And Now the Tables Do Turn

I woke up with a sigh, not even bothering to open my eyes. In a hung over haze, I thought back to the night before. I remembered vanilla, skin, and ecstasy and smiled. I rolled over, stretching my arm out to wrap around Spencer's waist, but felt nothing. Regardless of my hangover, my eyes snapped open and I sat up.

"Spence?" I yelled, my voice cracking slightly due to the dryness of my throat. No response. I felt the spot where she'd slept and it was still slightly warm. I glanced at the clock quickly, and groaned when I saw it was only 7:30.

I sighed angrily, kicking my blankets back and crawled out of bed. I pulled on whatever clothes I could find, walking out of the bedroom barefoot. My keys were on the counter and I grabbed them, rushing out the door.

I drove quickly to Spencer's apartment, only realizing that I was barefoot when I stepped onto the hot asphalt. I made it to her front door and knocked anxiously. She answered the door thirty seconds later and her eyes widened when she saw me. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it soon after.

"You left," I said bluntly, taking her in. Her eyes were slightly red, like she'd been crying. Her brow was creased and her hair was still wet from her shower.

She pressed her lips together, looking away. "Yeah. Yeah, I did. I left because we shouldn't have slept together. Again."

"Can we not argue about this on you doorstep?" I asked calmly, biting down on my tongue. The early morning sunlight was burning my eyes, amplifying my headache.

She sighed quietly, opening the door further and she walked away. I walked into her apartment where she had walked to the kitchen.

"Why'd you leave?" I asked after a long silence.

Spencer looked up at me, irritated. "What happened wasn't supposed to happen."

"It did though." She continued to stare at me, her jaw clenched. “You’ve been crying.”

“Can you stop stating the obvious?” She snapped at me, a fire burning in her eyes.

I let out a shaky breath. “Yeah, sorry,” I said, clearing my throat. “I’ll uh, try to flip off the asshole switch. I just…I don’t know how to deal with…all of this.” I laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of my neck.

She licked her lips quickly, her line of sight dropping to the counter top. “’All of this’ shouldn’t have happened, Josh.”

“We’ve been through all of this, Spencer,” I sighed, tapping my fingers on the countertop. “Just tell me what I have to do to be with you.”

“I’m with John,” she reminded me, her voice tight.

“I don’t care; I truly don’t give a fuck that you’re with John.” I paused, biting down on my tongue quickly. “It’s obvious that there’s something between us. We’ve fucked twice, and sure, the first time you were wasted, but last night, you were completely sober. A sober girl who’s truly in love with her boyfriend doesn’t go down on her boyfriend’s best friend before fucking him senseless.”

“Shut your fucking mouth,” she yelled, smacking her hand down on the counter.

“I’m sorry,” I apologized, watching as she walked around the kitchen. “Can we just give it a shot?”

“Give what a shot, Josh? Being fuck buddies behind John’s back?” She scoffed.

God, even as she was shutting me down over and over, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. Her hair was still damp and wavy and eyes were lit up with frustration. Her shirt was slightly baggy, but it hugged her in all the right places and the neckline…damn. She was barefoot, her toenails painted a dark blue.

“That wouldn’t be so hard. And honestly, I think it’d be worth it,” I said with a shrug. She crossed her arms over her chest, pursing her lips. “We haven’t been together when we’re both sober.”

She ran her tongue over her teeth and to my surprise, she smiled. “You’re right. I don’t know if you’re any better sober than drunk. Drunk was pretty nice,” she admitted.

My eyebrows skyrocketed. “You’re…admitting it?” I asked, shocked.

She took her bottom lip between her teeth and looked at me hesitantly. “In all honesty, last night was possibly the best fuck I’ve ever had. I know this makes no sense on my part, but maybe, this whole fuck buddy thing could work.”

“Wow. Uhm, I kind of pulled that entire thing out of my ass; I didn’t think you’d actually go for it,” I commented and she chuckled.

“You were so plastered last night. Do you even remember anything?” she asked, walking towards me, a slight smile on her lips.

I smirked. When she got close enough, I dared to reach out and rest my hands on her waist. I felt her muscles tense under my touch and a pink blush came across her cheeks. “I remember a bit, such as your skin and your tongue,” I said softly, leaning in and pressing my lips to her jaw. I felt her shiver as she pulled away slightly.

“Josh, if we’re going to try to do this, we need to be careful,” she warned, putting her hands on my chest to push me away slightly.

“I had every intention of being so.”

She nodded once, licking her lips nervously. “We’re crazy for trying this.”

I smiled at she looked down at the space between us. When she looked up, I took a leap of faith and leaned in, pressing my lips to hers. She kissed back for a few seconds, sliding her tongue over my bottom lip. Her body moved forward towards mine, our hips connecting. Her arms locked around my neck, her just against mine. After several minutes of making out in the middle of her kitchen, she pulled away, her breathing heavy. She pressed her forehead against mine and I smiled.

“You smell and taste like a bar,” she whispered, giggling softly.

“I didn’t shower. I woke up and came straight here, because you were gone,” I informed her. She gave me a half smile, untangling herself from me. “Do you want to come over tonight?”

“I don’t know what’s going on tonight. I might be doing something with John,” she said, reaching for her phone, which was sitting by the sink.

“Oh,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment.

She looked at me, pressing her lips together. “Whatever’s going on with us, John is still my top priority. We’re not going to be ‘couply’ either: no dates, no dinner together. We’re together to fuck and that’s it.”

“I have no problem with that,” I said, nodding. “So, about being together to fuck, should we start that now or later?” She laughed, looking away from me as she did so. I sighed, watching her as she checked her phone nervously. I walked towards her, and she looked up as I wrapped my arms around her waist.

