And Now the Tables Do Turn

The next three weeks passed uneventfully.

Somehow, my work hours increased, as did the amount of my school work. I was seeing John less and less, which killed me. One of us was always busy. There were a few days though that we were able to be together, and we spent all of our time behind closed doors.

After going out to lunch, Emily and I became rather good friends. She was so much like Josh that whenever Em and I were together, he wasn't far from my mind. She was very adamant that I should be with Josh, which got rather annoying, but her company was worth it. There were a few awkward moments where she'd invite him along to lunch with us without informing me first that he'd be there.

The turmoil had calmed thankfully. Things were back to how they'd been before, only now, John and I had less time together, and also, I had a new friend.

Nearly a month after everything happened, there was a rare time in which I had more that thirty-six hours off at a time. Despite having not set an alarm, my internal clock woke me up early, much to my dismay. My eyes peeled open and I rolled over to grab my phone. It was barely seven in the morning and I cursed angrily. There was obviously no chance of getting back to sleep, so I pushed myself into a seated position and rubbed my eyes.

Eventually, I got out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants over my sleep shorts and changed into a different shirt. I brushed my teeth, wiped off my smeared makeup, and tied my hair up into a messy bun before grabbing my phone and keys and leaving my apartment.

I got in my car and started the engine up, shivering slightly. I drove to the closest Dunkin''' Donuts and got myself a coffee before continuing on to John's house. The front door was locked, yet John had told me the location of the extra key and I searched for it before finding it and letting myself into the house. I tip-toed up the stairs to John's room and pushed the door open.

I smiled at John's consistency. He always kept his room freezing cold, with a fan blowing directly at him. When he slept alone, he stayed sprawled on his stomach in the middle of the mattress with the sheets tangled around his waist. I set my coffee, phone, and keys on the dresser by his door and walked slowly to his bed.

I sat on the edge before laying down beside him and kissing his bare shoulder blade. He stirred slightly, rotating his shoulders. I smiled, scooting closer to him, toying with his hair. He grumbled quietly, trying to roll away from me. He rolled onto his side, facing me. He scrunched up his nose before opening his eyes enough to see me. He smiled, still half asleep, and put an arm around my waist.

"Good morning," he said, closing his eyes with a quiet sigh.

"Good morning, sweetie," I responded with a smile as he pulled me to him.

"What are you doing here so early and why did you have to wake me up?" he asked, pressing his face into my neck.

"I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. I figured that since we don't get to see much of each other, why not just come over and cuddle," I explained with a shrug, smiling as his hand slipped up the back of my shirt to rest in the small of my back.

"Well, I'm glad you came," he said, pressing his lips against my neck softly. His lips moved over my skin, up to my jaw. I giggled as his lips grazed over the spot behind my ear that drove me crazy.

"John," I warned quietly, putting two hands on his chest.

"Hmm?" He paused the movements of his mouth to push my shirt up my torso.

"Since when are you this horny in the morning?" I teased, running my fingers through his bed matted hair.

"Since I haven't seen you in three days and we haven't been together in nearly a week," he said, his words muffled by my skin. I smiled to myself and suppressed a moan as his lips pressed against my clavicle.

His hands were busy sliding along the waistband of my sweatpants as he finally pressed his lips against mine. He rolled slightly so he was leaning over me and I smiled nervously, pressing my lips together. I pulled him down to me and I pressed my lips against his firmly.

An hour later, I was curled against John, my lips against his throat.

"I love you," he reminded me, his arm around my shoulders and his lips against my hair.

"I love you," I repeated back to him, tracing the lines of his rib cage.

"Do you work tonight?" John asked, his fingers resting on my waist.

I nodded slowly, frowning. "Six to midnight," I told him.

He groaned. "Why do you have to work so much?" he whined, hugging me close to him. He sighed a moment later, kissing my jaw. "Are you hungry?"

I nodded silently, pulling the sheet higher up over my chest. He smiled, pushing my bangs off my forehead. A blush crept onto my cheeks and I scooted closer to him.

"Let's get dressed and we can go downstairs and make pancakes," he said, kissing my shoulder quickly. I smiled, nodding again. He pulled the sheet back and left the bed, grabbing his discarded boxers and shorts and tossing them into the hamper before grabbing clean clothes for the basket on the floor.

With a sigh, I left the bed, taking the sheet with me as I looked around for my clothes. I pulled on my underclothes and my sweatpants, but opened his closet and pulled one of his shirts on over my head. He want into his bathroom to brush his teeth and I followed him. I slid onto the counter and I watched him, with a small smile on my lips. He wiped his mouth and stood between my dangling legs, his hands on my thighs.

