Falling for You

Chapter 7

- Josh's P.O.V -

After I'd walked Jenn to her front door and returned her to her parents, I headed home. I couldn't stop thinking about her. I found myself craving the touch of her soft hands on my skin and the touch of her soft lips on mine. I got home at around 12:10pm and headed up to my room to go to bed. Just as I finished brushing my teeth, I heard my phone buzz and recognised Liam's called ID on the screen.

'Liam, what's up?' I asked.

'Hey Josh,' Liam said, sounding very drunk or high, or perhaps a combination of the two. 'You know that girl you were with?' He was slurring his words.

'Yeah...' I replied.

'Nice job!' Liam congratulated me.

'What?' I questioned.

'I mean,' Liam continued. 'She's so hot! Probably one of the hottest girls you're ever gonna bang. But when are you gonna dump her? I wanna have a go.'

I felt a little offended at Liam's words. 'Liam, you're very drunk and maybe high, so you probably won't remember this, but this thing with Jenn is different. I've never felt this way about a girl before and she's not just some girl that I want to bang and never call - that's your specialty, remember? She's special, and she's mine so please don't pursue her.'

'Whatever...' Liam said absent-mindedly, obviously distracted by something on his end of the line. 'Bye!' He slurred.

I was no stranger to Liam's late night intoxicated phone calls so I sighed and decided that I'd talk to him about this the next day when he was sober.

I put my phone on charge next to my bed and hopped in, pulling the covers up. That night, I dreamt about Jennifer and that kiss we'd shared the night before.

- Jennifer's P.O.V -

I woke up the morning after Liam's party at 10:42am with a throbbing headache and sore feet. I didn't often wear heels and when I actually did, I usually regretted it afterwards - this was one of those occasions. I crawled out of bed, slipped on a dressing gown and headed downstairs.

Mum and Dad were in the kitchen cooking and reading the paper.

'She's alive!' Dad exclaimed and I rolled my eyes.

'Ha ha, very funny, Dad' I responded sarcastically.

'Good morning, dear,' Mum said, leaning over to kiss my cheek. 'How was the party last night?'

'Great,' I responded, taking a seat at the kitchen bench and munching on a celery stick I'd stolen from a bowl in front of me.

'That boy who dropped you home was really sweet,' Mum said suggestively. 'What's his name, honey? Is he your boyfriend?'

'Ugh, Mum,' I complained, feeling embarrassed. 'His name is Josh, and yes, he's my boyfriend.'

Both Mum and Dad raised their eyebrows and looked at each other with surprise.

'What?' I questioned.

'Nothing, dear,' Mum said slowly. 'It's not that we don't like Josh, it's just that we thought that if you got a boyfriend it would be Sam.'

I felt a twinge of pain go through my chest. I'd completely forgotten about Sam in the last couple of days. I felt terrible about ignoring him but I was still angry at him for what he said during our argument.

'Speaking of Sam,' Mum's voice jolted me out of my reverie. 'He hasn't been around much this week. Is everything ok between you two? You're usually inseparable. He called this morning saying he needed to talk to you.'

'He called?' I asked quickly. 'I'll pay him a visit soon.'

I decided that I needed to fix things between Sam and I. I was terrified of losing my best friend and we needed to make amends, especially with exams coming up soon. This was the time where I needed my best friend now more than ever.

---

Instead of knocking on Sam's front door as a civilised person would, I climbed the tree that was planted directly in front of the balcony that led to Sam's room. Knowing Sam, he'd probably been studying up in his room since about 8am. I needed to catch him before he headed downstairs for one of his 3 hourly breaks.

When I'd climbed into the balcony, I knocked on the glass doors that lead to Sam's room. Sure enough, he was sitting at his desk studying. He turned his head at the sound of my knock and got up to let me in.

'Hey...' was all I could manage when he opened his door.

'Hey,' he replied, looking down at his feet.

Before either of us could say anything more, I pulled him into a big hug.

'I'm sorry for ignoring you,' I said into his arm.

'I'm sorry for getting mad at you,' he replied into my hair. I released him and he stepped back. 'Really, I was totally out of line. You can date whoever you want, Jenn, I just feel like I need to look out for you. I care about you.'

I was genuinely touched by his words, but I also noticed that he was implying that he liked me as more than a friend. But that was a separate issue that could be dealt with later.

'I saw you hanging out with your friends at school,' I admitted. 'And it just killed me that I couldn't hang out with you either.'

'I saw you with Josh and his friends,' Sam confessed. 'And I was so jealous because they got you all to themselves.'

I nodded silently. Sam was becoming less subtle with his feelings.

'And Jenn,' Sam continued. 'What's the deal with you and Josh. I heard you two went to a party together. Is he your boyfriend?'

'Yeah...' I blushed, and couldn't hide a slight smile.

Sam smiled sadly. 'Good for you,' he said.

'Thanks,' I said. There was a moment of silence before I spoke again. 'I missed you!'

Sam pulled me into another hug. 'I missed you too!'