The first thing I felt was surprise. I knew it was coming, from the look in his eyes and the way he was holding me. The next thing I realized was this kiss was nothing like the one he gave me a few weeks ago, when my friends caught us. His other hand circled around my waist as well, pulling me impossibly closer to him. His lips moved against mine, and nervousness seeped through my body. I pulled my head away, shaking it.
“What’s wrong?” Josh whispered, his face still close to mine.
“I can’t do this.” I told him honestly, trying to find a way out of his arms. His muscles flexed as he realized what I was doing, and he locked his hands behind me, preventing any escape.
“Why not? Abby is sleeping. She won’t even know.” He brought his face closer, aiming for another kiss. I turned sideways, effectively blocking his attempt. I felt his breath on my neck, and I had the strangest desire to shiver.
“No, I mean, I can’t do this at all. Get off of me.” I pushed my hands against his chest, and he let out a groan as he let go of my waist. By now, my face was probably beet red, and I was glad there was such dim lighting. Josh hadn’t moved from where he was standing, though, so I backed up a few steps to put some distance between us. I took a seat on the couch and sighed, burying my face in my hands. I was so inexperienced; I didn’t even know how to kiss a guy. Josh seemed to know what he was doing, but how embarrassing would it be if I messed up?
“Is it something I did?” Josh asked quietly, stepping closer to me. I moved my face from my hands, and looked up at him. He looked confused, and he took a seat on the coffee table in front of me.
“No, it’s definitely not you. Although I still need my truck back and I hate you for making me sing.” I confessed.
“Then what is it?” He propped his elbows on his knees, and leaned towards me. His dark eyes were looking into mine intently, and the top two buttons on his shirt were open. How did I not notice that before?
“Nothing.” I told him absentmindedly, staring at his chest. I flicked my eyes up to his, and I saw his eyebrows raised. I felt heat rise to my cheeks, and I looked away. I shouldn’t have been checking him out, especially after refusing to kiss him.
“Look Anna, I know you want me.” He got off of the coffee table placed his hands on either side of my head, leaning onto the couch in front of me. I felt my body get warmer at his proximity, and I forced a scoff.
“Are you kidding? You were my friend a long time ago. Now you’re a conceited jerk who stole my sister and dragged me to Vegas.” I folded my arms across my chest and studied my converse, noticing I got a really big dirt mark on the white part.
“People change! Are you telling me you didn’t? Because I know for a fact you’re no longer the scrawny little biscuit eater you were twelve years ago.” One of his hands reached down to my chin, forcing my head up to meet his eyes.
“I noticed. You’re a superstar now.” I grumbled, staring at his nose instead of his eyes.
“Look at me, god damn it!” He demanded, and then for the second time, he kissed me. I closed my eyes out of instinct, and I felt that familiar heart flutter in my chest. I didn’t know how to kiss back, but somehow, my lips were moving with his. He reached down to my waist and pulled me up, flipping our positions.
“Josh, what are you—,” I pulled away from him, but after he pulled my head back down to meet his, I forgot what I was saying. His body felt incredibly muscular under mine, and his hands were roaming my back, never going lower. He respected me, and just wanted a kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and when he deepened the kiss, I pulled away, burying my face in his neck.
“Too much?” He whispered in my ear, rubbing my back soothingly.
“Yeah.” I admitted, trying to calm my racing heart. He squeezed me tightly against his chest, and lowered his head, lightly kissing the spot right underneath my ear. That did absolutely nothing to help my pulse.
“Alright Biscuit. I won’t push you.” He whispered, and I nodded gratefully.
We sat like that for a few more minutes, and I secretly loved holding him so close to me. I would never admit that in a million years, but it felt so good to be in his arms. When my eyes started getting dry, and I felt the tiredness seeping in, I reluctantly got off of him.
“Ready for bed?” He asked, standing up as well.
“Yeah, I’ve had a rough day.” I stuck my tongue out at him, and he grinned.
“Don’t provoke me Biscuit, I didn’t promise not to push you.” He stretched, grunting as he did so.
“You’re a jerk.” I told him, walking into the bedroom with the open door. I saw Abby sleeping soundly on the bed, with Ricky curled around her. The dog’s head popped up when I sat on the bed, and I hurried over to pet him so he didn’t wake up my sister. He made a low sound of content, and put his head back down. I kissed my sister on the nose, and walked around the room looking for my clothes. I found my suitcase in the corner, and sat down on the carpeted floor. I crossed my legs in front of me as I laid it on the floor, unzipping the bag.
I’m going to kill Josh.
I know I say that a lot, but this time I mean it.
