A Tribute to Joshua

I unlocked the front door and Joshua and I slid inside the quiet house. He stood behind me as I locked the front door, and was there to kiss me again as I turned around. It was so perfect being there with him; I knew that he was all I ever wanted or needed. I tugged on his shirt and pulled him towards the couch. We collapsed on the leather sofa, and lay there beside each other, our bodies impossibly close. He breathed heavily as I hooked one leg around his waist and pulled myself up so I was straddling him. I leaned over, continuing the kiss as he gripped at my thighs. I struggled with the buttons on his shirt but soon they were all undone and his perfectly muscled chest was exposed. I ran my hands across his stomach, and he shuddered. I reached my hands around to the zipper in the back of my dress to remove it, since he wasn’t taking the initiative, but he caught my wrists.

“Mm, maybe for another day,” he whispered, sitting up. I curled my feet under me and sat next to him, my head on his shoulder.

“My parents won’t be home for another couple hours,” I said, tugging at his belt.

“Do me a favor and go put on some more clothing,” he said, shoving me playfully. I frowned, but consented. Once in my room, I pulled off the awful dress and redressed in a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. As I was leaving, I noticed the blue stone glittering from my dresser. I quickly clasped it around my neck and ran back downstairs to meet Joshua. He was still sitting on the sofa, but he had buttoned his shirt back up and had kicked his feet up on the coffee table in a very leisurely way.

“Ah, that’s the Margot I know,” he said as I skipped down the stairs.

“Um, yeah, I’m really not a sex-craved freak, just in case you were uncertain,” I said, sitting next to him on the sofa.

“Good to know, although I suppose that means our honeymoon will be rather uneventful,” he pondered, flashing his dazzling smile.

“Are you proposing?” I asked, my heart skipping a beat.

“God, no! I do want to go to college. I guess you can be part of my harem, however. Every other weekend? How does that sound?” he asked.

“Every other weekend?” I repeated, grinning.

“Minus holidays and vacation days,” he added.

“Damn. Well, if that’s as good as I can do…”

“I adore you, Margot. Over all other women. Except maybe my mom. Or Kirby,” he said, referencing his two-year-old German Shepherd. He kissed me again, more tenderly than before however.

“As I do you. Except for the obvious allowances: my dad, the mail boy, and a bowl of Greek yogurt in the fridge which is growing a fine layer of mold.”

“I couldn’t compete,” he said. Another kiss.

“Good—it wouldn’t be worth trying,” I replied. Another kiss.

This went on for another ten minutes or so until we finally settled down on the couch and shut our eyes, our heads side-by-side. At this moment, it didn’t matter that next year we would both be going off to college. I knew I would always have Joshua, for as long as he would have me. And it was with this knowledge that I began to drift to sleep with. Just as I was about to completely slip into my dreams, Joshua placed his lips on my forehead and whispered:

Happy New Year Margot