In Your Corner | ✓

Thirty-Nine

"This really isn't fair, you know."

I can't help the laugh that spills out of my throat at the mildly irritated look on my boyfriend's face as he stands in front of me, hands stuffed in the pockets of his hoodie.

A hoodie he looks downright delicious in, by the way.

"It's not!" he continues his protests. "I told you where we were going when I took you on a date."

I rest my hands on his shoulders and roll up onto the tips of my toes, gently kissing his lips in an attempt to appease him. "I know, but I want it to be a surprise."

Despite his complaints, his hands come out of his pockets and settle around my waist, drawing me closer to him. "You're so annoying," he mumbles against my lips, but still, he keeps me right there, not letting me go.

I'm pliant against him, though, sinking into the kiss.

Eventually, Josh pulls away, his eyes a little hazy. "Well, if you're really not going to tell me..."

I smirk, stepping out of his hold. "No," I grin smugly. "I'm not."

Honestly, I wouldn't mind telling him. More than anything, I just like winding him up, so since I discovered that he doesn't really like being kept in the dark, I've been teasing him, dropping hints but refusing to tell him.

Anyway, I'm certain that he'll like it. He's a history nerd, so I'm taking him on the interactive pirate cruise starting at Granville Island.

It's probably not going to be really intellectually challenging, given that it's family friendly, but I'm sure that we'll have a lot of fun. I just hope he'll be okay with the crowds.

I grab his hand and tug him towards the door. "Come on, we're going to be late."

Josh follows me out of the soccer house and across campus to the bus stop, clearly deciding to stop his grumbling.

Instead, he just holds my hand tightly and beams down at me affectionately.

It's the following Sunday and although I'm ever so slightly hungover from the night out we had last night, I'm quite excited.

Josh was working last night, so he got to witness all of our antics without actually having to drink or feel hungover the following day, the lucky man.

His thoughts clearly following the same direction as mine, he raises an eyebrow. "How are you doing after last night?"

To be honest, I've never really had to deal with hangovers. I usually manage to keep it together on nights out and remember to hydrate before bed, so I tend to wake up feeling okay.

Today isn't much of an exception and I shrug easily. "Yeah, I'm fine. A little tired, but fine."

Josh rolls his eyes. "It's not fair, you know, how you can just feel perfectly normal after a night out."

I grin, pinching his side. "Not my fault you can't handle your alcohol."

He doesn't join us when we go drinking very often – mostly because he has to work on the weekends – but when he does, he's always drunk much faster than me.

In a typical display of maturity, my boyfriend just sticks his tongue out at me.

I laugh, tugging him towards the bus when it arrives.

When we sit down next to each other on the bus, Josh's hand rests on my thigh.

Even now, his touch sends sparks through me. It's been quite a while since I've had a boyfriend and I kind of thought that at some stage, I wouldn't be so flustered by him, that I'd get used to it.