Turning Tables ---Going Under Construction---

Film Festival

The air was getting brisk as it reached the end of October and I pulled my sweater tighter around myself. Xander and I were meeting at the front entrance of the festival that was being held outside, the movies being shown in four separate tents, with vendors selling food and mementos in between. I could smell caramel popcorn and I couldn't wait to get a bag. 

"Hey." I jumped at the voice right behind me. It wasn't Xander. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's okay," I said while trying to place him. 

The look on my face must have been obvious confusion. "Emmitt. I met you at my house last night."

"Your house? I thought it was Xander's, or at least partially." Though that was never said, I assumed he would just be this success story and somehow steal my dream home. 

"No, I mean he lives there for now, but it's all mine." I hadn't really gotten to appreciate Emmitt last night. He was cute, tall and put together. Nothing like Xander who always looked like he was stepping out of a tornado that somehow made him hotter. "So were you here with X?"

"He asked me here, yeah."I didn't know what to say about my status with Xander since even if there was one at the moment it was false. "Do you know where he is. We were supposed to meet here."

Emmitt pulled out his phone and scrolled through it. "My movie starts in 20 mins so my bet is he'll be here in 30."

Of course. I showed up on time and the guy was late. I should have taken Sasha's advice and just bailed. If Emmitt wasn't friends with Xander I'd have just taken off, but I needed to seem nonplussed and wait it out. "So, when you say your movie..."

"Don't look too excited, I was not a creative partner. I am a credited producer. I found the guys some good locations and a lot of funds. But I was there start to finish, so I get to call it mine."

"Do you mind if I sit with you?" Sasha and Greg thought it best if they didn't tag along to all of my dates with Xander, though this was one I was wishing they had. 

___

The credits rolled on the movie and it wasn't the worst thing I had ever seen. It was the generic Heroes Journey, but with an all-female cast and a strong period metaphor hiding through the whole story. It had a lot of humor and a strong ending though. 

"Do you want to get some popcorn," Emmitt asked as the lights came up in the tent. I had totally forgotten about my need for sweet, sticky caramel kernels getting stuck in my teeth. 

"Yes, please." We walked together into the cold night and took warmth by the vendors. Emmitt asked the man for two bags of caramel popcorn and paid. "You didn't have to do that."

"It's the least I can do for you having to sit through any of these films for a guy who's late."

"It really isn't a problem. I don't mind these films. If they're bad I can just get a good laugh. If they're good, I get to be insightful." I took the first bite of the sweet and salty snack smiling as I chewed. I caught Emmitt staring at me for a second but he looked away. "Any news on Xander?"

I had to stay on target.

"A few more minutes." I started walking over to the entrance and Emmitt followed. It was a companionable silence as we ate more of our treats. The breeze was starting to slow and make the night more bearable. "Can I ask you something?"

I sat down on a bench just outside the front gates and Emmitt sat next to me, fighting off the cold. "Sure."

"Why do this, after so many years?" He was looking up at the sky in contemplation. 

Emmitt's question caught me off guard. Did he know what I was really doing with Xander? Did they both know? Was I in some kind of trap right now, that's why Xander was 'late'? "What are you talking about?" I hoped ignorance was enough.

"Seeing an ex," he replied. "Getting back into someone's life when it ended so long ago."

And so horribly, I added to myself.

I'd asked myself that a few times. Couldn't I just leave well enough alone? Take the few days I had had back in this guys life and realize I was better off. "I guess you just need to know... Why do you ask?"

"There's someone in my life, we are in a similar situation and I thought it would be stupid to reach out to her. Maybe it isn't though." His smile was cute as he thought about whoever it was from his past. Just then I could hear Xander screaming from the parking lot and the moment was over. 

He was wearing a thick blazer and cargo pants, true to Colorado snowboarder styles. "JJ! I am so sorry I kept you waiting. Totally lost track of time." 

"It's fine, Emmitt's kept me company."

Emmitt stood and gave Xander a quick pat on the back, "I've gotta go buddy, but enjoy the rest of the night. You too, JJ." He waved to me as he walked back into the festival. 

"I really didn't mean to miss Emmitt's movie," Xander said with what I think was sincerity. He leaned in closer to me and I could smell winter-mint and Axe body spray. "But since that was the only thing keeping me here, do you want to take a walk by the creek instead?"

His arm reached down and he laced his fingers with mine. 

"Sure." Xander smiled and pulled me from the bench leading me to a path just a little ways off. As we got closer to the water the chill picked up. It was a low and steady stream, the recent snow not having melted off from the mountains yet. 

"Do you remember that time," Xander began as he helped me down a steep slope. "When we snuck out of school and went up to the mountains?" 

I did, but I didn't know why he thought of that day. "We got lost on the side of table mountain. I thought we were going to die up there."

He laughed. "We were not that far from a path. It took us 5 minutes."

"It felt like an hour, especially with you running up ahead of me."

We stopped as we reached the edge of the lake and I looked up at the sky. The stars could be seen so much more clearly out here, nearly the middle of nowhere. Xander moved right behind me and I could feel his warmth, something I still remembered six years later. I remembered everything. 

"It was one of my favorite days, because of what happened when we made it down." Then it came back to me, the reason he would be bringing this up. "You were so excited that we had finally reached the ground and you told me you loved me for the first time." 

I was hard to forget. We were both sweating from the heat and adrenaline. I could see the car in the distance and Xander pulled me in and carried me as he ran to the car. I laughed the whole way, the anger having faded. When he put me down and handed me a bottle of water from the cooler in his trunk the words just slipped out. He didn't say anything back, just grinned and kissed me so hard I thought I'd never breathe again. 

The story only makes what he did so much worse though. We were perfect and happy and he ruined it. Don't bring it up, it will push him away. That's what Sasha said anyway, so I kept my mouth shut. He took the silence as an invitation and gently put a hand on my waist, sweet and gentle. 

"I've missed you, Jade."

I leaned into him, my body fitting back in the way it always had when we were younger. "I missed you too."