And Now the Tables Do Turn

After I hung up on Emily, I dropped my phone to the table and sighed. I stared at the clock and decided that it was much too early to even attempt to do anything productive. I left my phone on the table and walked to my bedroom, dragging my feet.

I got to my room and collapsed onto my bed. It didn't take long for me to drift off to sleep. As my mind hung in the balance of consciousness, I couldn't help but think about Josh.

I could still feel his fingers grazing over the skin of my thighs, my hips, and my lower back. I could still hear his quickened breaths and the way he moaned my name. My eyes snapped open and I let out a quick breath. I pushed all thoughts of him to the back of my mind and rolled onto my stomach.

Sometime later, I heard my bedroom door open and I felt someone join me on my bed. I kept my eyes closed, still laying face down. Whoever it was curled up beside me, kissing my cheek. From the closeness, I could tell it was John.

I opened my eyes and frowned at him. "Can I help you?" I asked, suppressing a yawn.

He smiled at me, kissing the exposed part of my shoulder. "I just figured that it was my turn to wake you up."

I scowled at him. "Why couldn't you just call me?" I asked, rolling away from him as he tried to wrap his arms around my waist.

"I tried. Three times. Your phone's on the table."

I shrugged, still rolling away from him. "That's your problem, not mine."

"Come on, Spence," he laughed, toying with the hem of my shirt. "The reason I'm here is because Dree and Stephen invited us to go out tonight."

I rolled over completely to face him, eyebrows raised. "'Out?'" I questioned. "The last time we went 'out' with them, we both got so plastered that we passed out on their kitchen floor and they walked in on us fucking the next morning."

He laughed, pressing against me. "That was a good morning," he said with a grin.

"Pshh, for you maybe. Your brother and his girlfriend didn't see all of your goodies," I reminded him.

"Dree mentioned going to a movie and for coffee or something, so there will be no drinking," he assured me, kissing my cheek. I rolled my eyes.

"I guess I'll go," I said with a heavy sigh, smiling over at him.

"Good, but for now, let's go back to sleep. It's too fucking early," he grumbled, nuzzling against me.

Several hours later, we dragged ourselves out of bed and got something to eat. Dree called us, setting up the time for us to meet up as I searched through my closet.

"Wear green," John said from the bed as I examined shirt after shirt.

"Hmm?"

"Green. It makes your eyes pop," he explained. I shrugged, grabbing a green top at random. He nodded in approval. I pulled out a pair of pumps and tossed them towards the bed.

I stepped into the bathroom and toyed with my hair before deciding to just leave it in it's natural wavy state. I put on a bit of make up and yawned. I walked back into the bedroom.

I flopped down onto the bed, landing half on top of John. He grunted as I knocked the wind out of him and I laughed before kissing this fabric covering his chest.

"I think we should just stay here," I told him, arching my back into
him as I yawned.

"I like the idea, but if we skip out on the plans, Dree come over here and drag us out of bed," John said, his fingers grazing over the line of skin showing between my jeans and top.

I simply nodded, edging closer to him. I raised myself up, leaning over him. The hair fell over my shoulder and he smiled up at me. I moved again, swinging a leg over his hips, straddling him.

"You-" he started, but I cut him off when I leaned down, pressing my lips against his. He gripped my hips tightly, my hips rising from his.

He dragged the hem of my shirt up slowly as my lips moved quickly over his. I leaned away for him to pull my shirt over my head, tugging on his bottom lip as I did. He groaned and I smirked in satisfaction.

"You are very distracting," John told me, tracing circled on the skin of my lower back.

I squirmed, a chill running down my spine, and my lips returned to his. He quickly unclasped my bra and I pushed his shirt up quickly. He sat up, me still in his lap as he pulled my bra away from my body. He tugged his shirt over his head before flipping us. He leaned flush against me, kissing my rather roughly. Excitement bubbled in my stomach and raised my hips to his.

"I really love you," he said after letting out a throaty moan.

"I love you too," I told him, giggling as he moved his lips down to my collarbone. My breath caught in my throat and I gasped. He trailed his hands down to the top of my jeans and easily unbuttoned them. I raised my hips to his again to allow him to tug my jeans down.

I was fumbling with his belt, his lips sucking at my neck, when his phone started ringing and buzzing on the end table. He groaned, pulling away as he reached for it.

"Babe, ignore it," I said, my voice coming out as a purr. I moved, pressing my lips against the side of his neck.

