I've Been Waiting Such a Long Time for Someone to Come Along

Since the second John threw me over his shoulder, I had completely forgotten about Danny. At the moment, John was driving to the first nice hotel we could find as both of us were too tired to think about driving back to Arizona, and he was a total sucker for California. I knew that we would end up going to the beach at least once before we returned home.

"How about that one," He suggested as he pointed to a nice looking hotel. "It looks pretty nice."

I mumbled something that sounded like a yes and he pulled into the parking lot.

"People are just gonna think that we came here to have sex." He told me.

I chuckled a little and hit his arm playfully. "No they're not because I don't look like a prostitute."

"Well you're slurring your words like one."

"I'm tired." I whined.

"It's only eleven." He argued.

"Well that's past my bed time, O'Callaghan." I mumbled.

Before he could say anything else we got to the front desk.

"May I help you?" The snooty man asked.

"Uh, yeah could we just get a room for one night?" John asked.

"One night." The man repeated as he rolled his eyes.

"That's what I said." He told the guy.

"Do you have a credit card?"

John got out his wallet and handed over the plastic square. The man scanned it and then smirked at him.

"Your total comes to one-hundred and twenty dollars. Here is you key. You're in room 328."

John snatched the key and the credit card before pulling me away by my hand.

"Can you believe that asshole?" He cried as he pulled me toward the elevator.

"Nope." I yawned, stretching my arms over my head.

John chuckled from behind me and I turned to see what he was laughing at.

"What?" I asked. My eyelids were so heavy that they almost closed.

"Nothing." He chuckled as he shook his head.

"No, what?"

"Don't worry about it."

"I'm not gonna stop asking until you tell me." I told him stubbornly.

"Well, it's just that when you stretched, your dress kinda rode up in the back..."

"Wow. Really mature." I said, yawning again.

Finally the elevator opened and we stepped in. I immediately leaned against the wall and closed my eyes.

I could tell that John was standing right next to me because I could feel his warmth.

A few moments later the elevator dinged and the doors opened.

"Come on." John said.

"I'm too tired." I groaned.

"Babydoll, the doors are gonna close soon."

"Mmm." I groaned again.

"Oh God." He huffed. Before I knew it, I was being lifted off my feet and carried bridal style by John himself. Never in a million years would I have predicted I would be in this situation. John and I alone, getting a hotel room together in a big city.

He finally opened the door and set me down on a bed. I pulled the covers over me and crawled in. My dress was riding up the whole way to my hips but I really didn't care. It wasn't like I had any clothes to change into.

I felt someone's eyes on me and looked up. John was standing there looking at me and scratching the back of his head.

"Can I help you?" I slurred.

"There's only one bed, Mill." He told me.

I didn't quite register what he said and closed my eyes again.

"Wait, what?" I asked.

"Yeah...and I would sleep on the floor but there aren't any extra blankets." He said.

"Well...you can sleep here but no getting too close or anything." I finally told him. "And no cuddling."

He laughed as he took his shoes and jacket off.

"Aw, but babydoll, you're so cuddly." He joked.

"I'm serious." I whined.

He got into bed next to me and loosely draped his arm around me.

"Is this okay?" He whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

His hot breath tickled my neck and my words got caught in my mouth.

"Yeah, sure." I whispered in return.

"Good." He replied pulling me closer to his body.

I was wide awake now. What's going on? We hated each other four days ago and now he's snuggling with me? He doesn't actually like me, right?

No! He couldn't. That would be completely absurd. And plus we would never work together anyway. We're almost complete opposites. Ha, how weird would that be?

John and I actually dating. I can't even imagine it. He would probably call me all the time while he was on tour. And do really sweet stuff for my birthday. And propose in the most romantic way possible. He would probably spoil me and hold me like this every night.

Would dating him really be so bad?

I was taken from my thoughts when I heard a soft snore escape his lips telling me that he was asleep. I turned my head to look at him. He thin lips were pulled upwards into a smile and the moonlight was shining on just one side of his chiseled jaw. He looked incredibly handsome. But there's no way I'm falling for him. He's just my friend.

After rationalizing things in my head for awhile, I too started to drift off to sleep with John's warm body pressed against mine in the dark hotel room.

I woke up to a beam of sun shining directly into my eyes and moaned at the discomfort. I brought my hand up to rub the sleep out of my eyes but I noticed that my hands were both interlaced with John's. I quickly yanked one away and rubbed my eyes.

Right after I did that, I noticed that he started to stir beside me. I looked back at him and he was looking at me.

"Morning beaut- babydoll. How'd you sleep?" He asked in a groggy voice.

"Alright. How about you, cutie pie?" I asked, using his fake pet name.

"Best sleep of my life." He answered before pulling his arms away from my body and stretching them above his head.

Actually, it was probably the best sleep of my life too.

After his stretch was over, his arms returned to my bare waist and I noticed that my dress had ridden up the whole way to my bra. I should have been embarrassed, but for some reason I wasn't. I also kind of liked the feeling of his skin on my skin.

"So what do you wanna do today?" He asked.

"Beach!" I cried, flipping my body so that I was facing him.

"I like the way you think. Except you're in a cute dress and I'm in jeans so we need to buy some swimsuits." He said.