I didn’t recognize anything in this suitcase. Alright, I recognized a lot of the stuff in here, but it’s nothing I’d usually wear. Lets just say I would rather sleep in a t-shirt than the nighties Josh packed for me. I threw half the contents out until I found an old Beatles t-shirt, and I changed into it. I was looking for pants, but nothing I found seemed modest besides my jeans. I gave up and climbed into bed with my sister, tucking myself under the blanket and curling up to my family. She was all I had left.
☾
“Anna.” I felt someone shaking my shoulder, and I peered an eye open to see big brown eyes extremely close to my own.
“Hey Abby.” I muttered, and rolled over, stretching. My limbs felt super sore for some reason, but it was probably from all the walking I did yesterday.
“Guess what?” Abby asked excitedly, throwing herself on top of me.
“What?” I grumbled, sitting up and pulling her with me. She threw her arms around my neck and laughed.
“Josh made pancakes!” She jumped off the bed, grabbing the blankets and dragging them with her.
“Get up Anna!” She laughed as I lunged for the blankets to cover my bare legs.
“I’m not ready yet!” I told her, grabbing the blankets and pulling them back on. I rolled over and buried my face in my pillow, trying to go back to sleep.
“I need backup!” Abby cried, and I heard her little feet start running from my room. Good.
I wrapped an arm over my eyes, trying to block out the light from the sun.
“Hey there beautiful.” Someone whispered in my ear, trying to impersonate Batman. I knocked my elbow to the side, effectively hitting his face.
“Ow! That hurt!” Josh complained, and then my covers were thrown off again.
“Can’t you people come up with anything else?” I snapped, reaching across the bed for the blankets, but Josh threw them to the floor.
“You’re such a jerk.” I told him, sitting up and rubbing my hand over my face. I turned around to glare at Josh, but I realized he was shirtless. He was only wearing plaid pajama pants.
My eyes raked down his chest, admiring his pectorals, and then his abs.
“Great! You woke up sister!” Abby squealed, coming into the room. My eyes snapped up to see Josh staring down. I remembered my brilliant move of not wearing pants last night, and I quickly pulled the shirt down to cover my underwear.
“Creep! Get out of here!” I yelled, throwing a pillow at him. His head snapped up, and he seemed shocked. Then realization dawned on him, and I could’ve sworn I saw his cheeks turn pink as he ran out of the room, yelling something about his food burning.
I leaned over and quickly rummaged through the suitcase, pulling out a pair of skinny jeans to wear. I ran my fingers through my hair and pulled it into a loose bun. After I felt more covered, I went out into the living room.
This hotel seemed stacked with everything you could need. A kitchen, two bedrooms, a living room, and a little area where the dining table was set up. Abby was already seated at the table, munching on her pancakes.
I pulled a seat across from her, and reached over to drink her orange juice.
“Hey!” She protested with a mouthful of food. I laughed when I put the cup down, licking my lips.
“Here you go, sorry if they’re burnt.” Josh said, sliding a plate in front of me. I glanced up to his dark green eyes, and he winked at me.
“I got a little distracted.”
I felt my cheeks flame red, and I pushed him away with my hand on his stomach, refusing to look at him. Instead, I stared down at the three pancakes covered in maple syrup, and scrambled eggs. My stomach started speaking rapidly, and so I obeyed, shoveling food down my throat.
“Josh! Can I have some more?” Abby asked, as I pushed my plate away. I felt horrible after eating so quickly, but at least now I was full.
“Sure thing. Does your sister want more too?”
“No.” I grumbled. I picked up my plate and walked over to the sink, washing up the syrup before it got hard.
“We’re leaving in about twenty minutes, you all ready to go?” Josh asked, looking at me as I washed the dishes.
“Are you kidding me? Where are we going?” I asked, confused. I put the wet dishes in the dishwasher to air dry, and then dried my hands on a towel. Josh turned off all the pots and gave Abby two more pancakes.
“We’re going to get your truck of course!” He exclaimed, giving me a kiss on my cheek. I stared at him in bewilderment. Where the heck was my truck?
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<3
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There I was, standing awe-struck at my truck.
At least, what was left of it.
My gorgeous, shiny black Ford, with its four inch lift and chrome handles, not to mention leather interior, was now in pieces across a very abandoned street. The main frame of it was twisted around a light pole, making me wonder how the person driving this got out alive.
Abby was sitting on the sidewalk with Ricky, looking at the different rocks. We weren’t even close to Vegas, we were west of Beatty. And my truck, my baby, was crashed. I still couldn’t quite comprehend how this happened, and all I knew was Josh was the last person to have it.
