Mind the Gap (In Too Deep) (10 page)

"Josh likes to get into
his character," Gretchen said.

But Brit already knew it was
me. No one else could see, but she used the folds of her dress to hide the fact that she reached back and rested her hand on my thigh. She did it right when I came up behind her, and I felt the warmth of her hand through the fabric of my jeans the whole time I stood behind her. Her touch certainly felt like it was intentional. I figured there was a possibility she wanted to touch Zack like that, or the contact was an accident, but I was almost certain she knew it was me, and she was touching me like that on purpose. I stayed there for a few seconds, enjoying the contact, before I put my knife down and laughed it off.

Chapter 11

Brit

It wasn't even quite seven o'clock
yet and there was already a large group of people in Gretchen's living room when I came out there. I caught sight of Rachel and Collin, and headed in their direction. As I approached, I saw Gretchen point at the jail on the opposite wall. Everyone was looking at it and talking about the concept of getting locked up for getting out of character. I asked if they were talking about Garret's jail, even though I already knew the answer to that question.

They all turned to look at me, and Rachel gasped as she took in my dress. It was a huge, sparkly attention-getting dress that
I borrowed from the theater department at school. I was a little self-conscious about it because I decided to come at the last minute and it was the best I could come up with. My only other option was to mix and match some of my real clothes and try to pull off hippie or gypsy. Truth was, I liked the excuse to get dressed up in something fancy like this.

I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the
guy in the Jason mask was Josh Rand. Rachel Instagrammed a photo of herself with Josh a few weeks ago, and I knew his hair had grown out to the same dark, curly locks I saw sticking out of the back of the Jason mask.

Even though I wouldn't think of myself as someone who likes to play dumb, I asked another question I already knew the answer to. "Who's Jason?" I asked. "Josh or Zach?" I acted nonchalant and disinterested even though I was extremely nervous at the thought of seeing Josh again after all these months.

Quicker than I could react, Josh came up behind me and put some blunt object to my neck. He wasn't holding me captive. I could have easily slipped out of his grasp, but I didn't dare. I held still while he whispered through the mask into my ear. "Don't try to act like you don't know who I am," he said. He was changing his voice a little, but I still easily recognized it as belonging to Josh. The tone of his voice was so deep and manly, I felt slightly weak at the knees. I slipped my hand into the fabric of my dress then felt around a little bit to see how close he was. I didn't have to go far. He was standing right behind me, and I rested the palm of my hand on his muscular leg for several long seconds before he broke the contact to shrug off the whole thing.

Soon after,
Bailey along with eight or ten actors from Paradise Island showed up. Others gradually followed, and before I knew it, we were standing in a room full of people. Everyone was dressed in elaborate costumes, because that's just how rich people do it. There were no twenty-dollar nurse, ladybug, or pirate costumes like I was accustomed to seeing at college parties in Seattle. These people knew how to dress for a costume party. As I looked around the room, I was glad I made the choice to borrow the Cinderella dress.

At nine o'clock,
Gretchen, who could make a game out of anything, grabbed the microphone at the small D.J. station and announced we'd be having a dance-off. As a tribute to her costume, she ran the contest exactly like the one in the movie Grease. Any couple could participate. They were told to just get out on the dance floor and start dancing. Gretchen and Joel would walk around judging people, tapping them on the shoulder if they were out. I wasn't there with a date, so I found a comfortable spot against the wall to watch the action.

Our friend
Zack showed up late to the party dressed as a mummy. He hadn't come with a date, and he asked me if I wanted to be in the dance contest with him. Josh pushed the Jason mask onto his head and looked at me with great interest to see how I'd answer Zack. I knew Zack would have no problem whatsoever finding someone to partner up with so I graciously declined.

I had a great time watching the couples dance. One by one, they were picked off of the dance floor.
By the end of the song, there was only one couple left. In spite of being in cumbersome costumes, Ethan and Emily were the clear winners. They danced as if it were a routine they'd practiced a thousand times.

Afterward,
Gretchen got on the mic again to make the official announcement about the contest winners. She presented Ethan and Emily with a trophy that was shaped like a big, golden skull. Everyone clapped and congratulated them on the victory.

We were
all distracted by the dance contest and announcement, so it took us completely off-guard when Gretchen's brother came up behind Josh and placed him under arrest. "Sir," Garret said, "I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to do fifteen minutes in the pen for the removal of your mask."

