FF: Fooling Around - Josh/Donna, PG (2/2)
Apr. 1st, 2008 12:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
caz963Disclaimers, notes etc. in Part One.
Fooling Around - Part Two
By lunchtime, Donna had received another visit from Bonnie – ostensibly to deliver another message from Will (although he was over at the OEOB), a visit from Ginger (with a message from Toby, who was at the OEOB with Will), one from Susanne in the Counsel’s Office, one from Ed’s assistant, Jillian – or maybe she was Larry’s assistant – one from Ellen on the switchboard and one from Deborah who worked in the Mess – all of them on some ridiculous pretext or other.
None of them asked any direct questions, of course, and at first, Donna had been amused by the way they tried to find out if the rumors they’d heard that day were true without actually asking her outright… but after the third game of ‘ask me no questions…’ she was beginning to get a little impatient and wished someone would just come out and ask. Then she’d be able to smile mysteriously and blush and stammer a little and generally act flustered while not actually confirming or denying anything. But so far all there had been were dropped hints, knowing looks and a ridiculous-looking ‘thumbs-up’ from one of the guys in the mail-room. So when, after she’d just finished her lunch, Donna felt someone else ‘hovering’ behind her, she was tempted to ignore them in the hope they’d go away; and pretended to be immersed in whatever the hell report it was she’d opened on her desk in the hopes that they’d either think she was busy and leave, or that they’d actually come to talk to her about something else.
“Donna?”
At the sound of Margaret’s voice, she looked up and turned around; what she hoped was a welcoming smile plastered to her face. “Margaret. What do you need?”
“Nothing.” Margaret shook her head and then looked around before she moved to rest against the edge of the desk just to Donna’s left. “I just… “ she glanced around again and then leaned down conspiratorially. “I just wanted to let you know I’ve got your back,” she said, her expression deadly serious.
Donna widened her eyes in surprise. “I don’t - ” she began, her manner carefully innocent.
Margaret inclined her head in the direction of the door to Josh’s office and then gave Donna a knowing look. “You don’t have to say anything – and if Leo asks me, I don’t know a thing.”
Donna forced herself to keep a straight face. “Okay.”
The red-head nodded and leaned back just as Josh opened his door and walked out of his office. She offered him a huge smile at which he stopped dead in this tracks, looking mildly horror-struck before he grinned back nervously. “How you doin’?”
“Fine, thank you. Leo said to tell you ten minutes.”
“’kay.” He stared at her a second or two longer, then walked into Donna’s cubicle. “Do you have the notes for the - ”
She held out a file wordlessly, without looking up. “Thank you,” Josh mumbled as he turned away and started to sift through the papers in it.
“By the way, Donna,” Margaret said with a mischievous smile. “Nice shirt.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Donna could see that Josh seemed engrossed in his reading. “Oh, it’s one of Josh’s,” she said carelessly, noticing his shoulders stiffen slightly; but he didn’t turn or make any other sign that he was listening – although she knew perfectly well that he taking in every word.
“Really?”
“Yeah, my klutz of a b- boss spilled cold coffee down me at br – this morning, so I had to borrow it.”
Donna ignored the somewhat strangled sound coming from her right and concentrated instead on Margaret, who was nodding, knowingly. “Men.”
“Yeah.” Donna glanced at Josh again and then yawned widely and stretched. “Sorry,” she smiled weakly. “I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”
There was a thump and a whoosh of papers.
“Josh!” Donna jumped up. “Could you be any more of a - ?”
He squatted down hastily to help Donna retrieve the contents of the folder which were now scattered haphazardly over the floor of her cubicle and parts of the corridor. “It’s not my … it was – you - ” he hissed as Donna glared at him – and he almost banged his head on the desk when he jerked back at the brush of her hand across his knee as she reached across him to pick up the folder.
“Honestly, Josh - ”
“Okay,” both of them looked up at Margaret’s emphatic cough. “Well – I’m going now.”
“’kay,” Donna mumbled absently, dropping her gaze back to the pages in her hand, re-ordering them as she put them back into the folder. “Where’s the..?” she looked from side to side quickly, then “ah,” as she clearly found what she wanted. Before Josh could move out of the way, Donna had stretched herself out across his legs, grabbed the errant piece of paper and then clutched his thigh to steady herself as she pushed herself back to her previous position.
“Uh – Donna?” he croaked.
“What?”
And then his mouth went dry as she crawled past him on all fours to fetch the papers that had strayed onto the floor between the cubicle and his office.
Josh squeezed his eyes shut and deliberately banged his head a few times on the desk behind him.
“What the hell are you doing?”
His eyes flew open to see Donna standing over him, holding out her hand. “Up. You’re making the floor look untidy.”
He took her hand and got to his feet. “Ha. Just don’t give up the day job.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “As if I could. You’d be lost without me.”
Josh smiled almost shyly. “I would,” he said softly – and Donna was surprised to note that there wasn’t a trace of irony or sarcasm in his words. She was even more surprised to realize that he hadn’t let go of her hand. His was warm and firm, and even though her mind was screaming at her to pull away from his grasp, break the sudden tension between them with a witty comeback - she couldn’t do it. She swallowed and looked up – but Josh’s head was bowed, giving her time to study his face; the laughter lines around his eyes, the small indents on his cheeks that became those utterly disarming dimples when he smiled, his mouth… Just as she told herself that really was enough of that, Josh’s thumb brushed across the back of her hand a couple of times, making her breathing hitch and her insides flip-flop - then abruptly, he released her and took a step back.
“I – uh,” his eyes were fixed firmly on the floor as he ran a hand through his hair. Donna schooled her expression quickly, but he didn’t look up at her; he just turned and without saying another word, walked back into his office and sat down behind his desk.
Donna couldn’t make her feet move. She stood rooted to the spot, sure that her mouth must be hanging open in shock, her mind once more whirling in confusion. Just what the hell was going on with him – with them – today? The ringing of the phone in the cubicle next to hers brought her back to earth; she took a deep breath, grabbed the file and her notepad, forced herself to put one foot in front of the other - and followed Josh into the office. She knew what she had to do. They’d written this script long ago and it was what they did whenever they had an odd moment. They ignored it and moved on.
Donna stuck a post-it on the top of the folder and put it down in front of him. “You need to talk to Draper at the OMB about that – and the meeting starts in,” she looked at her watch, “five minutes.”
Josh leaned forward and picked up the note. “’kay.”
Donna chewed on her bottom lip. “Okay. Well…” and turned to leave just as Toby appeared in the doorway.
“You going to the thing?” he asked, nodding perfunctorily to Donna as she left the room.
Josh dragged his gaze away from her retreating form and turned his attention to the man standing in front of him. “Yeah.”
Toby stood by the door quietly for a couple of seconds, considering… and then closed it and walked to stand in front of Josh’s desk.
“I want it known that what I’m about to say denotes no interest whatsoever in either you or your personal life.”
Josh looked up at him, amused. “Okay.”
“Just - ”
“What?”
Toby nodded emphatically towards the door. “Don’t screw it up.”
Josh stood up and began to roll down his sleeves. “Your faith in me – as ever - is touching. Wait.” He paused and turned, frowning. “Screw what up?”
Toby shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “You know what,” he said quietly. “You don’t deserve her, but for some unfathomable reason she’s chosen to ignore that fact and seems to actually, you know, like you despite everything, so just…”
Josh pretended to look for something on his desk while he tried hard not to smile at the fact that Toby – of all people - was offering him relationship advice. The fact that the relationship didn’t really exist just made it all the more – Josh’s train of thought derailed abruptly as he finally took in what Toby had actually said.
Donna – liked him? As in..?
His movements stilled. “Despite everything?” he said when he felt he could safely look up.
Toby just raised his eyebrows. “Besides – I like her. So don’t screw up, okay?”
Josh shrugged into his jacket, and grinned at Toby as though he were humoring a crazy person. “Okay.”