“You idiot!” I screamed as I whirled on him, roughly shoving him away. He had a grin on his face as he let me release my anger.
“Look what you did to my truck!” I shouted again, punching his chest. He grabbed my wrist and twisted, making me turn painfully into him.
“Look, I understand you’re upset. But this really wasn’t my fault.” He whispered, and then let me go. I watched with a frown on my face as he bent over to a small piece of headlight, and picked it up.
“What are you, a detective?” I asked sarcastically.
“Someone had to have hot-wired it. The garage I left it in must’ve been robbed.” Josh said, dropping the shard and standing up to his full height. He ran a hand through his already messy hair and turned to look at me.
“You are so going to pay for this. I demand at least a super duty when I get back.” I said, crossing my arms.
He smiled a toothy smile and shook his head. I couldn’t see his eyes through his aviators, but they were probably alight with excitement. They usually were, when he made me angry.
“No can do, Biscuit. Your car, your responsibility.” He shrugged, like that was an acceptable answer.
“Are you kidding me? You stole it, Louis!” I shrieked, throwing my hands up in the air. He lifted his sunglasses off his head with one hand, showing me his raised eyebrows. I realized what I said, and quickly backtracked.
“Josh, I mean Josh.” I added in quickly.
“I changed my name for a reason, Anna.” He shook his head and slid his sunglasses back on. I felt awkward for calling him his old name, and I had no idea how it slipped out.
“Well, what are we going to do with Ol Dave?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“Dave?” He asked, glancing around.
“Yeah, my truck. His name’s Dave. Well, it used to be. Now that he’s dead, it doesn’t really matter.” I rambled, and when I saw the smirk he had on, I stopped.
“You named your truck?” He asked, and I could almost hear the laugh that was coming.
“Are you really going to laugh at a time like this?” I huffed, tapping my foot.
“Of course I am!” He broke into a grin and started laughing his head off.
There he was, all you dedicated fan girls. Your great Josh Ryan was laughing his head off, on the side of an abandoned road. I rolled my eyes and waited for it to get out of his system before we continued.
“Why…Why didn’t you tell me?” He managed, still struggling for oxygen. His cheeks were rosy and he looked even more attractive than ever.
“It was my mother’s idea.” I mumbled, glancing at my sister. She was playing with Ricky, so I knew she wasn’t paying attention. Abby had done so well the past few days, and she hasn’t even mentioned mom. Sometimes I wondered if she forgot about her completely.
“She said naming something gives it luck.” I finished, looking down. Now that I noticed it, ever since Josh came into our lives, Abby’s been more preoccupied with him than with remembering mom.
“Besides,” I tried to change the depressing mood I brought us into, “why are you teasing me when you named me Biscuit?” I smiled, and he smiled back.
“Touché.” He nodded towards the truck. I couldn’t help but let my eyes linger on his form before moving them to look at my old car. I didn’t have time to like him, but why were my feelings saying otherwise?
“So do you want me to call the towing company? It’s going straight to the junkyard, this one.” He took out his phone and waved it at me.
I glanced at Ol Dave, and frowned. It was totaled, and nothing could be salvaged. There on the road (and crashed into a pole) were some of the last memories of my mother. I remembered the first day we bought Ol Dave, and mom took Abby and I to the zoo. Abby fell in love with this old goat, and she stayed with it all day. We had to practically drag her out of the petting area, kicking and screaming.
I also remembered mom driving Abby around the neighborhood very slowly, just trying to put her to sleep. Abby always loved riding in “the big truck” instead of mom’s small car, and she fell asleep in it frequently.
“Anna, what are you doing?” Josh asked, and I blinked several times, realizing my hands were wrapped firmly around one of the side mirrors. Surprisingly, it was still in tact, and my right foot scraped up against the metal it was attached to.
“Well,” I started, trying to come up with an excuse. I saw my reflection in the mirror, and a new resolve settled in me.
“I’m listening.” Josh said from behind me, and I rolled my eyes.
“I’m trying to get this piece off, but it would be a lot easier if I had some of that “manly strength” that supposedly all guys have.” I tugged on the piece, but it didn’t budge. I turned around to see Josh with his sunglasses pushed up on his head, watching me with amusement.
“Josh! Help me!” I finished, and he grinned.
“After saying you doubted my strength, I’m not sure I want to help you.” He pushed up his sleeves and walked over to me, standing directly behind me. I let go of the mirror and went to move away, but he caught my wrist.
“No, you’ve got to help. I’m not that strong.” He told me, and guided my hand back to the mirror.
