Chapter 5: I'm A Man Of Many Talents

Payton enjoyed a girl's night just as much as anyone, but she'd been yawning for the past hour while Hailey had been trying to paint her toes and get her to talk about whatever hot guy was on the TV. She wasn't even sure who it was, but he was more dud than stud. The best part of the whole night had been the homemade facials that Hailey had found a recipe for on Pinterest even though it was a total flop.

Finally, the credits started to roll, and Payton gathered her stuff.

"Not even pretending to feel bad about ditching me," Hailey said with a smile.

"You know I've got that thing tomorrow."

"That's the only reason I'm letting it slide. Geoff is a beast when it comes to those projects. I'd tell him to lighten up on the start time."

Payton shrugged, "It's just Geoff. The guy's a machine so if he wants to meet at the butt crack of dawn, that's when we'll meet. Tomorrow we can do something into the wee hours if you feel we really have to."

"Nah, I'm getting too old to be up that late. Sorry, that facial recipe sucked."

"No, biggie. Besides, we know if we get desperate, we can always eat the leftovers," she said laughing. The mask was nothing more than plain yogurt and bananas. "I'll be quiet when I get up in the morning."

"If you wake me up, it won't be the end of the world. I start basketball practice next week, and the coach wants us to start lifting. Hey! I have an awesome idea. You should totally come with me."

"Me? Yeah, I'm gonna have to pass. I don't even think I'd be able to lift the bar."

Hailey flexed her arm muscles and poked at them, "I have wimpy arms too. Let's do it! Come on. Besides, we might see some hot guys without shirts on."

"Okay, but only for the hot guys," Payton said laughing. "See you sometime tomorrow afternoon."

The sun was barely peeking in through the blinds when Payton woke with a groan. She silenced her alarm and wished she had another hour to sleep. Darn Geoff and him being a morning person. As she pulled on her backpack her muscles protested. She regretted telling Hailey she'd go weight lift with her. Carrying that couch back and forth to the game yesterday had been enough of a workout.

Payton made her way across the street to Geoff's apartment. Except for the few cars driving by, campus was quiet at 8:00 on a Saturday morning. Everyone was doing what Payton wanted to be doing, sleeping. When she made it to Geoff's door, she quietly knocked, and waited for him to answer.

It didn't take long for him to pull the door open, and of course, he looked like he'd been up for hours. His hair was still damp from the shower he'd taken, probably because he'd been for a run earlier. She wasn't sure how he looked so good this early. Payton had done her hair and make-up, but she still felt like the walking dead.

"Hey, how was your night?" Geoff asked.

"Not too bad. You?"

"Good. Ready to do this thing?" he wondered.

"Yeah, let's get it over with."

After working all morning, they were just about finished. Geoff had magical skills when it came to PowerPoint presentations, and she had been crafting the handouts that were required for the project. They had each exchanged laptops to look over the other's work, and to add a few finishing touches.

"Your skills amaze me," Payton said as she went over the last few slides.

"I'm a man of many talents."

"Are we still talking about PowerPoint?" Payton asked.

Geoff cocked an eyebrow and smiled, "I dunno, are we?"

Payton shook her head and laughed, "Looks good. I think we can take care of the rest between now and Monday." They had decided to get together Monday evening to go over their presentation and to make sure everything was ready for class.

Geoff's expression changed, and Payton wasn't sure why. He looked serious. "Hey, I was gonna ask earlier, how's your mom?"

Oh, that. "There hasn't been any change."

"So are they just waiting around? What's going on?"

Payton didn't like to talk about the situation much, but with friends like Geoff and Hailey, she felt safe sharing this part of her life, knowing they wouldn't pity her or look at her different.

"There's brain activity, and she's been responding to some stimulus from time to time, so yeah, we're just waiting."

"And you? How's your head stuff going?" he asked.

She let out a long sigh, "I don't know. Some days are fine, and then others are... challenging. I guess that's the right word for it. I just feel like half the time people think I'm a spaz or a ditz, and the other half I'm going crazy. And then there's the half where I'm just normal, and it's confusing to me, so I can't imagine what it's like to anyone else."

"That's three halves," Geoff said with a smile. "Looks like the part of your head that does math was affected too."

"Smart ass."

"Oh, pulling out the cuss words. I'm honored," Geoff said and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll keep you in check."

"What would I do without you?"

*

Josh was having one of the best dreams he'd ever had. He'd always tried to stay away from alcohol for many reasons, but if all his hung over, drunken dreams were like this one, he might need to rethink that policy. In his dream, he was with a beautiful girl. She had the softest skin, and her blond hair and green eyes were amazing. She had come out of nowhere, just all of a sudden leaning against his front door waiting for him.

Josh walked up to her to ask her name, but when he got close enough, she pulled him down by the collar of his shirt and started to kiss him. Mouths met, tongues mated, and when her breath hitched, he pulled her soft body against his. Her delicate curves fit perfectly against his hard body.

Not sure how he went about it, he got them inside and backed her into a wall in the living room. Her breath caught, and he took the noise as encouragement. Her hands were pulling at him, pulling him closer, and he was happy to oblige.

