Mind the Gap (In Too Deep) (16 page)

"Brit might not be who you think she is," I said. "And I'm only going to ask you nicely one time to back off. Brit's my girl, and that 's my pain
ting, and it'd be great if you could just go ahead and find your way back to Seattle."

"What's going on?" Brit asked from the door.

"Oh thank God you're here Brit. Maybe you can talk some sense into this idiot who thinks he's laid some sort of claim on you and that piece you already sold."

Chapter 19

Brit

For Christ's sake, it had only been an hour and already there was a conflict with Josh and Trevor. I could hear them going back and forth in raised tones from the back bedroom.
I stepped into the doorway to hear Josh telling Trevor he needed to head back to Seattle. Wow. They didn't waste any time.

A red-faced
Trevor called Josh an idiot, and said that Josh was trying to lay a claim on both me and the big painting as if we were his property. Trevor looked at me, waiting for me to see the humor in the situation.

I did laugh, but it wasn't for the reason Trevor wanted me to.
I laughed because I was so nervous and freaked out about not knowing what to say that I couldn't do anything
but
laugh. Trevor wanted me to agree that Josh claiming me in some way was ridiculous, but the trouble was, I didn't think it was ridiculous at all. In fact, I was quite excited about Josh being jealous over me. A wave of giddiness hit me as I started wondering exactly what he'd said before I walked up.

"I tried to tell him you already sold the painting, but he can't seem to understand."

I looked at Josh who was clinching his jaw and
closing his eyes as if to pray for patience. He opened his eyes to look at me and gave me a frustrated half-smile.

"Would you
please just tell him I'm your boyfriend and the painting is for me?" he asked.

What the…?

The main thing I felt at that moment was excitement. Here was this huge, crazy-haired, beautiful boy wanting to call me his girlfriend! I was over the moon for him, and was overcome with the nearly uncontrollable urge to reach out and touch him. I wanted to touch his arm, touch his jaw, run my finger's through his hair, anything!

Then other emotions started to hit me, and I thought better of my plans. Just as suddenly as I'd been hit by excitement, I was hit by a
surge of guilt. I felt terrible for Trevor. I couldn't imagine how rejected and alone he would feel, especially in a city where I was the only person he knew.

I debated for a few seconds, but decided
I liked Josh too much to leave him hanging. I gave Trevor a regretful smile and he returned it with a look of shock and distaste.

"You mean you're with…" Trevor was looking at me while pointing to Josh.

"Yes, she's with me," Josh said. The tone of his voice said clearly that he wasn't taking any more crap.

"Excuse me," Trevor said. "I was asking Brit. It seems like you're putting words into her mouth, so why don't we let
her
answer?"

Josh looked at the ceiling. This time
, he clinched his jaw
and
his fists.

"You see what I'm dealing with here?" Trevor continued, "
He's all worked up like he wants to cause me bodily harm or something."

Josh laughed. It was a humorless laugh that was accompanied by a frustrated grabbing of the
hair by his temple. "You have
no
idea how close I am to causing him bodily harm, Brit, and I think we all know how that would turn out. Would you please just explain to him that you're my girl so we can be done with this before he says too much?"

"Yeah, Brit, go ahead and explain how you're in love with this big bruit." Trevor said.

"I'm… I mean, he's my… yeah, I like him Trev." I shrugged and gave him that same regretful smile since it was all I could come up with. I was trying to be sensitive to Trevor's feelings, but I wasn't about to disclaim Josh. I wanted him, wanted to be with him. My parents, who had no clue how tense the situation was, came down the hall interrupting our conversation before I could make any further statement on the subject. I was sort of glad since so much had been said already.

Things didn't go very smoothly with Trevor after that.
He stayed two days but it was only because he'd planned on doing so, and going back early would be a bad way for us to part ways. Josh was very understanding about the whole thing since Trevor and I had been friends for so long. He had a lot going on at work, so he let me finish out the visit with Trevor drama-free.

I was a little disappointed that Josh barely got to spend any time with my parents, but I figured he'd have plenty of opportunity to do that in the future. Even though things between Trevor and I were slightly strained and awkward, at least I was able to give him a proper farewell. He came along with my parents and me when we did a few Hollywood tourist activities, and before I knew it
, two days had passed, my company was gone, and I was left in my new house in my new town. I sent Josh a text the second Trevor pulled out of the driveway.

Me: "What are you doing?"

Two hours passed and I didn't hear from him. I was a little scared he decided the whole Trevor thing had been too much. A few times, I started to send a second text, but I was able to talk myself out of it. Finally, I heard back from him. I picked up my phone and saw his name on the screen. Then I dove onto my bed with my phone clutched to my chest before extending my arm to focus on the words on the screen.

Josh: "I'm just leaving the gym. You still got company?"

Me: "No. Wanna come over?"

Josh: "Maybe in a little bit. I have to go home
to shower."

Me: "You don't need to shower on my account. I'm a hippie, remember?"

Josh: "Trust me, I need a shower. I can come by later, though."

That stung. Yeah, so it had been two days since I'd seen him, and that was all because of me
and my guy-friend, but for some reason, I sort of expected him to come running when Trevor left. Okay, maybe not
come running
exactly, but at least show
some
excitement about seeing me. I decided I was okay with the idea of telling him exactly what I was feeling at that moment.

Me: "
I'm so sorry I had to ignore you while I had company. I sent that first text two hours ago, and I can hardly wait any longer to see you. Please hurry."

Josh: "
I'm on my way, but I'm gonna need a shower at your place."

Me: "Deal. See you in a few. W
ant to figure out something for dinner too?"

Josh: "You asking me on a date?"

Me: "Stop texting and drive."