I felt his breath on the back of my neck, and his arms wrapped on either side of mine. Suddenly, it was starting to get really hot.
“On the count of three—,” I started, but then Abby cut me off.
“Oh! I can count to three in Spanish!” She squealed, and I saw her come up next to us.
“Abby, move away from here. I don’t want you stepping on glass!” I told her, and she quickly backed up.
“Please Anna! Please can I count? Dora taught me!” She pleaded, and gave me the killer puppy face. I sighed, just wanting to get as far away from Josh as possible. I felt my body temperature increasing as the seconds went by.
“Just hurry up.” I told her, focusing on the side-mirror I was about to pull out.
“Uno!” She started, but all I heard was the sound of my blood pounding. Josh was breathing so close to my neck, and I could feel the hard planes of muscle beneath his thin shirt.
“Dos!” Did I really like him? After all the crap he’d put me through? Or was this feeling just simply caused by the stomach flu? Maybe I just had a fever, and these so called “butterflies” were really just acids in my stomach making me feel like this. I heard the stomach flu was going around school anyway. Yeah, definitely the flu.
“Trees!” Abby squealed, and I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Trees? I didn’t have time to think about her malapropism, because Josh tugged on the side-mirror with more force that I would’ve ever thought him capable of. It came clean off, with wires hanging off the end, and we both fell back uncomfortably on the sidewalk.
“At least now I have a piece of Dave to take home.” I sighed, holding the piece of metal close to me. I rolled off of Josh and stood up, dusting my jeans.
“Thanks.” I said sincerely, looking into his green eyes.
He stood up and wrapped me in his arms, giving me such a nice hug that I almost forgave him for leaving my truck here.
“I would do anything for you, Anna.” He whispered, and I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise. This is just another symptom of the stomach flu. There is no way I was falling for Josh Ryan.
Lucky for me, I didn’t have to think about his words for long. Because at that moment, the flashes came.
“Look! It’s JoAnna!” A lady screamed, and I whirled around to face her. There was a mob of people advancing on us, holding cameras and microphones. I felt my eyes widen in terror, and I turned back to look at Josh, who seemed just as stunned as I was.
“Smile Anna! You’re big news after last night!” One man yelled, and his voice was followed by a camera flash.
“When’s the marriage, Josh?” Another woman yelled, and more flashes followed.
“Oh my gosh, their kid is so cute!”
“What do you think of your parents, sweetie?”
“Get away from her!” I yelled at them, pulling Abby protectively into my arms, and away from the crazy paparazzi. Josh took my arm and slapped his thigh, signaling Ricky over to us. The dog followed us as we ran to Josh’s Camaro, quickly enclosing us behind the tinted windows.
Abby had tears running down her face, and I wiped them off with my sleeve.
“It’s okay darling, really. Did they hurt you?” I asked, and she shook her head. I sighed in relief and gave her a hug, before buckling her up and climbing over the arm rest and into the front seat.
“Is she going to be alright?” Josh frowned as he looked at Abby through the rear-view mirror.
“Just drive, I’ll calm her down.” I nodded towards the road, and I quickly grabbed onto a handle bar when Josh peeled out of the street. A wave of adrenaline hit me when I realized we forgot the side-mirror from Ol Dave, but when I went to tell Josh about it, it was sitting neatly in his lap as he drove.
“It’s okay Abby.” I said, twisting around to face her. She had tear marks down her cheeks, and she was holding Ricky’s head so tightly, it was a wonder the dog was still alive.
“They were scary people.” Abby said quietly, hiccupping.
“Yeah, they were.” I agreed.
“Well, guess what?” Josh asked from next to me, and I turned to face him. He was driving into the city, with a smile on his face.
“What?” I asked, wondering what he could possibly have up his sleeve.
“I’m getting us ice-cream.” He turned left to an ice-cream shop, and parked his car. Surprisingly, there was only one other car in the lot.
“Can I get chocolate? With sprinkles?” Abby asked, her voice rising in excitement.
“Yes.” He nodded, unbuckling his seatbelt.
“Rainbow sprinkles?” She asked, quickly unfastening her seatbelt as well.
“Of course!” He faked mock horror, as he opened his door for her to come out.
“Is Anna going to get any?” Abby asked, looking at me still sitting in the car.
“I think Anna is going to get a lot.” He winked at me, and I felt my eyes widen in horror as he closed the door and jogged with Abby to the ice-cream store. I turned around in my seat to face Ricky, who was slobbering all over Josh’s Camaro.
“What have I gotten us into?” I asked the dog.