Prophylactic
I can't help staring at her in disbelief. She can't be serious! But then I take a look at her face and I know that she is serious. Well, good for her. Or rather them.
"Wait here," I tell her when the solution comes to mind. I walk leisurely over to Josh – I don't want him to suspect me or to guess what I'm up to. He is standing there in the middle of my hotel room deeply engrossed in a memo Leo thrust me in the hand earlier this evening. He didn't say that Josh had to see it at once, but I presumed that he knew he didn't need to tell me these things. Confused? Don't be. I wanted to see Josh because frankly, today's Josh-dose was not enough. I mean we were in the same room for like ten minutes, and that was it. And I knew he would be wearing casual clothes, meaning jeans and sweater. Even if it's an ugly sweater, I can barely control myself when he is wearing jeans. Yeah, I know I'm pathetic, thank you. So my next move has to be subtle. I need some kind of misdirection, the memo won't be enough. So while I come to a stop right next to him, I breathe out. He looks up for a second but then goes back to his memo. It must be something serious.
"That bad?" I ask him. Hey, give me some slack, my brain starts to shut down the minute I'm closer to Josh than two inches.
"Well, Leo wasn't kidding," he starts, and when he starts to gesture around with his hands, I notice the opportunity. "I mean these numbers are…" Not subtle enough, Donna, I have to reprimand myself when he stops. "Did you just grope me?" he asks then, his brows almost meeting his hairline. Yeah, okay, I removed his wallet from his pocket. Which is on the backside of his jeans.
"It would appear so," I say. Yes, if nothing else works, downplay it. I open his wallet and peruse it. Hah, I knew I saw this last time he gave me a twenty for the takeout! But wait a minute! I remember that was of another color. Okay, Donna, focus here! Ainsley needs your help. I simply remove the offending object and cross the room in three strides. Ainsley blushes slightly when she takes it, but then quickly says goodbye and takes off towards the elevator.
"Hey, I might have needed that!" Okay, Donna, breathe. He surely didn't mean it that way.
"Josh, according to your face, we'll be spending the next six hours working here in my room. By the time we finished the CVS down the road will be open. And until then I don't really see your need." When in doubt, reason with him. It's a good misdirection technique with Josh.
"I'm just saying, I might have needed that," he says and is looking at me directly in the eye.
Well, there goes the ten second window for a witty remark. Closely followed by the thirty second window for something profound. And I suddenly feel that Josh is about to retreat behind that wall again with which he is guarding his emotions. And I can't let that happen. This needs a save.
"It was worth every penny, I guess," I tell him, half-jokingly, half-serious. I know he will pick this up. Please, Josh, I need you to be in tune with me for the next couple of minutes. Ask me why! Just ask me why.
"Why?" Well, we are in tune, I always knew that.
"The thing acted as a prophylactic twice this evening," I tell him, praying that he picks up the subtext. I need him to know that I would like to and also that we can't.
"Yeah, prevented a pregnancy and a mistake, the thing was clearly worth every penny," Josh says, and despite being relieved, I'm a bit hurt.
"Not a mistake," I correct him then boldly, "but something premature, I guess."
Josh flashes me his dimples, and all is well in the world again. He sits down and after taking out a pad I'm sitting down next to him. We work in tune for the next couple of hours, but then I yank away the memo from him when I notice his eyes are getting teary and unfocused.
"I could kill for coffee," Josh imparts, after letting out a tired sigh. Yeah, no big news there.
"I'm considering getting you coffee," I tell him the first thing that comes to mind. I'm extremely tired.
"And since that is the seventh sign of the nearing Apocalypse I think we should put ourselves to bed," he says teasingly and stands up. I look up at him, completely taken aback by his beauty. Yeah, you heard me well. I think he is beautiful. Don't snicker! He is to me. Period. "Donna, don't look at me like that, please," he whispers then. Yeah, I know.
"Sorry," I mumble and stand up too. I want to put as much distance between us as possible, but he stops me from retreating by grabbing my wrist.
"Donna," he whispers. And there is a longing in his voice. I look up and see the sheer lust in his eyes. He blinks and the lust disappears. But there is something else. Something else that makes my stomach flutter. "I didn't lie to you, Donna, me and her are over," he says then, letting go of my arm. And leaving me totally confused. I guess he noticed that because he offers me an explanation. "It's just that I heard someone talking about how it expires and how it must be replaced when it's kept in a wallet because of the… friction," he finishes, and he uttered the last word in such a low voice that a shiver run down my spine. So he saw that I was hurt when I spotted the new one in his wallet.
"You mean you were eavesdropping on me?" I ask him, trying to lighten the mood. I might jump his bone if this goes on any longer.
"You were talking about sex. With the daughter of the leader of the free world!" he says with a twinkle in his eyes. God, he is so… charming. Yeah, I meant charming. Who said something about kissable? Shame on you, take your mind outta gutter!
"Are you sure that the two of you are over?" I ask him.
"I'm completely, utterly, hundred percent-ly sure," he says with a grin, and I feel a similar grin appearing on my own face.
"I'm not sure 'hundred percent-ly' is a word, Joshua," I say then, repeating the word in the same tone he did.
"Well, it should be. It rhymes only that way," he says, shrugging his shoulders. He stretches, and I catch a glimpse of his bare stomach in the process. I inhale sharply, and he catches me staring. Well, I guess that cat is out of the bag. No need to pretend that I'm not interested. "And I should probably go," he adds then somewhat shyly. I can see that he is not used to the appreciation that is coming from my eyes. I wonder about his previous girlfriends but quickly dismiss them from my thoughts. I hate them. I hated all of them.
"Yeah, you really should," I say then, and add something under my breath, "Before I jump you."
"Oh, God, Donna!" he groans, and then closes the gap between us. He takes me in his arms, and I might just melt. "I don't want to go."
"Then don't," I tell him, experiencing a feel of bold bravery that was never there before.
"Well, you gave away our only chance," he tells me, and our faces are incredibly close. A mere inch apart.
"I don't think that that 'only' chance would have been enough anyways," I tell him, trying to pull away.
"Donna, you are killing me here," he complains, his words accompanied by a groan. Or was it a moan?
"Okay, one kiss and then we should really go to bed," I tell him teasingly.
"Donna," he warns me. But let me tell you something about warnings. They are completely, utterly and hundred percent-ly useless when you are about to kiss the person you wanted to admonish.
"Just kiss me, Joshua," I tell him. Scratch that. I urge him.
"Well, if you insist, Donatella," he says with a smirk, and I don't have the time to retort because he captures my lips in a tender kiss. Oh. My. God. And then… "I should really go," he tells me.
"Yeah, you really should," I say, and this time I refrain from adding anything to it. We really can't. And we really shouldn't.
"Goodnight, Donatella," he says.
"Sweet dreams, Joshua," I counter, and he leaves the room. I love this man. And apparently he doesn't find me that repulsive either. One could even risk to say he finds me attractive, believe me I felt the evidence of that. Well, tonight Ainsley and Sam got lucky. But I can't complain either.
THE END