no more waiting,
we can save us from f a l l i n g . . .
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Josh's P.O.V.
"Okay boys, that's it for today! Wrap it up! Remember to come early tomorrow because we have a lot of warming up to do," Coach shouted, his voice echoing throughout the wrestling room.
I let go of Dominic and helped him up off the floor, patting him on the back as an exhausted thank-you-for-letting-me-kick-your-ass. I stretched my arms and legs out a bit, then headed over to where my stuff was on the side. My friends yelled goodbye to me from across the room as I gathered my things, and I waved back with a tired grin.
It's Wednesday night and wrestling practice just ended. We've been back at school for a week and it feels like it's been a month since winter break. And since then, from the kiss on New Years to our first real date, I can't concentrate on anything but Victoria.
She's consumed my thoughts. I feel like I'm drowning in the sea that's held in her eyes.
And I think it's pretty obvious to everyone around me.
"Josh!" Coach yelled.
I had my bag over my shoulder and was ready to head downstairs to the locker room to change, but he caught me before I could leave.
Shit.
I turned around and walked over to him, where he's standing off to the side by the door to his office. Clipboard in hand, chewing on a pencil, and his Ridgeway Falcons baseball cap a little crooked on his balding head.
"Yeah, Coach?" I asked as I approached him.
He finished writing down whatever he was scribbling on his clipboard, then looked up at me. His mouth opened into a sort of sideways, curious smirk, and he gave me a thorough once-over before finally saying something.
"What's going on with you?" He nodded at me and raised an eyebrow.
He crossed his arms as he waited for my response, setting his feet shoulder-width apart into his power stance. I sighed, ruffling my sweaty hair around. But I guess my sigh sort of answered his question because then he just chuckled a little.
"I'm sorry. I know I've been off lately. There's just a lot on my mind right now," I summed it up briefly with a shrug.
"Hm," he grunted, a knowing look in his green eyes. "If I woulda known any better, I'd say it was about a girl."
My flaming red cheeks gave that away as soon as he said it. He laughed again, patting my shoulder in a fatherly way. I went to speak up for myself and explain it all, but he beat me to it.
"Josh, I was a teenager once too, if you can believe that. It was way back when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth, but it happened. And I know what you're going through," he said, attempting to help like any adult would. I appreciate it though, because Coach is pretty much like my second father.
He knows a lot about me and I know he'll always have my back. With all the shit that goes on at my house within my own family, it's nice to know I have another adult that I can rely on for anything.
"So when you were eighteen, you tried anything you could to win over the most stubborn girl in school?" I joked lightly, but poked at the seriousness of my situation.
He laughed and shook his head. "Well, no. Not quite, but similar things have happened. I used to be a ladies man, you know," he smirked.
"You only tell us that every day," I rolled my eyes with a grin.
"And I'll keep saying it 'till my wife believes me. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is it's your senior year – make the most of it. But have your priorities in the right places while doing so," he explained, raising an eyebrow at me. I nodded my head at his advice and let out a frustrated, deep breath.
"Wrestling is my number two priority, I think," I said. "After family. Then girls, friends and school fill the rest of the spots."
"Then make it seem like it's number two," he gripped my shoulder, shaking me a bit as he looked straight into my eyes. A second later, he started chuckling and he glanced away from me. "Then again, having women in your life is hazardous, but we need 'em."
I laughed too and it got quiet between us, so I took that as my cue to end the conversation and leave. But Coach started talking again before I could interject.
"I met my wife when I was twenty-one, and we got engaged after six months, married after almost two years together. Of course, my parents weren't too happy about how fast it was all happening, and my friends had bets on how long we would actually last. At that age, you're not really looking for commitment, but I knew she was the one I wanted to spend my life with. Thirty-six years later, there's not a day that goes by where I don't thank her for coming into my life," his voice dipped off at the end, softening a bit as a warm smile came to his face. It was contagious and it made me grin too. "Now I'm not telling you about my love life to bore you, I'm trying to help you out. So... you really like this girl, huh?"
My eyes dropped down to the floor as I stared at my feet, and at the thought of Victoria, a grin inched its way across my lips. I felt my face get hot from the idea of talking about her to Coach, but I sucked it up.
With another sigh, I laughed uneasily and nodded my head. "Yeah. I've liked her for awhile now," I admitted, lifting my head and looking back up at him.
He stared at me for a second and then smiled, grabbing onto my shoulder again. "It's a great feeling, isn't it?"
"Wonderful," I rolled my eyes jokingly. "You have no idea who I'm dealing with." He laughed again, shaking his head.
"Well, if you feel this way about her, go for it. You're gonna regret it if you don't just man up and tell her how you feel," he explained.
"I know. It's hard though," I groaned. "She's a stubborn bull, Coach."
"You're one of the top wrestlers in the northeast, I think you've handled worse men than her," he chuckled, making me laugh too in agreement. "I want your head in the right place because with states in two months, we can't risk anything. So go for it and clear your mind by telling her how you feel. But, be careful. And I say that because when you're in love, you're just stupid."
"When you're in love, you're just stupid," I repeated as I slowly nodded. "Wise words from Coach Brown."
"I am a man of wise words," he joked, slapping me on the back. "Alright, I'll let you go. I already took up enough of your time – get home for dinner and get some rest for tomorrow."