"It's Dree," he said with a sigh, grabbing his phone off the table. "If I don't answer, she'll taunt us all night."

I shrugged, sucking harder on his skin.

He answered the phone, struggling to hold back a groan. "Is your life goal to cockblock me as much as possible?" John said into the phone. I smirked to myself, moving my lips down to his chest. "Uhm, she's kind of busy. No, she's not sucking me off!"

I jerked away from him, shocked by Dree's complete lack of discretion. I grabbed the phone out of his hand. "I'd appreciate it if you kept the nose out of our sex life," I told her.

"Oh, shush," Dree said on the other end of the line. "Just get back to your man. Don't get too freaky, we'll be there in an hour." She hung up and I tossed the phone across the room, turning my attention back to John.

Forty-five minutes later, I was standing in front of my bathroom mirror, dressed, all except for my shirt. The make-up I'd put on earlier was smudged, and I tried to salvage all that I could. John walked in, touching my hip as he passed, and slid onto the counter. He set my tank top down in his lap and watched as I fussed with my hair.

"You look great," he assured me.

"I did look great, then some asshole decided to wrinkle my sheets and mess up my hair," I teased, staring him down. He laughed and I rolled my eyes, smiling.

I pulled my hair back and tied it up with an elastic, taking my top from him. I pulled it on, tightening my ponytail after I did so. I rolled on deodorant and John handed me a bottle of body spray that he loved.

I walked back into my bedroom, stepping into my pumps and toyed with my hair again. I tossed a few things into my purse and pulled my phone off the charger.

"Dree just texted me," John informed me. "She said they'll be here in ten minutes." I nodded, putting a hand against his chest as he approached me. He leaned down and kissed me softly, and I pulled away quickly.

"That's all you get," I teased, grabbing my bag and leaving my bedroom. I could hear him following behind me, but I didn't turn around.

When Dree and Stephen arrived ten minutes later, Dree wasted no time teasing us both. "Wow, John really left a mark on your neck, didn't he?" she asked, staring incredulously at my neck. My eyes widened and my hand flung to my neck. Dree howled with laughter and I glared at her.

"Ignore her," Stephen told me, rolling his eyes. "She's messing with you."

I let out a sigh of relief and dropped my hand to my side and Dree punched him in the arm. "You never let me have any fun," she grumbled as my cheek flared. John laughed and I shot him a glare.

"Well, let's go," Stephen said, filling the awkward silence that ensued. We agreed to drive separately to the cafe and John grabbed his keys.

"I can drive," I told him under my breath. He always insisted on driving and it drove me nuts, no pun intended.

"I don't want you to," he responded, kissing me quickly. I sighed, pursing my lips as I grabbed my phone off the counter and my keys as well. I locked the door on my way out and John took my hand as we walked towards his car.

We got to the cafe and I ordered an iced coffee and a scone and by the time I finished, John had already slid enough money across the counter to pay for both of our orders. The cashier handed him his change and we walked over to the pick up counter.

"I'm going to fucking kill you," I hissed at him, punching him in the ribs.

"Oh, come on, Spence," he said softly, wrapping his arms around my middle.

"No, I will not 'come on,'" I sneered, moving away from him. "I can pay for my own stuff, and I can drive just as well, if not better, than you can, John."

He sighed, licking his lips. "Spencer, I'm gone for most of the year, so when I'm home, just let me spoil you, okay?"

I crossed my arms over my chest and a barista put our order on the counter. I grabbed my drink and my pastry, nodding to him once. He smiled, putting his arms around my waist and leaning down to kiss me.

"You guys are just really disgusting, okay?" Dree said, grabbing a straw from the counter at the exact moment our lips touched.

"Can just shut up for one night?" John teased, his voice slightly tense as he took my hand. At our table, Stephen was already seated, taking sips of his drink.

"Baby, John yelled at me," Dree whined, dropping into her seat. Stephen shot John a very nonthreatening look and I laughed at John's dismay.

"Dree, I don't see how you get off calling us gross. I've seen you guys do some extremely nasty stuff," John argued, playing with my hand under the table.

"Like what?" she asked, sounding skeptical.

John paused to think. "You know, nothing really come to mind right now, but I'll think on it," he said with a laugh. I rolled my eyes and ripped off a piece of my scone.

We chatted a bit more and finished our drinks before tossing our trash and heading out the door. The theater was only a few streets over and we got our tickets. John insisted on paying again and I let him, my lips pursed the entire time.

