Life After Josh.

That date proved to be the beginning of a huge chapter of my life. Little did I know Josh was already a part of my life – just one that I hadn’t discovered yet. The warning signs were all there but I chose to ignore them, like they say, love is blind. I shouldn’t talk so negatively really, being with him lead me to where I am now. I wouldn’t repeat any of it though. Not for the world.
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After I rushed back home, adrenaline buzzing through my veins, I thought a shower was in order. Not only did I resemble a drowned rat, the shower was where I did much of my thinking. Me. Lyla Rose Smith. Had scored herself a DATE. Not just a date though, one with a very funny & gorgeous man who was actually SERIOUS about said date. These things didn’t just happen to me; I’d never actually been on a real date before.

In the shower I let the hot water cascade around me whilst lathering my body up with my favourite soap, “Rockstar” from Lush. Contrary to what my mother says, there’s nothing wrong with being 20 & smelling like sweeties. After doing a bit of shower karaoke (Beyoncé was always a good choice when nervous, even if I did murder all of her songs), I stepped out & got to work with making myself look presentable. What was I supposed to wear?! I knew we were going for dinner, but where!? After much faffing & many phone calls to my friend Taylor, I decided on a cute tea dress, tights & my Dr Martens. Practical, comfy & stylish. Just then a text buzzed through on my phone from Josh. My stomach felt like it was doing backflips. “Meet me at “The Diner”? Josh x”. The Diner was a little place not too far from here that specialised in American food. Nervously I tapped back “Can’t wait, see you in a bit x”. Carefully, I applied a flick of liquid eyeliner & ruffled my hair up. That would do. Throwing a cardigan over my shoulders & dropping my lipstick into my handbag, I got ready to leave. Now or never, Smith.

When I reached The Diner, Josh was already waiting for me. In his hand he had a single red rose & as he spotted me, he flashed his trademark cheeky grin. “Not too cheesy I hope?” he asked, looking rather pleased with himself. “No of course not, it’s very sweet of you!” I mumbled, feeling my face flush red. As he gave it to me, he gave me a brief chaste kiss on the lips. The backflips that my stomach did earlier were nothing compared to those butterflies.

We were seated in a booth together & even though it was plenty big enough, we sat with our knees touching. A small & stupid detail I know but I just remember feeling some kind of electricity running through us. The food was lovely (not that I remember much of it!)& we spoke about the usual things, work (he worked in the café but also was interested in music, I was interning at a local newspaper), family (he had a younger sister called Taylor & lived with his friend, I had an older sister & lived with my parents) but afterwards we progressed onto cocktails & the conversation got a little more personal. Sat at the bar with my feet swinging, we both sipped Mai Tai cocktails & discussed bands.
“Foo Fighters?
A unanimous yes.
“Biffy Clyro?”
“ Of course!”
We pretty much had the same taste in music, weirdly he liked the film Mean Girls too & could quote it as well as I could. This guy was perfect. Then he caught me off guard.
“Lyla, have you ever fallen in love?”
I took a massive gulp of my drink & started fiddling with the napkin in front of me. How did I answer this?
“Umm…no. I've never actually had a serious relationship. If that puts you off then please, go now.” I blurted out quickly, not realizing how defensive I sounded. Josh looked taken aback. Not many guys believed me when I said about not being in a serious relationship, it’s just no one was ever interested & I was “a really good mate” or the opportunity never arose. Not that I didn't want to be.
“Lyla, I’m not going anywhere” he whispered. “I want to get to know you. And I've not been in love, not like this”. With that he leaned forward & kissed me. This wasn't a restrained kiss, this was a “I can feel the earth moving, fireworks going off, almost falling off of my stool “ kiss. I let my hands wander up to his neck & his hands settled firmly on my hips, never moving. When we both leaned out, we both smiled. “Shall I walk you home then m’lady?” Josh asked, lacing his fingers in mine. Not being able to stop myself from grinning, I nodded & we left.

The walk home involved more chatter about music, films & books, along with Josh promising to lend me his copy of the latest Superman film (this was accompanied by an eye roll from me). His hand never once left mine. By the time we got to my front door I was nervous. What if he expected more from me?
“Well sweet, here we are” he said as he brushed my fringe out of my eyes. I blew upwards, trying to get rid of a few pesky strands. “I need to get this cut” I sighed. “Nah, I like it long, gives me an excuse to do this” he smiled & with that put his fingers through my hair & kissed me, just like in the bar. I swear, if it wasn’t for him anchoring me down, I would have floated away. Just at that moment, his phone went off & he groaned.
“Hello? Yeah, I’m fine thanks, yeah it’s going well” I raised an eyebrow at that & he poked his tongue out at me. “I’ll be home in a bit, put the kettle on. Alright then, bye. Yeah, bye”. He put his phone back in his pocket.
“So who have you been telling then?” I questioned. “Ahh just my nosey friend, always has to know!” he laughed & kissed me again, this time a little more tenderly. I sighed as he let me go. “I’ll give you a call tomorrow, pop in the café & see me?” he asked, looking once again like a shy little boy. I nodded.” Of-course I will, night love” I smiled. He gave me a kiss on the cheek & like that, Josh was gone.

I let myself back into my house, tiptoed my way up the stairs & led on the bed, just as my phone buzzed. A text from Josh. The smile returned to my face. “ Thank you for a wonderful evening lovely lady, can’t wait to see you xx”. With that, I turned off my phone & went to sleep, my head filled with wonder at what on earth would happen next.