"Thanks, Coach. It means a lot, what you told me," I smiled gratefully.
"No problem, Josh. That's what I'm here for," he smiled back. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"See ya," I nodded, then spun on my heel and walked downstairs to the empty locker room.
Once I changed out of my singlet and into shorts and a t-shirt, I left the school and saw how dark it was outside. I lit up my phone and the time read 6:38. I should have been home by now, but it doesn't really matter. Giovanni would be the most worried about me anyway.
I glanced at the time so quickly that I barely checked my notifications, so I went to put my phone back in the pocket of my shorts. But I stopped when I realized I saw a text from a familiar contact name.
Vic.
We weren't even talking about anything important, but seeing her name on the screen brought the biggest damn smile onto my face. And if that doesn't say something about my feelings for her, then I don't know what does.
Victoria's P.O.V.
My Thursday finally came to an end, and I practically shoved my way out of the classroom. I should be used to school by now because we've been back for a week, but I'm not. It's actually awful since the next break we get isn't until April and that just seems so far away.
As I avoided colliding with any eager freshman who were running to their last class of the day, I successfully made it to my locker without any bumps or bruises. It's a big school with small hallways – not a good combination.
I opened up my locker and grabbed my jacket, sliding it on to brace the cold outside. Once I had everything I needed, I shut my locker and was ready to leave. I just about turned away when I noticed someone tall appear beside me.
I craned my neck to stare up at Josh smiling above me. He leaned against the metal door of the locker next to mine, wrestling bag draped on his shoulder with even heavier bags under his eyes.
"Hey," he cooed.
"Hi," I smiled, crossing my arms casually. "What's up?"
The smile never disappeared on his handsome face as he scratched his always freshly-shaven jaw. He seems oddly extra confident today for some reason. But still tired.
"I don't have much time 'cause I have a match to get to, but I want to ask you something," he said, his voice calm and steady.
"Oh, okay," I nodded.
A small pit formed in my stomach at the thought of what he's about to ask me. It could range between going to wrestling practice, to a family dinner at this point. We're pretty good friends now, I'd say, so we've gone out together enough times for practically nothing to be awkward. But for some reason, he always makes me nervous when he says that.
"We have a family cabin about an hour away up north, and I was wondering if you'd wanna come with me and spend a weekend there. Like a little getaway or something," he offered up the idea so easily.
At first, I was just a little surprised at the suggestion. But a second later, I started to get excited. The part of me (mostly all of me) that's developed this crush on Josh overruled the part that thought it'd be a bad idea. The fluttering of my heart already answered for me.
But it's only fair that I play with him first.
I raised an eyebrow, a smirk growing on my pursed lips. "And when would this getaway take place?" I asked, cocking my head.
"Well, this weekend is regionals for the team to see if we can make it to finals, which is in two weeks. So that means I have off next weekend," he told me his schedule as he glanced up at the ceiling to remember the days. "What do you think?"
I eyed him up and down, chewing on my bottom lip. "You're awfully confident today, aren't you?" I smirked a little wider, pointing out the obvious for him.
He rolled his eyes playfully and chuckled, making me press my lips into my mouth at the sight of his dreamy smile.
"Let's just say I had a confidence-boosting talk with Coach yesterday," he shrugged with a smirk matching mine now on his face.
I giggled a little, glancing at the floor for a moment. I didn't want to think too hard on it, so I just went with my intuition.
"Sure, I'll go with you," I nodded again as I looked back up at him.
He stared at me for a moment, incredulity written all over him, before he snapped out of whatever trance he was in.
"R-really? I mean- cool," he stuttered at first, but quickly recovered with a grin.
"Yeah. I'll see what your definition of a 'weekend getaway' is," I couldn't help but grin, quoting him.
That couldn't be more true – I have no idea what he's got planned for this trip, but I figured why not? Let's see what happens when I'm not stubborn for once.
He chuckled at that and glanced at his phone, then stood up straight as he slid it back into his pocket.
"Alright, I gotta go but we can talk more about it later," he rushed his words out, probably late now because of me.
"Okay. Good luck," I smiled warmly.
He paused for a few seconds to give me a once-over, and his typical, lopsided grin appeared. "Thanks," he nodded. Then he turned on his heel and vanished down the hall before my eyes.
I laughed to myself and shook my head. As I walked to the parking lot and drove home, I just kept thinking about it all.
Who the hell would have thought that I'd be saying yes to a weekend getaway with Josh?
Me. The stubborn, annoying bull who's terrified of love. The girl who can't stand romance and has never had a serious relationship.
Me. The girl who swore she wouldn't fall for Josh. But as long as somebody is there to catch me, I think I'm alright with falling.
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A/N - sigh. this chapter is super ironic bc last weekend i was in a cabin in that area of vermont with my friends, and i miss it a lot. if you wanna check out any of the vlogs from that trip, they're all up on my youtube channel ;) LINK IN BIO. LOL ANYWHO, thoughts on this whole "going away with josh" thing??? does this mean shit will go down??? yes. will i tell you what it is??? absolutely not. :)
fyi, we've reached the middle of the story. there's still tons more to happen and it's not ending anytime soon!!! thanks for reading y'all, i love ya lots.
dedicated to: elementalise :)
song: safety pin by 5 seconds of summer (!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
photo: story aesthetic
xoxo, sabbbycat