Last Love | Book 3

Chapter 29

(Jennifer)

When I wake up in the morning, there's  a sticky note taped to my forehead. Josh must've put it on me while I was sleeping. I pull it off and read it. All it says is 'bathroom', that's real descriptive, Josh. How am I supposed to know what to look for in the bathroom? There's only one way to find out. I climb out of bed and stumble down the hallway to the bathroom. I open the door to find there's sticky notes stuck to the bathtub, the mirror, the counter, and the floor. Only when I notice the heart shaped box of chocolate sitting on the counter do I realize today is Valentine's Day. The sticky notes on the floor have an arrow pointing to the already full bathtub and I follow them until I get to the note on the edge of the bathtub. The note tells me to get into the bath. I dip my finger's into the water and see that the water is still warm. Where's Josh? And how did he do all this and then disappear right as I was waking up? I haven't heard a sound from either him or the kids all day. I peek outside the bathroom door and look around, but no one's here but me. I close the door behind myself and strip my clothes off. Then I climb into the bathtub.

I finish bathing and wrap myself in a towel, then I search for the next sticky note to read. There's a bag sitting on the counter with a note on it that says 'wear me' I open the bag and pull a silky red dress out. It's beautiful, with thin straps and a deep cutout on the back. I dry myself off and put it on, along with the matching underwear that came with it. Then I slip the black velvety high heels next to the bag onto my feet. Next to the empty clothes bag is the box of chocolate and another small black jewelry box. The note on top of the chocolate says, 'Eat me.' I do as it says and open it up and toss a piece in my mouth. Then I read the note on the jewelry box. It says, 'open me.' I open it and find a silver necklace with a heart shaped charm hanging on it. I put it on, being careful not to get my hair caught in it as I clip it around my neck. While I wait for the fog on the mirror to clear up I eat most of the remaining chocolate. The mirror finally clear, so I can see myself. The dress looks perfect on me, and the necklace shimmers in the light. My hair however is a mess. My naturally curly hair is sticking in every direction. I through it up into a messy bun to tame it, then I check my phone. It's already almost one o'clock. I text Josh asking where he is but I don't get a reply. I look up at the mirror and see one unread sticky note left. It tells me to go outside. I grab the box of chocolate and my phone, then I walk outside.

When he sees me, Josh gets out of the car and approaches me. He's wearing a classic black suit, but the top few buttons are undone on his dress shirt. "Hey." I greet him, smiling. "Hey." He takes my hand and leads me to the car. I get in the passenger seat and watch as we drive away.

We keep on driving until the sun starts to set. Josh made us a playlist of all our favorite songs, so the drive isn't boring. We sing and dance together, laughing almost the entire time. The kids are at my parents house so Josh and I get the entire night alone. He pulls into a small pathway off the road and parks. We're surrounded by trees on all sides, and the sun is almost completely down now. "What're we doing here?" I ask. "I thought it'd be better. Instead of going out to a restaurant or something we can just stay here alone." He reaches into the backseat and pulls out a box of pizza from inside of a cooler. "Classy." I smirk at him. "Only the best for my valentine." He says, winking at me as he hands the box over to me.

We sit on the edge of the car with the backdoor open and all the seats down and eat our pizza. The music continues to play now, some of the songs I don't even recognize. Then one I do recognize starts to play.
"Oh, her eyes, her eyes
Make the stars look like they're not shinin'" It starts. "Her hair, her hair
Falls perfectly without her trying
She's so beautiful
And I tell her everyday." Josh and I sing together.
"I know, I know
When I compliment her she won't believe me
And it's so, it's so
Sad to think that she don't see what I see
But every time she asks me, "Do I look okay?"
I say,
When I see your face
There's not a thing that I would change
'Cause you're amazing
Just the way you are." We continue.
"And when you smile
The whole world stops and stares for a while." I sing.
"'Cause, girl, you're amazing
Just the way you are." Josh finishes the verse without me.

(Josh)

Jen stops singing, but I don't.
"Her lips, her lips
I could kiss them all day if she'd let me
Her laugh, her laugh
She hates but I think it's so sexy
She's so beautiful
And I tell her everyday,
Oh you know, you know, you know
I'd never ask you to change
If perfect's what you're searching for
Then just stay the same
So don't even bother asking if you look okay
You know I'll say," I sing the rest while she stares up into my eyes. This song pulls on an old memory from years ago, back before Jen and I were together. I was still with Claudia, and I was singing this same song in the shower that day. I think even back then I was already in love with Jen. The song continues, but I stop singing. I lean in and kiss her instead. We kiss underneath the stars in the backseat of our car, and I know this is going to be one of the best nights of my life.

A/N: I was going to save this until Valentine's Day but I'm really excited and I want to update so I'm doing it early. OKAY BUT REFERENCE TO CHAPTER 2 OF THE FIRST BOOK OF THIS SERIES