Chapter 8

Sam was right, 'there would be a lot of drinking on the plane' Donna thought to herself. As she boarded Air Force one Donna was immediately handed a glass of champagne by C.J. before she rushed off to get everyone glasses before the plane took off. She watched as Josh was handed a glass, laughing at C.J's need to be the hostess. He'd said they should talk after the election which was now a couple of weeks away and so far they'd managed to keep their feelings at bay. She wasn't sure how that conversation was going to go but it was long overdue, whatever the outcome.

Josh was on a high after the president won the debate and he wanted to celebrate with his friends. One in particular. He spotted Donna from the other side of the room and started to make his way over to her. He watched as she found her seat, the one she liked to sit on Air Force one. He slid into the seat next to her.

'Hey' Josh said as she looked over at him.

'Hey. So Charlie asked me earlier if I remembered the tie you were wearing on the night of the last debate' Donna replied.

'And did you?' Josh asked, watching her intently as she pushed her hair behind her ear.

'No. It obviously made an impact on the president though' she remarked, grinning back at him.

'Yeah so much so that the First Lady cut this one off with scissors' he said, laughing at the memory. He looked over at her as she looked moved her champagne flute around.

She was trying to not look at him, staring instead at the little bubbles in her glass. She felt him lean forward, trying to catch her eye.

'Donna, I meant what I said last week. We'll talk after Election Day' he whispered to her watching as her lips turned upwards.

'That would be good' she replied, finally taking her eyes away from her champagne and looking at Josh. His dark eyes shining back at her, they had this effect on her. Like all he had to do was stare at her and she'd succumb to his demands. It scared her a little, it always did but recently it scared her more than she cared to admit.

As Toby made his way through the cabin with Andy he spotted Josh and Donna sitting next to one another. He watched as Josh spoke and Donna listened, intruding on what seemed to be an intimate moment. Andy looked over at Toby as he watched them, following his eyes to the other side of the room at the pair.

'Toby?' Andy questioned quietly.

'Yeah' he replied as he took his seat, depositing the glass of champagne down on the side.

'What're you thinking?' Andy asked. This time Toby met her eyes.

'Nothing' he said before asking Andy to sit next to him and make sure she was safely in her seat.

'That look ain't nothing' she said, taking a sip out of her bottle of water and watching as Toby raised his eyebrows at her.

'I feel like something's changed' he admitted. It had been on his mind for a few weeks. They could deny it but Toby had great instincts. He knew something was different but he couldn't pinpoint it. He knew it had something to do with Indiana.

'Between them, as in...' Andy said, winking at Toby as means of filling in the blanks.

'Maybe. I don't know. You know I don't really care though right' he said as Andy sighed and shook her head slightly. He did care and she knew it. Not a lot but enough to be concerned.

Election Day

Josh looked at his watch as he paced the office. Donna had been gone longer than she thought she would and he was bored. Most of his work had been done for the day and there was nothing left to do but wait.

'Hey, where's Donna? She can't still be out there' Sam asked as he appeared in the doorway.

'She is' Josh said, looking once again at his watch.

'Have you heard from her?' Sam asked.

'Got a text from her about a half hour ago saying she hadn't found anyone yet but she hadn't given up hope' Josh replied as he picked up his pen and twirled it around between his fingers.

'Gotta give it to her, she's persistent' Sam said, watching Josh as he walked over to his desk. He'd seen Josh on Election Day before, this time he was appeared to be more nervous. 'Are you alright? You seem on edge, more than usual' Sam asked.

'It's Election Day' Josh said as he sat down at his desk, staring down as he drummed his fingers on the surface.

'Sure that's all it is?' Sam asked.

Josh looked up to see the concern etched on Sam's face. He put down the pen he had been holding

'I kissed Donna' he said, watching as Sam went from concerned to shocked in three seconds flat.

'Wow. When?' Sam asked, a small smile showing on his face as he sits down in the visitors chair opposite from Josh.

'In Indiana. When we were alone in the hotel room' Josh replied, feeling the weight he'd been carrying around with him leave. It felt good to say the words out loud to someone.

'What does this mean for you and Donna?' Sam asked. He wanted his friends to be happy and if that meant together then Sam would be ecstatic. Over the years he'd pushed Josh a little on the subject but never going too far.

'I don't know' Josh replied, running his fingers through his hair.

Sam saw his friend obviously having a hard time with making a decision. 'Can I offer some advice?'

'Sure' Josh replied.

'Think about why you kissed her in the first place' he said as he got up from the chair.

Josh knew why he'd kissed her that day. He couldn't think of a good enough reason not to.

'You should talk to her though' Sam said as he was about to leave.

'I plan to, later once the election is called and when the craziness of today is over' he said.

'Good. I'm going to get coffee, do you want anything' Sam asked.

'No but get Donna a mocha latte and tell her to keep warm' he said watching Sam smile back at him.

'What?' Josh asked as he stood up to take his wallet out of his pocket.

'You should tell her how you feel' Sam said before walking out of the Josh's office leaving Josh standing alone in his office.