I smiled, putting my arms around his neck and pulling him closer to me. His lips brushed over mine before pulling away and resting his forehead against mine.

"Pancake time," I whispered, pulling away and sliding off the counter. I walked through his bedroom and out to the hall with him hot on my tail. He caught up with me, lacing his fingers through mine as we started down the stairs.

We worked as a team, producing a dozen and a half pancakes which we split. We both had flour in our hair and I knew there was a smudge of flour on my nose. After we ate, we cleaned up the kitchen a bit and put our dishes in the dishwasher. John's parents were still asleep and we returned to his room and curled up in bed.

The sheets tangled around us, we watched part of Little Miss Sunshine when we weren't making out like teenagers and fooling around. We stayed in bed until noon when I remembered some school work I needed to work on.

"Do you really have to go?" John asked again as I searched for my shoes.

"Yeah," I said, rolling over to face him again.

"I don't think you should leave," he teased, locking his arms around my waist. I laughed, kissing him softly.

"I love you," I told him, pushing his hair off of his forehead.

"I know. Call me tomorrow?"

"I will," I said with a nod, kissing him quickly before leaving the bed and stepping into my slippers. I walked to the door and grabbed my keys and my phone and turned to give him a final smile. He grinned back and winked.

After leaving John's, I went home and showered before settling down with my textbook and my laptop. I did school work for three hours before getting ready for work and going in half an hour early.

Work was busy, so I was on my feet for the majority six hours I worked. I climbed into my car after my shift and pinched the bridge of my nose. There was a nagging pain in my lower back and I shivered. I started up the car and turned the heat on as I yawned loudly.

As I was unlocking my door twenty minutes later, my phone decided it'd be a great time to start ringing it. I sighed, thinking of sweatpants and blankets as I pushed my door open and reached for my phone. I looked at the caller ID and rolled my eyes.

"Em, I just fucking got home, what do you want?" I demanded, dropping my bag and keys on the counter before locking the door and pushing it shut.

"Can I ask a favor?" she said, sounding hopeful.

"No," I said bluntly, hitting 'End' and hanging up on her. I pushed my hair out of my face and dragged myself to my bedroom where I kicked off my pants and shirt, and pulling on a cut hoodie, not even worrying about pants.

I climbed into my bed, pulling the blankets over me, only to have my phone ring a second later. Clenching my jaw in irritation, I answered the phone.

"You have one minute to speak," I told Emily sternly, burying my head under my pillow.

"Challenge accepted," she said quickly. "We're at a party and I need you to come and get my brother."

"No," I told her flatly.

"Spencer, please. He's completely plastered and he walked in on me and Kenny getting busy and so now the two of us are frustrated, because we have to babysit him. He's drinking everything in sight." As she spoke, I could hear Josh in the background.

"Em, I just got off a six hour shift. I'm fucking exhausted, I'm already in bed, and you know what happened the last time I gave him a ride home."

"I know, I just don't know who else to call. He's so plastered that he won't even remember it was you who gave him a ride." She paused, letting out a sigh. "Spencer, please. I'll make it up to you somehow, I swear."

I closed my eyes and let out a sigh of my own. "You owe me huge," I informed her.

"I love you, I love you, I love you," she repeated quickly. Josh's chatter in the background got louder for some reason.

"Where are you guys?" I asked, sitting up and leaving the comfort of my bed.

As she explained the location of the party, I pulled on a pair of basketball shorts and too lazy to find flip flops, I stepped into a pair of Ugg Boots. I told Em that I'd be there in twenty minutes and hung up. I walked into my bathroom quickly and tied my hair up. I shuffled into the kitchen again, grabbing my keys and rolling my eyes as I opened the door and walked to my car.

I struggled to stay awake as I drove to the party, my heat blowing full blast. I yawned loudly as I turned onto the street of the address Emily had given me and saw the party instantly. There were at least two dozen cars and I parked close to lit up house.

I turned off the engine and locked the doors when I exited. I approached, looking extremely out of place compared to the decked out party goers. I found Em, Kennedy, and Josh on the back lawn, where Em said they would be. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw me and rushed up to me.

"Thank you!" she said, hugging me and taking me by surprise. I rolled my eyes again and forced a smile when she released me. At that moment, Josh saw me.

"Spencer!" he yelled happily, stumbling over to me. I caught a glimpse of Emily and Kennedy sneaking off and I realized I was stuck with him. "Hey buddy!" He threw his arms around my neck, kissing my cheek sloppily.