Toby opened the door and led the way back out into the bullpen. “I’ll be there in a minute,” Josh said, then turned and walked back to Donna’s cubicle.
He propped himself against the frame and folded his arms. “Hey.”
“Hi.” She smiled up at him innocently.
“Didn’t get a lot of sleep?”
Her eyes widened. “It’s true. There was a party upstairs that didn’t finish till about two. ”
“Ah. Well I guess the best lies are those that are closest to the truth.”
She shrugged. “I’ve always thought so,” and turned back to her computer screen.
Josh walked up behind her chair and laying both his hands on her shoulders, leaned down so that his lips were level with her ear. “And I’ve always wondered,” he said suggestively, brushing aside a strand of her hair, “what you look like when you’ve been … kept awake half the night.”
Donna swallowed hard and sat completely still, not trusting herself to speak. What the hell was he doing? For all that they mock-flirted and traded innuendo, Josh had never spoken to her in that tone of voice before. She felt herself flushing – it was either that or someone had just turned up the heat in there – as he pulled back slightly and said in a more normal tone - “That’s how you thread the needle, Donna.”
Still unable to trust her voice, she turned to face him, knowing he’d be wearing that self-satisfied smirk of his that always tore her in two - because while half of her wanted to smack it off his face, the other half wanted to kiss it off very, very slowly…
Donna stared into the depths of his eyes and bit her lip, seeing an indefinable expression flash across his face just before he flicked his gaze up and over her head. “Hey, CJ.”
Damn, he was good. Wondering just how long CJ had been standing there – probably long enough to have witnessed that little performance - Donna cleared her throat as Josh straightened up, then watched as he grinned brazenly at the Press Secretary before he turned and sauntered away with what was definitely more than the usual amount of spring in his step. And although Donna could feel CJ’s eyes on her, she was unable to do anything other than stare after him as he walked along the corridor and out of the bullpen through the swing doors.
She sighed. It was typical of Josh to do something like that and then leave her to face the consequences. And it wasn’t as if any of this had been her idea in the first place –
“Donna?”
- oh, no, trust Josh to come up with something so completely -
“Donna?”
- and utterly ludicrous that –
“Earth to Donna!”
“Hm?”
“I’ve got the…” CJ began and then stopped with a sigh. “You’re not listening to a word I say, are you?”
Donna whipped her head around to find her friend regarding her with a resigned smile. “I – sorry. What?”
CJ walked around to the side of the desk and leaned on it, her other hand resting on her hip.
“You know, there are times I really think I should just make a recorded message and play it to all of you at regular intervals. I’m your first phone call!” She straightened up and folded her arms, fixing Donna with an intense stare. “So, spill. It’s happened, hasn’t it?”
Donna was momentarily confused. “What’s happened?”
“The Josh thing. It’s happened.”
Oh, that.
“The… Josh thing?”
CJ raised an eyebrow. “Yes. Josh. And you. You and Josh, you’re …”
“What?” Donna had been waiting all day for someone to actually ask her ‘the question’ – and now it had come to it, she temporarily forgot all about the April Fool and followed her instinct – denial. “No, no nononono, of course not. That would be extremely unprof- wait.” This wasn’t at all the reaction she’d expected. “You’re not mad?”
CJ chuckled. “Why would I be mad?”
“I don’t know,” Donna frowned. “I mean, I just thought - ”
“Okay,” the other woman continued, tilting her head to the side, “so maybe it’s not the best idea in the world, and I can see how some people would paint it - but hell, everyone around here knows the truth. I can deal with the few who don’t; and as for the rest… well, they don’t matter.”
Donna stared at her in shock. “What do you mean, ‘everyone here knows the truth’?”
CJ looked at her as though she was an idiot. “That it’s not some sort of sleazy affair.”
“That’s not all it isn’t,” Donna muttered under her breath. “And,” she continued, looking up, “just how does ‘everyone’ know that?”
CJ threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, Donna, all anyone’s had to do is look at the two of you for the past few years to know that. It’s – pretty obvious.”
“Obvious?” Donna said quietly, feeling her stomach plummet. She’d worked so hard to keep Josh – or anyone else for that matter – from figuring out exactly how she felt about him and the thought that maybe she’d not fooled anyone was enough to make her feel as though her heart had leapt into her throat.
But CJ was smiling at her indulgently. “Yeah. You’re nuts about him, he’s crazy about you.” She gave an elegant shrug. “I guess it was bound to happen sometime. Personally, I think you deserve a medal for putting up with him.”
Donna smiled weakly. But then she registered what CJ had just said and her smile widened until she was sure she must be grinning like an imbecile.
“It’s obvious he’s – crazy about me?”
“He hasn’t said..?” CJ rolled her eyes. “Men. But it’s there in the way he looks at you when he thinks nobody’s looking, the way he talks about you – oh, he has no idea anyone’s noticed, but then he’s a complete nincompoop.”
“Nincompoop? Have you been talking to Bernard again?”
CJ chuckled. “Oh, God, spare me from eccentric Englishmen. Except John Marbury. He’s kinda cute. And he calls me - ”
Donna grinned. “Principessa – I know.”
“Seriously, Donna,” CJ said after a short pause. “It’s not going to be a problem. What you two have - it’s rare. Rarer still in a place like this, and Josh… well, he might be like my worst nightmare at times, but he deserves to be happy. And so do you.”
Donna didn’t know what to say. She’d expected a visit from a rather angry CJ at some point during the day, during which she and Josh would have to confess to the joke and then take a well deserved dressing down about idiotic, ill-conceived ideas and juvenile humor. In her head, she could even hear CJ yelling that she’d have expected Donna to have known better - although oddly, she didn’t say anything in that particular scenario about having expected better from Josh.
But this… Donna cleared her throat awkwardly, feeling suddenly guilty about deceiving her friend; while in the same second telling herself it was stupid to feel that way about what was, after all, nothing more than a foolish prank.
Before she could stop herself however, she blurted out - “There’s something you should - ” only to be cut off abruptly by the ringing of the phone. Frustrated and relieved at the same time, she snatched up the receiver. “Josh Lyman.”
CJ stood up and put a memo on the desk. “Okay, well… I just came to - ”
Donna nodded as CJ smiled briefly and left.
“No, I’m sorry,” she said, relieved to have something else to claim her attention, “he’s not available right now. Can I have him get back to you?”
~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
When Josh came back an hour or so later, Donna handed him his messages and gave him time to return the most urgent calls before she got up and walked slowly towards his office.
She hesitated by the door for a couple of seconds – and then stepped inside, closing it softly behind her.
“I was wondering,” Donna began, still mindful of her earlier conversation with CJ, “when you were planning to come clean. You know. About the … joke thing.”
Josh dropped his pen onto the desk and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I hadn’t really thought about it. But I guess if we tell Margaret, it’ll be all over the building in about five minutes.”
Donna pretended to be shocked. “You really shouldn’t be so mean about the people who work here.”
“We’re talking about the woman who nearly brought the place to a standstill over a muffin recipe,” he grinned. “I don’t think I’m making too much of a leap, here.”
Donna snorted. “Probably not. But I still feel a bit mean, after what she said.”
Josh’s eyebrows shot up. “Which was?”
“That she had our backs and she’d deny all knowledge if Leo asked about,” she waved a hand in the air between them, “you know.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And I thought it was sweet.”
Josh shrugged. “’kay,” and again recalled his brief conversation with Toby before the meeting. Surely he, of all people, couldn’t have fallen for their little charade? Josh thought it was far more likely that he’d remembered the date, put two and two together and was just messing with him as usual. But try as he might, Josh couldn’t squash down the tiny spark of hope that had leapt to life in his chest at the idea that Donna might - like him. Which was such a ridiculous euphemism.
Yet despite that...
