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Chapter 22: As Ready As I'll Ever Be
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Portwood Brothers Chapter 23: Your Funeral
Pushing himself harder, Josh made the turn around the yellow house that marked the halfway point on his old running route. There was a sense of comfort running the path he'd spent his childhood on. Things had changed, sure, but it still felt like home. It felt right. His mind drifted to Payton, and he wondered if she'd survived the night with Addison. They were sharing his and Jackson's old room even though it looked nothing like it used to. His mom had stacked the beds into bunk beds again, and the rest of the room had been made into an office for her.Slowing down as he hit the yard he checked his watch and was pleased to see he'd made the run in less than forty minutes. He took some time to stretch and cool down before making his way inside. Everyone was finally awake and sitting at the table eating breakfast. Payton looked like she was comfortable enough so he excused himself and headed downstairs to shower and change. He'd told everyone he'd go pick up Jackson from the airport, an
Portwood Brothers Chapter 24: My Milkshake Brings All The Boys To The Yard
Addison was a small girl, but Payton had learned that no one should underestimate her. Addison had told her they were going to "shop 'til they drop," and she'd dropped about three stores back. Addison, on the other hand, was still going strong and looked like she wasn't quitting any time soon. If it weren't for the good company, Payton would have called Josh to come rescue her.Payton was looking through a rack of dresses trying to find something to wear for the Winter Formal coming up while Addison was sifting through the sales rack next to her. Pulling down a dress, Payton held it over her body and looked over in Addison's direction. When she shook her head, it went right back to the rack. Worse case scenario, she'd just wear something she or Hailey had around."Oh! That one, the white one," Addison said.Payton made a face, "I don't usually wear white.""Try it on. I bet you'd be surprised."Payton made her way into the dressing room, and she was in fact surprised with the way the d
Portwood Brothers Chapter 25: Not A Baby
Josh held Payton and watched her as she slowly drifted off to sleep. He felt her body totally relax, and he even heard a small sigh escape her lips. What he realized as he was holding her was that he'd never seen her so relaxed before. Maybe it was because she'd never let him in this close, but maybe it was because she always had her guard up. Their relationship was shifting, and the feelings he felt for her were overwhelming. Just looking at her he knew there was so much more to the woman in his arms than he could even begin to imagine, and that scared him because he didn't know what she'd do with that once she realized it too.Just thinking about their relationship the last couple of months, he realized he'd never been happier even though he'd worked his ass off. Their relationship was the hardest thing he'd ever worked for, but he knew that's what made being with her so much better than any of his other relationships. Most of the time women were easy, they wanted to be with him, and
Portwood Brothers Chapter 26: You Don't Have To Say It Back
Payton was still kicking herself for making such a stupid mistake when she left the bathroom wrapped in a towel. Looking over she noticed everyone's eyes on her again. The blush spread up her neck and over her face as she rushed to her room. It deepened when she noticed Josh waiting for her in the chair he'd been in the night before. She gripped the towel and looked down."Feel better?" he asked."Much.""I'm glad. I'm gonna go so you can get dressed, but come find me when you're finished."Payton took her time getting dressed, and when she finally came out, she caught the end of a conversation between Bryce and Jackson."What the hell does that crap mean anyway? Pudding? Come on. That's just stupid," Bryce was ranting about Jackson's shirt."Just because you don't get it, doesn't make it stupid.""No one gets your shirt."Payton was curious about the shirt now and made sure to get a look at it. When she read the words "Keep Calm and Eat Pudding" with a picture of Carl above it, she th
Portwood Brothers Chapter 27: It's Not What You Think
Payton didn't know what to think, much less say to Josh's declaration of love. She wasn't stupid and knew that they were probably headed in that direction, but she didn't think that the time had come. She wasn't even sure if what she was feeling for Josh was love. If she faced the facts, she didn't have great examples of what a loving relationship should look like. Sure her grandparents had been together for over fifty years, but they were the only ones that had a stable relationship.When it all came down to it, Payton didn't want to be in love. Being in love meant she had to open herself up even more than she already had, and she'd have to be totally honest with Josh. That wouldn't be easy, and she couldn't face that.Breaking her out of her head, Josh said, "Payton, relax. I'm sorry.""You don't have to be sorry. I'm the one that's sorry.""What for?" he wondered."Because I can't say it back. You deserve that, and I can't give you that. You deserve so many things that I can't give
Portwood Brothers Chapter 28: I Never Meant To Hurt You
Josh paced in the backyard hearing the excuses over and over in his head."I didn't mean to."How the fuck do you not mean to kiss someone? It seemed like black and white to him. You either kiss someone or you don't. Why was he never good enough for anyone? Why did girls have to do this to him? Maybe he'd just have to give up on the whole idea of bringing girls home. It was obvious that he wasn't ever enough; they always wanted to see if the grass was greener on the other side. Fuck this, he was done."That was pretty shitty of you," Jackson called from across the yard."Fuck you! You have no room to talk.""I get that you're pissed, but there's nothing to be pissed about. If you'd calm the fuck down for more than two seconds and think with the rational fucking part of your head, you'd see that.""This is just like before-""This is nothing like before," Jackson said cutting him off. "Those other girls didn't give a shit about you. Payton loves you.""No, she doesn't. She won't even te
Portwood Brothers Chapter 29: Will You Tell Me Again?
Being back at school had been good for Payton. She'd been able to get the space she needed and had Hailey to talk to. She wanted to keep Josh at arm's length because that's how she usually coped, but Hailey had encouraged her to keep working through it with him. It had made for a rough and awkward few days, but things were better, and she was glad that she and Josh had been working on things together.There were only a couple of weeks between Thanksgiving break and Christmas break anyway, and if they had left for a month on bad terms, she wouldn't have felt right. They had both been so busy; there wasn't much time to stay upset about anything. Josh had been getting everything finalized for his student teaching, and Payton had enrolled in classes for the next semester.Payton was sitting on the floor in the living room trying to keep from getting too comfortable. She'd been sitting on the sofa earlier studying and almost fell asleep, so she was hoping the hard floor would help her focus
Portwood Brothers Chapter 30: Head Over Feet
"You owe me one, man," Darrin said as he got off the bus."Whatever, you were leaving anyway. Besides, I've taken one for the team on more than one occasion.""Yeah, yeah. Have a good weekend.""Have fun with Tessa," Josh said.The guys said a quick goodbye as Darrin gave him a one armed man hug before heading off to his car. Josh was glad that his game had been early because that meant he was home before dinner, and he was thinking he'd take Payton out. Instead of calling, he slung his bag over his shoulder and walked over toward her place. It'd been too long since he'd seen her. They'd both been so busy over the past several days they just hadn't had time. He took the stairs two at a time and knocked impatiently on the door. When no one answered, he knocked again. Still there was no answer.He pulled his phone from his bag and called Payton's cell. Worry started to set in when it went right to voicemail. He was just getting ready to call again when Hailey came through the door that l
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