And Now the Tables Do Turn

I woke up the next morning in a daze. It took me a few moments to realize that I was at Em’s. I felt nauseous and my head spun as I sat up. My memories of the night before were blurry, but I do remember what happened. Josh was no where to be seen.

I slid out of the bed as quietly as I could, starting to retrieve my clothing. Luckily, I still had a few things in the dresser from when Josh and I would stay at Em’s several nights out of the week. I pulled on a pair of jeans and the tank top I’d been wearing the night before.

My phone was on the night stand and I reached for it. I had several texts and missed calls from John. I lump formed in my throat as I read through the messages, begging me to call him. Our fight the night before had been bad.

I didn’t even remember what started it, but it had escalated quickly. We screamed and yelled at each other until we were red in the face about anything and everything. He yelled at me about Mel not liking him, I screamed at him because I’m his last priority. In my state of rage, I almost told him about Josh. I bit my tongue at the last minute though.

Still staring at my phone, I jumped when Josh came into the room. I turned to face him, a blush rising to my cheeks. He had just showered. His hair was wet, hanging in his eyes, and he had a towel around his hips, threatening to slip off. Before I realized it, I was staring.

“Uhm, good morning?” he said uncomfortably. He grabbed some clothes from the dresser and I tore my eyes away from him. “How are you feeling?”

“I’ve got a bit of a headache. I felt kind of queasy, but it passed,” I said, licking my lips and nodding.

“So, yeah.” He laughed awkwardly, looking me over. We simply stood there for a moment.

We both jumped when my phone rang. I dropped it in surprise and it continued to ring when it hit the ground. Josh mumbled something as I bent to pick it up. John was calling me.

I cleared my throat, sitting on the edge of the bed with shaking knees. “H-hello?”

“About god damn time, Spencer!” John yelled on the other line. “Why the fuck haven’t you been answering me?”

“I-I just woke up, John,” I told him quietly. I crossed my legs under me, feeling insecure. “I’m at Em’s.”

“Yeah, I figured. I called Mel, trying to see if you were there, and I don’t have Em’s number.”

“Oh,” I said quietly. Josh was watching me intently. He came around to the other side of the bed and sat down beside me. I scooted away a few inches.

“Spence, can we please get together and talk?” John pleaded. I could hear hurt in his voice and I squeezed my eyes shut.

“I-uh, n-not today, John. Tomorrow, maybe, possibly the day after, but not today. I need space,” I said, stumbling over my words. My mouth had gone dry and there was an aching in my chest.

“Yeah, uhm, whatever. Just call me at some point.”

“I will,” I told him, biting down hard on my lip.

“I love you.” I hung up without a response. I tossed my phone to the bed and looked over at Josh. I clenched my jaw as he stayed silent and tears welled in my eyes. I turned away before they spilled over.

“A-are you okay?” Josh asked me cautiously.

I wiped my eyes, sniffling, before looking back over at him. “Not really, no.” He looked genuinely sad. I snapped at him when he reached out to put his arm around my shoulders. “Don’t touch me!”

I sobbed quietly as he left the bed, going out the door. I wrapped my arms around my knees, holding them to my chest. I tried to wipe my tears away, but only more came.

Josh came back a few minutes later. He was holding a plastic bag and I frowned in confusion, hiccuping and wiping my eyes again. He set the bag on the bed and began to pull things out of it. Tylenol, bottled water, The Notebook on DVD, a chocolate bar, a box of Wheatable crackers, and a box of tissues.

He tossed the Tylenol to me. “Take some for your hangover. You should probably get a shower too, you’ll feel better.”

I nodded, sniffling. I left the bed, taking the bottle with me. “Thanks,” I told him, my voice breaking. He only gave me a small smile.

After my shower, I returned to the spare room. Josh had made Nutella toast for me, and The Notebook was already in the DVD player. I ate in silence, reaching for the crackers next. Josh hit play as I covered myself with the blankets, leaning back against the pillows.

“What were you guys fighting about?” Josh asked as the film started.

“I don’t even remember,” I said with a sigh, offering him a cracker. Silence pursued.

Ten minutes into the movie, our legs were touching under the blanket. Ten minutes later, his arm was around me. Barely five minutes after that, I couldn’t fight the feeling of lust.

I reached up, turning his face towards me. He frowned in question. I leaned closer to him, pressing my lips against his. From that moment, it didn’t take long for our clothes to come off and our bodies to meet.

Half an hour later, we were both breathing heavily. Josh’s face was still buried in my neck and I traced the red lines along his back from my nails. I squirmed a bit as his lips brushed over a sensitive spot on my skin and he laughed quietly.

“Y’know what?” he questioned, his lips still against my skin.

