by Tri Amutia
"You don't have to say it now just because you have to, Abby," He said again. "I know it's not easy to love someone who once you really hated so much. I guess it's my punishment too for what I've done to you back in high school," He chuckled nervously.
I took deep breaths. I knew he was right. I do love him, but my heart always forbids me to say the words to him. Some of my instincts told me to wait and it made me confused too. What could possibly wrong that I couldn't say that I love him?
"Abby?"
I raised my head and looked at him.
He smiled at me lovingly. "I've told you before I won't push you. I will wait until you love me. But, I always love you. Never forget that."
I closed my eyes and nodded. He pulled me into his body and I instinctively leaned my head to his chest. I opened my eyes and stared to the blackness while listening to his heart beating. We sat together on each other embrace in front of the nearly extinguished bonfire and entwined our hearts without words.
Chapter 22
The Beach Trip: The Dinner
I woke up with the rays of the sun hitting my face. I adjusted my sight and rolled over to my back. I stared at the ceiling to gather my thoughts and then I realized something. I was sleeping alone. I sat straight in my bed and my heart beating so fast. I was sure Joshua lay down with me last night before sleep finally caught the both of us. We were sleeping in the living room. I tried to tame my wild hair when suddenly Joshua appeared with a tray in his hands. He smiled when he saw me. I blinked several times and he kissed my forehead.
"Morning, beautiful," He whispered and sat beside me on the mattress.
"Um...morning," I said stupidly.
He chuckled. "You look adorable when you wake up in the morning."
I rolled my eyes. Only Joshua could find me adorable with my messy look.
He put the tray on my lap and my jaw almost dropped.
"You...made me breakfast?"
He looked at me in amusement. "Yes, my dear. You've always made me breakfast and dinner back in Seattle. This is my time to spoil you."
I smiled genuinely and leaned to kiss him before I realized I haven't brush my teeth yet. I quickly pulled back while he was frowning at me. I covered my mouth with my hands. "Morning breath," I mumbled.
He smirked and put the tray away from my lap. I looked at him curiously. "What are you doing?" I said in low voice with my hands still in my mouth.
His eyes glinted and he took my hands from my mouth. In a swift movement, he kissed me deeply. I was startled from his sudden movement and began to free myself, but Joshua hugged me closer. I gasped when I felt his tongue touched my lips, asking for entrance. My eyes widened.
Is he serious?
I gingerly open my mouth and his tongue battled with mine. I released my tensed posture and he moaned when he felt I surrendered to his embrace. His scent clouded my mind and my hands knotted on his hair with its own accord. He hissed when I tightened my knot. Every part of my body was tingling with the familiar sensation again. With a whimper, he laid me down to the mattress and I didn't even fight him. His kisses were so good and I knew I was craving it too.
He continued to kiss me and I responded automatically. I forgot everything; everything that I felt was him. After a long and passionate kiss, he leaned away and rested his forehead to mine. We were both panting and I looked to his dark eyes.
He smiled victoriously. "If you think a simple morning breath can keep me away from you, you are wrong, my love."
I tried to control my breathing and nodded stupidly. "O..kay..um...can I have my breakfast now?"
He laughed.
After I had my breakfast, Joshua suggested for us taking a swim in the ocean. The weather was warm and I was dying to feel the sea water. I changed to my swimming suit and, no, it's not a bikini. It's just a simple one piece swimsuit. Joshua told me to swim first while he was changing his clothes. I walked to the beach and into the warm sea water. I sighed contently when I felt the warm water touched my body. I swam in slow motion, just to relax my body and my mind. The smell of the sea made me smile.
Suddenly, I felt an arm hugged my waist and I jerked away. I turned around and Joshua was there. His chest was bare and I shivered when I remembered the last time I saw him shirtless. His hair was damp, made the unusual red color more beautiful. I blinked several times while he was grinning.
"I'm sorry if I scared you, dear. Actually I just want to see you swimming, but I can't help myself to join you in the water," He smirked.