He couldn’t stop thinking about the way her breathing had sped up when he’d leaned over to whisper in her ear earlier, the unmistakable blush that had crept across her cheeks, the look on her face after she’d helped him up, the smooth warmth of her skin as her hand had rested in his… and knew he had to do – something – to find out if there was even the slightest possibility that she did – like him, like him.
Josh sighed. And fought the impulse to roll his eyes at himself for sounding like a complete idiot.
After what felt like a long pause, Donna spoke again. “You know - I’m amazed people actually fell for it.”
Josh considered her as she sat in front of him, her chin resting on her hand, eyes unfocussed on a point somewhere in the distance – and came to a decision. He glanced briefly at her, then leaned back in his chair and looked up. “I’m not.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her head whip up. “What? Why?”
He continued to study the ceiling, his theory being that it would be easier to go through with this if he wasn’t actually looking at Donna. That way, it would be less awkward if he had to pull things back and turn it into a joke if she didn’t react the way he hoped she would. “Well,” he said, in a carefully casual tone, “the best pranks are usually the ones which appear to have at least some basis in reality, or which aren’t completely beyond the realm of possibility.”
“Really?” She narrowed her eyes.
Not completely beyond the realm of possibility?
What he hell was he talking about?
Josh didn’t move. “Yes. And as we’re, uh,” he cleared his throat, eyes still fixed on a point above his head, “well, you’re a – and I’m a – I guess it’s not out of the question that we could be – uh - ”
Despite her confusion, Donna found herself having to fight back a smile at that. For all that Josh was an incredibly articulate man most of the time, at others he could be ridiculously tongue-tied.
“Well,” she shrugged, her studied nonchalance at odds with the way her mind was racing as she tried to unscramble her thoughts, “whatever the reason, it appears to have worked.”
She saw the corner of his mouth quirk up into a smile. “It did. But then, you know what they say. Ergo – um - something hoc – damn, I never can remember that one.”
Donna’s eyes flew open wide and for a split second she was convinced she’d forgotten how to breathe. Had he really just said..? It sounded as though Josh had just said that nobody was surprised at the way they’d been acting today because it was plausible that they were actually… together. Or because people thought she and Josh were actually together and their behaviour today had just confirmed their suspicions. She continued to stare at him as it began to dawn on her that in a typically roundabout and bumfuzzled way, Josh had just put himself out there – and, she reasoned as she tried to regain her composure, it would be nothing less than bad manners if she didn’t at least return the favor. So she took a deep breath and said, “I think you mean, ‘Post hoc ergo propter hoc’,” in a quiet tone, her eyes focused on his profile as she willed him to understand that she was ‘out there’, too, standing right next to him.
Josh turned to look at her, finally – and for once, neither of them looked away. Donna held his gaze, feeling her pulse quicken at what she saw in his rich brown eyes; and for his part, Josh was sure he could see everything he’d ever wanted to see in hers. And more.
Donna felt almost dizzy with relief. He, surely, had to be the only man she’d ever met who could possibly have found a way to use an obscure Latin proverb as a way of telling a woman how he felt about her.
“You need to brush up on your Latin,” she observed, impishly. “You should talk to the President about that.”
Josh grinned back and stood abruptly. “God, no.” He walked around to the other side of the desk. “I’ll be in there for days and you’ll have to send out a search and rescue party.”
She arched a brow. “Personally, I find it rather awe-inspiring that our President knows so much about so many different subjects.”
Josh blinked. “It’s just plain weird, is what it is.”
“It’s not! It’s impressive, how he can still find time to - ”
He perched himself on the edge of the desk. “But then you would say that. You’re as bad as he is.”
Donna opened her mouth to reply, but Josh carried on regardless.
“Although you’re a lot nicer to look at.”
She snapped her mouth shut. It appeared that the President’s predilection for trivia wasn’t the only weird thing around there today.
Josh scratched the back of his head and pulled a face. “But you know what’s really weird?”
“No.”
“Today - didn’t feel weird.”
Donna frowned. “What do you - ”
“It didn’t feel weird,” Josh repeated softly. “We got closer than we usually do, we held hands,” then he cocked his head and smirked lopsidedly. “ - you crawled all over me -”
Donna thought he was looking entirely too pleased with himself. “I did no such - ”
“ - and I caught you checking out my - ”
“I did not!” she shot back indignantly, flushing deeply. “And even if I did – which I’m not saying is the case - you checked out mine.”
Josh shrugged. “Yeah, but I’ve always done that. People are used to it by now.”
“Josh!” Donna jumped to her feet.
“What?” Josh grinned mischievously. “I’m a guy, you’re a girl and you have a very, very nice a - ”
She fought back a smile. “Josh!”
“And it’s okay, you know,” he smirked. “You’re a modern woman – why shouldn’t you stare at a guy’s - ”
“I swear to God, Joshua, if you don’t shut up, I’ll - ”
He held up both hands and stood up. “Okay, okay. I won’t make you admit it if you don’t want to.”
She sighed resignedly. She might love him to the point of insanity, but there were times she could happily have strangled him.
But then he took a step closer and reached out to take her hand; and her mind was suddenly a complete blank.
“But you know what is going to feel weird?” he went on, all trace of his earlier teasing now vanished.
Donna swallowed and licked her lips. “No. What?”
Josh pulled her hand between both of his. “Not doing all those things tomorrow.”
His tone of voice started a host of butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. “It will?” she barely croaked.
He nodded, looking into her wide eyes, at her slightly parted lips – and forgot what he’d been about to say. “Yeah,” he breathed, eventually.
With an effort, Donna pulled her gaze from his. “I expected a real telling-off from CJ after that little performance of yours.”
Josh chuckled and looked down at their hands, turning them so that hers was palm up in his. “What did she say?”
He ran his thumb up and down her open palm and now it was Donna’s turn to feel a little tongue-tied. “She – um… said it was… okay… ”
“She didn’t threaten to castrate me or break my legs?”
“No, oddly.”
Josh threaded his fingers through hers, tugging her forward so that he could bring their hands to rest lightly against his chest.
Donna was finding it increasingly difficult to think or form complete sentences. She let out a ragged breath stared at their hands. “Did – uh - anyone say anything to you?”
Josh smiled softly. “Not really. Well, Ed and Larry said I was a lucky guy because you’re really - ” he stopped, frowning. “No, actually you don’t want to know what they said. And Toby told me not to screw up and reminded me that while he doesn’t like me, he likes you. I think he may have actually smiled at one point, but I wouldn’t want to go around ruining his reputation by casting aspersions like that.”
“No.” Donna looked up into his eyes. “So … people really think we’re – um… you know.”
“Yes.” Josh brought his other hand up and gently brushed her hair back over her shoulder. “And that we’ve been ‘you know’ for some time, apparently.”
Donna fought back a smile. “And neither of us has been struck down by lightning or the wrath of CJ.”
“Yeah.” He slid his hand down her arm and brought it to rest on her hip. “How ‘bout that?”
Donna lowered her gaze and said, in an off-hand tone, “CJ told me you were crazy about me, you know.”
Josh snorted. “She said what?”
“She said she could tell by the way you look at me, the way you talk about me …” she placed her free hand on his chest, just over his heart.
God, he’s warm. And really – firm. And –
Donna cleared her throat before she went on. “You’re not very subtle, apparently.”
“Hm?” Her proximity, the smell of her hair, the sensation of the curve of her hip resting against his palm… everything about her seemed to have short-circuited something in Josh’s brain and all he could seem to do was stare at the delicate rose and cream of her cheek.
Her fingers, moving lightly against his chest through the fabric of his shirt, brought him back from his Donna-induced trance. “I’m very subtle. She must have got that wrong.”
Donna looked up at him through her lashes. “I’m sure she hasn’t.” Which came out a lot more huskily than she’d intended.
Josh quirked his head to the side, his cheek muscles twitching as he fought back a grin. “CJ thinks I’m crazy about you, huh?”
“Oh,” Donna said airily, her gaze fixed firmly on the loosened knot in his tie, “it was more than ‘think’; she was very definite about it.”
