As I Fall Asleep- Joshua Bassett

Chapter 37

I follow Josh to the elevator and wait for it to arrive.

"It's really okay," I tell him. "I can just go tomorrow. It's late and you should get to bed."

He waves me off, "I really don't mind," he says, then shoves both hands in his pockets as we wait in awkward silence.

30 agonizing seconds later, the elevator dings and opens up, luckily with no one inside.

Josh presses a button and the door closes, trapping us together inside. I glance at the button He's pushes and am a bit surprised to see we are heading to the roof.

"The pools on the roof?" I ask.

He turns and looks at me with a hint of a smirk. "Katie, you were planning on going to the pool, yet didn't know where it was?"

I shrugged, "I would've figured it out." My cheeks heat slightly with embarrassment.

He laughs and shakes his head at my answer.

The doors open and we step out onto the roof. There are glass panels all around the perimeter of the roof, allowing us to see the night skyline of the city. Stars, as well as twinkle lights, shine above us, making the entire experience breathtaking.

After admiring the layout and the view for a minute or two, I set my sights on the pool that's about 20 feet away, glistening under the lights. There's a large metal fence  around it with a keypad and a sign attached that reads, "POOL HOURS: 7am-11pm".

I walk up to the gate and attempt to open the lock, hoping it might still be open due to a forgetful employee. No such luck.

Josh comes up behind me and bends down; lacing his fingers together.

"Come on, let's go."

I grin and place my left foot on his hands, then hoist myself over the fence as josh lifts my leg. I land on the other side, thankfully on my feet, although it wasn't very graceful.

Josh effortlessly jumps over the fence and I roll my eyes.

I turn around and face the pool, trying to decide if I really wanted to get in now. I'm not as hot as I was before, in the fitness center, but then again, I would feel bad if josh helped me all for nothing.

I debate my two options of jumping in and chickening out, when I'm abruptly pushed in the pool. The shock wears off quicker than I thought it would and after only a few seconds, it starts to feel nice.

Instead of breaching the surface and trying to push Joshua in the pool, I float to the surface with my face down.

"Haha, very funny" I hear josh say, his voice muffled by the water lapping at my ears.

After 15 more seconds, josh speaks again.

"Ok Katie, come on, I get it,"

I still don't lift my head. I silently applaud myself for doing swim all those years in high school, as it's prepared me for this moment.

After another 20 seconds, my lungs start to burn, but I don't move.

"Katie?" Josh questions, slight panic in his voice. "Katie?"

I still don't turn over.

Right as my lungs start to give out, I hear a splash and josh turns me over, where I smile and take a breath.

He huffs out an annoyed breath and frowns.

"That was t funny."

"Oh whatever  you know it was a-little funny," I say with a grin still plastered on my face.

He starts to walk to the steps, still upset.

"Hey come on," I tell him, "I'm sorry."

He doesn't stop so I grab his hand, preventing him from going any further.

"I'm sorry josh," I say, not relaxing how much this would have affected him.

He lets out a breath. "Just don't do it again, ok?"

I nod and let go of his hand, it suddenly becoming to warm between us.

I lean back and float on my back, staring at the stars and trying to find some of the constellations. After trying, and failing, for a few minutes, the cold starts tk deep into my bones so I decide it's time to get out.

I right myself and locate the stairs, ready to get out of the now-freezing water. When I find the stairs, I see that josh is sitting on the edge of the pool, his legs resting on the first step.

He has a towel wrapped around his shoulders and his hair is dripping wet, losing some of its curl and settling into his eyes. His eyes. Which are staring at me. And have been for the last couple of minutes.

I feel myself blush and quickly get out of the pool, grabbing the towel josh offers me while mumbling a "thank you".

After drying off as best as we could, we take the elevator back down to our rooms, shivering the entire ride.

We stop at my room first, since it's on the way to his, and I get my keycard out of my soaking wet pocket. My hearts beating fast because I know what I want to ask him, but I'm afraid I'm too scared to ask.

When the keypad beeps, turning  green, I open the door slightly and without turning around say, "Olivia's gone so there's an empty bed if you want... just because it's late and I don't know if you'll wake Matt up if you go into your room and get ready for bed... but you don't have to... and nothing will happen... and I'm not a huge fan of sleeping by myself..." before I can continue rambling, josh puts me out of my misery by stating, "sure Katie," with a soft smile on his face.

We walk in and I flip on the light.

I'm shivering. I guess the pool wasn't as warm as I thought it would be. Josh sees this and tells me, "you shower, I'm going to go grab my clothes from my room."

I nod then go to the bathroom, closing the door behind me. I hear josh leave the room and I let out a sigh.

"What am I doing?" I quietly ask myself.

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Sorry this one's a bit shorter, but I'm already working on the next chapter

Also idk what I have with this fixation of romantic moments in the pool at night but I love it

-kb