Another Morning

Tuesday morning I woke up with a big smile one my face. It had been two weeks since the "Tea Accident" resulting in the handsome Kaden coming to my rescue. After the success of our first date, Kaden and I steadily drew closer to each other with each passing day. I picked up my alarm clock and turned it off, noticing that I woke up a half hour early. Who knew a little infatuation could make mornings bearable? I went through my morning routine at a sedate pace, whistling contentedly as I looked forward to the day. The drive to school was effortless, less of a hassle than most days. I strolled from the parking lot to campus, calling my friend to get her morning tea order.

The line to the coffee house was still long, but there were no boisterous boys about. I briefly speculated that the parties had lessened since the end of the semester was fast approaching. Usually this was my time to be overly stressed, thinking of everything that I had to get done, everything that had to be perfect before the semester ended. It was hard trying to be brilliant when you found that your time had almost run out. Things were different this semester. While my mind went over everything that had to be done, I did not stress. In the past, I always had my work done and in on-time. It was always brilliant. I decided to believe in myself this time.

I was standing in the doorway of the coffee house, about ten minutes more and I would be ordering pure heaven in tea form. Arms snuck around my waist, clasping me to a hard body. Soft kisses rained on the right side of my neck complete with a little nuzzle. I shivered with the contact and the secret knowledge that my neck was one of my more sensitive spots. A sly smile spread across my face as I leaned back into the body of Kaden.

"You're wearing a white t-shirt," he whispered in my ear.

I looked down at the t-shirt depicting the logo of my favorite baseball team. "An astute observation."

"I don't think you'd consider involuntarily spilling tea on it? Not only do I get to save you from more humiliation, but I also get a nice view of the type of bra you're wearing. Everyone wins."

We made it to the counter as he finished his sentence. The efficient cashier typed in my drink before I could tell her what I wanted. "What's your mystery friend want?" The cashier asked me as she ogled Kaden who still had me firmly clasped within his embrace.

"Tabitha requested 'Alert' today." I pointed to the tea dispenser behind the cashier filled with multicolored tea packages. The cashier handed me two packages of the little tea envelopes and a cup of hot water. Then she looked expectantly at Kaden.

"I'll have a black coffee." He requested.

Kaden paid for all the drinks waving away my protests. He eyed the drinks in my hands and my white t-shirt expectantly.

"I'm not spilling a drink on me so you can have your jollies." I rolled my eyes and started to walk away.

He chuckled, gently stopping my retreating form. "How about I carry the extra drink for you? If I can't have my jollies then I could at least prevent an accident." Taking Tabitha's drink from me, he stuck out his elbow in the time old gesture of escorting a lady to her destination. Elation coursed through me as I took his offered elbow and we left the coffee house.

In the two weeks we had been spending together, he had found little ways to flatter and surprise me. He bought me little inexpensive gifts that reminded him of a previous comment I made, we talked about our pasts no matter how painful, and he let me be myself. Kaden never told me that I should lose weight, wear my hair in a certain way, or act a different way. I did not try to change him either. We accepted each other just the way we were both good and bad qualities.

It was one of the few sunny days in April when it was not raining. For the first time since I could remember, the overly cheerful weather did not bother me. I was too occupied with the company gallantly escorting me to my class. Tabitha and Kaden had not met each other yet. The last month of the semester did not leave people much time for socializing. I was lucky enough to have a schedule that overlapped with theirs while their schedules collided with each others. With that thought in mind, a question started to form.

We had reached Jenkin's Hall. I opened the door for him since his hands were full and I had one free. "Why are you escorting me to class today? I thought you had a class starting at the same time in the opposite direction."

He kissed my cheek as he passed by. It was an elegant move that did not threaten to spill the drinks he was carrying. "My class was canceled today. The instructor e-mailed us this morning. I should be using this time to get a few projects done, but I thought I could take some time to meet the infamous Tabitha."

We walked down the hall at a normal pace. My tea threatened to splash out of the little opening of the insulated cup and spill over onto my hand. "Infamous? Do I really talk about her that much?" It was not unheard of for me to talk so much about family and friends, but it had been a while since I had meaningful discussions with someone other than Tabitha.

He flashed a warm smile my way. "Of course you do, Alex. It just means that she's an important part of your life. Because she's important to you, means that I should be on my best behavior."

I quirked my eyebrow. "Why's that?"

He did not bat an eye, did not think about it when he said, "We're in a relationship and it would be great that I get along with your friends."

I paused on the stairwell. "We're in a relationship?" My heart beat wildly, another idiosyncrasy I was fast becoming use to in Kaden's presence. He had a way of making statements that caught me off guard.

He was a step below me, which made our eyes level. A look of desire flashed across his face. "That telling you business just doesn't work, does it? What I really meant was: I hope we're in a relationship."

Drowning, I was drowning in his eyes. A little sigh escaped me, a blush spreading across my cheeks. "We might be. It's been a while since I've been in a relationship; I've forgotten what one feels like." He kissed me then. Nothing long and drawn out, but something short and sweet. The type of kiss that would stick with me through both of my classes until I saw him again, it was like a very addicting drug. "Yeah, this is a relationship."