“She was, was she?”
Donna nodded. “Very.”
“Well in that case,” Josh sniffed, “it’s only fair to tell you that Toby was also ‘very definite’ about the fact that you – how did he put it? - like me.”
Donna rolled her eyes. “Of course I like you, Josh. Do you think I’d have put up with you all this while if I didn’t?”
“No,” he corrected slowly, moving his hand from her hip until it was resting at the small of her back. “He meant that you like me, like me.”
She tried not to gasp aloud as Josh began to rub his thumb gently up and down. “Did he pass you a note in class?”
“You’re kidding me. A note from Toby would be the size of a briefing memo.”
“True.” She paused, trying to steady her breathing. “Still … I wonder where on earth he could have picked up an idea like that.”
“No idea,” Josh said, looking at her intently. “Shocked the hell out of me, is all I’m sayin’.”
Donna tugged at her lower lip with her teeth. “Although of course,” she sighed theatrically, “this is all academic because I don’t like you like you.”
“Of course.” Josh nodded, sliding a finger lightly up and down the placket of her – his – shirt. “And I’m not crazy about you.”
His knuckles brushing not-quite-accidentally across her collarbone sent what felt like a crackle of electricity through her and Donna almost jumped in shock.
Josh’s eyes were following the path his finger was taking - but he looked up at that, the slow smile spreading across his face telling Donna that he knew exactly the effect he was having on her. To her surprise though, she found she didn’t care. Finally, she could allow him to see what she’d had to conceal for so long and the relief of it was enough to make her head spin. And in any case it hadn’t escaped her notice that he was breathing a little faster than usual; she could see his jaw flexing lightly and she’d definitely heard a crack in his voice just now - all of which told her that he was just as affected by her as she was by him.
Josh rested his hand on the exposed skin at the base of her neck, a couple of fingers inching under her collar, his thumb lightly caressing the column of her throat. The fluttering in her stomach intensified as she sucked in a breath and slid her hand up his chest and around to his nape, winding her fingers into the thick hair there.
“Yet I find it hard to believe that CJ could be wrong about that, because she’s a very observant woman.”
He cupped her cheek in his palm, his voice low, soft. “And I find it hard to believe that Toby could be wrong. He might not be Doctor Phil, but he’s ... perceptive.”
“Yes, but he’s a man and men are notoriously bad about these things. I mean, he’s - ”
Josh bent his head and nuzzled her ear. “Donna.”
She closed her eyes and leaned into him, her next words prefaced by a slight moan.
“- not exactly the poster boy for understanding women, is he? What with - ”
“Donna.”
“- the situation with Andi and - what?”
Josh’s lips trailed warmly across her cheek. “Stop talking, now,” he whispered, pulling her in to him as she turned her head the fraction of an inch it needed for her to be able to press her lips to his.
He groaned and gathered her closer, one hand tangled in her hair, the other clamped firmly around her waist - and deepened the kiss, an electrical current seeming to ripple down his spine as she parted her lips beneath his, elated by the enthusiasm of her response. Her body was soft and pliant in his arms, her mouth under his was hot and sweet and so passionate, just like he’d always hoped – but better, far better because she was here, she was real, and he could touch her, taste her, smell her… He walked her back a couple of steps until she was pressed against the edge of the desk, ran his hand down until it was resting low on her back and then slid it around to her hip; she wound her arms more tightly around his neck and shoulders, and moaned into his mouth, kissing him back like she never wanted to stop. When they broke apart for air, he moved his mouth to her neck, pressing warm, wet kisses to the column of her throat, feeling her tilt her head to give him better access… she whispered his name – and Josh realized suddenly that if they didn’t stop soon, he was going to throw caution to the wind and the contents of the desk to the floor and –
“Donna.” Her hands were wandering, she was pressing soft, lingering kisses to his cheek, against his ear, but at the sound of her name, she pulled back slightly, an insanely seductive smile on her face that Josh thought was even better than anything he’d ever been able to imagine. Her eyes were wide and unfocussed, her lips, oh God, her lips were full and pink and – he bent his head – so kissable … once more - then reluctantly, he pulled away and dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose.
“We should – uh…”
She blinked – and removed her arms from around his neck. “Oh. Um – yes,” and began to smooth down her – his – shirt and skirt… but, he noted with just a hint of self-satisfaction, there was nothing she could do right at that moment to disguise the fact that she’d just been thoroughly kissed. Which Josh realized immediately was probably something he’d do better not to tell her if he ever wanted to put that look on her face again.
Donna took a deep breath as she straightened his tie and smoothed her hands across his shoulders – then smiled and took a step back out of the circle of his arms.
“Okay. Well.”
“Yes.”
“I’d better…” she nodded towards the door.
“Yes.”
But she didn’t move. Josh stuck his hands in his pockets and scuffed at the carpet. She’d just had her tongue in his mouth and her hands on his ass – this shouldn’t be so hard to say now. He cleared his throat. “Do you want to get some dinner?” Her forehead creased into a frown. “I mean, later. Not now, obviously.”
She nodded. “I’d like that.”
And now he knew he was grinning like an idiot. “Okay. So I’ll pick you up at eight.”
“You’re going to let me out of here before then?”
He shrugged as casually as he could. “It’s a special occasion. I’ll make an exception.”
Donna cocked her head and smiled coyly. “This doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about the shoes, you know.”
“Didn’t doubt it for a minute.”
She walked to the door and then turned, remembering what it was she’d gone in there to ask him in the first place.
“Shouldn’t we tell everyone we’ve just been fooling around?”
Josh smirked. “Well, I don’t think we should tell them we’ve been fooling around in the office, but if you want to go home later and … fool around some more, I’d have no objections.”
Donna rolled her eyes. “And they say chivalry is dead.”
He just shrugged and shot her one of his trademark irrepressible grins.
She smiled briefly and then bit her lip, uncertain how to put what she wanted to say next.
“This isn’t…” she looked steadily into his eyes. “I mean… we aren’t really – you know, just fooling any more?”
Josh shook his head, his expression serious as he walked towards her. “No. And I’m not sure we ever were.”
“Fooling around?”
“Or fooling anyone,” he said quietly, running a finger down her cheek. “Except maybe ourselves.”
Donna was staring at him open-mouthed. “Josh – are you okay?”
He frowned at her. “I’m fine. Why?”
“Nothing,” she grinned. “That was just… very insightful of you.”
“Hey,” he kissed her softly. “I can do insightful when it’s called for.”
Donna smiled against his mouth. “I’m sure you can.”
“I can do a whole bunch of other stuff, too…” he drawled lazily, unable to resist the temptation to brush his lips across the soft skin of her cheek.
She laughed throatily. “And this would be the part where you tell me you’ll show me the other stuff later?”
“Oh,” he murmured into her ear, “I’m going to do much more than that.”
Donna felt as though her knees might buckle. “Well.” She managed to say, finally. “Okay then.”
“Okay.” A brief grin flashed across Josh’s face before he took a step backwards, turned and walked back to his desk.
Donna couldn’t help eyeing him up and down, averting her gaze a split second before he dropped into his chair. So she’d lied before, but really - what woman wouldn’t look?
“You need anything?” she asked, opening the door.
“Um – yeah; can you get me the housing stats for the last quarter and the report from Finance about the next round of development grants? Oh, and I need to speak to Personnel at some point.”
“Sure.” Donna nodded. “Anything else?”
“No.” He looked up, smiling warmly. “Thanks.”
Donna turned to go – and stopped at the sound of Josh’s voice. “And don’t think I don’t know you were checking me out just then.”
She shrugged primly and shot him an arch look over her shoulder, making sure to exaggerate the sway of her hips just a little as she walked away.
“There’s no fooling you, is there?”
End.
For anyone who’s interested, the April Fool's gags Josh mentions actually happened.
And somewhere along the way, I lost count of all the clichés and references I got in there :-) - but you should feel the freedom to keep score!
