Every Little Thing

Chapter 17

There I sat in the cabin of a small fly-bridge boat as Josh sailed us to who knows where. Gripping the cushion of my seat I glanced from my phone to different spots around me. It had been more than half an hour since I had sent the text to the group chat. No one had called me or texted me and I could feel my hopes being crushed. Here I thought this small group of people actually cared about me. I should have known better.

Minutes later Josh emerged and leaned against the door frame. He smiled at me and I felt something flip inside my rib cage.  My mind couldn't figure out why Josh's presence affected my heart beat. When he appeared my hands became sweaty and my stomach fluttered. 

"Ready?" He asked in a velvet tone. Crossing my arms over my chest I raised an eyebrow at him. where exactly had he brought us to?"Follow me." He left the frame of the door and I followed him. Snaking around to the front of the boat I saw blankets and pillows laid over the front.

Leaning against the railing I gave him a curious look."Josh where are we?'' His eyes sparkled making his grey eyes stir like the clouds in the sky. He sat on one side of the blanket made bed and patted the side next to him. 

"I'll tell you when you sit your but down and relax." He remarked with a sly grin on his lips. Giving into his game I sat in the spot beside him, but made sure we still had space between us.Gazing over at me a more genuine smile presented itself on his lips and he laid down. "Now that you're here I can explain. You see I was walking on the beach before making my way the the board walk. As I was walking I saw a distant figure running around in the water and when I got closer I realized it was you with some friends. Then the idea hit me. You seemed shaken up by today and I knew your little guard dog wasn't going to let you meet with me for coffee. So, instead I borrowed my dad's boat and planned this little last minute get together."

I was about to thank Josh when my phone buzzed. He gave me an agitated look then held out his hand. "Hand me your phone." He demanded. Sighing I felt it was only fair to hand him my phone after all the trouble he went through to arrange this evening. His grey eyes flickered with an unreadable emotion, I was about to confront him but he took my phone and stuffed it into his jean pocket.

"Hey!" I whined. He stood up and towered over me. Lowering his voice he asked me to stay put as he went inside to grab something. While he was gone I took a deep breathe and laid down gazing upon the stars. Wherever he brought us, it was a perfect star gazing spot. My stomach twisted at the thought of my friends again. They're having fun without me, why should I care if they're here or not?

Sliding next to me Josh settled a large tray of snacks between us and sent me a small smile. Laying back his eyes focused on the stars and he crossed his hands behind his back. His hoodie was gone and in its place was a tight fitting black shirt. He seemed completely lost in thought, the longer I looked at him the more mesmerized I became with his peaceful silence.

The wind began to pick up and strands of hair came lose. Grabbing a hair tie from my wrist I tied my hair into a lousy bun and rubbed my hands against my arms. Turning my head towards Josh I noticed he was already staring at me with an unreadable look. He cocked his head slightly to the right and gestured for me to grab a blanket. And so I did. 

Once we got comfortable, we spent our time making small talk, as time progressed our conversations became deeper, more meaningful. I felt so comfortable talking to him, words just flowed out of my mouth and he didn't judge what I said. When he began talking I paid attention to  the small details about him. Like the way his mouth shaped certain words, or when he brought up school related topics he would look up at the sky and slow down. Most of all I payed attention to the way he looked at the sky with admiration, as if the sky was a person he was madly in love with. Suddenly I found myself wanting to be looked the same way, but I quickly shot down the thought.

After our pillow talk we simply watched the stars, from time to time I would sneak glances at him through the corner of my eye. Occasionally I would find him doing the same and couldn't help the pink pigmentation spread across my cheeks. 

Our peaceful silence was ruined when a buzzing noise erupted from Josh's pocket. I sighed and gave him an apologetic look. He smiled and handed me my phone. Without looking I turned it off and his smile deepened. God I would do anything to freeze this moment and stare at his smile. 

Turning on his side Josh traced circles on his pillow an avoided my eyes. He mumbled something, but I couldn't grasp what he said. 

"Did you say something?" I asked in a hushed tone. I had no idea why I was whispering, it just kind of felt like if I spoke any louder our harmonizing silence would be destroyed. 

Scooting closer he laid back on his back and once again gifted the starry sky with an enchanted look. "Can I ask you something?"

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Sorry this chapter was late, but hey better late then not here at all, right? Anyways please tell me what you think of this chapter. And as always, thanks for reading.