Chapter 10
-Jen-
I forgot how good it feels to wake up in Josh’s strong arms, especially after a night that meant so much to both of us. I lay there for a while, breathing in his scent and feeling his chest move up and down behind me.
I gradually managed to slip out of his arms without waking him up and I went downstairs to cook him a delicious breakfast. I was glad we’d stayed at my place, I was more comfortable and although Josh wasn’t showing it, I could tell he would’ve preferred we’d gone to his house.
The bacon was simmering when I heard Josh coming down the stairs. I turned around and smiled at him when his arms wrapped around my waist and his lips found the back of my neck.
“Good morning,” I said. I leaned in and kissed him tenderly.
“Last night-” he started.
“I love you,” I said. What?, I thought to myself. Did I really just say that?
Josh exhaled as if he was relieved. “I love you too.”
I smiled. Even though I wasn’t expecting myself to tell him so suddenly, I knew I did love him. It hadn’t been a secret to me, or anything
He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in and hugging me tightly. I sighed at his touch and hugged him back. He kissed my cheek and pulled away.
“Now, Liam has just texted me saying that he’s having a get together with the cast today at his house, like a pool party kind of thing,” Josh said. “Do you wanna go?”
I shrugged. “Sounds like fun,” but then, I paused. “Uh...who does he mean by ‘the cast’?”
Josh took out his phone and found where he’d texted Liam. “Um...Sam, Elizabeth, Lenny, Woody, Liam of course, and yes, Jena is going as well.”
I sighed and subtly rolled my eyes.
“We don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Josh said, stroking my arm comfortingly, but I could tell he really wanted to go.
I shook my head. “No, it’s fine. I think we should go, it might be a bit unsociable if we don’t. We’ll just stay away from Jena, that’s all.”
Josh nodded and kissed my hand. As he walked upstairs to get his stuff he called, “I have to go home and get ready, but I’ll pick you up in about an hour, okay?”
“Okay,” I sighed. Just stay away from Jena, I told myself.
-
-Josh-
When Jen and I arrived at Liam’s house, we were greeted at the door by his adorable dog and his roommate.
“Everyone is out the back,” Liam’s roommate said.
I took Jen’s hand as we walked outside and saw Jena talking to Elizabeth. I saw the look on Jen’s face and I could tell she was a bit worried.
I whispered in her ear. “Don’t worry, I’ll stay with you the whole time in case she tries to attack you again.”
Jen smiled slightly and whispered back a ‘thanks’.
Just then, a shirtless Liam ran up to us, soaked from swimming in the pool and out of breath.
“Guys, you made it!” He hugged us both, dampening our clothes. “I’m so glad you guys are here, it’s gonna be great!”
I smiled. “Thanks for inviting us.”
“There’s food on the table and beer in the fridge,” Liam said, pointing inside to the kitchen we’d just walked passed. “Have fun, I’m going back in the pool!”
Liam ran off and jumped into the pool, sending big ripples everywhere and making Woody splash him back.
“Do you wanna go in?” Jen asked. However, I was too concerned about who was coming our way.
“Hi guys, I need to talk to you, Josh,” Jena said. “Actually, I need to talk to you, Jen, as well.”
I sighed. “Not today, Jena, we’re trying to keep the drama to a minimum.”
Jena rolled her eyes. “I just wanted to say that Josh, I’m not crazy in love with you anymore. I’ve moved on, I’m over you as they say in the movies. And, Jen, I’m really sorry for fighting with you, it was the wrong thing to do, I was just going nuts and...look, I’m sorry, to both of you.”
She turned to walk away, but I grabbed her arm and pulled her back, hugging her.
“It’s okay, Jena, I’m glad we can be friends again,” I said and Jen hugged her after me.
“I’m sorry too,” Jen said. “We were idiots, huh?”
Jena laughed. “We certainly were.”
“Now, are we going in or what?” I said loudly and everyone cheered.
-
For a few hours we swam around, ate, drank, talked, laughed and had more than a lot of fun.
“Guys, I have a game to play in the pool if anyone wants to,” announced Lenny.
“What is it?” Jen asked, sitting up excitedly in her chair next to me. I smiled at her enthusiasm.
-Jen-
“Okay, we have this ball thing that’s easy to bite into, and I was thinking we could do like relays with blindfolds where you swim to the person on the other team, with the ball in your mouth, and then you pass it to the next person only using your mouths and so on. The winning team gets extra hotdogs,” Lenny held up a plastic fluoro yellow ball. It looked squishy and a bit deflated, so I trusted it would be easy to hold in your mouth.
“I’m in,” I was in as soon as he said extra hotdogs, honestly.
Josh nodded. “I’m in, too.”
“It sounds like fun,” Elizabeth said and looked to Woody who shrugged and said,
“What the hell? I’ll do it!” as he sipped his beer.
“Okay, I’ll play, what about you Liam?” Jena asked.
Liam nodded. “Sure, whatever I’ll play your stupid childish game.”
Lenny hit his arm playfully. “Okay, everyone is in...wait, that’s an uneven number.”
“I’ll play,” Liam’s roommate’s voice came from the open door.
“Are you sure, Kyle?” Liam asked and ‘Kyle’ nodded back eagerly.
“Okay, great, now we just need teams,” Liam said.
“Let’s go tributes and Kyle versus non-tributes,” I suggested.
“Deal,” Jena said, putting down her beer and standing up. “Let’s do this!”
Hello everyone! Sorry this took a bit longer, I was in Tasmania for 2 days, so sorry about that...
However, I hope you enjoyed this little episode, only a few more before the finale! :(
Love Always,
Millie xo
