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Seven Minutes in Heaven - Josh Washington x Reader

1908 words

Gender Neutral Reader

No smut

~

Rubbing your eyes you stared down at your half-drunk beverage. Time to take a swig, you were soooo not drunk enough for this yet.

Emily and Jess’s giggles floated past from somewhere behind you, no doubt directed towards their latest victim at college.

On either side of you on the sofa were the Washington twins. Sam was perched on the arm nearest Hannah.

We were all observing with a kind of abstract horror our friends playing (or attempting to play) a rather convoluted drinking game involving playing cards.

“Dude, you totally just pulled an ace, that means you’ve got to take a shot!” Chris slurred, pointing an accusatory finger at Josh.

Chris never could hold his alcohol, and this was especially true when playing a game where the rules seemed to consist entirely of bullying the other person into drinking.

“Nuh-uh you ass,” Josh fired back, “It’s a spade, so you have to take the shot!”

This bickering, almost like they were siblings, continued back-and-forth back-and-forth. You should really be used to it by now, having been friends with those two for many years now.

You groaned and rested your head backwards to take in the view of the ceiling.

“What’s that?” a familiar voice rang out, “A complaint I hear?” Whipping your head back upright, you could see Josh’s smug face staring directly at you.

The eldest Washington sibling, and the host of tonight’s party. He looked good tonight, the moonlight from outside streaming onto his face, making his eyes almost iridescent as they met yours. It was hard to hold his gaze, the way he seemed to put his focus entirely on you, it almost made you shudder in your seat under the intensity.

Almost, the thought of letting his sisters catch on to how you really felt was enough to keep you for the most part composed.

“No, no complaints here really,” you countered, and then added, “I love watching two grown men argue over playing cards - really!”

This resulted in a laugh from Beth who not-so-smoothly transitioned the noise into a cough under the glare of Chris. Even Ashley, who had made the mistake of agreeing to join the game, smiled, despite a warning glance from Matt.

Your comment had generated a sly kind of smile from Josh, one that sent butterflies straight to your stomach. You couldn’t lie, these past few holidays it had been getting harder and harder to deny just how attractive you found him. It seemed like each time you saw him his hair accentuated his face a little better, his muscles fit his clothes a little tighter and he made you laugh a little more.

Shit, were you staring? Blinking a little too often, you adjusted your gaze in a way you hoped came off as natural.

“I think we could come up with a little solution then, for your majesty,” Josh teased you, “I propose a new game for us to play!”

A contrasting chorus of groans and whoops emitted from the crowd, attracting the attention of Mike, Emily and Jess, drawing them into our little gathering.

“Seven minutes in heaven,” Josh announced confidently.

“I don’t know man,” Chris shuffled a little nervously, sending a sideways glance to Ashley.

Jess excitedly assured him it would be fine, and so we all got into position, creating a wide circle.

Josh slammed the last of his beer, making sure to finish the very last drop before dropping it confidently in the middle of the group.

Nervously, you decided to follow suit, swallowing the rest of your drink in large gulps to get over the nerves building in your system. The familiar warm feeling of the liquor spread down your throat and you grimaced a little bit at the after taste.

“Nervous?” Beth teases, nudging your arm.

You respond only with a shy smile back.

And so, the first spin happens. It lands on Jess first, which is met by enthusiastic clapping from most of the group, causing her to pretend to blush and wave in an ‘awe-shucks’ movement. 

You notice that Josh didn’t clap. He didn’t even look at her, instead, from the corner of your eye you could feel his gaze transfixed on you. You gulped nervously as the bottle swung around again.

It began to slow near Mike, and an apprehensive silence fell over the group until it tipped over just enough to point towards Emily.

A few crude comments erupted from the crowd, but the girls took it in stride and gave a good show on their way to the nearby cupboard. You’re sure their display must’ve made all of the girls question themselves at least a little bit.

The moments in between waiting for the couples to return after 7 minutes were spent laughing and talking, and most importantly, drinking.

The next couple to be selected by the bottle was Chris and Ashley. Chris’s absence left no-one in between you and Josh, and you could’ve sworn he inched a little closer to close the gap.

“So,” You ventured, trying to take any available chance to talk to him, “What’re you willing to bet Chris still doesn’t make a move on her?”

This caused Josh to raise an eyebrow.

“What says he’s interested?” “You’re kidding right? Let me think about that… Oh! I know, maybe it’s the fact I have two eyes and can see.”

He laughed at this, although you weren’t quite sure why.

