Lost (Kyla)

[Joshua Daniel Clark]

Josh walked up the sandy dune and opened a gate which led into his backyard, he looked around to make sure that his dog didn't come bolting out to smother Kyla, he checked under the house and saw no sign of movement so he believed the coast was clear; he walked up the steps and unlocked his backdoor - using the spare key under the doormat. Josh opened the door slowly revealing his lounge room, the room was a bright orange due to the setting sun, other days it was white - his curtains blew as the breeze came through - he left the door open for Kyla to come through, whenever she was ready of course.

"Im just gonna go get changed" he called out as he headed down the hallway - he entered his room and shuffled through the clothes that were in a pile on his bed, he couldn't find anything he liked so he looked in his wardrobe - he chucked on a pair of skinnies, a black tank top and a beanie - he adores his beanies. Josh walked back out to the lounge room, when he heard a whimper and sniffing noises; his dog had ended up in the laundry, Josh didn't want to let him out just in case Kyla was afraid of dogs - which he was going to ask her once she got here of course.

[Kyla Annett Hardt]

Following Josh back to his place was no problem, though she was a little curious as to why he checked under the house… Odd. Nevertheless, she followed a ways behind him and took her time. Once she caught a glimpse of the room the door opened up to, her eyes took in as much as they good from her distance. The place looked pretty decent and nice, but was she really going to go in? They had only just met today, but… this seemed like a better idea than going home to a house that was probably going to be empty. Just outside the door, she decided to hang outside a bit and checked her phone to see she had received two texts. One was from her dad saying that he had to leave the area because of an urgent business he needed to attend to and that he would not be home until sometime tomorrow night. The other text was from her mom saying that she lost track of time at an old friend’s house and would be staying there for tonight because the drive would be too long to make in one night. Sighing, Ky sent a new text to them both saying, “Ok. I love you!” Knowing she would not get a reply, she turned her phone off and placed it on top of her clothes that were secured to the side of her body by her arm. She had heard Josh say he was going to change, but she did not say anything and enjoyed the breeze outside for a bit before heading in with a leap of faith.

She set her flip flops by the door and placed her things (except for her clothes) on the nearest surface she could find. About this time she noticed Josh had come back to the room and saw he had already changed. A beanie though, in this weather? She didn’t say anything and only offered a smile before moving to speak. ”Um… my bathing suit is still damp and I don’t want to get anything wet, do you happen to have a dryer?” Her dry clothes from earlier were still tucked between her arm and side, but she lacked the items she needed that would normally replace the bikini she was wearing. She hadn’t planned to go to someone’s house today but her own. She supposed wearing her tank top over her damp top would be okay even if it looked a little awkward later with the wet spots, but it was just the shorts and bottoms part she was worried about if she were to sit anywhere.

[Joshua Daniel Clark]

Josh watched Kyla, he looked around the lounge room, it was quite interesting. He laughed "Of course I have a dryer." he then remembered his dog whom was in the laundry which is where the dryer is, his eyes widened, but then he bit his lip as he gazed up at Kyla "er.. random question but.. are you afraid of dogs?" he didn't know how she would react to the question, maybe laugh it off? but he had to ask the question, ask he couldn't just let the fool out and then have her crying, scared, that would just be a terrible host.

He glanced behind him at the laundry door, seeing the shadow move around, he placed his finger on his lip and thought for a moment, he then went and closed the back door and went out the laundry door - trying his hardest not to let the mutt in. Josh then let Houdini out the back and closed the door, with a sign of relief he went back to the lounge room and smiled "Never mind, its all good" he said with a nod "You wanna come and dry em'?" he asked as he pointed to the laundry.

[Kyla Annett Hardt]

Looking at Josh if he was serious, she shook her head. ”Afraid of dogs out of all things? “ She chuckled a little before answering, ”Nope, but bees, wasps, and other strange bugs and insects: yes. Just to warn you in case you wonder why I might spazz randomly.” Every time she would hear a loud buzz near her she would flinch a little and start looking around for the cause of the noise. If it were a bee or wasp close to her, then she would move away and if it followed her she would duck behind the nearest person she knew or head inside. She hated bugs like that. If there was a spider that seemed to jump or crawl towards her she would yelp before trying to kill the sucker. But that was who she was.

