Every Little Thing

chapter 18

As I laid back, I gave the night sky my full attention. Beside me Josh was having trouble spitting out his question. He stuttered, paused and then repeated his cycle. This went on for about five minutes. Finally he dismissed the question and went into the cabin to fetch something. Turning to my right side I ran my hand over the spot he had just been in. I had a feeling this night would replay in my mind days from now. If only it didn't have to end. 

Once Josh came back he gave me a disappointed pout. "We have to get going soon or the coast guard will give us ticket." And with those words he cleaned up the pillows and blankets, returning them to their designated place. I sighed as I cleaned up all the wrappers and left over snacks. 

After we finished cleaning up he drove us back to shore. Feasting my eyes on the ongoing sky reflecting off the sky, I felt my stomach turn at the thought of this night ended. I knew we spent hours talking and star gazing, but it only felt like five minutes. Funny how time works, the best moments last seconds, but the rest stretch on infinitely. 

Pulling into the harbor the growling of the motor slowed to a halt and the silence came back to life. Josh made his way towards me as I waited for him on the dock. He smiled charmingly and lead the way to the boardwalk. There was something about his smile that caught my attention, not because it made my heart beat double, but because there was something about the emotion it emitted. I couldn't tell which emotion he was projecting, but it seemed to hold tenderness and adoration. Maybe I was being stupid, his smile was probably like all the others, I'm imagining things.

"So...where are you meeting your friends?" Josh asked breaking my train of thought. I hadn't even noticed we were only a few feet from the boardwalk entrance. Where was I going to meet my friends? Stuffing my hands in my pocket I felt the coolness of my phone's screen. Taking out my phone I turned it on hoping at least Dylan would reply to my message. My heart sunk when I had no new notifications. "Is everything okay?"

Looking up at Josh I feigned a bright smile and said,"everything is great." Looking at me with a look that saw right through me I sighed, leaning against a lamp post."They haven't responded to any of my texts." I whispered in embarrassment and disappointment. I wish I could have lied, why was talking to him so easy? He had this magnetic pull that naturally attracted me. 

"Hey why don't you just share a cab with me?"

I raised my eyebrow at him. Was he serious? We were about two hours away from our city, no cab driver was going to drive us that far out. "Listen as fun as that sounds I really should g-"

Without giving me time to reply he said,"I'm not going to leave someone like you here alone. It's almost midnight and I'd rather you take my offer. Besides I'm paying for the cab and I won't bug you to pay me back." Taking a step closer he looked me in the eyes with a stern look. I didn't know why, but I felt that rejecting his offer wasn't an option.

Suddenly the perfect excuse popped into my head. "Even if I wanted to take your offer I can't, my duffel bag with all my stuff is in Will's car. I don't really like the idea of leaving my things with people that can't even text back." I didn't know why but the feeling of going back to my friends made my hands clammy and my insides twist. Why would I want to go back to a group of people that don't give a damn about me? They couldn't even be bothered to send me a text out of the seven of them.  

Gazing down upon me Josh gave me a mischievous look, a brilliant smile taking over his lips. He was definitely thinking about something wicked. Good or bad, I couldn't tell. With someone like Josh you always have to assume both."Do you know where you parked?" He said, breaking the silence between us. 

I didn't know what to tell him the look on his face wasn't one I could trust, but after what happened tonight how could I not?"We parked in the second road of the boardwalk lot. Why?"

"Follow me."

Minutes later we were in front of the van as it slept comfortably in its place. I was confused why he bothered coming, we didn't even have the keys, yet here we were simply starring a car we couldn't get into. Maybe it was a mistake leading him here. 

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Sorry this chapter is way over due. School and stuff has kept me busy, but I promise I'll try harder to post when I'm supposed to. As always thanks for reading. (: