The Closest Thing We Have To Magic

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The rain was still heavily pouring as Nick and I ran back inside the Jonas cabin. We attempted to enter gracefully without tripping and getting mud all over the kitchen floor, but failed miserably. As we stepped inside, Mrs.Jonas chose that moment to appear around the corner. Her eyes widened at the sight of us. “What happened to you two?” she exclaimed.

I wouldn’t blame her. My hair was stringy from being out in the rain for a long time and my clothes were soaked to the maximum. The same applied to Nick who was standing right next to me, his hand holding onto mine. I glanced at him and I could tell he was trying to figure out how to explain to his mom why we were in this state. I jumped in before he could put the blame on himself.

“It was my fault.” I quickly assured her. “I saw the rain outside and I had the urge to go dance in it. And I kind of dragged Nick outside with me.”

“We’ll get cleaned up right now. I promise.” Nick added. He sent his mom a toothy grin trying to work his charm on his mother.

Mrs. Jonas sighed and shook her head. “Okay you two get changed now. I don’t want a mess in this cabin at all. Nick, give her something of yours she can wear.”

“Alright Mommy.” Nick cracked a smile and went up to his mother and gave her a kiss on her cheek. She rolled her eyes at me. I replied with a grin of mine amused at Nick.

I could feel penetrating glances from the living room area. Looking over, I could see everybody we had left looking at us curiously. I shot them a smile before following Nick. We walked down the hallway before stopping in front of a closed door. Nick pushed it open and motioned me to step inside. He closed the door behind me as I looked around.

It was easy to tell who owned which side of the room. They contrasted each other. It was quite humorous actually. One side had clothes thrown all around the bed and papers scattered on the floor. The other side of the room was the opposite. The bed was neatly made with the pillows propped at an exactly angle of 100 degrees. A suitcase leaned against the foot of the bed. The clothes inside were arranged in different stacks with obvious meaning to the owner who I assumed was Nick.

I took in all the mess/neatness before turning back to Nick. “Now I know why you get so annoyed with Joe.” I finally stated.

Nick laughed. “He calls it an organized mess but I don’t understand the organized part of it.” He walked over to the suitcase and got down on his knees beginning to rummage through the clothes. “Here. These should fit you.” He handed me some sweats and a comfy looking sweatshirt. “You can change in here, I’ll go the bathroom.” I nodded.

As he left I began to take off my clothes. I had a habit that that may seem crazy to some people. Since I was little, I would always wear a bikini as my undergarments whenever it would rain outside. Rain would always bring the little kid out of me, so getting my clothes wet was common for me. I would always have to change all my clothes that I got into the habit of wearing a swimsuit under my clothes.

My bikini wasn’t really that soaked as I expected it to be. I wouldn’t feel too uncomfortable with them on. Taking my drenched jeans off my body, I folded them and set down on the bed. I grabbed Nick’s sweatpants and put them on. They snuggly fit on my lower hip just barely above the strings of the bikini bottom. They were soft and instantly heated my body up. I took the corners of my shirt and flipped it pulling the shirt over my head.

A knock sounded against the door. “Hey, can I come in?” Nick’s voice rang out. “Yeah” I answered distractedly. I didn’t see a problem with my boyfriend seeing in my bikini top, as unsettling as that sounds.

“Woah. Sorry, I thought you were done changing.” Nick exclaimed as he saw my back turned to him.

I spun around and tossed him a smile as he started backing up. “It’s okay. It’s just a bikini top.”

He scrunched up his eyebrows and paused for a second as he shut the door behind him. “Where did you get a bikini top from?”

“I always wear one when it’s raining.” I explained

He shook his head. “I’m not even going to ask.”

I snickered as I turned around once again looking for his sweatshirt. It had slipped off the bed and had fallen onto the floor. I bent my body down to pick it up and placed it my hand. “Do you think your mom was mad?” I asked as I took it off the floor. My arms made their way through the sweatshirt. It was too big on me but was comfortable.

I twisted my body to look at body. Nick’s eyes were the size of saucers as he gaped at me. I immediately became self conscious as his eyes didn’t deflate at all. “What?” I gave myself a quick glance over to see if there was anything on me that could be so displeasing.

“You…..” Nick couldn’t finish.

“What? Is something wrong?” I asked confused.

