Over The Ocean

Chapter Three

Fifteen minutes later me and Josie are sitting on her livingroom couch.

”Really, you Don’t want to sleep with him?” she said in surprise and she raise one brow and gives me a questioning look.

“Mjo, kanske.” [Well maybe] I answer behind my hands, my cheeks burn with red and I laugh.

Being from Sweden she understand my swedish, just with her being around non-swedish talking all days long she chose to talk in english with me.

”What’s wrong, bae?” she ask and place her left hand on my right shuoulder. I take my hands away from my face and meet her gaze.

“I don’t know.” I sigh. ”Oh, Josie, I think it’s me.”

”You just have to get back up on that horse, bae. That’s the only way you’ll stop feeling confused.”

I don't know what to answer. I want to. I don't want. There is so much I want him to know beforehand if I do want to be with him.

”Where would I start…”

”How about in the beginning? There once was a gal, oh the fairest was she, and she met a lad, mighty fine was he…”

“Oh my God! No!” I yell and throw a pillow her way “I don’t think I could actually do that seriously and neither could you!”

We laughed at how silly we were, we laughed at being together again after missing each other for so very long.

”Oh, I’ve missed you, Rosie.” she says.

“I missed you too.” I say and hug her.

“But, let him show you LA. That’s a very good place to start.”

“Start what..?” I ask.

“Whatever you want it to be.”

“And wha…” I started asking again.

“Stop with the questions, I don’t know. What’s on your mind? Do you like him?”

“What I know so far, very much yes.”

“You’d think he’d hurt you?” she narrows her eyes at me.

”No, I don’t believe so.”

“Alright, we could discuss this all night, the only thing you can do is trust your feeling and listen to him. Remember what your mom says. Men very often actually tell the truth, the lies are too complicated. Sure there are screw-ups, if he turns out to be one then cut him loose.”

I was starting to feel a little calmer. Maybe because Derek wasn't here, he made me nervous. In a good way. But I would have to let him go when I left, but could I manage it if it turned out that I really liked him and he liked me? What would happen to me if he moved on without caring?

Well, I would probably become an old, boring and angry cat lady. My nose frowns.

”Jag vill inte bli som fru Dahl, a mean and cranky old cat lady.” [I don't want to be like Mrs. Dahl]

“Don’t worry, you’ll just be a cranky old cat lady.”

“Thanks.” I pout, putting my arms across my cheast and rolling my eyes. She laughs at my atempt to play butt hurt.

She stopped laughing and frowns, I lean in and smooths it out.

”What are you thinking?”

”You remember when you kicked the ball in our living room window?”

I snap up in surprise.

“Whoa, I did not expect that one to be what you were thinking about.” I thought back to that awful afternoon so many years ago. ”But yeah, I remember. You mom was really angry at first. As she should, that was a really stupid thing to do. And it was your fault! You told me to kick the ball. I remember specifically saying that I suck at football!”

“That's not how I remember it but you did it and we got new windows.”

I sat in silence to try and see her point. ”Nope, sorry, you lost me.”

She met my eyes, and her honeybrown eyes glowed in the light from her kitchen ”Listen to me. Take a leap of faith Rosie.”

I studie her face, looking for any hint of sarcasm, finding none. Her curly dark hair lying around her face. One of my oldest friends. I was absolutely devastated when she moved.

We had known each other since preschool, she had meant a lot to me, the fact that we lived two streets away from each other had contributed to the fact that we were such good friends. We still were, it was just other topics being discussed and other people.

”That reminds me, where’s Trey?” I ask, wiggling my eyebrows.

“You’re switching subject.” She sigh and shake her head at my changing subject ”He’s in his apartment.”

”Right, I’m starting to get hungry.” I say and look at the clock over her doorway to the hallway. Derek would be here in about an hour. The time always flew by when I was with Josie.

“You do, don’t you.” She say, this time her vocie full of something, I meet her gaze and she smirks.

I stood up, then sat down. A few second later I stand again, this time taking a stroll around the livingroom.

”Rosie. Stop that.” she say with a slight irritation from the couch. ”That’s actually annoying.”

I stop. My wandering was a force of habit. My dad always did the same when talking on the phone, my brothers all three did the same. But me, I did it when I was thinking.

”Sorry.” I say and shrug.

”You need to relax. I don’t think he’ll want to get inside your pants when you’re all… walky.”

“I don’t think that’s a real word.”

“Get your confused feelings out and f**k him on every surface in his house.”

