ᅠ ᅠ oh, um, she didn’t expect 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 to drop by—— “ is everything okay ❔” ᅠ ᅠ

thus, with a kiss, i die.

lord, i no longer believe in anything but the way he holds my name between his teeth.

josephine glanced at the clock then, scooping james up into her arms. “ looks like its somebody’s bed time .. ” spoken in a sing song voice, smiling as she walked toward his bedroom. “ i’ll only be a few minutes— then i’m all yours. ” spoken to hudson, odd choice of words.

moments passed and james drifted soundly off to sleep, josie emerging to see the table clean and dishes done— but .. that’s a woman’s job. “ you— you cleaned up ? ” genuine surprise in her voice, looking at the kitchen with a smile on her face. cooper never did dishes.

blinking, she’d approach. “ well— thank you. nobody has ever helped me clean before. ” laughing softly, not realising how bad it sounded. “ fast asleep. .. maybe we could watch a movie or somethin’ ? ” shrugging, trying to ignore just how handsome she thinks he is.

the featherlight touch on her back made her heart skip a beat, sitting beside him like it was her rightful spot. and then she thought for a moment, not having seen many—— after all, cooper doesn’t like her watching them. “ um .. i don’t— i don’t get to watch a lot of movies. ”

cheeks turn pink, she’d asked cooper the same question before, laughing nervously before trying to play it off as normal. “ oh— he’s just being protective, there’s a lot of bad stuff in media now .. ” gosh, she must sound insane. “ sermons of his, some christian films … ”

as they watched the film josephine found herself scooting closer, once again, naturally. the question made her think, definitely having her off guard. “ i mean— before we ran— i mean, 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧— i worked at my parents diner .. i wanted to take it over one day. ”

brows furrow for a moment as she thinks back, smile faltering. “ well— things got complicated when i started dating cooper, so, we left town .. eloped and started new. ” complicated doesn’t cover it—— him being her youth pastor, his engagement, the disapproval. christ.

sure, she had a husband and a beautiful baby but happy ? truly happy ? 𝐧𝐨. the poor girl doesn’t even have a life to be happy with— curfews, controlled, misogynistic ideals. a sweet lamb led astray by a wolf. “ .. mhm. ” a lie, biting her tongue. don’t cry.

the embrace is welcomed, sinking into his arms as if she belongs there, like he has the right to hold her in such a way. and then, for a singular moment, in weakness .. lips ghosted his. hesitating, heart pounding. josie, don’t. think of cooper. ..

swept up and away in the moment she returns the kiss with a soft hum, butterflies stirring in her stomach just like they used to once upon a time with cooper. if it’s wrong then why does it feel so good ? ( 💭 )

lost in the moment, lost in affairs of the heart, her husband a distant memory as the warmth spread through her body. and just as quickly as she’d fallen for hudson, she pulled back. ( what the fuck have i just done ? 💭 )

face flushed, breath trembling, as she comes to the realisation that hudson is the second man she’d ever kissed. gosh, she feels guilty but the swelling in her chest says otherwise. and then she was leaning in again, lips meeting his once more—— why couldn’t she stop ?!

and she baked him a lemon cake, knuckles tapping on his door in hopes to deliver it to the birthday boy.

there she stands with the cake she baked in hand, smiling yet keeping the cake inbetween them—— they’d not spoken about the kiss they’d shared while coop was away .. not spoken about how she’s fallen for hudson. yet here she is. “ hi ! ”

something between wolf and lamb.