I raised my eyebrows. "Is that so, Mr. Walsh? Well, you probably should wait for me on the beach, then."
He furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean by that?"
I grinned and pushed him into the water. He didn't expect for me to push him, so he fell with a loud thud. I laughed so hard when I saw he was drenched.
"You should have seen your face," I giggled.
He narrowed his eyes and smiled coyly. My laughter was gone immediately.
Oh, oh! Wrong move, Abby.
"You will pay for that, Ms. Bennett," His tone was playful.
I yelped and tried to swim away from him, but he was faster. He grabbed my waist and I playfully tried to free myself from him. We both laughed and he rested his forehead to mine. Our laughers subsided when we stared at each other.
He looked at me lovingly and caressed my cheek. "My Abby," He whispered before leaned down and started kissing my neck.
I bit my lip, trying to control the desire which beginning to build in my body. I wrapped my arms around his neck and his kisses were getting frantic. I moaned lightly while he hissed when I hugged him tighter. He raised his head and attacked my lips. He hugged me closer while his hands gently stroked my bare skin. For a moment, we were just kissing in the water, touching and whispering sweet words to one another. The soft waves around us made the sensation stronger. When I felt we were going too far, I pulled away from his embrace with shallow breathing. It was getting more difficult to resist him.
I leaned my head to his chest, trying to control my heart beat and so did he. I could feel he rested his chin on the top of my head while his chest was rose up and down along with his breathing. We were stood like that for a while until our breath returned to normal.
And then I felt he titled my chin to look at him. I raised my head and our gaze met. He smiled gently and kissed my forehead deeply. "I love you," He said.
I smiled and stroked his cheek. "I know."
He took a deep breath and held my hand. "Do you want to swim again or eating sandwich with me on the beach?"
I pursed my lips and looked over to the blue ocean. It tempted me to take a nice swim under the sun and the warm weather. I looked back to Joshua and grimaced, "I want to take my swim in the water. I'll join you after that."
He smiled slightly and nodded. He released my hand and kissed my cheek briefly before turned around and swam back to the beach.
I took a deep breath and turned around to the ocean. I smiled to myself before I dove to the blue water.
~O~
After my skin was getting wrinkled, I walked to the beach from the ocean fully drenched. I spotted Joshua sitting on one big blanket with a basket and two glasses next to him. He was reading a book when I approached him. He already wore a shirt and changed his pants. His bronze hair was messy from the wind and it made him look adorable. He smiled when he saw me and quickly got up from the blanket and handed me a towel. I smiled gratefully and he kissed my forehead.
"Did you enjoy your swim?"
I nodded. "Yes. Absolutely. Thank you."
He took my hand and led me to the blanket. We were sat next to each other and I peeked to his book while he pulled out two sandwiches for both of us. I recognized the book. It was one of the books that he bought when he first asked me to accompany him to the bookstore.
"You still read it? I thought you already finished," I said to him and took a bite from my sandwich. I almost moaned to the tasty smell and flavor. He was a good cook.
He sipped his drink and grimaced. "Apparently I was busy these few months."
I rolled my eyes and he chuckled. We ate our sandwiches for a while, enjoying the warm weather and the sound of the waves. We chatted occasionally and after we finished our sandwiches, I used the bathroom to clean up myself from the salt and the sand. It was already noon when we were inside the beach house again. We decided to watch DVD and had our nap. I wasn't in the mood to watch a movie; therefore I just went along with what he chose to watch. Joshua decided to watch a medical documentary that he owned. How he brought that kind of DVD for our weekend was beyond me. I guessed he was not in the mood to watch a movie either. As usual, I cuddled into his embrace and he hugged me closer to his body. We watched a documentary about an emergency medical situation and I winced when it comes to the part where one of the patients didn't make it.
The documentary made me realized something. Joshua must have deal with a lot of emergency situations and I was wondering if Joshua had been in that kind of situation. The life or death situation. What did he feel? Was he scared?