Another curious look came upon her face when he went towards another room and moved about. ”Ok…” she said unsure about the whole situation and the “never mind” part. He pointed to the laundry then and she nodded her head. She needed to dry her bikini because it served as her undergarments and she supposed she could wrap the towel around herself tightly, but she couldn’t just put on her tank top and shorts without anything under them. Good Lord, no. That would be a disaster waiting to happen and then he would really see an insecure Kyla. What to do though? ’Oh God, this is going to be embarrassing to ask,’ she thought while she began to flush before even asking her question. ”Would you mind if I hung around in my towel for a bit and when my swimsuit is dry I’ll put on my tank top and shorts? I could wait in a bathroom. I’m sorry. I just didn’t plan on going to somebody else's place today.” All throughout this she couldn’t bear to look at him and instead found the floor very interesting. Maybe it would have been better if she just went home. Oh what to do, how would he react? Panic and embarrassment began to bubble up inside her as she gripped onto her clothes and towel tighter- her face and ears tinged a light pink.

[Joshua Daniel Clark]

Josh nodded "Oh, sorry if I've confused you, its just I have quite a large dog and I didn't know how you would react" he said with a slight smile. He scratched his head not knowing whether she thought he was weird or not, it was a possibility.

Josh raised an eyebrow "You didn't need to ask, you can borrow a shirt of mine to put over your tank top?" he said trying to make the conversation less awkward "But if you insist on sitting in the bathroom, while your clothes dry, then go ahead" he said with a smile. He didn't know whether he was being polite or.. he shook his head confused with what was going on in his mind. He understood her situation, did she want to go home? he looked at her body language - at how she was clinging onto her clothes and towel, what was he to do? "Are you ok?" he asked out of curiosity.

[Kyla Annett Hardt]

”Oh no, don’t worry about it. We’ve actually been meaning to get another dog anyway,” she shared with him a bit. It made her curious though to what his dog looked like and what the name was. Mutt of purebred, she didn’t care. She liked most animals and she was normally around a dog more than she was a cat, horse, or any other animals that could be seen around her town. But her thoughts were brought back to her current predicament.

She took what he said into consideration, but she was on the verge of figuring something out. So deep in thought, she didn’t say anything until he asked her if she was ok. At this point she looked up and offered a grin, ”Yep. I actually have an idea. I might need to borrow one of your dry shirts later if I get too cold, though. Anyway, where’s your bathroom?” She had an idea that would hopefully save her from some embarrassment. Now telling him what her plan was would be a disaster too and she was not going let that plan slip through her blabbering here and there. As long as her towel stayed folded up after she was done with the bathroom, then everything should be fine. Her shorts were fitted enough that no matter how she sat, there was no way he would be able to figure out what she would have done with her little plan.

[Joshua Daniel Clark]

"oh?" he said as he looked towards the laundry door with a sly smirk "Maybe you should meet Houdini then, he can be a little jumpy though, for a saint Bernard anyway" he said as he turned back to her.

Josh was curious as to what her idea was but he didn't want to ask her in case it was something rather.. yeah. "He smiled and walked back into the hallway, er.. second door on the right and yeah sure, just tell me when you need it" he said with a smile as he stuck his hands in his pockets, trying to not look curious. He heard continuous panting from behind him, Houdini was up at the laundry screen door wagging his tail - josh smiled as he turned around and went towards the door "Well.. I'll just go hang with Houdini until you're finished" he said while talking to the dog through the screen "Just call out if you need something" he said as he opened the door and walked out, closing it behind him - he ran off into the backyard playing around with his dog which he loved to death.

[Kyla Annett Hardt]

Weren’t saint Bernards huge dogs? ”In a bit maybe,” she replied with a nod. If that dog managed to step on her feet though she would end up in a little pain that much was known. Speaking of dogs, she rather her family get a puppy to raise up and then it would be easier to train and hopefully have a positive influence on their personality. Their first dog they had gotten when it was just a puppy and had raised it just fine. It didn’t seem to like her mom though much and had bit her on occasion and when she asked what her mom did about it, it would end up along the lines of she bit him back to saying she “threw” it outside. Funny how she loved and hogged the small breed dog when it was a puppy.