"Come on dude," Josh said. "I've had that thing on all night. I just needed to breathe for a second."

"I'm afraid it's not your first offense, sir."

Josh considered telling him to go jump off a cliff before deciding to play along. He looked over at the cage and could see that there were five or six other people in it. He went ahead and pulled the mask completely off since he'd already been caught and followed Garret to the cage.

I was watching them as they went to the jail. When he unlocked the door,
I could see Garret motion to the other captives to come on out while he held the door open. Josh shot him a look of disbelief when he realized he'd be in there by himself.

I couldn't help myself—I
made my way over to the cage to play with him. Gretchen and Joel had rented the humongous cage from a party store, and Josh was leaning with his back against one side of it. I knew where he was standing, and I purposely approached the jail from Josh's back.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey yourself," Josh said without turning to look at me. He sounded slightly grumpy, which wasn't unusual for him. I was a little hurt that he wasn't more excited to have company. "You here for the opening tomorrow?" he asked, after a long silence.

"Yeah," I said. I was starting to get pissed at the way he w
as standing with his back to me as if I wasn't even standing behind him.

"Did you bring your
emo boyfriend this time?" he asked.

That was all it took. I didn't need that crap. I started to walk off without so much as another word.

"I saw your song," he said. I was already headed back into the crowd, so he had to raise his voice in order for me to hear him.

"And, let me guess, you
hated it?" I said from over my shoulder. I didn't even know what song he was talking about, but I figured it was the one I texted to Rachel months ago. I assumed he'd have something sarcastic to say about it, so I didn't even give him the chance.

I
took off into the crowd, trying my darndest to become invisible to him. This was a hard task since my dress had about a five-foot diameter. He tried to get near to me a few times after he was released from the fake prison, but each time I thwarted his efforts. I flirted with Zack and every other single guy I could find, laughing loudly at their jokes and pretending to have the time of my life.

Gretchen and Joel
had some guys dressed as secret service bodyguards kick us out at ten o'clock on the dot. Those of us who wanted to stay out had the option to get on a party bus. It was a club style bus with room for up to fifty people. Most of Gretchen and Joel's friends just went home after the party, but there were enough of us stragglers to just about fill the bus to capacity. I changed into my normal clothes, but brought my mask on a stick just in case.

Just about everyone else on board stayed in costume, but I just couldn't imagine squeezing that big, bouffant gown onto a crowded bus.
The walls of the bus were lined with leather benches and couches, and I was sitting near the front. Rachel and Collin were sitting in the back of the bus with Zack, Ethan and Emily. Bailey and a few others from Paradise Island were back there too. I felt like I wanted to go back there, but this girl Maggie, who was a stylist/friend I'd met a few times, caught me right when I came in the bus and invited me to sit with her and a few of her friends. Not that I was trying to dis Maggie since it was really nice of her to invite me to sit with them—but after I looked around and found Rachel and them, I wanted to head to the back of the bus.

"Can you believe Collin at the Olympics?" Maggie asked, noticing me noticing the back of the bus. 

I shook my head. "No, it's surreal. I catch myself telling random people that I know him."

"Oh my God, that makes me feel better because I do the same thing," Maggie said. I started to use that as
a segue to mention wanting to go back there and tell Rachel and Collin something, but she started introducing me to everyone sitting around us.

Yes indeed, one of them asked if I was Britis
h. Maggie laughed and told her my name was short for Britney, but she only knew that because she'd asked me the same thing the first time we met at Rachel and Collin's wedding party.

I was looking toward the back of the bus when Josh, who had up until then been hidden from
my view, started making his way up to the front. It was a fairly smooth ride, but he still had to brace himself on the poles positioned throughout the bus. It was packed in there and he was moving slowly. I watched him the whole time, totally oblivious to the conversation going on around me. He had ditched the Jason mask and work jacket, and was left wearing a pair of greyish black jeans and a black V-neck T-shirt. His hair was curly and messy, and perfectly framed his handsome face. I studied his masculine form as he carefully made his way to the front of the bus. I was watching him, so I had the pleasure of seeing him react to catching sight of me for the first time. His expression changed from doubtful to relieved the instant he laid eyes on me, and he began making a beeline in my direction.

