It's Always Been You

Morning Calls

I woke up the next morning to a series of texts from Wes that brought an immediate smile to my face. As I stretched lazily under the warm covers, the notification sounds of incoming messages piqued my curiosity. Grabbing my phone, I couldn't help but chuckle at Wes's concerned texts.

𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐲: 𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺? 𝘞𝘩𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦?
𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐲: 𝘏𝘰𝘸 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘶 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬? 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶.
𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐲: 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘥, 𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘣𝘪𝘢𝘯.
𝐖𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐞 𝐁𝐨𝐲: 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘪𝘧 𝘶 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦!!

I laughed out loud, Wes's trademark humour and concern for my well-being warming my heart. At least someone cared about my safety, even if it wasn't my supposed boyfriend.

A pang of residual bitterness towards Nate's negligence tugged at my chest.

Deciding to call Wes, I figured he'd be up by now considering it was almost noon.

The phone rang a few times before his hoarse, sleep-laden voice came through the line, revealing he had just woken up. His voice was deeper, raspier, and undeniably more searing than usual.

"Hello," he grumbled, the word almost a low growl.

"Morning sunshine," I grinned, picturing his tousled bedhead. "Looks like someone had a late night."

Wes's deep laugh echoed through the phone, rich and melodious. "Looks like you have good taste after all."

I chuckled, biting down on my lip as I fought away the surge of pride. I was quite proud of myself for finding Wes a girl he didn't immediately complain about. "And you had doubts in me? I'm offended."

Wes laughed again, the sound warming me to my core. "Of course I didn't. I'll always trust your judgment." He paused for a moment before continuing, a softer tone to his voice. "You could have let me know you got home safe, Fia. I was worried."

My heart swelled at his genuine concern. I stuck out my bottom lip in mock awe, despite him not being able to see it. "I'm flattered, Weston. I passed out as soon as I got to the dorms."

I could hear some shuffling from his end before his voice sounded again. "You really went all out last night. I wasn't expecting that much of a faux character to be made."

"I figured I would show you how dedicated I am," I joked. "How did it go with Rosie anyways? Seems like you liked her."

Wes hesitated for a moment, and I could sense his reluctance. "It was okay."

"Just okay?" My eyebrows pulled together in confusion. I had expected him to be a little more enthusiastic about the date. From the way he was sounding, I couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappointment.

"She was nice. I did like her but..." He trailed off, leaving me hanging.

"But what?" I heaved out a heavy sigh, bracing myself for his criticism.

Wes let out a grumbly noise, almost a growl. "I don't know. There was no... spark." He sighed, the sound crackling through the phone line. "She was all giggly and googly-eyed the whole time. It was like she was a lovesick puppy, and I was a juicy steak dangling in front of her at a farmer's market."