands behind his head and stretching out.
Meg opened the other bag and found some bagels and cream cheese while I tore into the chocolate chip muffin, moaning in approval of how good it was. I went over and sat down beside Dylan, leaning back against his arm.
"I was thinking that I could take you guys to all the normal tourist places today," Dylan said. "And then tomorrow before the showing at the gallery we can go to some places that are more populated by locals,"
"That sounds fun," Meg said, taking a bite of her bagel. I nodded in agreement.
"I'm up for that,"
"Good," He smiled. "I talked to Jeremy and he said that he'd meet us the MoMa,"
"I'm excited to see that," Megan spoke. "I've always been interested in art, and of course the MoMa is a must see,"
"Meg is Port Townsend's very own Picasso," I informed him.
Ever since we were little she loved drawing; she had a specific affinity for charcoal sketches. She had entered in some art shows around our town and had gotten pretty far in the competition, she was planning to apply for some art scholarships after graduation.
"That's awesome," Dylan responded, nodding his head.
Meg smiled, satisfied that he appreciated her passion. She went back to her bagel, taking another bite and the three of us settled into silence. I had finished the muffin, and I leaned into Dylan when his arm came down and wrapped around my shoulders.
"You guys are sickening," Meg remarked when she saw us cuddling together.
"You love it," I said, sticking my tongue out.
I felt Dylan's chest vibrate with laughter as he chuckled at our banter.
~
I stood at the foot of one of the most beautiful buildings I had ever seen. A metal giant, towering above the streets, holding centuries of art history in its walls.
Van Gogh and Pollock and DaVinci and Michelangelo. Paintings and sculptures and sketches and colors. So many years and styles and designs and interpretations that have had a role in shaping the way humans view beauty. Abstract and realism, coming together and pushing away from each other.
I stared up at the building, my eyes starving until that one moment when I would be able to take it all in. I felt like a proper tourist, my phone was in my back pocket, waiting to be used to remember every moment.
We were waiting for Jeremy to get here to meet us; Meg was busy ranting about all the types of art that waited inside for us to see while Dylan was listening intently, his arm around my shoulder and mine around his waist.
I watched as my best friend's face lit up while she talked about the thing she was most passionate about; how she described her dream of one day being featured in a showing or a museum with The Greats, as she called them. I admired her lust for success and I hoped that I could keep that same spark inside myself for writing, that flame that pushed me forward into my dreams.
"Jer!" Dylan suddenly yelled out, waving his hand at someone I couldn't pick out from the crowd.
I looked to where he was waving, seeing a tall guy with longer hair running toward us. He was wearing a dark jacket and jeans, converse shoes on his feet. As he got closer, I saw that his longer hair was in fact, a mop of curls that blew around somewhat wildly in the wind.
"Hey man," Dylan said, pulling him into a similar bro-hug that he shared with Lucas yesterday.
"Hey," His friend said when they pulled away from each other. He looked to Meg and I. "I'm Jeremy,"
He extended a hand, and I took it, shaking. I smiled at him, introducing myself before he turned to Meg. She stared at him with a dreamlike look on her face for a second before she caught herself.
"Meg," She told him, smiling brightly.
I narrowed my eyes slightly as the two of them stared at each other, shaking hands longer than was considered a polite amount. I watched as they stared, Meg looking bashful and Jeremy smirking.
"So," Dylan said, breaking the silence. He looked down at me, grabbing my hand. "Who's ready for some art?"
~
A/N: Ya'll might just get some Jegan feels after all ;)
All the love, xx