Stranger Things Have Happened | Marcus Bontempelli

one-hundred & two.

"I was so relieved when I got your message. I needed to get out of the house and just relax," I groaned, throwing my handbag down onto the large light grey couch in the middle of the small beach-inspired lounge room in the quiet suburb of Elsternwick.

"Yeah, I was a little surprised when you messaged back that quick... Figured you needed saving," Josh replied with a soft chuckle before holding out a cold beer for me to take, an offer I couldn't refuse.

I sighed and twisted the cap off the bottle with ease, "Thanks," I said as Josh launched himself backwards on to the couch, the distance between us smaller than I would've expected.

"So Pip and Poppy are where exactly?" I asked, looking over at the small dollhouse set up in the corner of the lounge room and wondering where they could be at 9pm on a weeknight.

"At her parents place for the week. I weaselled my way out of going because I can't stand Pip's family and after spending Christmas with them, I had to get out of it," Josh replied before taking a swig of the cold beer that was swirling around the bottle, his brown eyes flickering between me and the cricket that was humming away in the background.

I nodded, "So you have this big house all to yourself for an entire week... How lonely," I teased as Josh twisted his body to the side and rested his arm over the back of the couch, his fingertips dancing along the soft suede with a small smirk lining his lips.

"Hence the last night DM," Josh returned as I lifted the bottle to my lips and felt the cool, bitter liquid rush down my throat, watching the flames ignite in his dark brown irises as they scanned over my outfit.

"Can I be brutally honest with you?" Josh asked with a low voice as he returned his gaze to my curious eyes and I nodded, intrigued to hear his observation.

"In what universe does someone like you end up with someone like Bonti? Like, I can see the chemistry you two have but apart from the sex, what's left? Because he's obviously an incredible man but he also seems pretty basic and you are... well, you're not," Josh laughed softly before I looked down at the bottle hanging from my fingertips, the blush rushing up my neck as I processed his words.

I shrugged, "I don't know. I love him and I feel safe with him," I admitted, causing Josh's eyebrow to quirk and a sigh following closely behind.

"That's what I thought... But don't you want someone you can connect with on a deeper level? I feel like you deserve someone who can really give you more than just safety and good sex," Josh proposed as I dragged my eyes from my hands and looked into his with a smirk.

"Great sex," I countered making Josh chuckle again, a little louder this time.

"I'm sure there's better out there," He jabbed back with a smirk, shuffling closer to me on the smooth couch.

It was my turn to chuckle, "Oh yeah? Speaking from experience, are we?" I asked, baiting him a little and watching his gaze darken under the dim lighting above us.

"Maybe," Josh shrugged, taking another swig of his beer and leaning forward to place the empty bottle on the coffee table in front of us.

"I'll be sure to ask your wife about it," I taunted as he sat back with a loud exhale, returning his arm to its previous place but inching closer to my ear so he could whisper the words that were hanging silently in the air between us.

"Or you could see for yourself..." And there it was. The proposition that both parties had felt coming for months had finally arrived and I was, to put it simply, shitting myself.

Josh made the first move and ghosted his lips over mine as his hand came up and caressed my jaw that was stilled from the inner turmoil whirling around in my head. Once his soft lips made contact with mine, they felt exactly like I'd imagined they would and I felt myself immediately melt into the kiss that was sending spine tingling chills across my cool skin. The skirt that I was wearing was ever so slightly inching up as Josh's fingers found their way onto my bare thigh, the action alone making me weak in the knees.