“You’re right. Though, I’m not taking you up on that bet - I’d like to keep my money.” It was your turn to laugh, and just like that you two were talking like old friends. It was always like you could easily pick up where you left off with Josh. Beth even joked sometimes that the chemistry between you two was electric.

But that’s all it was. A joke.

Midway through this train of thinking, Chris and Ashley emerged, looking shy and embarrassed, but with no obvious signs of a hot make-out session.

Josh sent a little wink your way, as if confirming he was right not to put money on it.

The next pair was Mike and Matt, followed by Hannah and Sam.

In fact, you were just starting to get bored of this game when you watched the next spin slow down, and point directly at you, causing all that previously dissipated nervous energy to come bubbling up to the surface again.

“Go on,” Emily urged you, “Spin it again.”

You weren’t sure if your shaking hands would betray you as you lent over and sent the bottle spinning once again. Time seemed to slow down as you watched it travel over and over. With bated breath, you couldn’t even bring yourself to blink as its trajectory gradually decreased until it was just inching along.

It reached a halt and you almost couldn’t believe what you were seeing.

Your ears became muffled with the sound of your own heart beating as your eyes travelled from the point of the bottle to the man sitting next to you. You think you could hear whooping in the background.

Josh’s lips moved, but you couldn’t register the sound coming out of them.

“Sorry?” You questioned shyly, eliciting a few laughs from the crowd.

Jess said something along the lines of you being flustered, but Josh - now standing, simply offered a hand to help you up.

“We’ll come and get you love birds in seven minutes!” Mike called out, causing me to cringe a little at the title he had given us.

Josh, ever the gentleman let you step in first. Darkness quickly enveloped the room as he quickly shut the door behind him. Your eyes adjusted, a small window letting in the stream of bright moonlight, allowing the features of his face to come into focus.

You two were close now, so close that your chest was touching his. You could feel the body heat radiating off of him, hear the sound of shaky breaths, feel his chest moving up and down.

“So,” You began in a whisper, before finding you didn’t really have the words right now.

“So,” Josh mimicked back, forever the jokester.

This caused a soft laugh to exit you, the action readjusting your position so that your leg brushed against him. And came into contact with something hard in between his.

You gasped as recognition of what you were feeling hit you, but before you could react, he was moving, pushing you against the wall, shelves digging into your back as he pressed himself against you.

“Josh-” You began but he shushed you by whispering your name.

“I-” He started as if struggling to find his voice, that usual cool charisma on his end faltering a bit, “I have wanted this- wanted you, no - needed you for so long.”

His words were desperate and needy, coming out in a single breath as if he couldn’t keep it in anymore.

You paused, momentarily paralysed by this sudden confession, and all the implications it harboured.

“I can’t keep pretending that I don’t look for you in every room, that I miss you so much it hurts when you aren’t there.”

He was a confident guy, and yet here he was, vulnerable in front of you, begging. The feeling was so intoxicating, it snapped you out of your frozen state.

Prying your hands free from where he was pressing against you, you wrapped them around his neck and pulled him in for a passionate kiss.

This confirmation was all he needed, as he became like a starved man tasting food again for the first time, revelling in your kiss. His fervour elicited a low moan from deep within your throat, a sound you didn’t even know you were capable of.

Much to your dismay, he pulled away, a grin plastering his face from ear to ear.

“Shh,” he whispered into your ear, his velvety voice, more seductive than you’d ever heard before sending shivers down your spine, “The others are just outside, we don’t want to give them much of a show… yet.”

You were about to open your mouth to retort a sassy response, when his lips met yours again. This time, the kiss was slow, sensual and surprisingly tender. He wrapped his arms around you in a warm embrace, knocking his elbows in the act due to the confined space.

Your head was almost spinning from lack of oxygen by the time he let go.

“Wow,” You breathed out, “That was-”

“I know,” He responded smugly.

You rolled your eyes at his ego, but shot him a little smile. He knew it was good, and he was pleased you enjoyed it. That fact alone sent the butterflies straight from your stomach further down.

Just as you were about to ask him for more, for confirmation as to what this could become, light blinded you, causing your hand to instinctively reach to cover your eyes.

“Seven minutes is up, lovebirds!” Mike told us cheerily, and suddenly you didn’t hate the nickname as much as before.

You followed Josh outside, adjusting your hair as you went, not caring how dishevelled you might look. You hoped everyone could see your swollen lips or the saliva still coating Josh’s mouth.

“Shall I get us another drink?” Josh asked, and, for the first time in a while you felt a subtle excitement for the future creep in.

“Hey,” Chris called out, “You never had that shot!”