For some reason, the impending confrontation made me extremely nervous.
I felt like there might not be enough oxygen in the bus as I watched him close the remaining distance between us. He stopped in front of me and used the back of the couch to lean over and speak close to my ear. There was music playing and a lot of noise in the bus, so even though he was almost yelling, I had to strain to hear him.

"I didn't get to finish what I was saying earlier," he said. Although he had to yell, I could tell his tone was sweet. I looked at him, confused by his statement and the fa
ct that it didn't come across as grouchy. He looked at Maggie, who hadn't noticed him come up at first, but was now watching our conversation. Josh gave her a quick smile before turning back to me. "Rachel wanted to tell you something," he said. "She told me to see if I could find you."

I looked at Maggie and shrugged as if to say I should probably go see what Rachel needed.

"Go ahead," Maggie said. "I'll come back and say hi in a little bit."

I followed Josh to the back of the bus. He sat in a seat about five people from Rachel. There was room right next to him, but I figured I should see what Rachel needed
to tell me.

"Hey girl," I said, coming to stand near Rachel. She shifted to make a little room for me, but the couch was packed, and I was
forced to perch on the very edge.

"Hey!" Rachel said. "I'm glad you made it on the bus, I told the driver to wait, but when I didn't see you after we took off, I figured you changed your mind."

"Is that why you sent Josh to get me?" I asked.

She shot me a silly smirk that told me she thought I was joking, and we both looked at Josh who was busy talking to Emily. I didn't know what to say at that point. Obviously, Rachel hadn't sent Josh to get me.

The person on the other side of Collin was talking about the come from behind relay race that Collin and his teammates had won at the Olympics, and Rachel turned away for a second to chime in on that conversation. I used the opportunity to look at the guy who'd just lied to get me to come to the back of the bus. Josh was looking directly at me when I glanced his way. I felt the weight of his gaze like it was making physical contact with me, pressing down on my lungs. I couldn't figure out how the sight of this guy made it difficult for me to get enough air. Then, to my utter shock, confusion and maybe a little excitement, he patted his freaking lap to tell me I could come sit on it.

Chapter 12

Josh

I signaled for Brit to come sit on my lap, and she began looking around the bus in a panic to see if anyone else had seen me do it. When she realized I hadn't been caught, she looked at me again. I just raised my eyebrows as if to ask
,
what's it gonna be?
She smiled, as her eyes shifted nervously to the people around us. I could tell she was measuring what their reaction might be to her doing such a thing. I saw the exact moment when the switch flipped and she decided not to care what anyone would think. She smiled shyly at me and I extended my arm to wave her in my direction. She stood up and walked over to me. The bus came to a stop just as she approached me, and I used the momentum to pull her into my lap. She looked at me like she couldn't quite believe she was actually sitting there. I honestly couldn't say for sure at that point if she wanted to be there or not, but she wasn't protesting.

I saw her look back toward Rachel to see how she'd react to her new seating arrangement. I hoped we'd just go unnoticed, but no such luck. Rachel was staring at us with her mouth wide open. Brit's body tensed at the sight of Rachel's shock, and she started to stand up from my lap. I knew if she got up now, I wouldn't get her back again.
I clamped my arms around her waist before she could stand up and walk away.

"She didn't have enough room over there," I said to Rachel.  I was yelling over the noise, and I didn't care who heard. "I asked her to come over here, and I'm sorry, but I'm keeping her for a little bit." I felt Brit relax slightly, but she still strained against my grasp a little. I gave her a tug, throwing her off balance and pulling her up next to my chest. "Would you please relax?" I said, looking down at her. I finally felt her body ease into a relaxed state in my arms. I turned back to Rachel. "She's good. I'll give her back in a minute."

I'd been holding her by the waist, but now that she'd simmered down, I relaxed the grip I had on her. Not too much, though. I loved the feel of her in my arms, and if it were shocking to Rachel, or Emily, or any of the rest of them—well then they could just go ahead and look. Brit didn't seem to care either. She rested her head on my chest and looked up at me.

"You smell good," she said.

"I loved your song," I said. "I have it on my phone and I've listened to it enough times to know it by heart."

