Jealous Minds Think Alike

Kalysta groaned as she stumbled out of the bedroom. It was only just after two in the afternoon, but it felt like it was still too early for her body to be doing anything out of bed. She found Josh in the kitchen reading his phone.

"Are texts that hard to read for you now, mate?" She scrunched her eyebrows together as he looked up astonished at her.

"What are you doing up? You're supposed to still be sleeping."

She opened the fridge to get the carton of orange juice out. "I wish I still were. I just woke up though." She shrugged and went over to bring down a glass.

"Damn." He glanced down at his phone and frowned.

"Sorry to ruin the mood. Want me to go back to the room?" She pointed her thumb over her shoulder and arched eyebrows.

He chuckled. "Calm down. I was just trying to surprise you with dinner." He flashed his phone screen toward her and she caught a picture of a plate with what looked like chicken.

"Ah." She dropped her attitude to put the juice back in the fridge. "So you're still trying to sweeten me up for something, eh?"

He rolled his eyes. "I was just doing something nice. I won't do it again, trust me." They both laughed.

"How's Elissa?"

"She made it home just fine. Complained about the lady that was supposed to watch her apartment, but nothing seemed to be stolen or moved so she'll get over it."

"Too bad she didn't stay longer. I quite enjoyed hearing stories about little Joshua." She giggled as he shook his head.

"I'm quite glad that's over. I can only imagine the embarrassment once you get around my mum." Her cheeks immediately flooded with heat. Being in front of his mother, even just the thought of it, made her nervous and anxious. "Anyway, I've got some running around to do. You want to come join me? It's just a few errands and I'll take you out for dinner afterward."

"Mmmm," she pretended to weigh the options though she already knew her answer. "Is it a fancy dinner?"

He smirked. "If you want one."

"Deal." She grinned and sat her glass down. "Just let me shower and change real quick." She dashed off back to the bedroom.

Her shower wasn't short, but she made up for it by only throwing on the clothes she planned on wearing to work. She threw her hair up and didn't bother with any makeup. She found Josh doing something on his phone again but this time in the living room.

"Lets get this over with so you can feed me, Joshua." She winked at him as she bent over to put on her sandals.

"Is there a particular reason why you keep using my full name lately?"

She shrugged. "Elissa calls you Joshua."

"Because my mum always has and we grew up with it. You never used to." He stood up and grabbed his things.

"Well maybe I'm just tired of the same name over and over. You know I get sick on monotony super easy."

He laughed. "Okay. Get in the car you crazy girl." She stuck her tongue out and then skipped out the door with him behind her.

"What are these endless errands we must run anyway?" She waited to say something until he was driving the car down their street.

"Can you keep a secret?" He grinned and she slapped his arm. "I've been throwing around some ideas to start a clothing line so I've got to visit this guy that's sketching up a logo with me. He's supposed to have the final product this evening, but we'll see."

"A clothing line? You want to sell clothes on top of doing music? I mean, not that there's anything wrong with it, but isn't it a bit cliche? Doesn't every musician have to branch off with something to make them 'unique'."

"Thanks for the support there, sweetheart."

She put her hand on his arm. "I support you in anything, Josh. You know that. I just didn't know you had a passion for clothes is all."

He shook his head. "I didn't think I did. But there's this one line from the album that's been just constantly rolling over in my head. I had to do something with it."

"So what line is the wonderful inspiration behind this?" He glanced at her and she saw the hesitation. "Please? I'm really curious now."

They said in silence for a few minutes. He'd never kept anything from her, but this was a little more intimate than their previous teasing. He finally breathed heavily out of his nose. "I'm down but not out."

"Down but not out." She repeated and pursed her mouth. "Bit of a mouthful for a clothing line name, but I can definitely see how it could get stuck with you."

He nodded. "I've been thinking about using the clothing line to support something like Active Minds, you know?"

"So you actually want to create a clothing line to support another organization." She nodded. "That sounds more like you and less like a prick musician that's letting the popularity get to his head." She smiled at him and he rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for the encouragement, again."

"I mean it this time! I think that's a great idea. The down but not out is a great message just in itself. Maybe you could start your own organization for helping those teens or adults that are suicidal." She reached over again and this time grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "You're becoming an inspiration to tons of kids already with the band. Putting a message out there like that would make you more of a role model."

"That wasn't exactly what I was going for."

"But it's definitely where you could go, and you'd deserve it, all of it. You're a great man, Joshua. A great man who should stand up for something." She squeezed his hand again. "I think it's all a brilliant idea. If you need any help, let me know and I'll be right beside you."

"Thank you, Kalysta." He grinned over at her and their eyes met. He felt like she could read him, like she understood everything about him. He loved that she would laugh with him one moment and then be able to talk about anything, serious or not, and then be able to understand. He loved how their friendship just worked and they never questioned it. He felt his body warm as he realized he was still holding her hand tightly. He loved how it felt.