Cerulean Found

Chapter 58 - Bubble Baths

I stand in the candlelit bathroom, as my heart races in my chest. Josh is only a foot or so in front of me, blocking my way to the door. He does not move, nor does he speak. He just stares at me for a few long moments.

I can smell his familiar scent of coconut and teakwood. I try to avoid eye contact. I look anywhere but into his eyes. It's now that I notice he's wearing black swim trunks and a heathered gray tee shirt. Is he wearing the bandana, I silently wonder. I don't want to look, so I stare at the ground. I am about to knee him in the groin when he finally speaks, breaking the silence.

"You have the wrong idea, Mila. I don't want to take a bath with you Mila," he says. "Not today at least. That's not what this is about," he adds.

"Then please, enlighten me, Josh. What is this all about!" I demand. I steal a glance up at his face and instantly spot the red of the bandana tied around his head.

"Come and sit down," he says, as he reaches for my hand. Before I can protest, he unlocks the door and leads me out of the bathroom. He sits down in the armchair by the closet.

"I'd prefer to stand, thank you," I state bitterly, as I remove my hand from his grip. "I'm waiting, what is this about, Josh?"

"Mila, you've got it all wrong," he says, half smiling.

"Josh you better hurry and say what's going on here because my grandparents are going to flip if they see your Jeep up at the car port, not that I care, but I'd rather learn the truth, whatever that is, before they get involved," I state bitterly.

"No they won't, we both know they've gone to bed. And besides, I didn't drive here, I came on my skateboard." He points to the board that is laying on the floor to his left.

"Josh, I'm losing patience, if you don't spit it out I'm going to scream and Justin will be here in less than two seconds," I say matter of factly.

"Mila, come on. You seriously have blown everything out of context," he laughs.

I don't see anything funny about what is going on. He had snuck into my house, my room, and was planning to seduce me, while my grandparents were fast asleep in a completely different building. I am not just ticked off, I am starting to feel scared again, as well.

I take a few steps backwards. He gets up and strides over to me quickly. He clasps his hand around my face gently.

"I'm not here to try and take advantage of you. You should know I'm not like that. But now I can see how you might get that idea, which is completely my fault. That's what I get for acting on impulse and just running with an idea. Believe me when I say that I am completely sorry that you got the wrong idea about this," he says.

"And what would the right idea have been?" I ask.

"Well, I wanted to give you something. More of an experience than anything else. I thought you had been reacting so well to water and you said you wanted to work up to being able to ride in a boat, so I thought this might help. Everyone has taken bubble baths, even me, and I just wanted to give you one," he says, as his hands remain on my checks. My eyes grow wide. It is exactly what I thought it was, kind of.

He begins to laugh nervously. "Wait, that came out wrong. I just wanted to give you the experience so that you can know what it feels like. You can wear your clothes if you want or a swim suit. Whatever makes you feel comfortable. And the tub isn't even full, it's less than three quarters full and the rest is bubbles," he nervously explains.

I have never seen him so flustered before. He lets go of my face. "You know this seemed like a much better idea before. Let's forget all about this, okay?"