Chapter 5
~JOSH~
A couple of days later, I meet up with Anna again after having not seen her since the night of the party. She seems like she's doing pretty good considering she almost died that night. And for the most part, I think we're back on good terms. I'm finally able to spend some time alone with her while my parents are at work and Zack hangs with some of his other friends.
We sit on my living room couch and watch a movie together. She cuddles up next to me as we watch some horror movie that she had selected, which surprisingly turns out to be pretty good. Though I did get annoyed over how many times Anna jumped from the jump-scares and started cuddling up next to me. This has nothing to do with her but for some reason, I've never been much of a fan of cuddling. Like, it makes me a bit uncomfortable.
Anyways, when the movie's over, she stays cuddled up next to me and begins playing with my hair. "So what do you wanna do now?" She asks me.
"I don't know... wanna play video games?"
"Um... I don't really play video games," she says as if repulsed by the idea. Of course, she doesn't like video games, she's a girl. She probably wants to get her hair done or some shit like that.
"But... there might be some other things we can do..." She looks at me with a look of desire and I think I know what she might mean. She then leans in and I take the initiative to kiss her. I smash my lips into hers and forcefully makeout with her. After a while of sucking tongues, I move on to her neck and awkwardly attempt to give her a hickey. But the immense level of awkwardness pushes her away, inciting her to ask me, "Do you not... know what you're doing?"
"What?"
"I mean, you're making this kinda awkward..."
"Well, I'm sorry for not living up to your expectations!" I say frustrated as I rise from the couch, my face all warm and red.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you but... something didn't feel right about that," she explains.
"And what was that?" I say, kinda agitated.
"I don't know... it seemed kinda.. forced, I guess."
I roll my eyes.
"Josh, do you not like me anymore?"
"Of course I do."
"Well, we've kissed before and it's never felt that bad. Is there something wrong?"
"No?"
"If you don't like me anymore, Josh, it's okay, you can just say so."
"That's not it, I swear."
"Then what is it?"
I don't answer because, to be honest, I have no idea why that kiss felt so bad. Maybe I'm just having a bad day.
"I don't understand. Everything's been weird between us ever since..."
"Ever since what?"
Before she gets the chance to answer, Zack comes in through the front door with Dakota behind him. "Sup lovebirds, hope I'm not interrupting anything."
Anna just sighs and doesn't say anything back to him.
"Nah man, you weren't interrupting anything," I say, giving him our signature handshake as he walks by.
He takes a glance at the troubled Anna and says, "We'll be upstairs," as he and Dakota take their leave from the living room to give me and Anna some privacy.
"I just want things to go back to the way they were. Lately, I've been feeling like you don't want me anymore. Like, do you want to break up? Is that what this is about?" She says once they're out of sight, her eyes close to tears.
"No, I don't. I like you. It's just... I've got a lot going on in my head. My best friend might be going off to the military and I'm afraid I might not see him again after this summer," I say, trying to improvise. Even though that is one of my many worries, it is not the reason why my kiss with Anna was so stale. In all honesty, I have no idea what the reason for that is.
"I know you love Zack, but now that he's back it feels like you've completely lost interest in me."
"That's not true. I'm spending time with you today instead of him, aren't I?"
"And yet you're still thinking about him."
"You need to stop being jealous of Zack. He's my best friend and I spent a whole year without seeing him. He's been back for a week so far and this might be our last summer together so forgive me if I'm trying to spend as much time with him as possible." I think I've finally shut her up.
She sighs in frustration as her face turns red. "You're right. How stupid of me to be jealous of my boyfriend's guy best friend! It's just that I was beginning to think that you were... nevermind, it's stupid."
"No, say it."
"... That you were kinda into Zack... ya know, more than a friend. I know, it was stupid of me to think that."
I suddenly feel my cheeks growing warm and I imagine that they're probably pretty red right now. "Whoa now, I love Zack but not like that."
"I know, I'm sorry. I just didn't know what else to think."
"It's okay," I say, pulling her into a hug.
"I should go, my mom's expecting me back soon. Call you later?"
"Sure."
"Not only is she jealous of you man, but she thought that I was starting to like you 'more than a friend'," I tell Zack after both Anna and Dakota have left and it's just the two of us playing video games in the darkness of my bedroom.
"Damn, she's got issues," Zack says without expression.
"Yeah, for real. As if, right?"
"Psh, yeah."
"We'd make a pretty cute couple though. Can't deny that," I say jokingly as I smirk at him.
"Hell yeah!" he laughs. "I'm obviously the man in the relationship though."
"Shut up," I laugh back.
He then looks at me and we end up being less than six inches apart from each other's faces. I stare into his sapphire-blue eyes and I feel my heart inexplicably beginning to pound inside my chest.
He smirks and then pats me on the back and my mind immediately returns to the game as I watch him save my character from being torn apart by flesh-eating zombies. "You're welcome."
"Thanks, bro," I reply, unable to resist the urge to at least smirk back at him. He's so cu—cool.
YOU ARE READING
Summer Milestone
Teen Fiction[boyxboy] Eighteen-year-old Josh Crimson has been best friends with Zack Clifton ever since childhood but when Zack is forced to move away the summer before their senior year of high school, Josh feels as if he has lost something in his life. A year...