Her skin was unbelievably warm through the thin material of her t-shirt and she gave me a nervous smile. I kissed her full on the lips and she kissed back hesitantly at first. I teased her, hooking my thumbs through the belt loops of her jeans as my tongue met hers. Something inside her seemed to snap as she kissed back fiercely, one of her hands resting on the side of my neck, her nails grazing over my skin. I toyed with the hem of her shirt and when she nodded as best she could, I pulled it over her head.

When my lips moved to her neck, she tilted her chin upward, letting out a quiet moan. I smirked against her skin, trailing my fingers up her spine to the clasp of her bra, unhooking it easily. I pulled the fabric away from her body, kissing her collarbone before she put her hand on my neck, pulling me back up to her. She kissed me roughly, her lips leaving mine too quickly to trail along my jaw. She pushed my shirt up quickly, tugging it off before fumbling with the button of my jeans.

“Bed?” I suggested in the split second that her lips weren’t against mine. She simply shook her head, sucking on my bottom lip. I groaned, shedding her of the rest of her clothes before we sank to the floor of her kitchen.

Forty five minutes later, I pulled on my boxers, glancing over at Spencer as she hooked her bra, her jeans on, but not buttoned. She ran her fingers through her hair, reaching for her shirt, which was lying on the counter. She pulled it on, pulling her rumpled hair out of her collar. I stepped into my jeans before licking my lips.

“Mind if I get a shower? I smell like booze and sex,” I asked, watching her as she straightened her shirt.

“As long as you don’t mind strawberry shampoo and pomegranate body wash,” she teased, smiling. She walked to the refrigerator, pulling out a bottle of water and taking a long drink. I nodded once, heading down the hall.

After showering and fooling around a bit more, Spencer agreed to text me later, if she didn’t do anything with John. To my surprise, she kissed me goodbye, toying with the damp ends of my hair before I left, heading out to my car.

By that point, it was nearly ten. As I pulled onto the street, I could still taste Spencer on my lips. Smirking, I drove to my sister’s, parking out front. I approached the door and knocked. When there was no immediate response, I knocked again, louder this time. Five minutes later, I saw Emily, looking extremely disgruntled as she walked to the door.

“Can I help you?” she asked, opening the door, glaring at me. “Are you mortally wounded, terminally ill, or suicidal?”

“No?” I answered, hesitating.

“Then leave,” she commanded.

“I need to talk to you,” I said as she started to close the door.

Emily sighed angrily. “Come back in three hours.”

“Why?”

“I’m burning off some morning wood,” she said, pursing her lips and staring me down. I frowned in confusion, then realized that she was wearing a short silk robe and her severely messed up hair. My face contorted into a disgusted expression and she smirked.

“Yeah, that’s really, super nasty Em,” I told her, squeezing my eyes shut as she tightened her robe around her. Kennedy came into the kitchen, pulling his shirt over his head.

“What are you doing in here? I wasn’t done, I told you to hold on!” Emily snapped at him as he shrugged, opening the refrigerator and pulling out a bottle of water and an orange before sitting down at the table. “Fine, see if you get any tonight.” She rolled her eyes at me before she walked down the hall towards their bedroom, brushing past him as she did so.

Cringing, I sat down at the table across from Kennedy. He ate his orange, oblivious to Emily’s apparent fury. My sister returned a few moments later, dressed in shorts and one of Kennedy’s shirts with her hair tied up and she sat in his lap, taking a piece of his orange.

“Okay, now what’s so urgent that you had to leave me sexually frustrated?” she demanded.

"You called Spencer last night to come and get me, didn't you?" I confirmed, drumming my fingers on the table.

She smirked, licking her lips quickly. "I have no idea what you're talking about, my dear brother."

I rolled my eyes. "Cut the bullshit, Em. You're the only person at that party who knew about us."

"Jobe, I said nothing to her," she said sternly, still defending herself.

"You know, if you keep denying it, I can't get to the part where I was going to thank you."

Her eyes widened, and she sat up a little bit taller. "Why yes then, I was the one who called her."

I laughed once. "Thank you."

"You're quite welcome," she said with a wink. "So, what happened?"

I explained the course of the night and also the earlier hours of the day and she leaned forward, resting her elbows on the table and her chin on the heel of her palm. As I was near the end of the story, her phone started vibrating like mad on the table in front of her. She smiled, picking it up.

She answered the call and put it on speaker phone, signaling for me to stay quiet. "Hey, Spence," she said, examining her nails.

"You set me up last night," Spencer said, her voice tight.

"What do you mean?" Em asked, trying her best to sound clueless. She ran her tongue over her teeth, like she always did when she was lying.

"You called me last night to pick your brother up, knowing that we'd end up hooking up again," Spencer said bluntly, getting straight to the point.

"Oh, that," my sister said, smirking to herself.

"Yeah."

"So, what happened?" she asked, probing further. She glanced up at me and I rolled my eyes at her.

Spencer sighed on the other end of the line. I could picture her leaning against her kitchen counter, stirring a cup of coffee. I guessed that there was a frown on her face from the sound of her sigh. She was probably chewing her lip as well. She told Emily her version of what had happened and about our arrangement of sorts, ending her story with another sigh.

"You know, your brother drives me up the fucking wall, but damn, is her good in bed," she admitted to Emily.

Emily's face contorted in disgust as I smirked at her, completely proud of myself. "I could have gone my entirely life without knowing that little tidbit, but thank you for that amazing image," she said, clicking her tongue at the end of her sentence.

Spencer let out a quick laugh, and I could tell she was smiling. "Anytime, Em. Well, I need to go get ready; I'm going out with John later. I'll talk to you at some point."

With the sound of her laughter still ringing in my ears, her final words hit me like a fist in the gut.

Ah, the life of being "the other guy."