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Changes Chapter 12
The drive back to her apartment was quiet. Donna kept her face turned out the window the whole time. She occasionally sniffled but there were no more tears. At her apartment, Josh parked and walked her upstairs. He took her keys from her and opened her door. He led her to the couch, while he walked through the apartment turning on lights. He spotted the kettle on the stove, filled it with water and started to heat it up. They still hadn't spoken a word and Donna was sitting rigidly on the couch. Josh walked around and sat on the coffee table in front of her. He pulled the wrap from her shoulders and released her fingers from where they were clutching her bag. He reached a hand out and brushed the hair back from her face. "Donna?" His soft words were enough to release the dam of tears Donna was holding in. The tears started pouring down her face and Josh immediately sat down next to her, pulling her into his arms. He quietly rocked her until the tea kettle started whistling. "I'll be right back," he whispered into her hair, kissing here there before untangling himself. When he headed back into the room, Donna had pulled her legs under her. He handed her a cup of peppermint tea and sat down next to her, while sipping his own. When he put his tea down on the table, Donna slipped her left hand into his right. "Thank you Josh," she whispered, staring straight ahead. "You're welcome," he whispered back, squeezing her hand. "You okay?" "Um huh," she said, nodding her head. She suddenly turned to look at him, her eyes pleading. "You're not going to go yet, are you?" Josh brushed the hair out of her face with his free hand. "No," he whispered. Donna smiled. "Thanks." "You're welcome," he said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his chest. They sat like this the entire night, eventually falling asleep in each others arms. Donna woke up in the morning when the zipper on the side of her dress started to dig into her skin. She was disoriented until she realized she was half-pinned to the back of the couch and half laying on top of Josh. Her mind was mental static for a few seconds until the whole horrible evening came rushing back to her. The tears started again and she pushed off Josh and ran to the bathroom. Josh woke up the minute Donna's warm body was no longer along his. Hearing the door to the bathroom click shut, he slowly sat up. He walked into her kitchen to pour himself a glass of orange juice and was sitting at her kitchen table when she came back in the room. She'd changed out of her dress and was barefoot in jeans and a white t-shirt. She'd pulled her hair into a ponytail. "Hi." "Hi," he said, watching her get a glass from her cabinet and pour some juice for herself. She sat down across from him. "Thanks for staying last night," she said, meeting his eyes. He smiled back at her. "You're welcome, but please stop thanking me for everything. You're making me feel like I'm nicer than I am. That could ruin my reputation." She smiled back at him. "I hate to tell you this, but your reputation is already blown with me." He smirked. "So, you see through my tyrannical…and what are you always calling me…oh, yes…hostile exterior?" "Yep." "Okay then." They lapsed into silence. "Donna? Are you okay?" She sighed and looked out the window. "Yeah, I'm fine." "It would help me believe that if you looked me in the eyes when you said it." She met his eyes and smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "I'm fine Josh. Thank you for staying. You don't have to guard me. Go home. You probably want to change." "I always wear my tux on the weekends. Sure, people stare while I'm at the grocery store, but I figure that's the price I have to pay." "You're so weird," she laughed, rolling her eyes. "Okay," he said, standing up. "I'm going home, but, if you're free this evening, I'd like to take you out to dinner." Donna looked up into his face. "That would be nice." Josh smiled at her, then reached for her face, tilted her head and kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep," he whispered. "I'll pick you up at 7." "Okay," she whispered back, reaching up to squeeze his hand. He took her hand and gallantly kissed her knuckles and then headed out the door, leaving Donna and her jangled emotions behind. A part of her was happy that Josh had taken the first step in changing their relationship. Another part of her wondered if she was just using Josh to soothe her frazzled emotions. She didn't think so, especially since her and Josh had been having such a good time together before the whole Byron thing. She searched her heart the whole afternoon and realized that her feelings for Josh were strong. Stronger than she'd imagined and now that she realized this, she didn't think she could ignore them. If Josh was willing to take their relationship further, then so was she.
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