Retrace the Lines

Josh

She moves her lips to mine in response, this time with more fragility. There's an emotion behind her movements which I can't quite pin down. The fire turns into something sweeter, but just as warm. She breaks the kiss to rest her head against my shoulder, and I can hear her catch her breath.

That kiss was so fucking different than anything I've experienced before. No one has ever made me feel so consumed.

After a few moments, I decide to admit something to her. "You know, the first time I realised I wanted to kiss you was when we were five years old and you shouted at me for stealing your Barbie doll."

She laughs against my skin, drawing circles with her fingers through the middle of my collarbone. I'm relieved to see that she's not freaking out. Well, I don't know this for sure, but she hasn't gone running into the woods yet, so I think she's fine for now.

All of this is so complicated. All of the unanswered questions are shit to even think about, but I'm not naive enough to think that we can ignore them forever.

As her soft skin rests against my body however, nothing seems to matter anymore. I allow the floral scent of her hair to ease my thoughts and I just enjoy having her against me. 

A breeze rustles over us and I can feel her shiver. 

"Are you cold?" I softly enquire. 

She nods, sitting up. "Yeah, maybe we should head back soon." She refuses to let go of my hand as I stand up with her.

I smirk. "Getting clingy already Ginger?"

She shoots me a glare, letting go of my hand immediately. Without a word, she storms off. I laugh, jogging to catch up with her. Before she realises I'm right behind, I pick her up over my shoulder and she screams.

Ignoring her requests to put her down, I trudge on through the trees.

"I'm not putting you down until you forgive me." I say sternly. My grip on her small waist allows my raw desire to seep back in.

Well, it does until she starts nagging.

"Joshua Hutchins, I refuse to forgive you. But if you don't put me down I am warning you, I will attack." Her serious tone renders me breathless as I try to control my laughter.

"Quinn, we both know how badly it turned out last time you tried to attack me." With these words, she attempts to break free, punching at my back. My laughter combined with her gentle assault makes me lose balance and I end up kneeling on the forest floor. As we continue to struggle, she dissolves into fits of giggles and slides off my shoulder.

After calming down a little, I gaze down at her plush lips. "Do you forgive me yet?" I poke her cheek. Her eyes soften, and she awards me a small smile.

"Okay, fine." She presses her lips to my jawline, and the skin tingles in response, rapidly spreading down my neck. Flustered, I stand up, reaching out a hand to help her.

As we walk back to the camp, we wonder aloud whether the scavenger hunt is finished and who won. She shrugs, clearly lost in her thoughts. The silence between us isn't awkward, it's warm. The comfort keeps us only centimetres apart, inching closer and closer as we near the entry to the forest track. As we walk I ache to hold her hand again, to feel her warm skin against mine.

But she's clearly caught up in her mind again and I don't know what she wants.

It's a relief to finally reach the clearing of the camp and to hear the bustle of people around us again. Not only did I not want to spend the night stranded in the woods, I'm not sure how much self-control I'd be able to exercise around Quinn if we were stuck together all night.