Payton tried to calm her nerves as she raised her hand to knock on the door in front of her. She'd been standing in front of this door for the past ten minutes, and she wasn't even sure why she was still there. After a deep breath, she knew this whole thing was stupid."At least you still have your pride," she mumbled as she turned to leave.Karma being the pain the butt that it was chose that exact moment for someone to open the door she'd just turned from. Figured."Hey. Can I help you?" the guy at the door asked."No, it's fine. Bye.""Oh! You're Payton! Right?"Karma wasn't just a pain in the butt, it was a bitch. She sighed and looked at the guy in front of her to see if she knew who it was. She didn't. He was built a lot like Josh, but he had reddish hair in a short, clean cut."Finished checking me out? I can wait. Honestly, I don't mind.""Oh my-""No! Sorry. Holy shit, don't be mad. I mean between last night, and then I've obviously embarrassed you. I didn't mean to make thing

"Shit!" Josh exclaimed as he sat straight up in bed. This was the second time he'd overslept this semester. He was usually an early riser, but it seemed like something was plotting against him.Realizing he had less time than he thought, he grabbed his cell and looked up Payton's number. When it went right to voicemail, he hung up without leaving a message, and dialed her room."Hello?""Hailey? It's Josh.""Oh, hey. Payton's not here.""Do you know where she is?""I'm pretty sure she's at the library. She headed down there this morning, and I haven't seen her. I can try to call her if you want.""I just tried, and it didn't even ring. I was supposed to pick her up in..." Josh trailed off glancing at the clock, "five minutes. I'm running late, though. Will you tell her I'll be there as soon as I can?""How much is it worth to ya?" Hailey teased."Just let her know.""Yeah, yeah. You'll be here ASAP. Got it.""Thanks, Hailey.""No, problemo."Looking in his dresser, Josh grabbed the fir

Josh had acted on an impulse when he landed back in Wichita and called Hailey to see when Payton was coming in. While he was in New York, he'd thought about their relationship, or lack thereof. He had even confided in his brother, which he hadn't done in a long time. He knew that he wouldn't be able to mend the relationship with Jackson overnight, but they had both taken steps to put the past behind them. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he had his old brother back.The conclusion he'd come to was that maybe having to work to be with someone wasn't such a bad thing, if they were worth it; he was pretty sure that Payton was worth any work he had to put into their relationship. Jackson had a good laugh at his expense when he found out how hard he was having to work after Josh put his mind at ease that she was nothing like Ella.Josh had been watching crowds of people leave the terminal for a couple hours, but this was it, this should be her flight. He had already second an

Josh was confused as to why Payton didn't want her grandpa around. If he'd been injured, or was in the hospital, there was no doubt that his parents would be there with him."Shh, calm down. Everything's gonna be fine," he said, trying to soothe her.She tried to speak several times but couldn't seem to form the words. Eventually her breathing slowed, her eyes shut, and she was asleep again. Whatever had been going into her IV was knocking her out. He hated that she was so out of it, but glad that she looked better. He had really been worried about her the night before.He tried to help out as much as he could by giving them information about her past medical conditions, and the head injury she'd told him about, but he didn't know much. They weren't giving him much information either since he wasn't her next of kin. Since he got to stay with her, he didn't push it.A knock sounded and jerked Josh out of the nap he'd almost gotten to. The nurses had been coming by every couple of hours,

"Okay, you can stop looking at my boobs anytime now," Payton scolded Josh playfully."But they're such nice boobs.""Okay, keep gawking. It'll give you an excuse when I beat you."Josh had recently discovered that Payton liked to swim. She didn't just swim for fun, but she swam laps for exercise. It just happened to come up in a conversation when he and his roommates were talking about sports. Wes had blurted out that no one did anything in the water, and Payton spoke up. After that, things got competitive."So sorry if I don't believe you, but I just don't see how you'd be able to beat me at anything sports related," Josh had said."Because I'm a girl?""Not just that. I work out a whole lot more than you do."Payton stuck a hand on her hip, "Oh, just get over yourself already. I know I can beat you down the pool and back. You think that just because you're majoring in 'sports' that it makes you better than me. Well, it doesn't."Josh loved the playful banter, "Well, it's not just th