“Hmm?” My fingers moved up to his neck, toying with the hair at the back of his skull.

“I kind of missed this,” he told me, kissing my jaw. I couldn’t help but smile softly. I replied only with a sigh.

We stayed like that for a while. I had to admit that I’d missed it too. The feel of his weight resting on me was comforting and familiar, and the feel of his skin against mine was relaxing. I eventually dozed off for a while, before the movie even ended.

When I woke up, Josh was asleep, still pressed against me. His temple was against my shoulder, his arms locked around my waist. I pressed my lips together in a smile and gently unwound his arms from my waist. I pulled on Josh’s t-shirt and a pair of running shorts and left the room in search of food.

Kennedy was sitting at the table, eating a peanut butter sandwich. When I entered, he gave me a rather judgemental look.

“You should probably get out of here before Em comes back. She’s been talking my ear off all day about how she’s going to lecture you about ‘handling your love affairs’ or some other kind of bullshit,” Kennedy warned me, rolling his eyes.

I laughed, reaching for a coffee mug. It was nearly three o’clock in the afternoon, yet there was still fresh coffee in the pot. I poured myself a cup, taking a long drink.

“What was she saying?” I asked, pulling myself up to sit on the counter.

“When you guys came last night, it woke her up, so she woke me up. When it was obvious that you guys were...uh...not going to sleep right away, she got out of bed and started pacing and cursing.” Kennedy paused to roll his eyes. “She’s just not happy.”

“Got it, Ken. Thanks for the warning.” I sent a wink his way, swinging my feet as they dangled. I took another drink of coffee and cringed. I wasn’t usually a coffee person, but I felt like I needed it then, since it was too early to drink. I sighed, wrapping my hands around the mug, the brim of it still against my lip.

Kennedy and I engaged in a bit of small talk as he finished his toast and I drank my coffee. Luckily, wherever Em was, she stayed there for a while.

Eventually, Josh woke up and made his way out to the kitchen. He looked surprised to see me standing there, leaning back against the counter. He rubbed his eyes and yawned, walking over to me. He was wearing only sweatpants, and my eyes traced the lines of his tattoos on his bare arms.

“Good afternoon, sleepy head,” I told him quietly. He grumbled something I couldn’t make out as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I giggled, setting the mug on the counter to wrap my arms around his neck.

“You were gone too long. I thought you’d left,” he whispered to me, his lips grazing over mine. I smiled, leaning into him.

Kennedy made a fake gagging noise before standing up from the table. He promptly left the kitchen and Josh took advantage of that. He swiftly lifted me onto the counter, his hands on my thighs. He smirked, kissing me again as I raised my arms to his neck. Before things got too heated, Em came through the door.

“Ew, yeah, that’s nasty. Off the counter,” she instructed, pointing a finger at them as she dropped her grocery bags onto the counter. She rolled her eyes dramatically as I slid off the counter, smiling sheepishly.

“What’d you buy me, sis?” Josh asked jokingly, reaching to look in the bags.

“Nothing!” Em snapped at him, swatting his hand. He frowned at her before sighing. He glanced over at me quickly, nodding his head towards the hall before heading that way himself.

Em and I stood there, awkwardly watching each other for a moment. I cleared my throat and toyed with the ends of my hair.

“I hope you’re happy,” she said, her lips pursed as she started to put away the groceries.

“Excuse me?” I asked, slightly taken aback.

“I didn’t expect for this to happen. I thought he was with Cori still. I had to find out that they’d broken up from Kennedy, who’d heard it from Stephen!” she explained, her voice raising steadily. “I can’t believe you’re doing this again, Spencer. Honestly, as if you didn’t hurt him enough last time.”

“You’re the one who called him because you were too lazy to get out of bed, you should have seen this coming,” I snapped right back at her. “It doesn’t help that you lied to him about who he was going to pick up.”

“I swear to fucking god, if you hurt him like you did last time, I’m going to tell John,” she threatened.

I lump rose in my throat. I saw red and heat rushed up my neck. My heart pounded and I could hear it in my ears. “You wouldn’t,” I challenged, trying to sound confident in my words.

“Try me, Spence. I’m not going to let you break his heart again.”

I only nodded curtly, turning on my heel and walking towards the bedroom. My jaw locked irritation, Josh frowned when I entered the room and started gathering my things. I was still seeing red and my stomach was churning uncomfortably.

“What’s wrong?” Josh questioned as I shoved my things into a bag I had left there months ago. I ignored him, a sinking feeling filling my stomach in place of the churning. “Spencer, what did she say to you?”

“It, uhm, it doesn’t matter,” I stammered. I knew that if I told him, he would go off on Em, just making everything worse. I looked at him and forced a smile, which he saw right through.