Fooling Around - Part Two
By lunchtime, Donna had received another visit from Bonnie – ostensibly to deliver another message from Will (although he was over at the OEOB), a visit from Ginger (with a message from Toby, who was at the OEOB with Will), one from Susanne in the Counsel’s Office, one from Ed’s assistant, Jillian – or maybe she was Larry’s assistant – one from Ellen on the switchboard and one from Deborah who worked in the Mess – all of them on some ridiculous pretext or other.
None of them asked any direct questions, of course, and at first, Donna had been amused by the way they tried to find out if the rumors they’d heard that day were true without actually asking her outright… but after the third game of ‘ask me no questions…’ she was beginning to get a little impatient and wished someone would just come out and ask. Then she’d be able to smile mysteriously and blush and stammer a little and generally act flustered while not actually confirming or denying anything. But so far all there had been were dropped hints, knowing looks and a ridiculous-looking ‘thumbs-up’ from one of the guys in the mail-room. So when, after she’d just finished her lunch, Donna felt someone else ‘hovering’ behind her, she was tempted to ignore them in the hope they’d go away; and pretended to be immersed in whatever the hell report it was she’d opened on her desk in the hopes that they’d either think she was busy and leave, or that they’d actually come to talk to her about something else.
“Donna?”
At the sound of Margaret’s voice, she looked up and turned around; what she hoped was a welcoming smile plastered to her face. “Margaret. What do you need?”
“Nothing.” Margaret shook her head and then looked around before she moved to rest against the edge of the desk just to Donna’s left. “I just… “ she glanced around again and then leaned down conspiratorially. “I just wanted to let you know I’ve got your back,” she said, her expression deadly serious.
Donna widened her eyes in surprise. “I don’t - ” she began, her manner carefully innocent.
Margaret inclined her head in the direction of the door to Josh’s office and then gave Donna a knowing look. “You don’t have to say anything – and if Leo asks me, I don’t know a thing.”
Donna forced herself to keep a straight face. “Okay.”
The red-head nodded and leaned back just as Josh opened his door and walked out of his office. She offered him a huge smile at which he stopped dead in this tracks, looking mildly horror-struck before he grinned back nervously. “How you doin’?”
“Fine, thank you. Leo said to tell you ten minutes.”
“’kay.” He stared at her a second or two longer, then walked into Donna’s cubicle. “Do you have the notes for the - ”
She held out a file wordlessly, without looking up. “Thank you,” Josh mumbled as he turned away and started to sift through the papers in it.
“By the way, Donna,” Margaret said with a mischievous smile. “Nice shirt.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Donna could see that Josh seemed engrossed in his reading. “Oh, it’s one of Josh’s,” she said carelessly, noticing his shoulders stiffen slightly; but he didn’t turn or make any other sign that he was listening – although she knew perfectly well that he taking in every word.
“Really?”
“Yeah, my klutz of a b- boss spilled cold coffee down me at br – this morning, so I had to borrow it.”
Donna ignored the somewhat strangled sound coming from her right and concentrated instead on Margaret, who was nodding, knowingly. “Men.”
“Yeah.” Donna glanced at Josh again and then yawned widely and stretched. “Sorry,” she smiled weakly. “I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”
There was a thump and a whoosh of papers.
“Josh!” Donna jumped up. “Could you be any more of a - ?”
He squatted down hastily to help Donna retrieve the contents of the folder which were now scattered haphazardly over the floor of her cubicle and parts of the corridor. “It’s not my … it was – you - ” he hissed as Donna glared at him – and he almost banged his head on the desk when he jerked back at the brush of her hand across his knee as she reached across him to pick up the folder.
“Honestly, Josh - ”
“Okay,” both of them looked up at Margaret’s emphatic cough. “Well – I’m going now.”
“’kay,” Donna mumbled absently, dropping her gaze back to the pages in her hand, re-ordering them as she put them back into the folder. “Where’s the..?” she looked from side to side quickly, then “ah,” as she clearly found what she wanted. Before Josh could move out of the way, Donna had stretched herself out across his legs, grabbed the errant piece of paper and then clutched his thigh to steady herself as she pushed herself back to her previous position.
“Uh – Donna?” he croaked.
“What?”
And then his mouth went dry as she crawled past him on all fours to fetch the papers that had strayed onto the floor between the cubicle and his office.
Josh squeezed his eyes shut and deliberately banged his head a few times on the desk behind him.
“What the hell are you doing?”
His eyes flew open to see Donna standing over him, holding out her hand. “Up. You’re making the floor look untidy.”
He took her hand and got to his feet. “Ha. Just don’t give up the day job.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “As if I could. You’d be lost without me.”
Josh smiled almost shyly. “I would,” he said softly – and Donna was surprised to note that there wasn’t a trace of irony or sarcasm in his words. She was even more surprised to realize that he hadn’t let go of her hand. His was warm and firm, and even though her mind was screaming at her to pull away from his grasp, break the sudden tension between them with a witty comeback - she couldn’t do it. She swallowed and looked up – but Josh’s head was bowed, giving her time to study his face; the laughter lines around his eyes, the small indents on his cheeks that became those utterly disarming dimples when he smiled, his mouth… Just as she told herself that really was enough of that, Josh’s thumb brushed across the back of her hand a couple of times, making her breathing hitch and her insides flip-flop - then abruptly, he released her and took a step back.
“I – uh,” his eyes were fixed firmly on the floor as he ran a hand through his hair. Donna schooled her expression quickly, but he didn’t look up at her; he just turned and without saying another word, walked back into his office and sat down behind his desk.
Donna couldn’t make her feet move. She stood rooted to the spot, sure that her mouth must be hanging open in shock, her mind once more whirling in confusion. Just what the hell was going on with him – with them – today? The ringing of the phone in the cubicle next to hers brought her back to earth; she took a deep breath, grabbed the file and her notepad, forced herself to put one foot in front of the other - and followed Josh into the office. She knew what she had to do. They’d written this script long ago and it was what they did whenever they had an odd moment. They ignored it and moved on.
Donna stuck a post-it on the top of the folder and put it down in front of him. “You need to talk to Draper at the OMB about that – and the meeting starts in,” she looked at her watch, “five minutes.”
Josh leaned forward and picked up the note. “’kay.”
Donna chewed on her bottom lip. “Okay. Well…” and turned to leave just as Toby appeared in the doorway.
“You going to the thing?” he asked, nodding perfunctorily to Donna as she left the room.
Josh dragged his gaze away from her retreating form and turned his attention to the man standing in front of him. “Yeah.”
Toby stood by the door quietly for a couple of seconds, considering… and then closed it and walked to stand in front of Josh’s desk.
“I want it known that what I’m about to say denotes no interest whatsoever in either you or your personal life.”
Josh looked up at him, amused. “Okay.”
“Just - ”
“What?”
Toby nodded emphatically towards the door. “Don’t screw it up.”
Josh stood up and began to roll down his sleeves. “Your faith in me – as ever - is touching. Wait.” He paused and turned, frowning. “Screw what up?”
Toby shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “You know what,” he said quietly. “You don’t deserve her, but for some unfathomable reason she’s chosen to ignore that fact and seems to actually, you know, like you despite everything, so just…”
Josh pretended to look for something on his desk while he tried hard not to smile at the fact that Toby – of all people - was offering him relationship advice. The fact that the relationship didn’t really exist just made it all the more – Josh’s train of thought derailed abruptly as he finally took in what Toby had actually said.
Donna – liked him? As in..?
His movements stilled. “Despite everything?” he said when he felt he could safely look up.
Toby just raised his eyebrows. “Besides – I like her. So don’t screw up, okay?”
Josh shrugged into his jacket, and grinned at Toby as though he were humoring a crazy person. “Okay.”
Toby opened the door and led the way back out into the bullpen. “I’ll be there in a minute,” Josh said, then turned and walked back to Donna’s cubicle.
