I Hate the Way...

Part 52: "So You Had Sex?"

Hope wakes up the following morning, feeling soft patterns being drawn against her chest through the material of her t-shirt. She glances lower, a slight smile on her face. It's atypical for Josie to wake before she does, but at least she won't have to wake the woman to get out of bed for her 'swim'.

Josie seems deep in thought as she subconsciously lets her fingers drag against the material. But she's broken out of her thoughts when she suddenly feels a hand reach up and fingers lightly brush through her hair.

She glances up to be met with Hope's gaze, "How long have you been awake, love?"

Josie sighs, turning her attention back to her fingers on Hope's chest, "I never really slept."

She's been far too consumed with thoughts about her father and the possibility of him figuring out that this marriage was constructed by herself to take back her inheritance.

Hope hates that the brunette is so upset, even losing sleep over this situation. She wishes she could do something more to help. She considers staying with Josie, instead of going out to the dock as she usually does.

Josie mumbles, knowing the thoughts running through Hope's head, "I'll be fine, Hope. You can go for a swim."

"Are you sure? I can always skip a day..."

Josie glances up, a barely-there smile on her lips as she sits up and leans in to leave a gentle kiss to Hope's cheek, "Go. I'll be right here when you get back."

Hope sighs, finally relenting with a nod, before slipping out of bed and grabbing a swimsuit, going into the bathroom to brush her teeth and change clothes.

When she returns to the bedroom, she sees Josie in the same spot, stretched across the bed as she mopes.

Hope lets out a sigh before she decides she's not leaving Josie here alone. She walks over to the side of the bed, throwing the sheets back, "Okay, come on, time to get up."

Josie groans, trying to reach for the sheets without moving an awful lot, but they're too far, "No, I'm never leaving this bed again."

Hope wants to laugh at that response, but she holds it together, "You have three seconds before I pick you up myself."

Josie narrows her eyes, "You're bluffing."

Within the next second, she's no longer laying in the comfort of their shared bed. She shrieks as she's thrown over Hope's shoulder, "Hope! Put me down!"

Josie thinks the dog will defend her, but Peaches only sits up on the bed, putting her front paws up as a silent request to be picked up as well.

Hope ignores Josie's demands as she uses her free hand to open one of Josie's drawers, pulling out a couple of items before walking towards the bathroom, finally setting Josie on her feet, "What the hell, Hope?!"

"You're not going to spend the whole day sulking. Here, get dressed," Hope hands over the swimsuit she grabbed for the brunette, "You're swimming with me today."

She exits the bathroom to greet their dog, letting her jump into her arms as Hope carries her outside, and she misses the look of pure shock on Josie's face at the invitation. Hope has never asked Josie to join her for her daily swim, she's always treated it as a private activity. But Josie's definitely not turning down the opportunity to join Hope this time, so she quickly gets dressed and makes her way outside to their porch, where Hope and Peaches patiently wait for her.

Hope grins as her eyes scan the brunette's figure, barely covered by the minimal red material of her swimsuit, but her smirk grows when she notices Josie doing the same thing. "Ready to go, love?"