"Joshua?"
"Yes?"
"Do you ever experience that kind of situation?"
"What situation?"
I gestured to the plasma TV with my index finger.
He took a deep breath and I felt he leaned his head on the top of my head. "Several times."
I shivered. "Are you afraid?" I asked in low voice.
I had never asked him about his job, but sometimes I wanted to hear what he has been through on his long hours of work.
He sighed. "Strangely, no. When I first experienced that, I was upset with myself because I couldn't save the patient. But, we are just human. We couldn't save everybody. I never felt afraid of the situation. I'm just afraid if the patient was someone that I love."
And then he leaned away and I looked at him. He looked at me with dreamy eyes. "When I saw Thomas carried you to the ER, my heart almost stopped beating. I couldn't think of anything else, I even didn't care when Thomas punched me."
My eyes widened. "He did? Did he hurt you? Why didn't you tell me?" I never heard this story before. Thomas never told me what happened after he took me to the hospital.
He smiled grimly. "It was nothing, Abby. I deserved it. I was so worried at that time that I didn't catch what he was saying. Jennifer helped me focus and I asked Dr. Keller to check on you."
I shook my head slightly.
He cupped my face with his hands. "I don't know what will happen to me if your condition was getting worse at that time. I can't lose you, Abby."
My heart clenched and I slowly enveloped him on a hug. He hugged me back and sighed. I kissed the side of his neck and inhaled his scent briefly. "You're always my Joshua," I whispered to his ear.
I felt he shivered slightly and kissed my hair. "And you're forever my Abby."
~O~
We took our nap after watching the DVD. Joshua woke me up at 4.30 pm and asked me to wear a semi formal dress for the dinner.
"Dinner? I thought we will cook for ourselves while we're here," I said to him in confusion.
He rolled his eyes. "Please, Abby. This is my time to spoil you. I already had a reservation in the town for tonight. You will love it!"
I sighed. "Alright. But, nothing too expensive."
His eyes glinted and he smirked.
I frowned.
"It's my right to ask you to the dinner and it's also my right for choosing the place."
Right! Couldn't argue with that! Didn't I tell myself several times that he should be a lawyer?
I had my shower and went to Joshua's bedroom to change. I pulled out a deep purple dress, my make-up bag and my -not so high- heels from my bag. I was never a party and occasional type of girl; it was Stella who kept bugging me to have several dresses and outfits in case I have an occasion; other thing from Stella that I needed to thank for.
I changed my clothes and applied light make -up. I decided to just pull my hair in a simple barrette. I checked myself for the last time when I heard the door knocked several times.
"Abby, are you ready?" I heard Joshua called me.
"Um...yes," I answered him.
I ran my hands through my hair and smoothed my dress before I opened the door. Joshua was waiting for me in the living room. He quickly stood from the couch when he saw me. My breath hitched when I saw that he wore a simple deep brown shirt and black trousers. The color of his shirt made his hair color more stunning. I swallowed hard and my heart was beating erratic again. Handsome was not the right word for him. He was beautiful.
He smiled and gazed at me warmly. I smiled back while trying to control my breath. He approached me and cupped my face with his hand. He leaned down and gave me a deep and longing kiss. I closed my eyes and kissed him back.
And then he broke the kiss and looked at me with twinkle in his eyes. "You are absolutely...breathtaking. I won't leave you alone tonight because I won't give other men chances to get near you," He said possessively.
I smiled. "That thing never crossed in my mind. I never intended to stay away from you tonight," I said seductively.
His eyes smoldering slightly and his jaw clenched. Seconds later, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I swear to you, Abby. You can kill a man only with your words."
I grinned victoriously and linked my arm to the crook of his elbow. He looked at me in amusement. I tugged his arm gently. "Come on. I'm hungry," I said.
He chuckled and shook his head.
