| SEATTLE |

PIER LIFE

We land in Seattle and share a ride from the airport. Zoë gets dropped off first and then the cab speeds off to my loft. I cannot wait to take my melatonin gummies and fall into my bed for a 100-year sleep.

My keys are in the door when my phone buzzes in my pocket.

Hi BABE ;)

Almost home?
Can't wait to see you tonight

*inappropriate emoji*

...

Almost :)

I send back a tongue-out smiley face as I open my door. My fingers are still clutching the handle on my rolly when I gasp at my bed.

Josh is sprawled across it, ass-naked.

"Josh!" I squeal.

I fling myself across the shabby chic apartment and fall on top of him on the bed. My hands glide across his perfectly sculpted, but still very realistic abs, as I lean against him for a kiss.

He tangles his fingers in my day-old hair and keeps my head firmly in place, lips locked to his. I inhale him, everything about him. His smoldering cologne, his firm skin, even his smooth hair (now utterly disheveled by my hands).

He finally breaks us apart, laughing against my mouth.

"Hello," he says, looking at me intensely. The power of solid eye contact though.

"Hi boo," I peck a small kiss on the tip of his nose.

I love his nose. Weird right? But it's perfect.

"Boo is new," he laughs.

"Just felt right." I shrug.

Josh sits us up and pulls me onto his lap so I easily straddle him, one legging-clad leg on each side. I arch my back to admire his full-frontal nudity. Well, the parts I can see, even though I can feel him all.

The thing I love most about Josh is everything he's not. His hair's not dark. His mood isn't stormy. And his eyes cannot see through to the depths of my soul.

Josh is firm and fit, but without that ungodlike musculature that makes even me feel like a sloppy old scrub. His hair is sandy blonde/brown and reminds me of Alex's and also maybe a little like Zac Efron's. A delectable chocolate brown swims in his irises. He's warm and hot and maybe the most cataloguekind of beauty I've ever dated.

"You owe me two weeks." Josh kisses my collarbone, one hand pulling my T-shirt down.

"Two weeks?"

"Of sex." Josh says, squeezing my waist.

"All at once? Or..." I trail off, smirking.

"That would be impressive. Yes, let's do that." Josh laughs.

"Can we start now?" I ask in almost a whisper, already finding his lips again.

Josh answers without words by way of removing my shirt and sports bra all at once. I regret the leggings and how long it takes to peel them back from each leg. I climb back into Josh's lap and hover over him.

His fingers slide inside me as I give him one of my epic kisses. He slips his fingers out and puts them in my mouth. I arch my back in delight as he pulls me down on him.

I bite my lip as he fills me. Maybe it's having just been home and exposed to certain old parts of my life, but it feels different this time. New. And more me than ever. It took several years and two apartments and tons of heartache, but I'm finally a west-coaster at heart. A Westie.

Josh slides across the bed so his back rests against the headboard. I lock my legs around his back to keep up from being separated.

"Every second counts if I'm making up for two weeks," I tell him, kissing his neck.

He laughs but doesn't answer, tilting his head back and exposing his neck for more kisses. Soft gasps escape his lips through hurried breaths and his tempo increases.

My skin prickles with pleasure as his lips graze my nips. I rock my hips faster and faster, feeling myself closer every second.

Josh's mouth finds mine and he bites down on my bottom lip.

...

"Let's get dinner," Josh says, emerging from the bathroom, towel drying his hair. "It's beautiful out. Let's walk."

"Where to?" I slip into a too girly for me sundress.

"Maybe Pike Place?" Josh asks.

"You're obsessed with the Historical District," I tease. I scroll through my phone and read the new texts from Trix and mom. Ugh. I text Trix back first.

Isla pics, I canNOT
*hearts for eyes*

"Not obsessed," Josh defends himself. "It's just one of the best spots in the city."

"Ha," I fake laugh.

"Do I have to beg?" He asks.

"Wouldn't hate it. But I cave. I'm hungry too." I realize I haven't eaten since Cape May yesterday.

"That was way too easy," he laughs.

"Shut up." I grab my bag from the couch. "I'm ready. Go put a shirt on. And pants too."

"Give me two minutes." Josh hangs the towel on the bathroom door.

I wait by the door, mindlessly flipping through social media again. It's not that I'm on the lookout for neon pizzas, but OK maybe I am.