I didn't hear back from him after that. Twenty minutes passed before I heard his knock on my door. His large frame filled up my doorway, and my breath hitched a little at the sight of him. He was still wet with sweat, and his curly hair was hanging over his forehead and ears. He was so tall that I had to stand on my toes when I placed a little kiss on his cheek. I could taste the salt of his sweat on my lips, and it made my knees a little weak. He smelled like a masculine exertion, and I mean that in the least stinky way possible. I could smell his shower gel, but there was an underlying natural smell that was actually quite good. Or maybe I just liked that kind of thing.

"You probably shouldn't come too close," he said, sort of stepping back. He picked up the bag that was hanging on his shoulder.
"I brought my bag so I can change after I get cleaned up."

"I don't think you smell bad," I said. I placed another kiss on his cheek before I stepped back to let him into the house.

"Looks good in here," he said. "Your art looks good on these walls." He walked into the living room checking out my paintings, his gym bag hanging from his shoulder the whole time. "I want to look at everything, but I'm not going to be able to relax until I change."

"By all means," I
said. I gestured down the hall.

Seeing him again just confirmed that I was officially crazy
about him, and it seemed like I'd been waiting all day by the time he got out of the five-minute shower. He was wearing faded jeans and a T-shirt made of cotton thin enough to see the curves of his muscular chest underneath. His hair looked so good wet, and it was all I could do not to run across the living room and throw myself into his arms.

"I smell like a girl," he said, picking up his arm to give it a sniff. 

"I think you're masculinity is securely in tact," I laughed. "Besides, it's not like a little lemon shower gel is gonna kill you."

I was standing at the bar that separated the living room from the kitchen. Josh seemed content with meandering around the living room looking at my artwork. I watched him for a minute before the temptation became too much to handle. He was huge and clean, and the sight of his boyish handsome face with those dark brown eyes made me feel like a slight electrical current was pulsing through my veins.
My breathing started becoming more labored, and I looked at one of my paintings just to distract me from the gorgeousness in jeans.

I just couldn't stand it any longer.  I had to touch him. I wasn't planning on tackling him to the ground or anything, but I had to make some sort of contact with his skin. I walked across the space that was separating us, and hearing my footfall, he turned to see me coming toward him.
He extended his big arms, and I walked right into them, breathing in the clean smell of my own citrus shower gel and loving the feel of his strong chest against my cheek.

He held me there for a few long seconds then he pulled back far enough to take a good look at my face. "I'm gl
ad you live here," he said. He was looking at me with a sincere expression that slowly changed into a beautiful, wide smile. Then, without any further ado, he took my face in his hands and kissed me.

"Me too,
" I said, a little breathlessly.

Josh suddenly looked like something was bothering him. "Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something. I know the last time I saw you, I told your friend that I was your boyfriend, and I just wanted you to know I just said that because he was pissing me off. I didn't mean to put words into your mouth or anything, but I had just about enough of him by that point, so I said—"

"Josh, please don't feel like you have to explain. I'm fine with you saying that, I just didn't want to hurt his feelings."

"You're fine with me saying
what
?" he asked. He was teasing me now, but he didn't know I was too smitten to have any shame.

"I'm fine with you saying you're my boyfriend," I said. "I think I might even like it a little."

He kissed me again and then he bent down and put his solid as a rock shoulder into my mid-section. The top half of my body flipped upside down as he stood, carrying me over his shoulder. I let out a shriek, and he reached up and popped me on the butt with an open hand. I let out another shriek at the smack, and he did it again. It didn't hurt, but the sound surprised me. "Shhhh, he said. "And quit squirming, or you're gonna make me drop you."

Josh walked the ten steps to my couch, where he gingerly set me down.

"I missed you," I said, looking up at him.
My voice cracked a little.

"God Brit, it makes me crazy to hear y
our voice all sweet like that. I missed you too."

"I've been thinking about you ever since Halloween… wanting to see you again. I think you put a spell on me." I sang the last few words of my sentence in a soft little run that Nina Simone herself would have been proud of. I made an effort to make it sound sweet and vulnerable. I knew Josh loved my voice, and I was using it to expedite things on the couch. 

I could see the switch flip. He put his lips to mine in a kiss that told me he wasn't messing around. His tongue invaded my mouth. It was silky and hot, and made me ache to get more of my skin in contact with his. I reached around his ribs and pulled him on top of me, wanting to feel some of his weight. He helped me lie back onto the couch, cushioning my head as I went down.

He hovered over me for a few seconds before sitting up to take off his shirt. The freaking torso was even better than I remembered, and that was hard to believe. I'd been going to yoga recently (mainly to get into shape for Josh) and boy was I glad. Josh had the type of body that women stop and stare at. I knew because I was staring at it for a few seconds before he got off the couch completely to remove his jeans. He said something about "getting those things out of the way" but I was too busy staring at the
beautiful shape of his firm chest. He had on black boxer briefs and I was reasonably sure I'd never seen something so hot in all my life.

"While we're at it," I said. I grabbed my shirt by the hem, and lifted it over my head tossing it to th
e floor then I made quick work of my pants, and they landed right next to my shirt. I sat back, bracing my weight on my hands and waiting for him to make the next move.

"You can do whatever you want with th
ose panties," he said, "but the bra has to come off." I unclasped the bra and tossed it to the side as well. Josh told me to lie back, and he proceeded to kiss me and touch me as if he wanted to explore every last inch of my body.

After what seemed like an eternity, but was more like a few
minutes of the gentle touch of his mouth and hands, I was writhing and breathless. The teasing pressure was no longer enough. I wanted to feel the weight of him on top of me. I wanted to feel the pressure of him inside me.