We rode to the restaurant in town. Florida was basked with city lights and busy streets, added with the fact that it was weekend too. Joshua brought me to a very fancy restaurant and I knew I couldn't argue with that. He wrapped his arm on my waist as if told all the men in the restaurant that I was taken. I shivered. Although it was a little bit creepy, but I like his possessive side.
"Good evening, Mr. Walsh. It's so nice to see you again," The head of the waiter greeted us when we approached the front desk. I recognized it from the uniform that he wore. I read his name tag.
Samuel.
Joshua nodded curtly and smiled slightly. "Thank you, Samuel. It's nice to see you too."
From their conversation, I could tell The Walshs must be a regular customer in this restaurant. Again, it didn't surprise me.
Samuel smiled back and looked at me. I smiled slightly. "And may I know who this beautiful girl is?" he asked.
Joshua's eyes glinted and he kissed my temple. I looked at him stupidly. I've never seen him like this before. "This is Abigail Bennett, my fiancée," He said proudly.
Samuel chuckled and extended his hand. I smiled and shook his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Samuel," I replied in courtesy. Being editor who often edited lots of story, I've learned some courtesy from those stories.
Samuel shook my hand back and released it. "The pleasure is mine." And then he looked back to Joshua.
"The usual place?"
"Yes, Samuel. Thank you," Joshua answered.
Samuel walked in into the restaurant while Joshua and I followed him inside the restaurant. Honestly, I had no idea what 'the usual place' meant. I felt like I was left behind, but Joshua's gentle touch on my waist told me without words that he wanted to do something special for me tonight. I exhaled and braced myself for some surprises.
Samuel led us to the elevator and I was getting more confused. Where are we having our dinner? I just thought we will have a normal dinner inside the restaurant. We got out from the elevator and then I understood. It was a private balcony. I shook my head slightly. Only Joshua could do this for me.
"Your dinner is served on the table and please, let me know if you need anything, Mr. Walsh," Samuel said and he turned to me. "May you have a lovely evening, Ms. Bennett."
I smiled. "Thank you, Samuel."
Samuel smiled briefly and walked back to the elevator. I still stood there like an idiot, trying to absorb the scene in front of me. It was a beautiful balcony with city lights around
us. A table was served with food and drinks and a beautiful candle in the middle of the table.
I laughed shakily.
"This is all for you, Abby," I heard Joshua spoke for the first time since he greeted the waiter.
I looked at him. "This is too much, Joshua. I don't deserve it."
It was his turn to laugh shakily. "Of course, you don't deserve it. You deserve more. This is just a simple thing. It's nothing compare to what I feel about you."
I shivered.
He smiled warmly and took my hand. "Shall we, my lady?"
I laughed lightly and nodded.
He walked me to my chair and he pulled out the chair for me. I sat on my chair and after making sure I was settled, he sat at his own chair across from me. He opened a bottle of champagne and poured it to both of our glasses.
I raised my eyebrows. "Champagne? We are still driving, remember?"
He smirked. "I know that, Abby. Apparently, I had a tolerance with alcohol levels. I have better resistance."
"Really?" I asked in disbelief.
He raised his glass and I raised my glass too. "To our future together," He said and clinked our glasses together. I drank my glass and almost moaned in delight.
"Wow, this is a good one," I said to myself after I put my glass back to the table.
He smiled coyly. "It's the best from this restaurant. And now, let's have our dinner."
I smiled and we began to eat our dinner. The food was marvelous too and I tried very hard not to think the costs for this dinner. Joshua will never tell me even if I asked. After we finished our dinner and had some champagne, he rose from his seat and walked to a stereo set in the far side of the balcony. I blinked several times. Wow, I didn't know it was there. I guessed I was completely distracted.
He smiled at me and offered me his hand. I made a face and he laughed. "May I have this dance?"
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. I took his hand and rose from my seat. Joshua led me to the center of the balcony and a song was played from the speaker. It was an old song from Marc Anthony, titled My Baby You. He wrapped his arm on my waist and his other arm held my hand while I put my free arm to his shoulder.