I grab my jean jacket from the back of the door and step into the hallway.

Josh is wearing my favorite button-down of his, light blue with white stripes, with black jeans. Another thing I love about Josh is he wears real clothes. Gym clothes are saved for the actual gym. Or my closet after I steal his favorite green hoodie.

So here we are –a night in the life of Jemmy.

It's a beautiful spring night, maybe mid-60s. The sky is a bright gray and the air smells like flowers after it rains. We walk the four-ish blocks to Pike Place Market. I do see why it's one of Josh's favorite spots in Seattle.

We select a café, and he orders a cup of chowder and I get a quinoa and fennel salad. The waiter leaves the sparkling water bottle in the center of the table.

"So tell me all about Bali. How was the retreat? Nice hotel? Should we go back for a visit?" Josh fires off questions.

"Bali was insane. Absolutely beautiful. Retreat had a crazy assortment of people," I tell him, picturing everyone on the mountaintop. "Hotel was stupid nice. One hundred percent should go back."

"I'll pencil it in." Josh grins. "Sometime after the merger."

"And after New York," I suggest.

"Right. When's that again? September?" He asks.

"Yes, the second time," I say, eyes fixed on the diced cucumbers in my salad.

"And when's the first time?" Josh raises an eyebrow. He stretches back in his chair across from me.

"Maybe June," I admit, making a straight-faced smile. You know that emoji I'm thinking about. That's me right now.

"June?" He laughs, shaking his head at me.

I don't know why I didn't tell Josh about the pre-wedding New York weekend yet. I always planned on bringing him. Not about to show up stag and be the thirteenth wheel. I think I was just waiting for his plate to semi-clear at work and for it to get closer. Now all the sudden it's one month away.

"End of June," I add, defending myself. "The 24th to 26th I think."

"I should be able to make that work," he says. "East coast quickie."

"Thank God, because I couldn't go without you." I take a sip of sparkling water and it tickles my nose.

"Will be nice to meet everyone in person before the wedding," Josh says. He dips his bread into the creamy soup. "Might need some name refreshers."

"I'll make posters and charts. The works."

I look back to my plate, smiling to myself as I think about making some name-face poster of all my Easties. It would just be easier if I showed Josh my 2010 yearbook.

We spend the next hour discussing Bali and the grand opening of GZ2 (GoZen #2), which happens to be only like one month away! Big eek. Josh tells me about his family's summer kickstarter party –this glamorous BBQ they host each year at their ritzy mansion on the water. Think polo and sailing and ostentatious outfits. Think Hamptons.

We mosey past Waterfront Park, heading for Miners Landing. Josh walks us to the railing on the pier, the place where we first met. Very Jack and Rose of us. Except no, I was not trying to jump over the edge. At least not if anyone asks.

Night falls by the time we hit the water. Pier 57 jets out into the stormy water. The Great Wheel looms above us, grand and skeletal, a reminder that all things come back around.

Josh and I rode it the first night we met. I tried to get out of it, of course. And Zoë refused to let me, of course. It was a steamy August night and Zoë, fed up with me staying in, forced me to join her for a girls' dinner. We ended up at the pier for ice cream like glorious 12-year-olds.

And that's when I met Josh. He complimented my save the sea turtles, save the world T-shirt and the rest is history.

"Let's review plans, shall we?" Josh asks, peering down at me.

"Let's."

"New York next month." He pretends to tsk tsk me. "New York again in September. Christmas in –Where did your parents pick again?"

"Umm." I think hard. "Malta? But don't quote me."

"So when exactly are we squeezing in Bali?" Josh laughs.

"Sometime after I open up GZ3 and you make Senior Account?" I suggest.

"Big plans for us this year. I like it," Josh kisses my forehead.

I stare at the Ferris wheel and smile. Big plans. Big and solid (that's what she said) and happy plans. No assembly or destruction required.

I lean into him, my head resting nicely on his shoulder. He is the perfect height. No 6'3" Goliath shit.

The temperature plunges quickly, just like it always does this time of year. My fingers grasp the salt-coated railing and I exhale at the cool metal.

This right here. The salt, the cold, the sweet sugary air from the pier creamery.

This could be bottled into an oil-roller.

Fuck, I'm turning into Zoë.