She sat up and turned around to look at me properly. "Are you making fun of me right now, Josh, because I'm not sure my skin's thick enough to handle—
"

"I'm not making fun
of you, I sort of wish I was," I said. She gave me an exasperated look, but I continued, "I'm really fond of the sound of your voice, Brit. I think it does something to me."

She looked at me skeptically and I shrugged
, pulling her against me once again.

"You swear you're not just playing with me?" she asked.

She was so sweet and vulnerable that I almost got mad at myself for making her so damn gun-shy in the first place.

"I'm sorry for the way
I acted at the party," I said.

"What about all the other times?" she asked.

"What other times?" I asked, defensively.

"You know, like pretty much every time we see each other when I act nice and you act all brash and thick headed."

"I'll fess up to being a little thick headed this evening," I admitted, "but usually I'm the rational one and you're the one to blame."

"To blame for what?" she
asked, looking shocked.

"To blame for making us butt heads," I said. "If you weren't such a man hater, we'd get along just fine."

"I only hate men who are thick headed butt holes like you," she said, turning to poke me in the chest.

I could see the defiance in her eyes, but there was a little softness around the edges of it that told me she almost wanted me to challenge her.

"But you don't really hate me, do you Brit?"

"No," she whispered.

"What?" I asked, even though I heard her.

"No," she said, turning toward
me so I could hear her answer.

I took advantage of being face to face with her, putting my hand around the back of her head and pulled her in for a kiss. I had relived the kiss we shared in that coffee shop so many times, and it felt good to finally feel her lips again.
My lips made contact with hers several times before I dropped my hand from the back of her head and smiled down at her. I knew if we let it go any further in front of all these people, we'd definitely cause a stir, and for her sake, I didn't want that.

"I wish you'd come back to my apartment tonight and sing for me," I said. I was already this far into it,
so why not just go ahead and ask for what I wanted, right?

"You
like my voice enough to invite me into your home to sing for you?" she asked, looking up at me through her lashes. I could tell she was at least
considering
the idea of
thinking
about my suggestion, and I felt a wave of nervous excitement thinking she might come home with me.

"That's an understatement, Brit," I said, truthfully. "I can hear your singing voice in your
speaking voice, and it makes me do crazy things like lie to you to get you back here, and kiss you in front of everybody."

"I'm not doing anything until 2PM tomorrow, so as long as you can have me to the restaurant by—"

"Done," I said.

She smiled and relaxed onto my lap for a few more minutes before we all got out at a Halloween block party
in downtown L.A. I lost track of her for a while. She was hanging out with Maggie Cooper, and I went off with Zack. We stayed at the block party until midnight when the bus was headed back to Gretchen's. The driver dropped the sober passengers off at Gretchen's so they could get their cars before bringing home the ones who were too wasted to drive.

There were about ten people who needed to be bussed home, but I wasn't one of them. I had a couple beers earlier in the night, but I was fine to drive at that point. Brit got off the bus with us, but that was a given for her because she was staying at Gretchen and Joel's, or maybe she was staying at Collin and Rachel's… I wasn't exactly sure. Either way, she
got off the bus. I hadn't talked to her since the moment earlier when she agreed to come home with me. At least I
thought
she'd agreed to come home with me… with the way she'd gone off to hang out with Maggie, I couldn't be sure.

We
all gathered in the courtyard at Gretchen's before going our separate ways. Right off the bat, Ethan and Emily told everyone goodnight and said they needed to be getting back to their place to check on Sal. Collin and Rachel weren't far behind them, saying they too were anxious to get out of their costumes. That left Brit standing out there with me, Zack, and Maggie. We talked for a few minutes about Halloween randomness before Maggie said she needed to be taking off. I wanted to ask Brit if she was still coming home with me, but Zack was right there, and the whole thing seemed a bit forced. Finally, Zack asked if I wanted to get a bite to eat on our way home. He extended the invitation to Brit as well, assuming one of us would have to give her a ride back here since she was staying at Gretchen's.

"I'm headed to Josh's," she said, "so it's up to him if we get a bite to eat."

Zack, who apparently didn't notice our kiss on the bus, looked at Brit like he must have misunderstood her.

"Go get your stuff and
let's get out of here," I said to Brit. I smiled at her, loving the fact that she'd taken the initiative to say she was coming over. I looked at Zack. "I could handle a short stack of pancakes on our way home, but I'm not trying to stay out all night. She has to be somewhere in the morning."

