This Is Not an After School Special

In an effort to avoid his sister and her friends, Matt spent the night on my couch. We made it through two and a half movies before we both passed out, and I awoke early the next morning when my mom went to make a pot of coffee in the kitchen.

Matt was sleeping with his head resting on the arm rest of the couch, and I had slept in his mirror image. I got up, trying not to jostle the cushions and disturb his slumber.

"Do Matt's parents know that he spent the night?" Mom asked conversationally as she began scooping coffee grounds into a clean filter.

"Yeah, he called them last night when we decided that he should just crash here."

"And you didn't feel the need to go to your own bed?"

"I fell asleep during a movie. It's not a big deal," I told her.

She turned on the coffee pot and faced me with a smile. "And when is your date with the other boy, again?"

I glanced at the clock. "A few hours from now."

"So he's not going to show up and find another boy on your couch?"

I let out a slightly frustrated sigh. "Mom, Josh knows that Matt and I are friends. There's no jealousy whatsoever. Even if Matt was still here when Josh got here, he wouldn't care. I could ask Matt to come to the beach with us, and Josh still wouldn't care. We're all friends."

"Things change when you get involved with someone, Becky. Jealousy might become an issue."

I ignored her. Her little fantasy would continue no matter what I said, so I let the subject drop. I had an odd, gnawing feeling in the pit of my stomach that she would say something along these lines when Josh came here to meet my parents. I was definitely going to have to warn him.

Matt left by noon, and Josh showed up at my door shortly before two. I slung my messenger bag over my shoulder after stuffing it with my swimsuit and towel. It was a beautiful day outside, so I knew that the beach was going to be overcrowded. I hoped that Josh knew of a less popular sector of the area so that we wouldn't be stuck in the middle of a packed and overheated part of the beach.

Josh pulled his car into a parking space that I would have thought was too small to fit his car. If it hadn't been the only spot left, he probably would have taken another. The filled parking lot didn't exactly raise my hopes for a deserted stretch of beach.

Josh and I walked down the beach in an effort to find some space to ourselves. We eventually left the crowd behind and laid out our towels. I sprawled out on mine, trying to get a little bit of sun on my pale legs. I was beginning to feel drowsy in the heat.

Suddenly I felt a pair of arms wrap around me and lift me from the warm, sun-baked sand. My eyes snapped open to see Josh's face, lit up in a wicked grin. He took off at a run toward the waves. I squealed and locked my arms around his neck.

"If you throw me in, I'm dragging you with me." I vowed.

Josh didn't reply, he just kept running. In only a second or two, I could feel the chilly ocean waters splashing up against my back and legs. When he felt that we were far enough in, Josh released me from his arms. When the sudden shock of my weight came crashing down on my interlocked hands, my grasp was broken. I was completely submerged in the salty water, clenching my eyes shut to prevent them from being exposed.

I surfaced, setting my jaw and glaring at Josh. He was laughing so hard that he had to hold his sides.

"So much for dragging me with you," he gasped between fits of laughter.

I pushed myself to my feet, my bathing suit feeling heavy with the exess water that it had absorbed. I pushed my hair out of my face and smiled pleasantly at Josh for a moment.

"Yeah, so much for that," I agreed. I dove at Josh and tackled him, sending the both of us crashing into the water. Since I was already wet from head to toe, it felt warmer this time around.

When we both came up for air, Josh was smiling. "You're good, Becky. I'll give you credit for that one."

I wrung the water out of my hair. "Yeah, I know. I'm pretty awesome. And extremely refreshed at the moment."

We both laughed and Josh shook his head and sent water droplets spraying from his shaggy hair. We took our time walking back to the shore, and stretched out on our towels to try and dry off. The intense rays of sunlight beat down on us, and soon I felt warm and toasty. I rolled onto my side and looked at Josh. He was laying on his stomach with his head on his arms. His hair was still damp, but the rest of him appeared to be totally dry. I ruffled his hair, trying to get his attention. He looked over at me, his eyelids looking heavy. He seemed to be as tired as I felt. The heat and fresh air was taking a lot out of me.

"Sleepy?" I questioned, even though the answer was obvious.

"It wouldn't hurt to have a little nap, would it?"

I shrugged. "That depends. What time is it? And when do we have to be at your house?"

He scowled. "I probably don't have time for a nap. You wouldn't mind postponing that dinner, would you?"

"Actually, we have to get this one out of the way so that you can come to my house one of these days."

That seemed to get his attention. He sat up and cocked his head to one side. "You told your parents?"

I nodded. "Yesterday. They told me to talk to you and set something up."

"Well in that case, let's get going to my house. When do you want me to come over to your place?"

"Whenever you feel like it. I've just got to give my parents a bit of warning so they know to stay home that night. Not that they ever go anywhere," I added.

"Should we do that tomorrow night? That way we could get all of this out of the way at once."

"Works for me," I leaned back on my towel and closed my eyes. "It'll be nice once it's all done and we can just forget about it and focus on us."

Josh's lips collided with mine, catching me by surprise. This time, he didn't pull away so quickly. The kiss lasted until I had to pull away for air. I smiled at him, swelling with happiness.

"Let's go meet my parents," he said.

I frowned. "Why did you have to ruin that nice moment?"

He laughed. "You'll be fine, I promise."

I pointed a threatening finger at him. "You'd better be right."

We got to our feet and gathered up our things. Once we made our way back down the beach, we went to the changing rooms and put on our normal clothes. I attempted to fix my hair and threw a layer of mascara on my eyelashes, but I felt like I was covered in a thick layer of salt from the water.

