Sunkissed | Joshifer

Chapter 16

I'm not surprised by Josh's request to stay friends. Vanessa is relentless when it comes to boys and who likes who. I can't blame her. I would fight for Josh too, if I thought it was worth it. And apparently what we had wasn't worth Josh's time. My heart isn't shattered, but my mind is everywhere. He just cut us off like we had no importance whatsoever. Maybe it's my fault for not getting to know him better. He really is just another sarcastic asshole.

I walk back up the stairs of the Hutcherson house to find Sam. I don't want to be here anymore. I walk across the deck, my feet burning from the hot touch of the warm wooden boards. I hear Josh's footsteps behind and I quicken my pace. I want to leave here fast and hopefully without another encounter with Josh. Once inside the house, I find Sam and Foster sitting on the couch in front of the television.

"Hey Sam, I'm going back home, okay?" I fold my arms with a huff.

"Oh, I'll come with." He stands from the couch and begins to walk around the rest of the furniture.

"Me too." Foster smiles.

"Foster, you just got cleaned up five minutes ago. Just relax a little." Josh passes by me. We share looks, but I panic and turn to the ground. I don't think I can look at him the same way I did before.

"What? Guys, c'mon, I'm fine! I want to hangout." He pouts.

"Another time, Fost." Sam answers before I do.

"Why don't you guys hangout here?" Foster insists.

"No." Josh and I answer at the same time. We exchange glances before he tightens his jaw. His eyes leave mine for a moment and down towards my body and that's when I realize I'm still only in my swimsuit. I fold my arms, but do a poor job of hiding my exposed body. I clear my throat and his eyes redirect just as his cheeks turn a new shade of pink.

"Sam, can we leave now?" I turn away from Josh's suffocating stare as I hang my head.

"Yeah, sure." He creases his brow to me and then Josh. He ushers me towards the door and I know he's felt the tension in the room between me and Josh. "Bye Foster!" I yell before Sam leads out the door. "Bye!" I hear him faintly as I step out of the house.

Sam continues across the deck and I find myself almost running to catch up with him. "Any particular reason why you're walking so fast?" I pull on his arm to slow him down as we walk down the steps the soft sand on the beach.

"Oh. Sorry, I just thought you wanted to leave quickly." I almost laugh at his answer. It's moments like this when I really appreciate Sam. He's always one step ahead. Sometimes literally.

"I did, actually. How exactly did you know that?" I squint up to him. The sun is blaring in our eyes and now I'm regretting not grabbing a pair of sunglasses.

"You wouldn't stop looking at the floor."

"Is that supposed to indicate something?" I raise an eyebrow at him. He laughs and looks down to me with a smile. "Sometimes I think I know more about you than you do." He smiles again.

"You're probably right." I smile as well. "But really- what is that supposed to mean?"

"You always look to the floor when you're nervous. Or you look in the complete opposite direction of where someone isn't standing."

"Oh. You actually noticed that?" I let out a slight laugh.

"Well, yeah. Of course." He says with his smile fading away. He parts from my eyes and looks down towards the waves at the shore. I wish I could say something to show him I notice little quirks about him too, but I can't find any. Everything about him is pretty straight forward. Maybe his only quirk is the ability to notice mine.