A Smile So Genuine

I never went to that party. I went home to get ready, opened my closet, and saw the bronze dress I had worn the last time I went to Josh’s house. That’s when I broke down. All the images of Vanessa and Josh kissing came flooding back to me, all at once. It took me about 15 minutes to calm down enough to call Josh and tell him I couldn’t come that night and that I’d see him tomorrow on our date. I couldn’t stop crying for the next hour. I was stupid to think all the pain would go away, just disappear. I just hid it like I usually do with my emotions, but now it was coming back at full force. Josh’s lips pressed against her, his hands placed delicately on her hips. It made me sick to think about it. It took everything I had to just get in the shower and put myself to bed.
The light hit my eyes from behind my sheer curtains and I could instantly feel the warmth surrounding my body. I felt his hands gripping my waist, rubbing the thin skin right above my hips. His lips were in my hair, breathing soft and steady, and for a second, I was positive I was dreaming. I turned over in my covers, expecting an empty space filled with my illusions, but Josh’s face was smiling up at me in the morning sun.
I smiled wide, and placed my face right next to his.
“How did you get in here?”
He chuckled and pulled my hips closer to his, reaching up with one of his hands to stroke a piece of hair from my face.
“Henson let me in. I was supposed to pick you up twenty minutes ago.”
I laughed and slapped a hand to my forehead, shaking my head.
“Did I ruin everything?”
“Not at all. What happened to you last night? You didn’t sound so good on the phone.”
As soon as he said it, all the images from the previous night were flashing back in my mind. A wave of nausea flooded over me and I held back some small tears. I pulled away from his grasp and slipped out of bed, moving towards my closet.
“It was nothing. Is this date a surprise? Or can I know where were going?”
“No it’s a surprise. Wear like jeans or something. What do you mean it was nothing?”
I was searching my closet for a shirt, trying my best to avoid the question.
“Is it going to be warm where we’re going?”
“Yes. Now can you stop avoiding the question Charlie. What the hell happened last night?”
I closed the closet door, shutting Josh out for a moment. I slipped on my jeans and threw on a shirt, pulling on some shoes from the bottom shelve of the small room. I breathed in deep for a moment, trying to collect myself before I faced him again. I pushed the door back open and Josh was standing right in front of it.
“Charlie-“
“I couldn’t go in your house, ok? I didn’t want it to remind me of what happened.”
I didn’t mean to raise my voice, but he was making me emotional. I moved to the bathroom and shut the door again before he could answer. I started trying to make myself presentable, combing my hair out and pulling it into a braid.
“I didn’t even think of that.”
I could hear him against the door, talking through the cracks.
“Charlie, I’m sorry. I can’t change what happened! I don’t know what to do to make this better. I just wish it never happened.”
I pushed the door open and Josh was leaning against the wall, looking down at me with those bright hazel eyes.
“We’re just going to start over, ok? Just know that I can’t stop thinking about it, and it might take me a little bit to get over this.”
He reached out for my hips and pulled them closer to him.
“You know, we could just hold hands and kiss and fall in love all over again? Forget everything that happened?”
I sighed and leaned into his chest.
“I wish I could forget, but I keep thinking you’re going find someone better, like you did with Vanessa.”
He reached for my chin and pulled my face up so our eyes connected. His lips were in a tight line and his face was in somewhat of a scowl.
“She was never better than you. No one can be better than you Charlie. I tried to fix things after she kissed me, but I made it worst, and I’m sorry for that. But you have to remember that you have always been the only one I wanted.”
I whispered softly so he knew I was trying.
“Ok.”
He bent down and pressed his lips on my forehead. I wrapped my arms around his middle, pulling his warmth to me. I wanted to believe him, it was just hard, harder than I expected.
“Alright, come on. We’re going to be late if we don’t leave soon.”
“So I absolutely cannot know where we are going?”
He smiled down at me mischievously, making me laugh.
“Nope. Absolutely not.”
I probably asked Josh a million times where he was taking me, and probably had guessed a million more. He kept chuckling and shaking his head, telling me I was completely wrong. We had been driving for a little bit before he pulled into an airport.
“Joshua. Where in the hell are we going? You’re not kidnapping me, are you?”
He laughed and helped me out of the car. In front of us stood a private jet, and I literally almost fell to the floor.
“A jet? An airplane? Josh, you are crazy. Where are we going?”
“Would you just trust me?”
He reached out a hand and smiled his crooked smile. I look at him skeptically and took his hand. He led us into the plane, where Josh’s body guard Harold was waiting for us.
“Oh hello Harold! Do you have any clue where we’re going?”
He chuckled and shook his head, pointing to a seat behind him.
“I do. You better sit down and buckle, we’re leaving soon.”
I sighed and realized that I was not going to win this one. Josh placed a hand on my lower back and led me to a window seat. He took the seat beside me and looked at me with that goofy face of his.
I smiled, shaking my head.
“You, Josh Hutcherson, are one crazy man.”
He laughed, pulling my hand into his.
“I might be crazy. But that means you’re in love with a crazy man, which makes you crazy.”
I rolled my eyes and chuckled, moving my attention to the scenery outside that was slowly beginning to move.
It was a four hour airplane trip. Not once during the trip did I have a clue where we were going, or even in what direction. I tried my best to figure it out from the scenery, and I concluded that we were not heading anywhere near water, but that barely gives me a sense of what state we were in. We landed again in an airport and a Black SUV was waiting for us on the landing strip.
Just 10 minutes, and we stopped in front of what I was assuming was our location. It was the late afternoon, which confused me because the day had already passed by. Endless the plane ride was our date, which isn’t exactly what I was expecting.
“Ok. Now open your window.”
I turned to him curiously, and furrowed my brows.
“Open my window? That’s it? And then I get to see the huge surprise?”
He nodded his head and smirked, signaling me to push the window button. I sighed and obeyed, ready to see exactly where in the country I was.
I peered out the window and the first thing I saw were lines of people waiting, all wearing different clothing items colored white and red. A little boy blocked my view for a second, but the logo on his jersey told me exactly where I was: Cincinnati.
He flew me all the way to see a Cincinnati Reds game. I realized that the stadium’s name was staring me in the face in large letters across the front of the doors: Great American Ball Park.
For anyone else, flying a girl half way across the country to see a baseball game would seem a little stupid. But for Josh, this was special. It was his favorite baseball team. I use to watch games with him on the big sofa in his house, drinking beers and eating hot dogs. He used to always tell me one day, I’d get to see them live. Then I’d love them as much as he did.
This big grin spread across my face as I turned back to face Josh. His cheeks were a little red, and he was fiddling with his shirt nervously.
“I know it seems crazy. I mean, you don’t even like them that much. But I figured-“
I cut him off by pressing my lips hard against his, smiling in the kiss. I pulled back, shaking my head at him.
“This is amazing. I can’t believe you did this for me!”
He looked down at his lap, scratching the top of his forehead.
“You sure you like it?”
“Am I sure? Are you kidding? This is the best date I’ve ever been on and it hasn’t even started!”
He chuckled, and reached over me to push the window back up.
“This is only part one. Now we’re going to meet the players.”
I pushed Josh’s arm around my shoulder and snuggled closer to him as the car began to move.
“And it keeps getting better and better.”