He propped himself against the frame and folded his arms. “Hey.”
“Hi.” She smiled up at him innocently.
“Didn’t get a lot of sleep?”
Her eyes widened. “It’s true. There was a party upstairs that didn’t finish till about two. ”
“Ah. Well I guess the best lies are those that are closest to the truth.”
She shrugged. “I’ve always thought so,” and turned back to her computer screen.
Josh walked up behind her chair and laying both his hands on her shoulders, leaned down so that his lips were level with her ear. “And I’ve always wondered,” he said suggestively, brushing aside a strand of her hair, “what you look like when you’ve been … kept awake half the night.”
Donna swallowed hard and sat completely still, not trusting herself to speak. What the hell was he doing? For all that they mock-flirted and traded innuendo, Josh had never spoken to her in that tone of voice before. She felt herself flushing – it was either that or someone had just turned up the heat in there – as he pulled back slightly and said in a more normal tone - “That’s how you thread the needle, Donna.”
Still unable to trust her voice, she turned to face him, knowing he’d be wearing that self-satisfied smirk of his that always tore her in two - because while half of her wanted to smack it off his face, the other half wanted to kiss it off very, very slowly…
Donna stared into the depths of his eyes and bit her lip, seeing an indefinable expression flash across his face just before he flicked his gaze up and over her head. “Hey, CJ.”
Damn, he was good. Wondering just how long CJ had been standing there – probably long enough to have witnessed that little performance - Donna cleared her throat as Josh straightened up, then watched as he grinned brazenly at the Press Secretary before he turned and sauntered away with what was definitely more than the usual amount of spring in his step. And although Donna could feel CJ’s eyes on her, she was unable to do anything other than stare after him as he walked along the corridor and out of the bullpen through the swing doors.
She sighed. It was typical of Josh to do something like that and then leave her to face the consequences. And it wasn’t as if any of this had been her idea in the first place –
“Donna?”
- oh, no, trust Josh to come up with something so completely -
“Donna?”
- and utterly ludicrous that –
“Earth to Donna!”
“Hm?”
“I’ve got the…” CJ began and then stopped with a sigh. “You’re not listening to a word I say, are you?”
Donna whipped her head around to find her friend regarding her with a resigned smile. “I – sorry. What?”
CJ walked around to the side of the desk and leaned on it, her other hand resting on her hip.
“You know, there are times I really think I should just make a recorded message and play it to all of you at regular intervals. I’m your first phone call!” She straightened up and folded her arms, fixing Donna with an intense stare. “So, spill. It’s happened, hasn’t it?”
Donna was momentarily confused. “What’s happened?”
“The Josh thing. It’s happened.”
Oh, that.
“The… Josh thing?”
CJ raised an eyebrow. “Yes. Josh. And you. You and Josh, you’re …”
“What?” Donna had been waiting all day for someone to actually ask her ‘the question’ – and now it had come to it, she temporarily forgot all about the April Fool and followed her instinct – denial. “No, no nononono, of course not. That would be extremely unprof- wait.” This wasn’t at all the reaction she’d expected. “You’re not mad?”
CJ chuckled. “Why would I be mad?”
“I don’t know,” Donna frowned. “I mean, I just thought - ”
“Okay,” the other woman continued, tilting her head to the side, “so maybe it’s not the best idea in the world, and I can see how some people would paint it - but hell, everyone around here knows the truth. I can deal with the few who don’t; and as for the rest… well, they don’t matter.”
Donna stared at her in shock. “What do you mean, ‘everyone here knows the truth’?”
CJ looked at her as though she was an idiot. “That it’s not some sort of sleazy affair.”
“That’s not all it isn’t,” Donna muttered under her breath. “And,” she continued, looking up, “just how does ‘everyone’ know that?”
CJ threw back her head and laughed. “Oh, Donna, all anyone’s had to do is look at the two of you for the past few years to know that. It’s – pretty obvious.”
“Obvious?” Donna said quietly, feeling her stomach plummet. She’d worked so hard to keep Josh – or anyone else for that matter – from figuring out exactly how she felt about him and the thought that maybe she’d not fooled anyone was enough to make her feel as though her heart had leapt into her throat.
But CJ was smiling at her indulgently. “Yeah. You’re nuts about him, he’s crazy about you.” She gave an elegant shrug. “I guess it was bound to happen sometime. Personally, I think you deserve a medal for putting up with him.”
Donna smiled weakly. But then she registered what CJ had just said and her smile widened until she was sure she must be grinning like an imbecile.
“It’s obvious he’s – crazy about me?”
“He hasn’t said..?” CJ rolled her eyes. “Men. But it’s there in the way he looks at you when he thinks nobody’s looking, the way he talks about you – oh, he has no idea anyone’s noticed, but then he’s a complete nincompoop.”
“Nincompoop? Have you been talking to Bernard again?”
CJ chuckled. “Oh, God, spare me from eccentric Englishmen. Except John Marbury. He’s kinda cute. And he calls me - ”
Donna grinned. “Principessa – I know.”
“Seriously, Donna,” CJ said after a short pause. “It’s not going to be a problem. What you two have - it’s rare. Rarer still in a place like this, and Josh… well, he might be like my worst nightmare at times, but he deserves to be happy. And so do you.”
Donna didn’t know what to say. She’d expected a visit from a rather angry CJ at some point during the day, during which she and Josh would have to confess to the joke and then take a well deserved dressing down about idiotic, ill-conceived ideas and juvenile humor. In her head, she could even hear CJ yelling that she’d have expected Donna to have known better - although oddly, she didn’t say anything in that particular scenario about having expected better from Josh.
But this… Donna cleared her throat awkwardly, feeling suddenly guilty about deceiving her friend; while in the same second telling herself it was stupid to feel that way about what was, after all, nothing more than a foolish prank.
Before she could stop herself however, she blurted out - “There’s something you should - ” only to be cut off abruptly by the ringing of the phone. Frustrated and relieved at the same time, she snatched up the receiver. “Josh Lyman.”
CJ stood up and put a memo on the desk. “Okay, well… I just came to - ”
Donna nodded as CJ smiled briefly and left.
“No, I’m sorry,” she said, relieved to have something else to claim her attention, “he’s not available right now. Can I have him get back to you?”
When Josh came back an hour or so later, Donna handed him his messages and gave him time to return the most urgent calls before she got up and walked slowly towards his office.
She hesitated by the door for a couple of seconds – and then stepped inside, closing it softly behind her.
“I was wondering,” Donna began, still mindful of her earlier conversation with CJ, “when you were planning to come clean. You know. About the … joke thing.”
Josh dropped his pen onto the desk and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I hadn’t really thought about it. But I guess if we tell Margaret, it’ll be all over the building in about five minutes.”
Donna pretended to be shocked. “You really shouldn’t be so mean about the people who work here.”
“We’re talking about the woman who nearly brought the place to a standstill over a muffin recipe,” he grinned. “I don’t think I’m making too much of a leap, here.”
Donna snorted. “Probably not. But I still feel a bit mean, after what she said.”
Josh’s eyebrows shot up. “Which was?”
“That she had our backs and she’d deny all knowledge if Leo asked about,” she waved a hand in the air between them, “you know.”
“Really?”
“Yes. And I thought it was sweet.”
Josh shrugged. “’kay,” and again recalled his brief conversation with Toby before the meeting. Surely he, of all people, couldn’t have fallen for their little charade? Josh thought it was far more likely that he’d remembered the date, put two and two together and was just messing with him as usual. But try as he might, Josh couldn’t squash down the tiny spark of hope that had leapt to life in his chest at the idea that Donna might - like him. Which was such a ridiculous euphemism.
Yet despite that...
He couldn’t stop thinking about the way her breathing had sped up when he’d leaned over to whisper in her ear earlier, the unmistakable blush that had crept across her cheeks, the look on her face after she’d helped him up, the smooth warmth of her skin as her hand had rested in his… and knew he had to do – something – to find out if there was even the slightest possibility that she did – like him, like him.