Josh was waiting for me when I left the changing room. He wrapped an arm around my waist as we headed back to the parking lot. There were a few empty spaces by this time, but it was still incredibly full. Josh expertly directed his car from the too-small space, and soon we were on our way to his house.

When Josh threw the car into park, I looked around. His house was only about six or eight blocks from mine. No wonder he hadn't had a problem with walking me to the party.

As soon as we stepped inside the house, I was ambushed. Two girls appeared out of nowhere and descended upon me. They spoke in bubbly voices and led me further inside the house. I could tell these were Josh's sisters. One of them had his eyes, and the other had his nose, as well as his hair color. I had no idea which of them was which.

"I'm Sara," one of them introduced herself as she sat down with me on the couch.

"And I'm Angela. Call me Ange, though," the other said, sitting on my other side.

Josh sat on a chair across the room, and I shot him a terrified look. He started laughing. "Go easy on her, okay?"

Sara pouted. "Aw, come on, Josh. We'll be good. It's just exciting that you finally brought a girl home."

My eyes widened. "He's never brought a girl home before?"

Ange shook her head, her long hair swirling elegantly around her shoulders. "He was going to once, but they broke up. In fact, he always mysteriously breaks up with the girl right before this step. You must be something special. We just want to find out what, exactly, makes you that special."

"I wish I could shine some light on the situation, but I'm just as confused as you are," I told her.

"Hello, Becky," a woman in her late forties entered the room and approached me, offering her hand. I shook it carefully. This had to be Josh's mother. "I've heard so much about you. It's about time we met."

"It's nice to meet you," I told her.

All the proper introductions were made once Josh's father arrived. I still felt incredibly awkward, especially since I was still trapped between Josh's sisters on the sofa. Josh kept shooting me sympathetic looks and mouthing the words 'I'm sorry.'

"So, Becky, Josh tells me that you're in the choir with him. Are you in the band, too?" Mrs. Ramsay asked.

I snorted. "I have enough trouble with singing, I couldn't even attempt an instrument."

"What are you planning to do after high school?" Mr. Ramsay rapidly switched topics.

"I'm only a sophomore. I haven't decided yet."

"It's never too early to start planning."

"I'd kind of like to do something with law, but I'm not sure I have the grades. So I'm thinking maybe a legal assistant," I admitted.

Everyone gave me an approving look. "That's a very good career choice," Josh's mother smiled warmly at me.

We all headed into the dining room when dinner was ready, and I immediately stole the chair next to Josh. I wasn't going to risk getting separated from him again.

"See?" He murmured in my ear. "They love you already."

"So did the two of you meet in choir?" Sara stabbed her fork into the heart of her salad bowl.

"Not exactly," my cheeks reddenned. "It had something to do with choir, but it wasn't actually at choir."

"What do you mean?" Ange bit a chunk off of her breadstick.

"Let's just say that Becky caught everyone's attention. So I had to use my talents to get her to notice me back," Josh explained, leaving out the embarassing details.

I shot him a look of gratitude, feeling relieved that he had my back.

"Aww," Sara grinned at the two of us. "How cute."

After dinner was over, we sat and talked for a long time. Josh's family was really nice, and they all tried to make me feel welcome. It took awhile, but my nerves eventually disappeared. When the conversation topics drifted away from myself, I felt even better. We discussed some of the stories that had been in the news recently, and I found that Josh had an intelligent side that I hadn't noticed before. I hoped that I was holding my own in the conversation.

Josh took me home around eight, and we sat in his car again for a long while.

"That went much better than I expected," I told him.

"I was a little worried, too. Especially when my sisters took you away."

I stared at him in disbelief. "You were worried, yet you still let me go in there?"

"It all worked out for the best, didn't it? Besides, now we've got one down and one to go."

"I guess you're right. I can't believe we have to go through all of that again tomorrow," I groaned.

"Yeah, but at least this time I'm the one under the microscope," Josh said, trying to give me a silver lining.

I shook my head. "But I'll still be stressed. I don't like to think about what my mother will say. Oh, by the way, she might mention something about me and Matt sleeping together."

Josh's eyes bulged and his jaw dropped. "What?"

"Not like that," I assured him quickly. "We were on opposite sides of the couch; we weren't even touching. We were literally just sleeping. But I'm just giving you fair warning."

"Thanks. I appreciate it."

"I guess I should head inside," I looked up at the house, feeling a bit down. I really didn't want to leave this car.

"Don't sound so sad," Josh lifted my chin with a hooked finger. "I'll see you at lunch tomorrow, and then I'll be here as early as you want me to be tomorrow night."

"Be careful what you offer me, Josh," I warned him. "Give me an inch, and I'm going to run for miles."

"I meant what I said. I'll drive you home after school and stay with you if you want."

"Okay, let's do that."

"Seriously?" He seemed kind of reluctant.

I laughed. "You don't have to. Even I have to admit that I'm being greedy with that. Besides, my mom won't be home until four-thirty. If she came home and found you there with me alone, I think she'd have a heart attack."

"Then I'll show up at four-thirty-one. I just have something that I need to do after school, so I really can't be there too early. But I could still drive you home, if you want."

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me. Matt's happy to do it. It gives him a chance to ask me about you."

Josh kissed me quickly. "I'll see you at lunch."

I tested my luck and went for a second kiss. I felt Josh's lips react as he kissed me back.

"Bye, Josh," I couldn't stop smiling as I got out of the car and walked up to my front door. I paused and watched him drive away. Overall, today had been a really good day.

Could life get any better?