Indestructible: Reinforced

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

     September 2009

     Coincidental Encounter: Number One

      I sat in the lobby of the hotel curled up with Nicholas Sparks’ The Choice. I loved Nicholas Sparks, loved how romantic he was and how unpervert his novels were. He was definitely a favorite of mine.

     I’d been halfway through the book when Amanda decided that she needed to sleep and the bedside lamp was annoying her. Amanda could be very passive aggressive sometimes, so I just upped and left.

     Sharing a room with her was a nightmare.

     I sighed and turned the page, things were getting good.

     “Let’s see here.” A hand shot forward from behind me and grabbed the book. I knew the voice and I looked over my shoulder and up into Josh Anderson’s ridiculously beautiful face. He was grinning down at me. I let go of the book and he turned it around to look at the cover. “Nicholas Sparks?” He cocked an eyebrow at me.

     “Yes, Nicholas Sparks.” I nodded. “He’s awesome. Any argument regarding him and his books in negative way is invalid.”

     Josh laughed and I couldn’t help but grin back at him. He was so cute! “Alright, alright, I’ll back off.”

     I took the book back and marked the page. “Why are you up so late?”

     He sat down in the armchair next to me. “Couldn’t sleep.” He sighed. “What about you?”

     “I wanted to read but my sister wanted to sleep.” I ran my fingers through my hair. Josh Anderson was sitting next to me, talking to me. And we were alone. I was going to mess this up so bad. “Unfortunately she’s older, so she wins.”

     “Man, I hate how older siblings are bullies.” He chuckled. “Which older sister, though?”

     “Avy would never do something like that.” I shook my head. “She’s actually mature. And doesn’t have a stick up her ass.”

     Josh looked at me incredulously with a surprised grin on his face. Shit! Had I really just said that infront of him? Shit! “Wow! Nicely said.”

     “It just came out like that, sorry.” I was blushing. Great.

     “No, no.” He shook his head. “No need to apologize. It’s fine, really.”

     “Okay.” I nodded and sighed in relief. “So, why can’t you sleep?”

     “I have a certain situation back at home.” He answered. “My mind won’t stop working. I needed to get some fresh air.”

     “Girl problems?” The words were out of my mouth before I could stop them. I felt my cheeks grow redder and I couldn’t look at him. I was too embarrassed.

     “You could say something like that.” His tone was neutral, a bit amused even. I glanced up at him, he was regarding me with an amused look in his eyes and a ghost of a smile curving his lips. “Two friends of mine want to go out together. I had a thing with the girl so it’s a bit awkward. And frankly, she’s a good friend of mine now and the guy’s a douche. I don’t know if it’s a good idea.”

     “Do you still like her?” That question was for my benefit more than it was for his.

     “I don’t think so, no.” He shook his head. “We ended things a couple of months ago. I’ve moved on.”