“How lasting do you think I’ll be?” I snicker, but actually think about it ”It’s been a long time since I’ve been with... well anyone in that way actually.”

“Okay. What do you have in your suitcase?”

“Clothes?” I say, hesitantly.

Josie sigh, then stand and opens my suitcase.

”Let’s do this!” she says as she smirks.

The next forty-five minutes was spent with Josie giving my clothes a thumbs up or a down. She even convinces me to try on one of her ridiculous jumpsuit pajama pieces. It couldn't possibly by considered as anything else. It was impossibly short and the thin fabric was almost see-through.

”I feel ridiculus.” I whine when I reluctantly exits her bathroom.

”Oh my, you look delectable!” Josie comments then her hands goes up to her hips.. ”But somthing is missing.”

She ponders and then her eyes stop at my hair. ”The braid.”

”Men kom igen! Snälla, den är ju så skön att ha i denna klibbiga värme!” I protest half heartedly [Come on! This is a superb hair do for this sticky weather, please!]

”No.” she says and shakes her head.

”Can’t I have it at least until I get to his place?”

She thinks for a little while and then resign ”Okay. But you have to promise that it goes off then.”

I don't answer. It feels safer, I turn and go back into her bathroom and change into my clothes. When I'm about to go out again, my eyes snaps up to the mirror. The woman now looking back at me has an even deeper blush and her eyes are beginning to take on a mischievous look. This can't be true.

“Really. Cheers to you, Rosie. You're going home in a week. And from Los Angeles on Sunday.” My insides are both disappointed and relieved. This had all the right ingredients for a disaster. "Don't. Fall. In. Love."

Specifically don't fall in love with the idea of love, just for the sake of it.

Maybe you need some organized chaos my inner self points out.

I go back out to Josie.

"You haven't told me how Casper's doing..." she say, looking at me with sincerity in her eyes.

”I didn’t think you were interested.” But I caved and fished out my phone to show her some new pictures.

”I can’t believe how fast time has been flying by.” I say as I put the phone away.

There is a knock on the door, first four times a short pause and then two more. Josie groan and goes over to open it. I don't see when she opens the door but I can still see her back from the spot in the living room.

”Hey I have my friend here; we agreed that I was coming over to your place later.” she scold silently.

“I just wanted to say hi to your best mate from childhood.” I hear a very masculine voice say a bit louder than Josie was talking, obviously this person wanted to be heard.

I got up from the sofa fast and started stuffing down my clothes. I had just about closed the zipper when Josie and a dark skinned guy enter the room.

”Rosie, this is Trey.”

Trey was only a few inches taller than Josie, his body gave away the impression that he was doing a lot of physical work and not just with other people but that he had a very physical job where he did a lot of lifting and a lot of exercise. Maybe American football player or fireman, that's the kind of dude my friend goes for, physically attractive men and active men. With her looks it wasn't hard to see why they were like clay in her hands.

Josie's skin was as smooth as cotton, her skin a golden chocolate brown that made her kind of glow. It was crazy attractive, I suddenly felt very unclean.

I have been sitting on a plane all day and still had my travel clothes on even though I tried on Josie's teeny tiny fabric piece and showed off my own clothes.

Not showing any of it, I stand up and stretch my hand towards him.

”Hi I’m Rosie.” I say with a small smile.

”Trey. Hi.” he say, I get umcomfortable as his eyes wander over my body. It felt unappropriate.

I look at Josie for support and see that she's rolling her eyes.

”Yeah, now you’ve met her. Bye.”

“Why in such a hurry...” he laughed as Josie half dragged him back to the door and closed it behind him.

”I swear he wasn’t supposed to get his ass over here. I'm sorry.” she grunt and sigh.

”Now at least I understand why you had a good reason not to get up before.” I joke as I shake of the uncomfortable feeling that soon left me to continue enjoying the company of my dear friend.

We talk aabout her family, her little brother who moved back to Sweden, her mom, and her dad that passed away the year before. We look through some old photos.

”I still would like for you guys to move out here, but then again, Trey might be interested-” she say and frowns. “No. You stay in Sweden!”

“I’ve got a million reasons to stay there so I’m good.”

“And you got a couple to stay here-“

That's the moment her door phone buzzed. She moved to answer whoever was outside.

”Hello?”

”Hi, this is Derek, is Rosie there?” I heard his voice.

Josie turns towards me with an "OH MY GOD!" face, she starts to clap silently and jumping on her spot.

“Josie.” I say warningly. She sobers up and push the button in to reply.

“Yes, third floor.”