"Umm, this feels so real," Josh thought to himself. Yeah, he was staying asleep as long as he could.

Josh's hands started to roam the girl's body as he kissed down her neck. He pulled her leg around his hip and rocked into her. He heard her light moans, and if he didn't stop, he was going to embarrass himself. Her hands ran through his hair and they encouraged him to look up into her face. He still didn't know her name, but names could wait. He looked into her hooded eyes and in a breathy voice cooed, "Hey, baby." It was weird because it was the body of the girl he'd seen before, but it was Ella's voice. Now this was officially the weirdest dream ever, and he needed to wake the hell up.

"Hey, slow down. Are you even awake?" The girl's voice asked.

"Huh?" he asked mostly unconscious.

"Wake up, baby. Look at me."

Slowly his eyes opened, and he was staring at a pair of blue eyes underneath him. As reality came into focus, she smiled at him, "There you are."

Josh shot up off the bed like he'd been shocked. No wonder everything had felt real, there actually was a woman in his bed. Shit, what all had actually happened? The fact that it was Ella had him pissed off more than anything. How could he have let that happen again?

Suddenly realizing he was practically naked, he grabbed the first thing he could find to put on. He didn't care if it matched, was dirty, or clean. He needed something. He struggled to get the clean clothes that had been thrown over the back of the desk chair on, and he sat back down on the end of the bed as far away from Ella as he could.

Not trusting himself to speak any louder than a gruff whisper, Josh spat, "What the hell are you doing here, Ella? Who let you in?"

At least she had the decency to look like she felt bad, "No one let me in. I knocked, no one answered, and it was open. As for what I want," she said suggestively, "I want what you want."

"What I want? You haven't wanted what I want in almost two years, so forgive me if I don't believe you."

Ella ran a finger down his arm, "Oh, but I could tell you wanted me. The way you grabbed me just then, and the way your hands were on me while you were kissing me." She motioned to the tent in his shorts, "I say that's you wanting me."

"That's a reaction to... I don't have to explain it to you. I can't just make it go away, and I wasn't even awake," he told her while trying to get her to quit touching him. "I think you need to leave now."

"Leave?" Ella pouted, "Josh, I want you back. I came back this weekend because I still love you. It's been a long two years without you, and I've been thinking a lot about us this summer. I even called a couple times, but you never picked up."

Josh stood and walked away from the bed. The more distance between them the better. Looking at the clock, he prayed one of his roommates would show up and bail him out. It was almost noon so where the hell were they? He ran a hand through his hair and tried to clear his head.

"Come on Josh, man up," he told himself as he paced across the room. "Just tell her to get the fuck out. You don't need this shit." As he exhaled a deep breath, a hiss came out. "Ella, I tried, really tried to get you back, and you said no every time. I'm just over it. I think it'd be best if you left."

"But I don't have anyone, and you don't have anyone. Why can't we just try again?" She asked as the tears filled her eyes.

"Shit, crying Ella. I can't do crying Ella," ran through his head as he took in her tears. For a second he wondered if she were doing it on purpose. "Who says I don't have anyone?" he asked, trying to come up with anything to get her out the door. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best thing to say, because it just sent the tears streaming down her face.

Lip quivering she said, "But all this time, you said... what are you saying, Josh?"

"Isn't it obvious? I don't want that kind of relationship with you anymore. I used to, but now, I'm just done. Ella, I loved you. I loved you a lot, but I'm done."

"Josh, please? I was stupid. I know I was. Look, just... just, let's go to dinner tonight and talk," she pleaded.

"I think the time for talking was over when I drove all night to see you and instead was greeted by you out on the porch with some guy's tongue down your throat."

Ella growled, "I didn't even know you were there! You never told me you came to see me."

"That's the point. You didn't need me then, and I'm sure you don't now," Josh said and then sighed. "Just leave, please."

He could feel his resolve cracking, and he needed her gone. Opening the door and gesturing for her to exit was about all he could get out. After several seconds, Ella finally got up and headed out of the room and down the stairs. His roommates were all sitting around the living room and the shocked looks on their faces told him that they really didn't know she was there. He knew that had been the truth. They never would have let her in.

Josh walked out the front door with Ella and then pulled it shut behind him.

"Listen, Ella, I really care about you, but I just can't do this anymore."

"Is it another girl? Wes said you had a girlfriend."

"I'm not sure that's any of your business. It wouldn't matter anyway," Josh told her.

Stifling another round of tears she looked down, "Okay. I had to try. Goodbye, Josh."

"Bye, Ella."

Josh was deep in thought as he watched Ella walk away. He couldn't believe he actually grew the backbone to do that. He'd thought about this exact moment for the past year, and here he'd actually done it. She looked back at him before she got into her car and took off. He could finally relax for the first time since he woke up.

He yawned and was about to head back into his apartment and take a shower when he heard people laughing down by the other apartments, so he turned to see who it was.

"Holy Shit!" He muttered to himself. His heart slammed against his chest as he saw Geoff talking to the girl from his dream. She was real; it was the girl he'd seen in the dean's office. And it looked like his buddy Geoff knew her.