He chuckled, nuzzled my nose with his. We continued up the stairs until we reached the second level. Tabitha was waiting just outside the classroom. She took a cursory full body visual; an approving look entered her eyes.

Pointing a finger at him she looks at me. "Is this him?"

Kaden turned to me with raised eyebrows. "I take it you come to class often on the elbow of a man?"

I rolled my eyes at both of them. "No I don't come to class escorted." To Tabitha, "Of course it's him and be nice. He has your tea."

Kaden offered Tabitha her drink. A smile spread across her face at the sight of the cup. "This is a good start," she said, "but I'll be watching you."

He bent towards my ear. "Is she serious?"

I squinted at her. There was a good possibility that she was, but I was not about to tell him that. I did not want him scared away. If we introduce our eccentric quirks to him gradually, there was a better chance that he would get use to them and stick around. I just shrugged my shoulders and mumbled "I don't know."

A high pitched squeal rent the air causing me to wince in pain. All three of us looked towards the classroom as a speeding blur of blond hair ran out the door and right into the arms of Kaden. His coffee spilled upon impact. Amanda Jane's arms were wrapped around his neck and her legs were wrapped around his waist.

"I knew you couldn't stay away from me for long, lover! You needed a few weeks to recover from the mind-blowing sex we had, didn't you?" Her high tone interrupted several classes that were in session nearby. She kissed him then. I could see her shoving her tongue into his mouth and the surprised look on his face. What I did not see was him struggling to yank her off or to avoid her kiss. He just stood there with his arms around her.

The bottom fell from my stomach. My eyes were wide, taking in the whole scene. Everything in my mind shut off and my body was placed into automatic. I turned to Tabitha, the beginning of a headache pounding slowly through my brain.

"I'll see you in class." I told her tonelessly. Without another word I turned and walked away.

Tabitha was speechless as she watched me walk through the door. She looked back at Kaden just in time to see Amanda Jane unhook herself from him. "My class is about to start, but call me later." She closed her eyes and basked in the feel of him. It was like she was savoring a particularly good spoonful of rich chocolate ice cream. "I can't wait to get you back into bed!" She squeezed him through his pants once before turning and walking away.

Suddenly Tabitha jerked out of her stupor. Her eyes turned dark and her sweet demeanor changed to that of an avenging angel. "Ass!" She gritted out before she decked him. It was not enough to make him crumble, but it was strong enough to make him take a step back. She marched into the classroom and shut the door.

--~~--

The room was dark except for the flashing pixels of my TV. Tabitha had taken me out earlier to a karaoke bar. I did not want to go, but she insisted, promising that I would feel better about the whole situation if I just sang my heart out. It did not help as well as she had foretold because in the middle of a you-broke-my-heart-you're-a-jerk song I started crying.

It had been the continuation of a pattern I had adopted for the past two days. Two days of digesting what had happened. Two days with torrents of strong feelings washing over me. My automaton nature, usually reserved for mornings, had crossed over to my afternoons and evenings. When I was not in class, I was at home crying. Instead of working on projects that were due in the next two weeks, I lost myself in fantasy watching romantic DVD's. The TV showed me a romantic world, a world where I knew the outcome, the happy-ending I wanted.

It was an old trick that I had learned at an early age. A trick I used because I use to be discontent with my own life. I often wished that I was someone else, somewhere else. Books, movies, and TV were useful tools to facilitate my fantasies. Often in movies, I would place myself in the action. I was the heroine who overcame adversity and ended up with fame, fortune, and the guy.

Over the years I sought counseling for my low self-esteem. Despite what some people might say, it helped me a lot. I just needed someone to listen to me, someone I could use as a sounding board to try and figure things out. With that help, I was resolute to transform myself into the person I wanted to be. What I found lacking in myself, personality wise, I changed. Slowly, that person I could not stand to look at in the mirror became a person I admired and adored.

I feared that one man had undone all that work. My mind desperately tried to reason with me, tried to make everything better. It chided me on my depression. Things like, "You knew he would not give up his debauching ways for one woman," and "You only knew him for only two weeks" tumbled through my brain. I could not seem to lift myself from the oubliette where I had fallen. My heart trapped me in a media fantasy world where all the leading men looked like Kaden.

Tears leaked down my cheeks unheeded as my hand found it's way to the bowl of chocolate candy. My cell phone went off, disrupting my movie. I glared at the offending object for a second; it had been ringing off the hook for two days. There were two reasons for that. One reason was Tabitha. She was worried about me and constantly called to see if I had gotten better or worse. The other reason was Kaden. Each time he called, I had pressed the little red button on my phone forwarding his call to voicemail.

This time it was Kaden. I picked up my phone and transferred his call to my voicemail. The man was tenacious in his quest. He most likely had never failed in his challenge to bed a woman of his choosing. I was determined that he would fail now. How could he possibly think that I would want to talk to him after that offending display?