Anyway, now was her time to put her small plan into action in hopes that it was not a failure. She followed Josh’s directions and heard him say some things and called back, ”Hey! I’m not going to take that long.” She didn’t plan to anyway. As soon as she found the bathroom and walked in she shut and locked the door just for a good measure before setting her plan into action. With her towel she tried to dry herself off even further and dried her hair a little bit more before setting it on the sink. She put her tank top over her bikini top (the least of her worries unless the damp bikini top got her tank top wet) and then she ran her hands down her face, not really believing she was going to do this next. Taking her bottoms off, she quickly yanked up her shorts and went to work on folding her bikini bottoms into the towel. She couldn’t believe she was doing this! She should be fine, but she just felt like she had to be careful. Her towel she would lay on top of her flip flops because it really wasn’t that wet and shouldn’t mess with his floors. Exiting the bathroom, she put her towel just where she first thought of and went in search of Josh. If the dog stayed away from her towel, then she would be fine. Finding Josh, she watched him for a bit before calling out, ”Hey! Told you I wouldn’t take that long!” She smiled at the end, but noticed she was feeling the slight warmth of a small sunburn over her body. She checked the mirror in the bathroom and it wasn’t too noticeable to the eye, but she could feel it. Perhaps its warmth would allow her to skip possibly needing to borrow a shirt from Josh later.

[Joshua Daniel Clark]

Josh played around in the backyard with Houdini as he waited for Kyla to get finished, he threw the ball and raced Houdini to it, he rubbed Houdini's back and played around some more when he heard Kyla say she was done. He petted Houdini on the head and ran up the steps and opened the door, walking in.

"That was rather quick" he said with a smile, he looked at the tv and then back at Kyla "Wanna watch a movie?" he suggested, if she didn't want to he didn't mind "You thirty? hungry?" he asked as walked towards the kitchen - which is connected to the lounge room. He waited for her reply as he searched the fridge for something interesting but nothing caught his eye, "Well.. I don't know what you like so.. help yourself?" he said as he scratched his head, closing the fridge door slowly.

[Kyla Annett Hardt]

Didn’t she tell him she wasn’t going to take that long in the bathroom? She only smiled in response to his acknowledgement with an “I told you so” attitude in that smile of hers. He offered a movie and she thought about it as he mentioned refreshments. Actually, she was rather thirsty and probably was not as hydrated as she should be. So maybe she should ask for a glass of water? Keeping her mouth shut however, she followed him into his kitchen and stood a ways behind him. Her eyes roamed around the place and thought it a pretty quaint place and definitely decided that it wouldn’t be too bad to live in one of these.

At the mention of helping herself, she shook her head. ”I’m not hungry, just thirsty. I could go for a glass of ice cold water?” She could get it herself, but she didn’t even know where he kept his glasses. Chances are that glass of water would be drowned in no time as soon as the water would hit her parched throat. Nothing just happened to quench her thirst like a glass of cold water. ”Oh and a movie sounds alright. You chose because chances are I haven’t seen it, but please nothing too scary.” Scary movies were not her forte. If he happened to put on in well… he wasn’t going to get her to leave anytime soon to a house where she would be alone tonight. She would pretend to be asleep on the couch before she let that happen and it would be his fault.

[Joshua Daniel Clark]

Josh nodded he went and opened a cabinet where the cups/glasses could be found, he sat it on the bench and opened the fridge getting out a jug of cold water, and poured it into the cup, just two lines down from the rim "Want more?, you know where to find it" he winked as he leaned against the bench waiting for her "Hmm.. what kind of movies are you into? I have chick flicks, horror, thriller, comedy etc." he said, just naming a few. He looked over at the lounge room and walked over to it and sat on the couch waiting for her to pick a genre - he didn't want to admit it, but he didn't like horror either - but he likes to collect movies, no matter what genre they may be.

He switched on the tv and PS3 as he waited, he flicked through the movies that were already on it - he waited for her so he could give her the PS3 remote to pick out whatever she finds interesting. Josh turned and watched her drink, she indeed had some flawless features - which he would usually pint out, but he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable as he did already state that he wouldn't try anything funky on her, although compliments didn't really fall under that title.