Josh sighed. And fought the impulse to roll his eyes at himself for sounding like a complete idiot.
After what felt like a long pause, Donna spoke again. “You know - I’m amazed people actually fell for it.”
Josh considered her as she sat in front of him, her chin resting on her hand, eyes unfocussed on a point somewhere in the distance – and came to a decision. He glanced briefly at her, then leaned back in his chair and looked up. “I’m not.”
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her head whip up. “What? Why?”
He continued to study the ceiling, his theory being that it would be easier to go through with this if he wasn’t actually looking at Donna. That way, it would be less awkward if he had to pull things back and turn it into a joke if she didn’t react the way he hoped she would. “Well,” he said, in a carefully casual tone, “the best pranks are usually the ones which appear to have at least some basis in reality, or which aren’t completely beyond the realm of possibility.”
“Really?” She narrowed her eyes.
Not completely beyond the realm of possibility?
What he hell was he talking about?
Josh didn’t move. “Yes. And as we’re, uh,” he cleared his throat, eyes still fixed on a point above his head, “well, you’re a – and I’m a – I guess it’s not out of the question that we could be – uh - ”
Despite her confusion, Donna found herself having to fight back a smile at that. For all that Josh was an incredibly articulate man most of the time, at others he could be ridiculously tongue-tied.
“Well,” she shrugged, her studied nonchalance at odds with the way her mind was racing as she tried to unscramble her thoughts, “whatever the reason, it appears to have worked.”
She saw the corner of his mouth quirk up into a smile. “It did. But then, you know what they say. Ergo – um - something hoc – damn, I never can remember that one.”
Donna’s eyes flew open wide and for a split second she was convinced she’d forgotten how to breathe. Had he really just said..? It sounded as though Josh had just said that nobody was surprised at the way they’d been acting today because it was plausible that they were actually… together. Or because people thought she and Josh were actually together and their behaviour today had just confirmed their suspicions. She continued to stare at him as it began to dawn on her that in a typically roundabout and bumfuzzled way, Josh had just put himself out there – and, she reasoned as she tried to regain her composure, it would be nothing less than bad manners if she didn’t at least return the favor. So she took a deep breath and said, “I think you mean, ‘Post hoc ergo propter hoc’,” in a quiet tone, her eyes focused on his profile as she willed him to understand that she was ‘out there’, too, standing right next to him.
Josh turned to look at her, finally – and for once, neither of them looked away. Donna held his gaze, feeling her pulse quicken at what she saw in his rich brown eyes; and for his part, Josh was sure he could see everything he’d ever wanted to see in hers. And more.
Donna felt almost dizzy with relief. He, surely, had to be the only man she’d ever met who could possibly have found a way to use an obscure Latin proverb as a way of telling a woman how he felt about her.
“You need to brush up on your Latin,” she observed, impishly. “You should talk to the President about that.”
Josh grinned back and stood abruptly. “God, no.” He walked around to the other side of the desk. “I’ll be in there for days and you’ll have to send out a search and rescue party.”
She arched a brow. “Personally, I find it rather awe-inspiring that our President knows so much about so many different subjects.”
Josh blinked. “It’s just plain weird, is what it is.”
“It’s not! It’s impressive, how he can still find time to - ”
He perched himself on the edge of the desk. “But then you would say that. You’re as bad as he is.”
Donna opened her mouth to reply, but Josh carried on regardless.
“Although you’re a lot nicer to look at.”
She snapped her mouth shut. It appeared that the President’s predilection for trivia wasn’t the only weird thing around there today.
Josh scratched the back of his head and pulled a face. “But you know what’s really weird?”
“No.”
“Today - didn’t feel weird.”
Donna frowned. “What do you - ”
“It didn’t feel weird,” Josh repeated softly. “We got closer than we usually do, we held hands,” then he cocked his head and smirked lopsidedly. “ - you crawled all over me -”
Donna thought he was looking entirely too pleased with himself. “I did no such - ”
“ - and I caught you checking out my - ”
“I did not!” she shot back indignantly, flushing deeply. “And even if I did – which I’m not saying is the case - you checked out mine.”
Josh shrugged. “Yeah, but I’ve always done that. People are used to it by now.”
“Josh!” Donna jumped to her feet.
“What?” Josh grinned mischievously. “I’m a guy, you’re a girl and you have a very, very nice a - ”
She fought back a smile. “Josh!”
“And it’s okay, you know,” he smirked. “You’re a modern woman – why shouldn’t you stare at a guy’s - ”
“I swear to God, Joshua, if you don’t shut up, I’ll - ”
He held up both hands and stood up. “Okay, okay. I won’t make you admit it if you don’t want to.”
She sighed resignedly. She might love him to the point of insanity, but there were times she could happily have strangled him.
But then he took a step closer and reached out to take her hand; and her mind was suddenly a complete blank.
“But you know what is going to feel weird?” he went on, all trace of his earlier teasing now vanished.
Donna swallowed and licked her lips. “No. What?”
Josh pulled her hand between both of his. “Not doing all those things tomorrow.”
His tone of voice started a host of butterflies fluttering around in her stomach. “It will?” she barely croaked.
He nodded, looking into her wide eyes, at her slightly parted lips – and forgot what he’d been about to say. “Yeah,” he breathed, eventually.
With an effort, Donna pulled her gaze from his. “I expected a real telling-off from CJ after that little performance of yours.”
Josh chuckled and looked down at their hands, turning them so that hers was palm up in his. “What did she say?”
He ran his thumb up and down her open palm and now it was Donna’s turn to feel a little tongue-tied. “She – um… said it was… okay… ”
“She didn’t threaten to castrate me or break my legs?”
“No, oddly.”
Josh threaded his fingers through hers, tugging her forward so that he could bring their hands to rest lightly against his chest.
Donna was finding it increasingly difficult to think or form complete sentences. She let out a ragged breath stared at their hands. “Did – uh - anyone say anything to you?”
Josh smiled softly. “Not really. Well, Ed and Larry said I was a lucky guy because you’re really - ” he stopped, frowning. “No, actually you don’t want to know what they said. And Toby told me not to screw up and reminded me that while he doesn’t like me, he likes you. I think he may have actually smiled at one point, but I wouldn’t want to go around ruining his reputation by casting aspersions like that.”
“No.” Donna looked up into his eyes. “So … people really think we’re – um… you know.”
“Yes.” Josh brought his other hand up and gently brushed her hair back over her shoulder. “And that we’ve been ‘you know’ for some time, apparently.”
Donna fought back a smile. “And neither of us has been struck down by lightning or the wrath of CJ.”
“Yeah.” He slid his hand down her arm and brought it to rest on her hip. “How ‘bout that?”
Donna lowered her gaze and said, in an off-hand tone, “CJ told me you were crazy about me, you know.”
Josh snorted. “She said what?”
“She said she could tell by the way you look at me, the way you talk about me …” she placed her free hand on his chest, just over his heart.
God, he’s warm. And really – firm. And –
Donna cleared her throat before she went on. “You’re not very subtle, apparently.”
“Hm?” Her proximity, the smell of her hair, the sensation of the curve of her hip resting against his palm… everything about her seemed to have short-circuited something in Josh’s brain and all he could seem to do was stare at the delicate rose and cream of her cheek.
Her fingers, moving lightly against his chest through the fabric of his shirt, brought him back from his Donna-induced trance. “I’m very subtle. She must have got that wrong.”
Donna looked up at him through her lashes. “I’m sure she hasn’t.” Which came out a lot more huskily than she’d intended.
Josh quirked his head to the side, his cheek muscles twitching as he fought back a grin. “CJ thinks I’m crazy about you, huh?”
“Oh,” Donna said airily, her gaze fixed firmly on the loosened knot in his tie, “it was more than ‘think’; she was very definite about it.”
“She was, was she?”