If Zack was surprised by the recent revelation, he didn't show it. He was as notorious
as Ethan with one night stands—a real professional—and he wasn't about to jeopardize my chance at one. Brit was obviously glad to avoid any drama, and she took off toward the house with a spring in her step.

****

Zack and I drove our own cars to the cafe so we could go our separate ways afterward. Brit rode with me, making me promise to have her back at Gretchen's by noon the following day. The three of us sat at a booth and ate our midnight snack. There was no question when it came to the seating arrangement. She was the first to sit down, and I slid into the booth next to her. Brit and I both picked at our food (which was rare for me) but there were still tons of unknowns between us, and we were both nervous.

Zack asked her a lot of questions.
He asked about her music and her art, and lots of other things I was interested in hearing her answers to. She was, as I expected, a free spirit, hippie, artist type—a vegetarian who not only recycles, but was outspoken about how we should do it too. She wasn't as pushy as some hippies I'd encountered, though. I actually thought the whole thing was sort of cute. She didn't say anything, but I wondered how she was handling the big chunk of ham on Zack's plate.

The three of us sat in that booth
laughing and talking for at least an hour, and the entire time, I paid close attention to the sound of her voice. I tried not to lose track of the words she was saying, but spent a good amount of time analyzing the actual tone of her voice, why it affected me the way it did. I decided after giving it some thought that Brit's voice might just be one of life's little mysteries. I had to remind myself that there was a chance it wasn't
just
the voice making me feel that attraction… the body and face attached to it weren't half-bad either.

Brit and I made small talk as we drove from the
cafe to my apartment. All those pesky unanswered questions crackled in the air between us like static, making us trip over each other in the dialogue. Conversation had actually gone a lot smoother when Zack was with us, which was weird because one-on-one was usually my strong suit. I never had a problem carrying on an intelligent conversation, but that night, during that ride, I felt at a loss for words. How had I gone from her sitting on my lap and agreeing to spend the night with me to not being able to carry on a coherent conversation?

"You sure you don't mind if I spend the night?" she asked.

"I'm the one who invited you, remember?"

I reached across the console of my truck and touched her hand. I wasn't fully committed to holding it just in case she wasn't into it. I tried to pull my hand back after the brief contact, but
Brit gently stopped me, pulling my hand back down where she could hold on to it. I had to stifle a smile at the realization that she was into whatever was about to go down between us that night. 

"I hope you know I'm not singing for you tonight, though," she said.

"I thought that was part of the deal," I said, teasing her. I honestly didn't care if she sang or not. Actually, there was a slight possibility that I would lose control in some way shape or form if she
did
sing, so we might be better off skipping that part.

"I don't have my guitar, and I'm not just
gonna bust out a cappella," she said.

"I was
just playing with you," I said, smiling and glancing at her sideways. "I wouldn't invite you to my house and then make you entertain me, not when other people have to pay good money to hear you."

"I don’t know about all that," she said
shyly. She shrugged. "I'm not hoping for a record deal or anything, it's just a cool feeling when a room full of people pay attention to something your doing on stage. It's especially nice when they enjoy it." She readjusted in her seat, but kept her hand in mine.

I asked if she had plans to continue playing once she moved to L.A., and she said she did. She also told me that Gretchen was looking forward to using her
musical talents at The Center. Brit seemed excited at the prospect of being able to flourish creatively at Gretchen's place. I told her I could relate since I really enjoyed my job. She was a little confused about how anyone could enjoy an engineering job, but said she guessed that's what made the world go round. 

"Is anything
gonna jump out at me?" Brit asked as I was unlocking the door of my apartment.

"Like what?" I asked, confused.

"You know, like a dog, or a cat, or a roommate or something."

"No," I said, laughing. "If something jumps out at us, you better watch out because there's
gonna be a fight." I pushed open the door and stood back to let her walk past me. She instantly noticed the heavy bag hanging from the ceiling.

"
Whoa," she said. "You have a punching bag in your living room." When people start stating the obvious, it's usually because they're uncomfortable and they don't know what else to say. I should have known my heavy bag would be an issue for the flower child.

"
I don't compete or anything, but I do some MMA," I said. I hoped we could leave it at that and just ignore the big monstrosity hanging in my living room for the rest of the evening.

"What is MMA?" she asked.