"I'll pay you back for all of this when we get home, I prom-"

He cut me off by placing his finger over my lips.

"Consider it a job perk. I couldn't have you being a sad girlfriend now could I?" He asked.

"No, John really. This is too much." I insisted.

"No it isn't. You've got a restaurant to save up for and I've got plenty of spending money. And besides, when was the last time you went on a real vacation?" He asked.

"The senior class trip?" I asked.

"Doesn't count. You hated half those people and you didn't get to do the things you wanted." He replied.

"How do you know any of that?" I asked.

"Ross graduated with you. I know a lot about your class. And plus, going to an amusement park doesn't exactly count as a real vacation. And nobody would probably ride the rollercoasters with you."

"Wow. So have you been stalking me?" I asked with a giggle.

"Yep. I couldn't help myself." He grinned, pulling me closer to him.

"Let's go find some swimsuits. I apologize in advance that all my make up rubbed off." I said as I sat up on my knees and pulled my dress down.

"Don't be sorry. With your eyes, you don't even need make up." He told me sincerely. "And alright, but breakfast first. The hotel has some downstairs for free." He said getting up out of bed.

"Okay." I agreed as I hopped off the bed. "Remember to get your wallet because check out time is probably early."

"Okay sounds good. Let's go get some food." He said as he extended his hand for me to take.

I reluctantly took it and we walked downstairs.

The breakfast buffet was beautiful. There was a fruit salad with a chocolate fountain, and an omelet bar, and a cute cereal bar too. I got a bacon and cheese omelet with fruit, hash browns, and orange juice. John got a jalepeno omelet with a bagel, potatoes, a muffin, and apple juice.

I laughed at him for getting so much food and his reply was, "What? It's free!"

We ate quickly because we were so excited to go to the beach. We checked out and walked out of the hotel and into his truck.

We drove to the nearest target to get swimsuits.

"Now, I'm only buying you a bathing suit on one condition." He told me.

"What's that?" I asked.

"It's got to be a bikini."

I laughed and shook my head at him.

"We'll see." I answered.

Personally, I didn't think I had the body for a bikini and especially not in California where all the girls look like sticks.

I opted for a red tankini and matching bottoms. I met up with John by the register and he was also holding red board shorts.

"Aw, we'll match!" I laughed.

"Hey babydoll, that's not a bikini." He teased.

I started to feel self conscious again and just shrugged. He backed off and we paid for our things and left.

When we got into his truck he looked over at me and just stared. At first I ignored it, but then it started to get weird.

"Why are you staring?" I asked him.

"Because you're a beautiful girl. You're not a size zero and you're not afraid to eat. That makes you beautiful, even if you don't think so." He told me.

"So you wouldn't like me if I lost ten pounds?" I asked.

"Nope. You would look sickly. I like you just the way you are." He answered.

I blushed and started to feel better. How did he always know exactly what to say?

He started to put the car in gear when I leaned over and gave him a little peck on the cheek.

"Thank you, John."

"You're welcome, Millie." He replied as his cheeks turned red.

He pulled away from the store and started to drive towards the beach. I could smell the salty air as we approached the shore. We finally arrived and as soon as he parked I grabbed my suit and took off towards the changing rooms. The only problem is that there were none.

I walked back to the truck to find John standing there already changed.

"Where are the dressing rooms?" I asked.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I changed here."

I sighed and hopped in the truck. He peered in to see what I was doing and I popped the door open a little.

"I'm changing. Make sure nobody looks." I whispered to him.

"Oh, alright." He chuckled.

First I pulled my underwear off from under my dress and slid on the bottoms. Then I pulled my dress over my head and pulled the tankini over my bra. When it was the whole way down I took my bra off. Then I hopped out of the truck and saw John leaning against it.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Yeah." He replied.

We walked hand in hand up to the beach and both ran straight towards the water.

I ran right in and dove to the sweet spot. That was the place right before the waves crashed where they would get really big.

John, however, was still standing in the sand near the water.

"What are you doing?" I cried.

"It's cold!" He replied.

I swam out of the water in between waves and ran up to him.

"Come on! It's not cold once you get used to it. You just have to dive right in or you might get hurt."

He looked at me intensely for a second.

"That's it." He said.

"What's it?" I asked.

"I just have to dive in. No holding back."

"Yeah! Exactly! Now let's go." I urged.

"But Mill, it's cold as fuck." He whined.

"You just said- ugh." I groaned.

I took a step toward him and hugged him tightly and rested my chin on his shoulder as I pulled him down to my level. He wrapped his arms around me after a second, but asked, "What are you doing?"

"Am I cold?" I asked, seeing as how my body was drenched in ocean water.

"No Mills. You're not cold at all." He told me, still in a whisper.

"Good. Then let's go!" I cried as I took his hand and pulled him in.

We swam to the sweet spot and he bragged that he could still touch the bottom.

"You won't be bragging when the sand sharks get you." I teased as I swam towards him.

"What?" He asked, trying to seem strong. I could tell he was a little frightened.

When I got in front of him I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you." I told him as I rested my head on his broad shoulder once more.

He held my tight and very close to his body.

"Millie, I need to tell you something." He told me.

I pulled my head back to look him in the eyes.

"What is it?"