seven (adam banks)

chapter fifteen

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chapter fifteen: everything i wanted

( a/n: i would like to preface this with the fact that I have yet to have my first kiss. )

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Adam's lips, while chapped, are soft.

She pulls back slightly when he doesn't respond, fear christening her features as she stares at him, his head still in her hands, and wonders if she actually misread the situation. He doesn't give Jamie any time to really process what she's going to say, though, leaning forward almost immediately to recapture her lips.

It's clumsy and desperate, and he pulls her incredibly close to him, but in that same vein, it's beautiful.

It's like, suddenly, she understands why all those people all lost their minds and fought in wars. This, the kiss, the way that she feels about Adam and the way he feels about her, is something that authors and poets and songwriters have spent their whole lives trying to put down in words, and she gets it now.

Who wouldn't want to be the first person to explain a technicolor explosion in a world of black and white such as this?

The back door of the house opens with a creek, cutting harshly through the sounds of nature and each other's breathing. They pull away again, each peeking around the dock and wincing as the bright light gets in their eyes.

Phillip is standing on the back porch in his boxers and a shirt. Sleepwear.

Adam's hand finds hers, and she holds it with both of hers.

"Come on in now." He calls out to them, rubbing his face tiredly. "It's late."

"Alright!"

The run back to the house is worse than being dragged into the water. Colder. But, when they get inside, they find that his father had a fire going, and she happily rushes over to sit in front of it as he disappears elsewhere in the house.

It's quiet after Phillip bids them goodnight.

There's the sounds of the outside, the wind blowing through the trees and the crickets chirping, and an occasional pop from the fireplace, but nothing more. Maybe that's why she can hear Adam so clearly as he shuffles around behind her, or maybe she's just actively searching for him.

His feet pad against the floor as he approaches her, and she jumps slightly as he wraps a towel around her shoulders.

(She'd abandoned the hoodie a while ago, spreading it out in front of the fire, which leaves them both in their bathing suits.)

"Oh. Thanks." Jamie smiles warmly up at him.

His hair is sticking out in all these different directions, which means he probably got a towel for himself, too.

"No problem."

Adam sits next to her, his arm brushing against hers.

There's another pause. "Aw man, I think I left my shirt outside..."

For some reason, a giggle bursts its way past Jamie's lips, and it's such a horrible noise that she clamps her hands down over her mouth. He turns to her, evidently amused.

"You laughing at me, JJ?"

She shakes her head. "No. No- I'm just. I keep feeling- I'm either in shock or I'm just giddy."