"Hi, Josh. It's time to go," I said, shrugging my way out of his hold.

He smiled widely. "Okay," he said with shrug.

I took off across the lawn, not even bothering to go through the house. Josh was right behind me, cursing repeatedly as he stumbled over and over. I stopped and leaned against the high wooden fence, waiting for him to catch up.

"You're slow," I told him, when he caught up.

"I'm drunk," he informed me, his words slurring as though his drunken state wasn't obvious. I fought back a smile and sighed.

"Time to get you home," I said. I took his arm and put it around my shoulders and put my arm around his waist.

"You're so nice," he mumbled as I helped him across the lawn. Even over the smell of alcohol on him, I could smell his cologne.

I rolled my eyes and simply nodded. I unlocked my car and opened the back door for him so he could lay down, and hopefully go to sleep. He babbled endlessly on the way to his apartment and it was giving me a headache.

"You wanna know something, Spencer?" he asked from the backseat, letting out a sigh.

"Not really," I responded, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"I really like you. You're nice, you're pretty, but you're dating John. Why are you dating John?"

"Because I love him."

"Well, why don't you love me?" he asked as I parked outside his apartment.

I pretended that I didn't hear him as I turned off my engine and got out of the car. I opened his door and he struggled to sit up and crawl out of the car. He put his arm around my shoulders again and I asked for his keys. He handed them to me and I opened his door and helped him to his bedroom. I tossed him on his bed and turned to leave.

"Spencer?" he said as I was in the door way.

Shaking my head, I turned around to face him. "What?" I asked quietly.

"Come here."

"Josh, I need to go," I whispered, my legs itching to walk out the door.. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood up. I closed my eyes and bit my lip.

"Why don't you like me?"

"I-it's not that simple."

"It is though."

"Josh, no it's not!" I snapped. "I cheated on John with you. John is your best friend and you act like you don't care."

"So it doesn't matter that I care about you?"

"Since when do you care about me?" I scoffed, tilting my head and looking at him.

"You have no idea," he said with a slow nod.

He was still completely plastered and nearly face planted as he stumbled, walking towards me. His words weren't as slurred. He finally stood in front of me and he reached out and touched my arm. My skin jolted and I pulled away.

"You're beautiful," he told me. "You make me smile. You're dating my best friend and honestly, at this point, I don't even give a fuck."

As he spoke, he moved closer. Silently, he moved his hand to rest on my waist. I took a deep, steadying breath. I could smell the alcohol on him and a chill ran down my spine. He was staring down at me and I knew his intentions. I tilted my head up to look at him and I let him kiss me.

I kissed back, moving my lips against his. My arms found their way around his neck and I pressed myself against him. He ran his thumb along my jaw as his tongue glided along my bottom lip. I threw all of my thoughts out the window and pushed his shirt up his torso. He pulled away to tug the fabric over his head and took the time to pull my sweatshirt off as well. I kicked off my boots, nearly tripping in the process and we shared a quick laugh before diving back in.

Our lips still together, we made our way to the bed. We fell back on it as Josh pushed my shorts down quickly. His fingers moved over the skin of my abdomen and his lips left mine to attach to my neck. He reached between us to unbutton and unzip his pants. I pushed his jeans and boxers down quickly, locking my legs around his hips.

The next morning, I jolted awake. I looked around for a clock, and attempted to stretch out. It was barely seven A.M. Josh's arms were locked around my bare waist, his head nuzzled in my neck. My mouth tasted like alcohol from kissing him so much the night before. I took a deep breath, wiggling out of his grasp. I stood up, feeling light headed from standing up too quickly. As fast as possible, I pulled on my clothes, leaving my boots and leaving barefoot.

In the car, guilt churned in my stomach. The fact that the sex had been beyond mind blowing didn't cancel out the guilt. I thought of John and tears rushed to my eyes. I went home, swallowing my tears as I showered. I dressed and picked up my phone.

I called John and my call woke him up.

"Now who's the one waking the other up?" he teased, yawning. I could picture him in his bed, curled up under his pile of blankets.

I smiled. "Sorry, I just wanted to hear your voice."

"Well, now that you've heard it, can I go back to sleep?" he asked with a laugh. I smiled, opening my refrigerator in search of food.

"Yes, you can. I love you," I told him, quilt churning in my stomach for half a second.

"I love you too. And I'll call you later."

"Okay, bye," I said before hanging up.

I sat my phone on the counter and as I put two pieces of bread in my toaster, there was a knock on my door. I sighed, walking to open it, only to find a very hungover Josh Montgomery standing on my doorstep.