book #1 | be with me | jenzie

43

chapter 43 - just him, nothing else

"you come to love not by finding the perfect person,

but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly,"

k e n z i e

"Hey, I wanna give you something," Johnny fidgeted beside me as his hand unconsciously fluttered to his pocket. I shifted my weight to my other elbow while keeping my eye on him curiously. His hand had been drifting there for a few times already and I was dying to find out what he was hiding in that small pouch of his.

We were sitting on his roof, enjoying the nighttime view. It was only a day after he had asked me to be his girlfriend, and it did feel quite surreal sitting so close to him and being able to call him mine. We were barely a few inches apart and I could feel the comforting warmth radiating off him. The first few minutes we had decided to snuggle up here, I flushed at almost everything he said, until I realized that I was just being stupid (and probably making Johnny more uncomfortable since he kept stammering and offering me blankets even though I was already wrapped like a cocoon). I decided to go with the flow and insult him as usual after a while.

We managed to make some small talk, but now, he was looking more agonized than he had even been, after brushing his hand through his hair at least a few dozen times. I raised my eyebrows, prompting him and he coughed, color rushing into his cheeks, while I looked on in amusement. It was pretty entertaining watching the usually oh-so-calm-popular-boy squirming in discomfort. It was obvious who was the calmer one here.

In one swift movement, he pulled out something small from his pocket. Before I could see what it was, he was already mumbling, "Here, this is a small bracelet I bought for you a long time ago at the beach, hope you like it,"

Without sparing me any time to react, his soft, slender fingers were already grabbing my wrist as he clipped something light on, his fingers lingering longer than it needed. My wrists burned at the parts where he touched me, as if he had run a line of fire down my arm. I looked down. A small wooden bracelet with swirling white designs framing the edges lay on my wrist. It looked simple, yet in contrast to the cool material, it warmed my heart, causing it be beat out a fast, steady rhythm.

Johnny was still staring resolutely at my wrists, and I laughed softly as the tip of his ears burned red gradually.

"You can turn it over," he muttered in a low voice.

Making sure to keep one eye on him, I turned the bracelet around slowly. There, carved lightly in the middle, almost unnoticeable, were the words

J + K

A sudden powerful sensation flowed into my heart, causing me to choke as I struggled to make sense of what I was seeing. For a moment, I opened my mouth, but the feelings that invaded my heart so strongly could not be articulated into words at all.

In one great movement that was so unlike me, (that a few years later if I looked back I would have dug my grave and buried myself in it immediately) I grabbed Johnny's shoulders and pulled him towards me such that we were smashed together.

I tugged at the ends of his hair gently as I pressed myself close to his ear and whispered, "How can you treat me this well and not expect me to fall even harder for you? And I didn't even prepare any present for you," Was I flirting? I couldn't even recognize myself or control my actions when I was with him.

I could feel his heart galloping away against mine, burning through the thin fabrics of the blanket between us. His breath was blowing against the hollow of my neck tantalizingly as he slowly wrapped his arms around my torso and laid his head against my chest. I was very aware of every one of his intake and outtake of breath, and I shivered unconsciously. For a moment, we held each other and rocked about on the roof, until I was pressed against the floor.

"Don't ever do this again if you can't bear the consequences," Johnny warned, smirking, as he hovered above me. I was still disoriented, wondering how in the world I had changed positions so fast, when I was interrupted by something soft on my lips. Instantly, the whole view of the world became sharper. I could see the outline of the moon clearly, and the specks of gold dotting Johnny's eyes looked brighter than ever. I could feel his lips molding into mine, tugging my bottom lip teasingly, melting into my mouth. For a person who has had limited experience in this area, I didn't even know how to react as I lay there, brushing my hand against the nape of his neck while responding to his fervent kisses. Slowly, his lips inched downwards, creating bubbles of exhilaration as it drifted lower down my chin.

Somewhere at the back of my mind, I heard a window open and faint sounds of arguments, but all of them were forgotten as Johnny blew at my neck softly. Until the sounds of a loudspeaker cut through the peaceful air.

"Guys, it's Lauren here. Just trying to remind you to keep it PG, thank you! Have a nice day!"

Hearing the all-too-familiar voice and seeing the waves of golden locks pouring down from the window opposite where we were lying, I groaned and pushed Johnny away.

Lauren was grinning brightly at me and I glared at them in mock anger as I pointed the finger.

Another blonde head popped out beside Lauren as she scrambled for the loudspeaker.

"P.s. please don't forget us after you get all lovey-dovey with Johnny," Brynn's voice blared out and I covered my face in exasperation. One day of dating and the whole neighborhood would get to know the details all thanks to them.

"Ugh guys, I told y'all it was a terrible idea!" I watched as Annie walked up and knocked Lauren and Brynn's heads together gently.

"Since when! You have been obsessed with texting Hayden since you arrived!" Lauren retorted as Annie said something I couldn't hear. I looked on, smiling, as they continued squabbling. A bunch of idiots.

My thoughts were interrupted when Johnny rubbed his chin on my shoulder. I looked back at him before blushing when I remembered what we were doing. He nuzzled my bare skin slowly, his lips dragging a line across.

Like what he had done at the swimming pool, Johnny whispered softly, "You being here with me is the best present I can ever ask for,"

Just for awhile, I would like to imagine that it was only me and him, nothing else more.

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