An Unlikely Connection: Part 2

Chapter 1: Positive Outlooks

A full year went by in a blink of an eye. So many things happened that I wasn't proud of, but there was a lot I enjoyed. I met my closest friend, Yosefin Böhme, the energetic extrovert tomboy who had a crush on me when I was in high school. I dabbled sexual wonders with Kat, then found myself in the persistent gaze of Yosefin's heart. Every other day since the road trip and the time I almost stripped her naked after we impulsively made out, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I found it hard to be annoyed by the never-ending reminders. Weirdly, I liked her persistence. But I saw how it could lead to me being less social with other people.

For nearly a year, she was all I talked to. I wasn't talking to any other girl, plus I barely spoke to my other friends. Yosefin didn't have any friends either. I felt like that needed to change for both of us.

The day before Yosefin and I began our sophomore year, the air was thick with anticipation and excitement. We had spent the whole day together, running errands and simply enjoying the last moments of summer. As the sun began to set, we found ourselves in the comfort of her cozy bedroom, snuggled up on her bed.

"So," Yosefin said when she momentarily rested the side of her face across my chest. "Are you going to tell me what's on your mind?"

"This isn't right," I sighed.

"You're still on about that?" She said when she sat up to look directly at me. "What?" She somewhat snapped yet smiled afterward. "Is snuggling too far now? I'm just laying on you." She leaned away before I could bring her back to me to show her that wasn't the case. "Josh," she scoffed. "You know how I feel about you," she said in a softer voice. "But," she said, cutting me off. "But... I understand why you don't want me. It's just..."

"It's just what?"

"It's just I wish it didn't hurt, you know?" She nearly wept yet kept her face from frowning. "Oh, God," she sighed with her hands in her lap, shaking her head while looking at me as if there was something wrong.

"What?"

"Do you not want to be friends anymore?"

"Whoa," I said three times in a panic. My heart was racing and my lips felt like they shrunk. "You will always be my friend," I said, clutching her thigh to scoot myself closer. She moved a couple of inches closer to completely close the gap between us. My hand slipped to the top of her thigh right near her left hip.

"I'm glad," she said with a faint smile. "So," she said after taking a deep swallow. "What isn't right about.. us?" I suddenly got cold feet and lost all confidence in what I wanted to say. "Is it about the kisses we shared? Or... something more... deeper?" When she said deeper, she somewhat squinted like she was trying to look through me. Her worrying gaze made me unable to look her in the eyes. "Joshy." That name put a smile on my face by the way she said it. It was quiet and I hadn't heard it for a few weeks.

"We should go see other people."

"Like... date?" She said, raising a brow. "Or finding... other... friends?"

"Date, but having more friends is good too. As far as I know, I'm the only friend you have."

"But," she stuttered. "Who would wanna be friends with me? Let alone date?"

"Tons!"

"I don't know about that." I reminded her of all of the things that attracted me to her. I talked about her personality, the fact she loved games, and that she was an extrovert. Many people would love that about her but she thought the unobvious truth about her could turn a lot of people away.

"You won't know until you try." She crossed her arms and looked down at the bed, pouting in silence. "You're so childish," I said as a joke.

"Ugh," she groaned, rolling her eyes. "Okay! I'll give it a try."