Well it’s been a while. I had camps and stuff. And sleep. I can’t promise how regular updates will be…

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo Chapter 7 OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Josh was sweating bullets. The London Symphony Orchestra was playing a beautiful concerto that should have swept him away into another musical world. However, he had barely heard the first few bars. He was too busy staring at the strawberry blonde next to him who was smiling beatifically and gently tapping her small foot to the music. She was angled conspicuously so that her shoulder would fall gently back onto his… if only he could muster up the courage to put his arm around her.

“Come on. Come on. She obviously likes you. You like her. Just reach around and do it!” he thought to himself.

Meanwhile, Bella was having similar thoughts.

“Is he ever going to put his arm around me?!”

Little did Josh know that Bella’s foot was tapping from impatience rather than enjoyment of the music. Bella positioned herself even more conveniently, practically nestling herself in Josh’s arm. Josh took a deep breath and snaked his arm around Bella’s shoulders, causing her to look up at him and smile.

“Whew!” Josh thought.

He was finally able to start listening to the music. That is, he was able to listen to the music until Bella let her head fall lightly on his shoulder. He couldn’t help but notice that her hair smelled like orchids. The orchestra moved into a slow piece and Josh had to grip the plush armrest on his seat when Bella subtly nuzzled his neck. Bella meanwhile, was smiling happily to herself. They stayed that way until the end of the concert. When it was finally over, they looked at each other and smiled.

As they walked out of the theater, Josh casually took Bella’s tiny hand in his. He looked down at her to gauge her reaction. She flicked her bright green eyes up to meet his icy blue ones and gave him another smile that reached her eyes.

“You’re beautiful,” he said sincerely.

“You’ve got to stop doing that,” she grinned, her curls lightly bouncing on her bare shoulder.

“Doing what?” he asked, confused.

“Making me blush,” she grinned.

“You deserve it,” he smiled.

“You know something?” she asked, looking up at him wistfully. “If any other guy said that to me, I would just think he was trying to scam on me, but when you say it, I know you mean it.”

They reached the car and Josh opened Bella’s door, helping her in. He stopped and smiled to himself as he walked back around the car.

“So. It’s 10:00. You don’t have to be home until midnight. Any ideas?” he asked.

Bella bit back a smile.

“Maayyyyybe,” she grinned.

“Where to?” Josh asked, knowing that whatever Bella suggested would be fun.

Bella thought, chewing her lip the way she did when presented with a difficult problem. She turned and grinned.

“I think we should go to the park,” she stated emphatically.

“The park? It’s 10:00… isn’t that a little… sketchy?” Josh laughed.

“No questions. Just drive,” Bella grinned.

Josh shrugged.

“You’re the boss,” he laughed.

“Tell me about it,” Bella smirked.

When they got to the park, Josh looked at Bella, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement.

“You are very sneaky,” he remarked.

“I know. And you are extremely attractive,” she said whimsically, letting herself out of the car.

Josh joined his waiting date and they walked towards the giant movie screen that was set up.

“This seems entirely too convenient…” Josh raised an eyebrow.

“So I may have known about it beforehand. Don’t question my methods,” Bella pulled out a blanket from her oversized bag. She saw the surprised look on Josh’s face.

“You surprised me so I thought I’d surprise you,” she smiled, spreading the blanket at the back of the collection of couples that had gathered to watch the movie. It was the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie.

They both sat on the blanket, Josh leaning on his elbow and Bella leaning against him. The movie was already playing and the couple settled happily into cuddling and pretending to watch the movie. Josh lost interest in the movie the second they were situated on the blanket. All he could think about was Bella being so close to him and laying next to him.

“I think she may be trying to torture me,” Josh groaned to himself.

Bella, meanwhile, was fully aware of the torture she was inflicting on the percussion captain. She put her head on her hand and let her hair fall over her shoulder. Josh was hit with another wave of orchids and was staring at Bella’s exposed neck. Josh began yet another internal battle.

“Should I or shouldn’t I? After last night…” the previous night’s events came washing over him and he couldn’t help himself.

He bent down and started gently kissing her neck, sending tingles up her spine. Bella let out a small whimper of happiness and turned to face Josh, kissing him hard on the lips. Josh smiled.

“You continually surprise me,” he remarked.

“Shut up and kiss me,” Bella commanded.

Josh certainly wasn’t going to complain and he began kissing her. Their kiss was different than the previous night. It was still passionate, but it was more sweet and gentle. Bella ran a small hand through Josh’s hair and leaned closer to him. Josh put a hand on her waist and deepened the kiss.

They continued to kiss and cuddle throughout the rest of the movie. Near the end, Josh pulled back and looked at Bella. She looked up at him, wanting to know why he’d stopped.

“I’ve been thinking,” he started.

“Good for you!” Bella laughed, kissing him on the lips.

“Very funny. But really. You’re beautiful, smart, funny, and completely crazy, so I was wondering what possible reason there could be for you not to be my girlfriend, and I couldn’t think of one. So I think you should say yes, and then I can kiss you whenever I want to,” he smiled, nuzzling her neck.

Bella lay back and looked up at him, smiling.

“I happen to like these kisses of yours, and I can’t think of any reason not to either,” she laughed.

“That’s what I was hoping,” he grinned, kissing her softly.

They finally got up and headed back to the car, holding hands the whole way.

They finally made it back to Bella’s and Josh walked her to her door.

“So, still coming over tomorrow?” Bella asked. “I’ll make you dinner and we can watch a movie. I can also conveniently get rid of my dad…” she grinned mischievously.

“How could I turn that offer down?” Josh laughed. “I’ll bring my laptop so we can use Finale and I’ll bring dessert. Wait… what movie?” he asked skeptically.

“You’ll see. You’ve liked all my surprises so far,” Belle smirked.

“True… well I think your dad’s getting antsy, it’s almost midnight. I can’t have him hate me on my first night being your boyfriend,” he smiled softly at her.

“I’ll miss you,” Bella laughed, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him gently on the lips.

“I’ll miss you too,” Josh grinned, bending down to kiss her again.

“Night,” Bella said, unlocking her front door.

“Night,” Josh smiled after her.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Yeah. I wrote this over a period of like… 4 hours while watching TV.