“No nothing.” Nick said rushed. “It’s just that…”

“What?” I repeated.

“Is that tattoo?” He asked hesitant almost afraid to even ask the question.

Now it was my turn for my eyes to widen. I had totally forgotten about my tattoo when I was changing. It wasn’t something I had been eager to share with Nick. I paused for a moment before I answered.

“You saw that?” I squeaked out.

Nick grinned. “Yeah.”

I groaned. “You weren’t supposed to see it.”

He sauntered up to me and placed his hands on my hips. His fingers moved slowly making circles as he looked me in the eye. He smirked, leaning his face close to mine. “Too bad. I think it’s sexy.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

He nodded. “How do you get a tattoo at 15 though?”

I shrugged. “It was a birthday present from my parents. I’d been hinting to them ever since I was 10 that I wanted a tattoo. They weren’t exactly, how should I say this, pleased when they found out where the tattoo was placed. But it’s permanent, so there was nothing they could do about it.” I grinned at him. “Did you see what the tattoo was?”

Nick frowned. “Not really. I caught a glimpse of it. But now I’m really curious. What was it?”

I stepped back and gave him a smug look. “You think I’m going to show you?”

“Yes. Please? Just a quick glance.” Nick begged. I shook my head firmly making my wet hair spray droplets of water on him. I giggled as he tried to shake off the water. Determined, he started walking closer to me with a teasing smile. I wobbled backwards step by step trying to dodge my way out of myself getting cornered. Nick seemed to be at his advantage as I did walk into a corner. As I rested my body at the connection of the two walls, Nick set his arms slightly above me peering close at me.

“Why can’t I see it?” Nick pouted. “It’s not like I’m asking to see it for the first time. I just want to get a closer look at it.”

I cupped his face with hands and brought him closer to me. Nick started smiling in victory as I looked straight into his eyes. “No.”

His jaw dropped open. I lifted my finger and gently snapped his mouth shut. He pretended to be annoyed. “You are so stubborn.”

I smirked. “I know.” With that said I ducked under his arms and escaped the cage made by his arms. I made my way to the door and looked back at Nick. He was still looking at me with his arms crossed.

“Are you coming?” I asked teasingly.

“You’re absolutely, positively, completely one hundred percent sure that I cannot see your tattoo?” He attempted one last time.

I sighed. Placing my hands on my hips, I blew my bangs off my forehead as they irritated my eyes. I contemplated the pros and cons for a few seconds. There weren’t really any cons except for the fact I wasn’t too comfortable for my boyfriend to be that close to me near my lower back.

I gave in. “Fine.” Nick gleamed a smile as I gingerly walked back towards him. “But just one look. No more.”

“No more.” He agreed.

I hesitated before I pulled his sweatshirt halfway up my upper half. I folded it so it would stay put. My stomach was now visible and I could see Nick’s eyes lingering on it. I curved my body so my back faced him but I could still see his face. Pulling the comfortable pants along with the bikini bottom safely down three inches, the tattoo became in full view.

The tattoo was really simple. It was in red lettering in Walt Disney font. Most people have pictures or graphics as their tattoos. Mine was different. In was nine words long. What did it say? Love Is The Closest Thing We Have To Magic. I had heard the expression during the movie Aquamarine and I instantly knew that was going to be my tattoo.

Nick’s chilled fingers traced the letters on my lower back. His touch brought chills throughout my entire body. I closed my eyes briefly before opening them and looking at Nick. His face was expressionless as he stared at the tattoo, continually running his fingers back and forth on my smooth skin. As he felt my gaze on him, he looked up and smiled.

“I love it.” He said letting go of my lower back. I hurriedly pulled down the sweatshirt and brought the pants back on my hips. “It’s true too.” I sent him a quizzical look. “Love is the closest thing we have to magic. Magic seems to be next to impossible, but it’s in the same category as love. We never know if it’s going to come back and bite us or if it is going to bring us the happiness we want in our lives.”

“That’s why I chose it.” I said softly.

“Thanks for letting me see it.” Nick placed a soft kiss on my lips as thanks. I gave him a bright smile and kissed him one more time.

“Come on. Let’s go. They’re going to wonder what’s going taking us long.” Still holding onto Nick’s hand, I walked down the hallway to join everyone.

When you are in love, you can’t fall asleep because reality is better than your dreams.-Dr. Seuss