Read Mind the Gap (In Too Deep) for Free Online Page A

little shaken from the stage adrenaline and unnerving thoughts of Josh as I made my way down a darkish hallway to the ladies room. I turned the handle on the restroom door, but it was locked. I spun, looking around for a place to wait. In the hallway, opposite the restrooms, there was a dark little nook with a chair and a mirror. It looked like the type of place that would have held a landline phone at one point—a glorified phone booth.
    I stood in the little area with my back against the wall as I closed my eyes and breathed a sigh. I wasn't sure if it was a sigh of relief that the song had gone so well, or a sigh of frustration that Josh hated me so much. As an artist, I experienced harsh criticism all the time. Josh's disapproval should have been no big deal after some of the things people had said about my art. Maybe I wanted his approval because he was close with my friends, or maybe it was because he was young and handsome. I couldn't quite figure out why I cared what he thought, but I did.
    I heard footsteps coming down the hall, and at first I jumped, feeling like I should make my presence known, but then I relaxed, assuming I could stay where I was and go unnoticed. Somewhere in the back of my mind I thought it might be Trevor coming to check on me. I stood there quiet as a mouse waiting for whoever it was to come into my line of vision. The figure that appeared was over six feet of solid maleness in jeans and a Nike T-shirt. Josh. To my surprise, he shook the handle of the ladies room. He shook it with such ferocity that a woman's voice came from inside.
    "Someone's in here!" she said.
    "Brit?" he said.
    His deep voice boomed in that tiny, dark hallway.
    "Ugh, no?" the poor girl said. 
    "Sorry," he said.
    He let out a frustrated sigh and leaned against the wall, bracing himself with an outstretched arm. He used the other hand to massage his forehead as if he was anxious about something.
    "Josh?" I asked tentatively. His head snapped up, and he squinted into the dark nook where I was standing, trying to see me through the shadows.
    "Britney?" The name sounded funny since nobody ever called me that, but some tiny piece of me liked hearing it.
    "Yeah," I said. "What's up?" He came into the nook without hesitation, not stopping until he was right up against me, literally pressing his body against mine, invading every last shred of my personal space. At first it startled me, but I quickly realized what his intentions were. His big hands first touched my shoulders then ran up my neck to cup my face. He looked at my face briefly, but with a passionate determination I'd never seen before. I'd been in quite a few kiss situations in my day, and none were as utterly hot as this one. He controlled the entire thing. Using his hands to guide and position my face as he placed burning hot kisses on my mouth and neck.
    "That. Song. Was. Unbelievable," he said in between contacts.
    I was weak in the knees , could barely get enough oxygen, and he just kept kissing me. His kisses were tender yet impatient, and his lips were the perfect balance of soft and firm. It was as if it were the first time I'd ever been kissed.
    I was so freaking dizzied by the whole thing that I barely noticed the girl coming out of the ladies room and retreating down the hall. I would have totally been able to tune her out and continue the kiss, but suddenly I heard Trevor's voice filling the hallway. "You killed it out there," he yelled into the darkness. Then he noticed his mistake and corrected himself. "I'm so sorry, I thought you were my friend," he said to the woman in the hall. She didn't respond. Trevor's footfall grew louder, and I knew he was approaching and would likely find the two of us in that compromised position. The light was off and the door leading to the women's restroom was cracked, but Trevor still kicked it open and said my name.
    "Brit?" he said, peeking into the dark restroom.
    "She's not in there," Josh said. He stood at the edge of