Donna nodded. “Very.”
“Well in that case,” Josh sniffed, “it’s only fair to tell you that Toby was also ‘very definite’ about the fact that you – how did he put it? - like me.”
Donna rolled her eyes. “Of course I like you, Josh. Do you think I’d have put up with you all this while if I didn’t?”
“No,” he corrected slowly, moving his hand from her hip until it was resting at the small of her back. “He meant that you like me, like me.”
She tried not to gasp aloud as Josh began to rub his thumb gently up and down. “Did he pass you a note in class?”
“You’re kidding me. A note from Toby would be the size of a briefing memo.”
“True.” She paused, trying to steady her breathing. “Still … I wonder where on earth he could have picked up an idea like that.”
“No idea,” Josh said, looking at her intently. “Shocked the hell out of me, is all I’m sayin’.”
Donna tugged at her lower lip with her teeth. “Although of course,” she sighed theatrically, “this is all academic because I don’t like you like you.”
“Of course.” Josh nodded, sliding a finger lightly up and down the placket of her – his – shirt. “And I’m not crazy about you.”
His knuckles brushing not-quite-accidentally across her collarbone sent what felt like a crackle of electricity through her and Donna almost jumped in shock.
Josh’s eyes were following the path his finger was taking - but he looked up at that, the slow smile spreading across his face telling Donna that he knew exactly the effect he was having on her. To her surprise though, she found she didn’t care. Finally, she could allow him to see what she’d had to conceal for so long and the relief of it was enough to make her head spin. And in any case it hadn’t escaped her notice that he was breathing a little faster than usual; she could see his jaw flexing lightly and she’d definitely heard a crack in his voice just now - all of which told her that he was just as affected by her as she was by him.
Josh rested his hand on the exposed skin at the base of her neck, a couple of fingers inching under her collar, his thumb lightly caressing the column of her throat. The fluttering in her stomach intensified as she sucked in a breath and slid her hand up his chest and around to his nape, winding her fingers into the thick hair there.
“Yet I find it hard to believe that CJ could be wrong about that, because she’s a very observant woman.”
He cupped her cheek in his palm, his voice low, soft. “And I find it hard to believe that Toby could be wrong. He might not be Doctor Phil, but he’s ... perceptive.”
“Yes, but he’s a man and men are notoriously bad about these things. I mean, he’s - ”
Josh bent his head and nuzzled her ear. “Donna.”
She closed her eyes and leaned into him, her next words prefaced by a slight moan.
“- not exactly the poster boy for understanding women, is he? What with - ”
“Donna.”
“- the situation with Andi and - what?”
Josh’s lips trailed warmly across her cheek. “Stop talking, now,” he whispered, pulling her in to him as she turned her head the fraction of an inch it needed for her to be able to press her lips to his.
He groaned and gathered her closer, one hand tangled in her hair, the other clamped firmly around her waist - and deepened the kiss, an electrical current seeming to ripple down his spine as she parted her lips beneath his, elated by the enthusiasm of her response. Her body was soft and pliant in his arms, her mouth under his was hot and sweet and so passionate, just like he’d always hoped – but better, far better because she was here, she was real, and he could touch her, taste her, smell her… He walked her back a couple of steps until she was pressed against the edge of the desk, ran his hand down until it was resting low on her back and then slid it around to her hip; she wound her arms more tightly around his neck and shoulders, and moaned into his mouth, kissing him back like she never wanted to stop. When they broke apart for air, he moved his mouth to her neck, pressing warm, wet kisses to the column of her throat, feeling her tilt her head to give him better access… she whispered his name – and Josh realized suddenly that if they didn’t stop soon, he was going to throw caution to the wind and the contents of the desk to the floor and –
“Donna.” Her hands were wandering, she was pressing soft, lingering kisses to his cheek, against his ear, but at the sound of her name, she pulled back slightly, an insanely seductive smile on her face that Josh thought was even better than anything he’d ever been able to imagine. Her eyes were wide and unfocussed, her lips, oh God, her lips were full and pink and – he bent his head – so kissable … once more - then reluctantly, he pulled away and dropped a kiss on the tip of her nose.
“We should – uh…”
She blinked – and removed her arms from around his neck. “Oh. Um – yes,” and began to smooth down her – his – shirt and skirt… but, he noted with just a hint of self-satisfaction, there was nothing she could do right at that moment to disguise the fact that she’d just been thoroughly kissed. Which Josh realized immediately was probably something he’d do better not to tell her if he ever wanted to put that look on her face again.
Donna took a deep breath as she straightened his tie and smoothed her hands across his shoulders – then smiled and took a step back out of the circle of his arms.
“Okay. Well.”
“Yes.”
“I’d better…” she nodded towards the door.
“Yes.”
But she didn’t move. Josh stuck his hands in his pockets and scuffed at the carpet. She’d just had her tongue in his mouth and her hands on his ass – this shouldn’t be so hard to say now. He cleared his throat. “Do you want to get some dinner?” Her forehead creased into a frown. “I mean, later. Not now, obviously.”
She nodded. “I’d like that.”
And now he knew he was grinning like an idiot. “Okay. So I’ll pick you up at eight.”
“You’re going to let me out of here before then?”
He shrugged as casually as he could. “It’s a special occasion. I’ll make an exception.”
Donna cocked her head and smiled coyly. “This doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten about the shoes, you know.”
“Didn’t doubt it for a minute.”
She walked to the door and then turned, remembering what it was she’d gone in there to ask him in the first place.
“Shouldn’t we tell everyone we’ve just been fooling around?”
Josh smirked. “Well, I don’t think we should tell them we’ve been fooling around in the office, but if you want to go home later and … fool around some more, I’d have no objections.”
Donna rolled her eyes. “And they say chivalry is dead.”
He just shrugged and shot her one of his trademark irrepressible grins.
She smiled briefly and then bit her lip, uncertain how to put what she wanted to say next.
“This isn’t…” she looked steadily into his eyes. “I mean… we aren’t really – you know, just fooling any more?”
Josh shook his head, his expression serious as he walked towards her. “No. And I’m not sure we ever were.”
“Fooling around?”
“Or fooling anyone,” he said quietly, running a finger down her cheek. “Except maybe ourselves.”
Donna was staring at him open-mouthed. “Josh – are you okay?”
He frowned at her. “I’m fine. Why?”
“Nothing,” she grinned. “That was just… very insightful of you.”
“Hey,” he kissed her softly. “I can do insightful when it’s called for.”
Donna smiled against his mouth. “I’m sure you can.”
“I can do a whole bunch of other stuff, too…” he drawled lazily, unable to resist the temptation to brush his lips across the soft skin of her cheek.
She laughed throatily. “And this would be the part where you tell me you’ll show me the other stuff later?”
“Oh,” he murmured into her ear, “I’m going to do much more than that.”
Donna felt as though her knees might buckle. “Well.” She managed to say, finally. “Okay then.”
“Okay.” A brief grin flashed across Josh’s face before he took a step backwards, turned and walked back to his desk.
Donna couldn’t help eyeing him up and down, averting her gaze a split second before he dropped into his chair. So she’d lied before, but really - what woman wouldn’t look?
“You need anything?” she asked, opening the door.
“Um – yeah; can you get me the housing stats for the last quarter and the report from Finance about the next round of development grants? Oh, and I need to speak to Personnel at some point.”
“Sure.” Donna nodded. “Anything else?”
“No.” He looked up, smiling warmly. “Thanks.”
Donna turned to go – and stopped at the sound of Josh’s voice. “And don’t think I don’t know you were checking me out just then.”
She shrugged primly and shot him an arch look over her shoulder, making sure to exaggerate the sway of her hips just a little as she walked away.
“There’s no fooling you, is there?”
End.
For anyone who’s interested, the April Fool's gags Josh mentions actually happened.
And somewhere along the way, I lost count of all the clichés and references I got in there :-) - but you should feel the freedom to keep score!
