Call of the Mountains

Chapter Two - Fog

"You WHAT?!"  I winced a bit at Josh's shocked voice after hearing the news that I quit. "Gurl, finally" he chuckled. 

"Finally?" I questioned, teasing him a bit. He laughed a bit more with his toothy grin. God, he was beautiful. Sunshine, literal sunshine. 

"Yes, finally! The job was draining you, I'm still mad at Jamie for making you stay and work there cause he couldn't pay his bills. I'm sorry, but good riddance. Truly." 

I couldn't be mad at his statement. He was right, Jamie did do a lot of bad things and got me involved. Combine with his treatment. Josh was right, I did deserve better. 

But the pain was still there. 

It's been only a few days since I quit, and I haven't found any motivation to keep looking. Especially in a city where everything was tainted. Tainted by the person who was supposed to take care of me. Tainted by the hustle and bustle. It was all tainted. 

"So what are your plans now that you're free?" Josh chimed, his light hazel eyes peering through his blonde curls, one of his big hands holding the top of his coffee cup. 

"I-I don't know, I..." I trailed thinking. I've never really been this free in a very long time. I was always at work, or with Jamie. "I guess I'll have to get a new job, with rent increasing soon." 

Josh shrugged, leaning back into his chair. The rain had passed, but the cool early fall air left mornings crispy and a bit foggy. We were sitting outside Josh's work, enjoying our free time together like we always did. I watched as Josh took a long sip from his cup, looking at the people across the street, walking about. He was like summer, shining in the golden morning light. 

"Oh, by the way, what ever happened with that date you had with..what was it, Jessica?" 

"Yessica?" He corrected, smirking. My heart fluttered a bit. "It was going fine until I told her I was bi, and well things got awkward after that," he shrugged. 

"That's so dumb."

"Yeah, she kept asking about if I had a preference for girls or about how many guys I've been with. It was weird."

"I don't know how anyone can turn down a man as gorgeous as you are. Male or female." I replied, slightly flirty. He laughed out loud after that. My stomach fluttered after seeing his white teeth. 

I have always liked Josh, but after all these years of knowing him and dating Jamie, I realized I truly valued our friendship more than dating him. Besides, he WAS very good-looking and that's something I couldn't resist. 

"Maybe you should move?" he asked peering at me. I looked at him a little shocked but eased. He had a point, maybe I should move. "You know, get away from all the bad memories here. Start a new life, pursue your passions, you know."

"And leave you?"

"Well maybe not that part, but I could maybe go with you?" I looked at him, shocked. He smiled, instantly understanding. "I'm just saying we BOTH need a break from the big city. Besides, I found this great little mountain house we could rent for a while!" 

"What part of you thinks the mountains were where you wanted to be?" I laughed, he couldn't be serious. "A bisexual, male model with a crippling shopping and internet addiction?" 

"Haha very funny, but I'm serious. It's like divine fate, I need a break from all this dating around and modeling. And you...well you could use the change of scenery. Plus, aren't you from like a small town?"

"Yeah in the middle of nowhere!"

"See you'd fit right in!"

"What about jobs, how are we going to pay for our little mountain house?" 

"There's a town nearby, not too big, not too small. I saw a few openings at their online we could do!" 

I sat there pondering. I could really use a fresh start, after suffering the violence and a thankless job for so many years. The mountains didn't sound bad after all, especially as I listened to Josh go on about the town. 

"Are you sure you're ready to leave this all behind?" I asked, which perked Josh's ears.

"Oh, quite certainly Miss.  Alexandria." He paused, a devious smirk pulling on his lips. "The mountains are calling and we must go."