Heck of a kiss

Chapter Six

                                           Chapter Six

Present day

Roughly a month after he met Mila and Amy, Josh was sitting in his battered recliner his feet bare and a coffee in hand. He was off that day and was enjoying the peace. Plastered on the wall were snapshots of his family stuck to the walls with tape. Because he had a large family, the walls were almost covered in photos.  Prominently displayed, a gold and wood crucifix hung above the TV set which was precariously balanced on a short coffee table. Perhaps it wasn’t an appealing and dignified setup, but Josh liked having the Crucifix where he could easily see it. Across the room, a computer desk sat stuffed in a corner surprisingly pristine in comparison to the walls. An old sofa, a wingback chair, and another recliner finished the arrangement of the living room. Underneath the rug, dark hard wood gleamed shiny with the wax spread over it.  His house was neat for a bachelor pad. He liked being able to find stuff easily and his mama had installed many stern lessons on cleanliness.

Currently Josh was sitting in the armchair listening to a singer crooning about beer and summertime while reading a book about zombies. It could be noted that Josh enjoyed being incongruous.

            When the phone rang Josh was in the middle of a horrific battle with the walking dead so he wasn’t paying attention to who it was on the other end of the phone. Sighing, he closed the book leaving a finger to mark his place, while the other hand lifted the phone to his ear.

“Josh Noble.”

“Okay Josh, I am pulling in a big you owe me.”

            Raising his dark eyebrows Josh realized that the person on the phone was Jabe. “Okay.” He said slowly, still trying to get his mind back to the present.

            “This will be the weirdest question but, can you with me to a friend’s house for dinner? She already said yes but I need someone so there aren’t any explosions.” Warily Josh asked, “And why would there be any explosions?”

“Because my ex-girlfriend lives with her.”  

            Silence reined for a few moments and Jabe continued. “She won’t be there, she is supposed to be working, but I could use the insurance.”

 Josh considered his options. On one hand, the last place Josh wanted to be was between Jabe and his ex if or when there was any fighting. But on the other hand, Jabe was obviously not going purely to see his ex, and Jabe was sounding increasingly desperate.  After a moment, Josh reluctantly agreed. He knew that Jabe had broken up with the girl two years ago so it was likely she had moved on. However, Jabe had not. Despite the fact that he had hundreds of girls who would willingly take the place of his ex, Jabe had resolutely stayed single. Usually Josh didn’t pay attention to the love situation around him. He was waiting for the one girl who would be his, beyond a shadow of a doubt, and until she fell into his lap, he would wait.

            Hauling himself out of his recliner, Josh headed to the bathroom to take a shower. His lovely day of relaxation had just thrown itself out a tall, tall window.