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Josh always managed to make Sam smile, from his macho exterior to his wittiness.
Sam truly loved him, but she always figured Josh never felt the same. Of course, she pretended not to care when Josh talked about other women; she’d overheard him plenty of times talking to Chris about he’d get into Ashley’s panties, but it really made her stomach drop and her heart clench. She wanted to be the only girl Josh talked about in that way.
However, she believed her and Josh had a connection, a bond not even close to what Chris and Josh had. She thought that meant something to Josh, and if that was the closest she could get to Josh loving her, she’d take it.
Josh was everything to her. He was mostly why she’d smile when she woke up in the morning during sleepovers with the Washington twins. She’d always go to the bathroom to have an excuse to see a sleepy Josh. His eyes would be heavy and his hair would be sticking up in every direction and he’d always give her a sleepy smile before making his way back to his room. Her heart would leap in her chest.
Both Hannah and Beth teased her about Sam’s crush on her older brother.
“Jeez, Sam. You’re obsessed with him.”
She couldn’t help it. Josh made her happy, even if she wasn’t the source of his happiness. She never wanted Josh to find out because that’d be embarrassing. Josh could have almost any girl he wanted (Mike could probably get more, thanks to his stereotypical jock traits). He was attractive, funny, and he had a warm heart.
However, it didn’t stay a secret.
Josh had gotten back from shooting at the mini shooting range his dad had set up behind the cable car station. He had found that shooting rounds in the dark, cold weather was very relaxing and calmed Josh down a lot. But as he walked into the lodge, something else calmed Josh down even more.
The first thing he noticed was Sam, his sisters’ best friend, lying on the couch, one of Josh’s t-shirts covering her tiny frame. It was large on her. Josh knew if she was standing, it would go down to the middle of her thighs. She had fallen asleep, obviously unintentionally since she had an open book face down on her chest. Josh smiled, resisting the urge to tuck strand of her blonde hair out of her face and behind her ear. Instead, he went to the nearest closet and pulled out a soft, warm blanket and placed it over her and taking the book away and placing it onto the coffee table. He kissed her forehead before making his way upstairs, his chest feeling extremely tight.
That’s the moment Josh realized he felt something more than friendship for his sisters’ best friend.
Josh started talking to her more, which surprised Sam because he usually kept to himself, but she brushed it off, willingly wanting to know Josh better than she did. The first time this happened, it was small and took Sam by surprise.. Josh spotted Sam on the couch, watching some drama on the television, so he took the opportunity to chat.
“I saw this with Hannah a few months ago,” he spoke from behind the couch, startling Sam, “It’s actually pretty good.”
“Oh, really?” Sam responded, trying to stop the smile making its way onto her face, “Hannah told me I needed to watch it.”
“Where is Hannah?” Josh inquired, raising his eyebrows as he rested his elbows on the back on the sofa, his chin in his hands.
“She went outside. She said there’s better cell phone reception out there.”
“Who’s she callin’?” Josh raised his eyebrows. Sam turned to face him, her green eyes gazing into his.
“Someone who’s giving her advice on how to get Mike to like her. You know how people with a crush are,” Sam told him, hinting towards how she felt for him.
Josh smiled, looking into Sam’s eyes just for a second more before breaking his gaze, eyes glancing up at the television screen. “Yeah, I do.”
Sam didn’t hear from Josh again for a few weeks.
Josh was afraid. He was afraid to let himself fall for a girl, especially a girl like Sam. Sam was beautiful and sweet and she cared about everyone, even if they don’t care for her. He tried brushing his feelings off. He couldn’t tell her, he didn’t want to tell her. Sam just wanted to hear that Josh felt the same way, even if he didn’t. It was driving them both insane.
The next time they talked, it was at a small party Josh threw at the lodge.. One of the only reasons he threw the party was to see Sam again, but he also knew it would do him good to socialize with his friends.
“So Josh, you meet any new girls?” Mike asked, wiggling his eyebrows as he took a drink from his red, plastic cup most likely filled with an alcoholic beverage.
“I don’t know,” Josh mumbled, shrugging before glancing over at the blonde girl who had taken over his mind.
“Ah,” Mike said knowingly, leaning against the counter and next to Josh, “God, if I wasn’t happily taken, I’d bang Sam, wouldn’t you?”
Josh ignored him, taking a large drink of his cup full of bourbon, just wanting to forget his feelings. When Mike realized Josh wasn’t going to talk to him, he stumbled away–slightly tipsy–to Jessica, slurring about how hot she was. Josh kept his eyes on Sam while he drank, hoping to get drunk enough to talk to her because he couldn’t get the balls to do it sober.
“Why don’t you just go talk to him?” Hannah inquired, sitting down onto the floor next to Sam.
“Because I can’t,” Sam answered, staring holes into the floorboards, “I’ll make a fool out of myself.”
Hannah nudged her until Sam’s gaze was on her. “You know that’s not true. Knowing Josh, he’s probably trying to get the guts to come talk to you himself.”
Sam sighed, looking down at her hands as she adjusted the hem of her dress. “This dress really isn’t working-”
“Of course, it is!” Hannah assured, laughing, “I promise you, Beth knows exactly what Josh likes. Trust me, we’ve seen Josh with girls all the time.”
“That’s really not convincing me,” Sam interrupted, her stomach twisting at the thought of Josh with other girls.
Suddenly, heavy footsteps were making their way towards them and Sam’s eyes traveled up from the dark combat boots to dark greenish eyes. She noticed he was wearing his gray sweater with the big white stripe across the middle. Sam loved it on him; she thought he looked adorable in it. His hair was ruffled as if he had run his fingers through it a hundred times and he held a plastic cup in his hand.
“Uh, Han, can I-uh-talk to Sam alone, please?”
Hannah smirked at the both of them before standing and leaving them alone. Josh looked down at green-eyed beauty before taking Hannah’s previous spot next to her on the floor. There was an awkward silence between the two for a moment before Josh broke the tension.
“Did my sisters convince you to wear that?” Josh inquired, his attention fully on the blonde (and definitely not on how tight that dress was on her).
Sam laughed, looking over at him, noticing how close they really were, “Yeah, Beth told me this would get your attention.” She acted like she was joking, but she hoped Josh would see through it.
“Well, it did,” Josh responded very softly, his eyes glancing down at her pink lips, “Can I kiss you?” his voice was at a whisper now, as if he wanted no one but her to hear. She could smell the alcohol on his breath, but she looked past it. She had waited for this moment for months, wanting desperately to feel Josh’s lips against hers.
“I thought you’d never ask.” And just like that, his lips were on hers. They moved together softly, and they fit together perfectly just like the last two pieces to a jigsaw puzzle. It was magical.
Josh reached up to cup her cheek and ended up spilling his bourbon on her, causing a surprise gasp out of the blonde as she pulled away.
“Holy shit, I’m so sorry,” Josh apologized, unable to stop the smile making its way onto his face.
“It’s okay, Josh,” Sam laughed, her eyes on his, “I was hoping to have an excuse to change soon anyway.”
Josh grinned, pecking her lips. “Well, why don’t we go upstairs and get you something to change into?” He stood and held out his hand for her.
Sam smiled, taking his hand and he pulled her up. “Why don’t you lead the way, Washington?”