“Spence,” he said with a sigh, running a hand through his hair.

“Can we go somewhere?” I asked, cutting him off.

“Somewhere as in where? I thought we weren’t supposed to do anything couple-y,” Josh reminded me, raising an eyebrow. I sighed, dropping onto the edge of the bed. Cautiously, he scooted closer to me, putting an arm around my shoulders.

“I don’t even care at this point. I just need out of here.”

“Do you want me to go talk to Em?”

“No, it’ll just make things worse,” I said, sniffling as I bit down on my tongue.

He kissed my temple softly and I licked my lips, my throat tightening. “What do you say we go back to your place, get cleaned up, then we can just drive for a few hours and get a hotel for the night? Just to get away from everything,” he suggested, his arm tightening around me. I only nodded, looking over at him. He offered me a sad half smile, leaning forward to kiss me.

We managed to get out of Em’s apartment without her seeing us. Josh drove me to the bar to get my car before we continued onto my apartment.

I drove slowly, a thousand thoughts running through my head. I couldn’t believe I was doing this again, after things had finally gotten back to normal. John and I were finally happy again. As much as I loved John, Josh was a completely different story.

We returned to my apartment, and I unlocked the door with a sigh. I pushed it open and we both stepped in. All of the thoughts that had ran through my head in the car were immediately gone as soon as Josh and I were alone together. With a quiet sigh, he touched my waist and I turned to face him. He frowned down at me, sensing my unease. I pressed my lips together and sighed out of my nose.

“You okay?” he asked, sounding concerned.

I nodded, reaching up to pull him down to me. I pressed my lips firmly against his and he reacted immediately. His hand moved from my waist to my hip, pulling me against him. He push the door shut blindly before pulling my shirt over my head, wasting no time. We were both down to only our under clothes by the time we reached my room, collapsing on the bed.

I made a noise of frustration as Josh sucked at the skin of my neck, fumbling over the clasp of my bra. I didn’t even bother to push him away as I arched my back, our chests meeting. Desperate for further contact, I raised my hips to meet his and he groaned, burying his face in my neck. I smirked, repeating my action.

An hour later, I was trying up my hair, which was still wet from our shower. I was in a pair of old jeans and one of Josh’s t-shirts. There was a hickey under my jaw and I sighed, rolling my eyes. Josh had pointed it out earlier, smiling smugly. I applied a bit of eyeliner, licking my swollen lips for the umpteenth time. I looked to my right to see Josh sprawled out on my bed, still in just a towel. I pressed my lips together and reached for my travel bag and began to pack for the night. As I was shoving a change of clothes into my bag, there was a knock at the door. My heart immediately started to pound in my chest.

Josh sensed my panic and laughed once. “It’s just Em. She came to apologize for what she said earlier,” he explained, dropping the towel to pull on his tidy whiteys and his discarded jeans, leaving the bedroom.

I nodded, swallowing audibly before following him. He put his arm around my waist as we walked down the hall towards the living room. He opened the door and we were both surprised to see Dree on the other side of the door, instead of Em.

As soon as I saw her, I jerked away from Josh, but the damage was already done. She gasped, her hand clapping over her hand.

My cheeks flooded with heat and color and I honestly felt like I had been punched repeatedly in the gut. I felt a bit light-headed and could only stare back at Dree as she looked from me to Josh, then back again.

“T-this isn’t w-what it looks like!” Josh blurted out, his cheeks as red as mine.

“Then what the fuck is this?” Dree yelled.

I’d never heard her yell. at least not like that. I’d seen her angry, usually at Stephen, but this was entirely different. She reminded me of a cartoon, where a character would get really angry, and there was steam coming out of their ears and there were flames in their eyes. When Josh simply shut his mouth without responding, she set her sights on me.

“John fucking begged me to come over here and check on you. He was worried sick about you, and you’re too busy fucking his best friend to even think about your god damn boyfriend. John loves you so god damn much, and this is how you treat him? You are fucking disgusting, you whore!” Dree spat at me.

“Dree, shut up!” Josh said in my defense, calling her off of me.

“Don’t even get my fucking started about you,” she said quietly, turning to him then. “I could’ve expected this from her, because she’s a stupid whore, but you surprised me. You’re fucking your best friend’s girlfriend. How could you do that to John, Josh? This dumb bitch is the first girl John has cared about since he was sixteen years old, and you do this to him? You’re heartless. When John hears about this --”

“Please don’t tell him!” I pleaded, tears all of a sudden streaming down my face.

“Oh, I don’t plan on it, Spencer. But he will find out, probably from seeing that disgusting hickey on your neck. You’re both disgusting, and you honestly deserve each other.”

After a final curse, Dree left just as quickly as she had arrived.