| Chapter Thirty Three |
| "Ready to go?" Josh stepped into her office, only to find her head back eyes closed. "Bri?" "Huh?" Her eyes remained closed, but her feet slid across the floor in search of her shoes. "Are you ready?" "Ready? Oh, dinner, just a second." Her eyes slowly opened, and soon her hands were busy tucking away lose papers. "Are you okay?" He took a seat while she tidied her things, watching her sleepy movements. "Yeah, fine. It's just been a long...whatever it's been." A few seconds later she was following him out the door and to the elevator. "How is your grandma?" He rocked on his feet, seeking for anything to keep the conversation rolling. "She'll be fine after a little rest." She tucked a stray hair behind her ear, letting her eyes wander up his body and rest on his eyes. "Thanks for asking." "No problem, how are you doing?" He let her enter the elevator then did the same. "My legs feel a lot better, thanks for the aloe." "Stop thanking me, and I didn't mean your legs." "Oh sorry." She avoided his real question, and was more than happy to step off the elevator when it came to a stop. "So where to for dinner?" He leaned against his car when they reached the parking lot while she stood a few feet in front of him. "I don't care, as long as I eat. What are you in the mood for?" She bit her inner lip, resisting the urge to fall into his arms. "How about burgers? I can pick them up and we can meet at my house?" "I'll get them, you go ahead to your house." After she was sure what he wanted she headed for the burger place then to his house. Where he was waiting anxiously, afriad she may have changed her mind. "Here, let me get that." He pulled the bag from her grasp, leading her into the living room. "Thanks." She was seated, grace was said, and they started eating. "Can I ask you something?" JC turned to her, discarding his burger onto a plate. "Sure." She took a small bite, nervous of what he would ask. "Why did you suggest dinner? I mean, I'm not complaining." His hand ran through his hair then rested on hers. "I don't know. I just wanted to thank you for the whole leg thing." The food soon became the last thing from thier minds as JC pulled Brianne's leg to rest across his lap so he could survey the damage. She leaned against the arm of the couch, laying her remaining leg with the other. "They look fine, just a little red. Did you put some more aloe on it?" "Yeah, a few times today." Her eyes slowly closed, only to be opened again by JC's voice. "Good, are you tired?" His fingers began to rub small circles on her feet. "Not really, why?" Her eyes contradicted her statement when they closed again. "I don't know, maybe because you're falling asleep." He chuckled at her almost sleeping figure. "Oh, you're right." She sat up quickly, throwing her legs over the side of the couch. "Coffee?" He stood already making his way to the kitchen. "Yes, thank you." She was soon served a steaming cup of creamed and sugared coffee, while JC set his on the coffee table. "Be careful, I'm sure your legs could go without more burns." He teased as she blew on the liquid. "Ha ha, not funny. I was just distracted by Justin when I did that earlier." "What was he doing?" "He was talking to me." After a few quick sips she set the cup on the table, still not feeling the least bit awake. "Bri, you're worrying me." "How?" She threw on her best smile, and JC noticed she was even able to brighten her eyes. "I mean you're tired, you spilt coffee on yourself, and today you were banging your head against your desk." "I have been a bit busy lately." She lifted herself from the couch, then stretched her muscles, ready to leave. "I better get going. I need as much sleep as I can get." "I'll drive you." "No thanks. I'd have to leave my car here and it'd just be a hassle for you." She made it to his door and thought for a few seconds she would actually be able to drive herself home. "I'll take you in your car." JC was at her side before her hand even hit the knob. "How would you get home then?" She shook her head at him, knowing she wasn't going to win. "I'll walk if I have to." He insisted, ushering her out the door and to her car. "Thank you." She crawled into the bed he was holding the covers back to, and he replaced the covers. "Your welcome." He tucked the covers tighter around her shoulders. "Josh, talk to me." "OK, how was your visit to your parent's?" He sat next to her hip, lightly knocking it out of the way playfully. "Not about that, about what you've been bugging me about." She pushed his shoulder in retaliation of him hitting her hip. "Are you sure?" "Yeah, very sure." She pulled him to lay next to her, and his arms wrapped around her. "Wow, I've been running over what I would say to for a long time and now here I am." He paused to gather his thoughts. "First of all, I'm sorry but you get the whole truth." Her head nodded against his chest and he licked his lips. "I saw her at first and you already know why. Then I guess things just got crazy, you were going out of town without telling me, you said you were busy that day at lunch, and she was calling me. I have no idea why, no idea, but I kind of felt like you were like, I don't know. I guess blowing me off, but not exactly that, more like growing away from me, but not that either. Do you understand?" Once again her head nodded against his chest, and his arms tightened. "So yeah, I was an idiot and I agreed to see her that weekend. I wasn't sure if I was going to see her, I just kind of made the plans. I guess part of me wanted to and part of me didn't." He sighed with frustration that the words weren't coming to him. He needed to make a point, and he couldn't get the words to sound right. "You okay?" Pulling away from his slightly, she looked up at him to make sure everything was fine. "Yeah, just frustrated." A hand went through his hair in search of a solution while the other rubbed her back to keep her there. "Give it a second, it'll come to you." She assured, a hand rubbing up and down his arm. "I love you." The words slipped out of his mouth, he had planned on explaining the whole thing. His lips quickly retreated between his teeth while he looked at her hopefully. "I love you, too." |
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