[Kyla Annett Hardt]

When Josh opened the cabinet where he kept the cups, she wondered briefly if she should remember this little bit of information. No, chances are she would forget where he kept his glasses and cups anyway. Thanking him for the water, she raised another brow to question his wink. Her curious expression didn’t last long though because she started to drink the water she was given. Like she had guessed, that glass didn’t leave her lips until about a little under half of its contents were remaining. She felt a lot better though and placed the glass next to the sink, if not looking a bit sheepish from downing the water that fast. Hopefully placing it there wouldn’t be a problem because she did not trust herself to bring it into the lounge room. If she brought it with her, then the odds were that somehow she was going to manage to spill it.

All the while she was thinking about different movies that she had already seen. Hm… Wonder if he happened to have any Disney movies? Making her way over, she continued standing near Josh and stretched and made a humming sound as she thought. Done stretching, she exhaled and glanced at him. ”Do you happen to have any Disney movies? As far as I know, you can’t really go wrong with Disney movies. Of course, I grew up on them so… that could just be my opinion.” She supposed she could put him through a chick flick, but she also liked comedy if he didn’t have any Disney movies.

[Joshua Daniel Clark]

Do you happen to have any Disney movies? he thought for a second before nodding "I believe I have got 3?" he said as he scrolled down on the PS3 "Yup, 3; The lion king 1,2 and Lady and the tramp" he said with a smile - he himself did enjoy there rare Disney movie - his favorite of course being The Lion King. Josh waited patiently for her decision, curious as to which one she would pick; "not a lot of choices I know, but I'll get more just for when you come over" he said still smiling.

He gazed around the room, observing every single inch of it, he was quite dazed but he'll maybe to pull through - he then looked out the window, as it started to get darker, maybe he should offer her to stay the night? or would that be going to far? he raised an eyebrow at the thought but shook his head thinking it was a stupid idea.

[Kyla Annett Hardt]

Score! He had himself some Disney movies. The choices weren’t bad and she was going to pick Lady and the Tramp just because she had not seen it in a while, but remembered the first Lion King had Scar, the hyenas, and the part where one of them freaked out at the name of “Mufasa.” He mentioned getting some more for when she came over and she stopped her current thought process to shoot out a challenge. ”What makes you so sure I’ll be coming over again?” She was rather curious, but played challenge as a tease. Her tease over, she shrugged, and set her decision. With a nod towards the screen, she spoke, ”The first Lion King sounds good to me if it’s ok with you.” She only waited a bit before heading back to the kitchen for another sip or two of her water. ”Go ahead and start it, I’m going to get a drink.”

Hopefully by the time she came back he would be settled in a spot to watch the movie and she would somehow manage to curl up somewhere. Her fingers wrapped around the cup as she brought it to her lips a few times more. Glancing down, she happened to notice that the front of her shirt was starting to get wet from her bikini top, but realized there was nothing she could do about it. Borrowing one of Josh’s shirts right now would only end up in getting it wet and she was not getting cold yet. Yeah, the slight sunburn made sure she felt the warmth from it and that would be enough to hopefully keep her warm. She had been tan before from the various tennis camps, so it was not like she was burnt to a crisp. It was only a little tinge of pink. Setting her glass back down with the remaining water by the sink, Ky made her way back to the lounge room with the start of a silent yawn before she managed to place her hand over her mouth. Now, to figure out how and where she was going to sit.

[Joshua Daniel Clark]

"Well.. I don't I was just empathizing" he stated as she chose Lion King "Good choice, its my favorite" he said with a nod. He watched her walk to the kitchen and get another drink - it didn't bother him one little bit, he sat at the far end of the couch, leaning against the arm - with his knees up to his face; he pressed play like she told him to do.

Josh took off his beanie and placed it in his lap, as he watched the movie, he couldn't help but wonder if she'd fall asleep - what would he want her to do if she did? wake her up?, nahh he wouldn't be able to do that - he'd get her a blanket and put it over her before he went to bed himself, he smiled - feeling proud of himself.