After the movie, we went our separate ways. I nearly fell asleep on the way back to my apartment and John walked me to the door.

"You're working tomorrow, aren't you?" he asked, his arms looped around my waist. I nodded sadly. He sighed, kissing my forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too," I said with a smile, putting my hands on his shoulders, leaning up to kiss him. He gave me a final hug before releasing me and walking back to his car.

He honked as he drive away and I unlocked my door, stepping inside. I dropped my bag onto the counter before tugging the elastic out of my hair. I pulled my phone out of my bag and kicked off my heels before checking the lock on my door. I walked down the hall to my room and pushed the door open. I pulled my tank top off over my head and dropped it into the clothes hamper before heading into the bathroom.

I changed into sweats and an old shirt and brushed my teeth before collapsing in bed. I plugged my phone into the charger and let out a loud sigh.

I was half asleep when my phone started to ring. I cursed myself for not putting it on silent. I pulled it off the night stand and looked at the Caller ID.

"I was almost asleep, you know," I said, yawning loudly.

"Sleep is for the weak," Melanie said nonchalantly on the other end of the line.

"Says the one who works from home on her own schedule," I retorted.

"Ehh," she said. I could tell she was shrugging.

"Is there a reason you're calling me?" I questioned, rolling onto my back.

"Yeah, I'm on a date," she told me with a sigh.

I laughed. "If you're on a date, then why are you calling me?"

"He's boring as hell, and I realized that my sister was calling me," she explained.

"But you called me, Mel."

"But he doesn't know that. And now's the part where you need my help with something. I'll be right over."

"Mel, you are not coming over here!"

"Spence, shush, he doesn't know that!"

"I'm hanging up now and going back to sleep," I snapped before hanging up.

I let out an angry sigh, putting my phone back on the night stand. I rolled over onto my side and squeezed my eyes shut.

Five minutes later, drifting off to sleep once again, my phone buzzed again. I jolted awake, sitting up and cursing up a storm. I yanked my phone off the chord and answered, glancing at the Caller ID and cursing again.

"What the fuck do you want?" I demanded, pushing my hair out of my face.

"You," Josh said on the other end of the line.

I scoffed. "Not happening," I told him.

"C'mon, Spence," he pleaded. "I'm over at Em's, staying the night. We had a few drinks, I'm still a bit tipsy, and Em and Kennedy are getting it on down the hall, I can hear them. Maybe we ought to challenge them."

I didn't admit it, but the idea was extremely tempting.

"I'll have to pass on that," I told him. I leaned back against my pillows, yawning.

"Aww, you're no fun," he pouted.

"Yeah, sounds about right," I teased with a giggle. "I was half asleep when you called and you fucking woke me up so I think it's my right to deny you."

"In bed, huh?" he said. "So what are you wearing?"

I laughed once, rolling my eyes. "Sweats and an ancient t-shirt. It's super sexy, believe me."

"Well, you're always sexy," he commented. For some reason, my cheeks flared red. "So what's the chance of me coming over to your place for the night?"

"Absolutely no chance," I informed him. "I have work in the morning."

"Oh," he said with a sigh. "Are you doing anything with John tomorrow night?"

"Nope. I'm working until six, heading to the grocery store, where I'm going to buy a tub of pumpkin pie ice cream. I have a date with my remote. Feel free to join me if you'd like."

"Wow, sounds like you're going to party it up," he teased.

"Of course. The party's Bring-Your-Own-Ice-Cream and my legs will most likely remain closed, just for the record," I said, rolling onto my stomach.

"We'll see about that," he said. I could nearly hear his smirk.

"You seem extremely sure of yourself," I joked.

"I'm confident, sue me." He laughed and I rolled my eyes again. "Well, call me when you get home tomorrow; I might make an appearance."

"Alright, will do. G'night," I said, yawning again.

"Night, beautiful," I heard him say before I hung up.

I dropped my phone onto my nightstand after putting it on silent. I rolled onto my side, curling up, now more awake than ever.

As I tried to relax and drift off to sleep, I couldn't stop thinking about Josh. His touch, his taste, his smile, and the way he moaned my name all were zooming through my head at a million miles an hour. A strange mixture of guilt and excitement swarmed in my stomach as I rolled over onto my back.

I forced my eyes to stay shut and eventually, I was able to put the thoughts aside and finally fall asleep.