Turning Tables ---Going Under Construction---

Mornings

A knock on my front door startles me awake. I spent the whole night curled on the couch where Greg left me, Netflix playing Friends in the background, and my back hurts. Another knock reverberates through my living room and I finally stand up and open the door. I'm surprised when I see Xander standing there in his work out gear just smiling down at me. 

"Hi," I say dumbly, using the door to shield the fact that I'm only wearing a t-shirt and panties. "What are you doing here."

He leans on the door frame while he talks. "I was jogging and my route actually runs near your place." 

I look at him skeptically. "Really?" My defense falls a little and I open the door a little more. 

"Truly. I just didn't know it until the other night or I would have come by much sooner." We just stand there for a moment longer and I enjoy the smell of his body spray and slightly sweat dampened hair. "So can I come in?" 

"Ummm... Give me a second."

He nods and I shut the door on him to run and get a robe. It's short and silky so I can still be cute and sexy without showing off my pink underwear. I run back to the door and let him in. 

"So you jog?" I ask as he moves into the living room and takes a seat on my ottoman. 

"It's a good way to start the morning. Get to see the sunrise off the mountains and keep in shape." 

I glanced over at him from the corner of my eye while I poured us both some coffee. The shirt he was wearing was tight enough to show off his flat stomach and strong chest. His arms and legs were toned and strained when he stretched in his seat. I needed a distraction. 

"Do you take cream or sugar?" 

He shook his head and looked around my place. "I forgot to tell you the other night, but I love you place. Emmitt's house is cool, but I need to find something on my own."

The coffee finished I join him back in the living room and hand him his cup. Not sure what to do I just stand in front of him. "Yeah, I got this place crazy cheap. It's rough out there though." The small talk was grating. I mean he spent the night at my house, in my bed, and we couldn't come up with anything?

"Hey, how do you feel about going on a little bit of an adventure?" 

"Slightly scared. What did you have in mind?" 

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and scrolled until he found what he was looking for. "A bunch of people are going up to Aspen to camp for a couple of nights. I know it's wont to be just the two of us but we can steal plenty of time for ourselves, and Emmitts paying for all of it."

As fun as a camping trip sounded, I didn't know that I could handle being alone with either Xander or Emmitt. I still wasn't sure what to even do with Xander at this point. Maybe a weekend away would put it in perspective. 

"Let me think about it. I have to see if I can even get the days off."

"Of course, just let me know." Drowning the last sip of his coffee he stood up and stopped in front of me. "I have a surprise if you do come along though." His smile was mischievous as he leaned down to kiss me. 

I let him. It was short, but it set a shiver down my spine. What if I was falling for him all over again? "I'll call you later."

"Good." He brushed his hand down my cheek before he let himself out. I was in trouble.
___

"You have to go!" Sasha told me following me around the clothing store where I worked a couple days during the week. It was a nice way to get cheap clothes even cheaper. "Please tell me you were just letting him hang when you told him you'd think about it."

I put the new winter sweater on the rack closest to the door. "I wasn't. It's getting more complicated then I had anticipated. The plan is..."

"Amazing. Genious. Innovative."

"Mean."  It was the only thing that I could think of. I had been the 'bitch-faced' girl that everyone was afraid of since I was in 7th grade because it was easier. You don't get hurt if everyone just stays away.

I've tried to be a better and nicer person though and this was taking me back down the path of, hurt-them-before-they-hurt-you attitude. It was unhealthy. 

"Are you falling for him?" It was both an accusation and actual curiosity. 

"No.... I don't know, it isn't about that though. It's about right and wrong."

She stared at me over the clothing racks. "It's a little far down the line for morality. Even if you break up with him today, he's going to be hurt, so why not play it out."

WIth the last coat on display, I look back at her. "Why is this so important to you?"

"Because even if he is playing the nice guy right now, he is still a liar and a cheat.  They all need to know what they are doing to the people they hurt, even if it means hurting them."

Sasha's face was red as she spoke. She didn't raise her voice, but the anger was there and real. In the years I had known her she didn't speak much about her past and there was no shortage of Mr. Right Now's in her life, but from what she told me I couldn't imagine any of them were the cause of all this. 

After a deep calming breath she spoke again. "I'm sorry, you don't have to do anything, but falling for this guy again is the wrong idea."

"Okay, I hear you." Patiently I waited hoping she would continue with a story for the outburst. 

She looked away from me quickly as she started to peruse through the new selections I had just put away. A sky blue peacoat catches her eye and she holds it to my chest, everything that just happened forgotten in her mind. "If you do go on the camping trip this will work to keep you warm and make you irresistible." She smiled up at me. "Keep it in the back. I have to go though." 

Too quickly for me to stop her she grabs her purse and runs out the boutique.