From a distance I heard someone singing. It did not register at first, but as the voice gradually grew louder, I started to notice. I put the DVD on pause, my brow wrinkled in thought. It did not take me long to identify the song as Paul McCartney's Silly Love Songs. I also realized that the song was coming from my front porch. Grateful for any diversion from my warring thoughts and feelings, I got up to investigate the strange phenomena.

I looked though the peephole in my door and my eyes widened. Kaden was standing on my front porch serenading me. At first I had no clue what to do, but his rising voice spurred me into action. I yanked open the door and glared at him. He stopped singing immediately.

"Are you crazy? This community has rules and they would throw me out in a heartbeat for breaking them. Is a conquest so important to you that you don't care if I'm homeless or not?" I questioned him in an agitated whisper.

He stepped close, glowering at me. "I needed to get your attention somehow. You've been ignoring my phone calls, avoiding me in the halls, and changing your habits for the last few days. Tabitha won't even give me the time of day, stubborn woman. Now I'm not going to leave until we straighten this out."

I cursed myself for a fool when I stepped aside to let him in. My broken heart made me vulnerable to any persuasion he would come up with. I tried to fortify myself, reminded myself to say "no" to him. The only way I could defend myself was through anger. "Spit out whatever you have to say and then get out."

"I'm not going to 'spit out' anything. We're going to have ourselves a conversation. I have some questions I want answers to. I think I deserve that much." Kaden started to pace from my living room to my dining room without stopping.

My frustration grew. I wanted him out of the house so I could get on with my grieving and my life. It would be a fast process since the relationship did not last that long, and I wanted to get it over with. Once I got to the part where I hated men, I could function like a successful student with a bright future again. It seemed that Kaden refused to play fair.

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" I groaned.

"Because I can't!" His voice rose again, but we were inside the house so I did not have to worry about the neighbors hearing. "I have these strong feelings for you, this fascination with you. Deep down I know that I'm starting to fall in love with you, even though it's clear you don't trust me. Didn't you say to me in these two weeks that communication is key to any relationship?"

I thought about the two weeks we spent together, and I could not review everything that I had said to him. "It sounds like something I'd say. What's there to communicate? The scene I saw was pretty self-explanatory."

"Sure it was, but it depends on your perspective." He was starting to throw my own words back at me, effectively using my own logic to argue his point.

"You didn't exactly push her off. You didn't refuse her kiss either."

Kaden stopped his pacing and took a defensive stance. "Everything happened fast. I was in momentary shock. Not to mention the woman shoved her tongue down my throat. I was in the process of being asphyxiated."

"Tabitha told me what Amanda Jane did to you after I went into the classroom."

"The crazy woman mauled me. Then before I had a chance to say anything, your friend punched me." He briefly touched his cheek in remembrance. "I thought women were supposed to slap men, not punch them."

Flabbergasted I said, "I'm not a normal woman. Do you think I would have normal friends?"

He glanced at me sheepishly. "I guess not."

I was melting, I could feel it. All he had to do was flash me a look and I was lost, but I could not be weak. He had a plausible excuse for the way he acted. What about his fidelity in the future? Could I trust a man who had so many notches on his bedpost that it was practically whittled away to nothing? "I don't know what to do." The words escaped without my notice.

Kaden sighed, grasping my shoulders in both his hands, trailing them down to my elbows and back up again. It was a gesture to soothe my frayed nerves. "Why not try to trust me not to hurt you?"

My heart constricted at the suggestion. He was asking me for the impossible. After three intimate boyfriends that put me through the ringer and back, I was not sure I would be able to trust another man, player or not. There was a time, after I had pulled my life together and gained the confidence that I lacked, I thought that my fears would never get the better of me again. How wrong could I have possibly been?

I should face this fear head on, a strategy that had always worked in the past. A sigh escaped me, a sigh that told a story of my weariness and reluctance in the face of another fight. The problem was this fear went deeper than the others. "Trust is a tall order. I'm not sure I can do that."

He was still holding onto me. I thought he would give up in defeat after that, I should have known better. "I know there are a lot of walls that I need to break down. If you're willing to try in this relationship, to break down your walls, then I'll be more than happy to help you. I'd be an idiot to let you go so easily." He hugged me then, one of those big comforting bear hugs that I loved so much.

I looked up into his eyes and smiled. "This'll be a big fight. Do you think we can do it?"

My chin rested on Kaden's shoulder as he held me tightly to him. "Of course we can do it. Someone has to be the optimist in this relationship."

Laughing, I hugged him tightly. "I'm not much of a pessimist. Besides, how could I say no to a guy who serenaded me with Paul McCartney?"

Kaden and I held each other long into the night. We were ready to face anything, but I did not think we expected the drama of the next day.

--~~--

I really have enjoyed everyone's comments over this story. Chapter five is in production, but not completed. Sorry for any errors that you have found in the chapters. That's what I get for editing in the middle of the night. Please take the time to comment and/or vote. Thank you!