The morning after the party, I am awake way too early and not for a lack trying, I can't get back to sleep. So, with a quiet huff, I roll out of bed and creep about in the room in stealth mode, trying desperately not to wake Lexi. I throw on the first work out gear I come across in the dark closet, which happens to be some short bike shorts and a muscle tee. I brush my teeth and twist my hair up into a high messy bun, as per my signature style.

I grab my keys, phone and headphones and head out. I figure going for a run around campus might give me a little more of a sense of direction for the upcoming orientation week and help me shed some of the built up anxiety I have been storing since we arrived.

I stop on the grass in front of my building and sit down, placing my legs out straight in front of me. I go through a series of warm up stretches, laying my upper body flat against my legs and holding tight, really feeling the pull behind my legs.

I kneel up and step into downward facing dog, bottom and thighs to the sky, as I stretch my shoulders and towards the ground. Through my legs, I see someone coming up behind me on the phone, he lets out an audible gasp as he takes in my upside down position.

Though I am the wrong way up, I recognise the now familiar aqua shade of his eyes as he stops behind me. He takes in my body from upside down, top to bottom, raking over me in a very obvious and slightly unnerving way.

"Ah, I gotta go." He says into his phone and tucks it in his pocket without taking his eyes off me.

I bend down on to my knees and turn over, bringing my legs into a cross and stretching down, hands spread onto the grass. Bayne's smiling face is an idyllic sight in the morning sun and I can't help but feel a tiny spark of excitement bloom inside me as he stops to talk to me.

"Shit Ellis. You really should warn people you may be doing a porn show out here in the open? You might cause an accident or something." He chuckles to himself and shakes his head, seemingly trying to clear something from his mind.

I feel all kinds of embarrassed as he laughs down at me, I usually wouldn't care what people say. But from him, for some reason, it gets me.

I go on the defensive almost immediately.

"What? I'm just stretching. If people choose to take that in a weird way, that's their dirty minded issue, not mine." I reply, covering my face as I squint in the sun trying to see his face.

He laughs again and shrugs his shoulders.

"Hey, I'm fine with it. But if you could just let me know what time? I don't want to miss anything."

He laughs at himself again and I feel my face flush automatically. Why does he get this reaction from me? The old Ellis would have told him to get lost and had a laugh. But this one? Ahh. She is a tongue tied, flustered mess.

Its like he has scrambled my mind. I flip him off without a witty retort, mostly because I can't think of one while I'm distracted by his perfect freckled face. I stand up, shaking each of my legs out, more than ever, ready to run away from here.

"Ok, well... I'm going to run now so, I'll see you around ok?" I manage to get out before I take off towards the main buildings of campus.

Before I even get five minutes of running in , I hear foot steps running behind me and soon Bayne is running at pace next to me. He puts his hand on my arm as we run and tries to get my attention;

"Hey Ellis? You know I was just joking around right? I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable".

He looks at me so sincerely, only kindness evident in his eyes and I'm not sure what to think. Maybe I just get too nervous around him to think straight. I decide it's too early for drama and I smile at him softly.

"It's ok. Really. I'm just tired and last night was such a let down. No problem, really." He smiles back, happy with my response and we continue to run slowly along the steps and onto the track that surrounds the entire open sports field.

"Are you going to keep running?" I ask quietly as he doesn't show any signs of stopping and I kind of want to pick up the pace a little. This is much slower than I'm used to.

"Yeah, is that ok? I was planning on running anyway? If you want to go slower, just let me know."

I don't miss the subtle smirk he wears and I take it as a challenge.

"Oh, I was just going at snails pace for you, didn't know if you could handle my speed." I say, tongue in cheek, waiting for his reaction.

"I can handle it just fine", he says with a wink and lifts his pace right away, leaving me to watch him as he runs ahead of me, it's an easy sight to follow. I get a little caught up watching the way his shirt catches on his defined trapezius each time he extends a stride and counteracts with his arms. Soon, I have to sprint a little to catch up and then I run in time with him around the field, not saying anything further, but enjoying the company.

As we complete lap eight of the field, Bayne signals with his hand that he wants to slow down. I nod in agreement and we head inwards onto the field, dodging the small sea of fellow joggers that have started to wash over the field from all different directions like little schools of brightly coloured fish.

We almost collapse onto the grass and I begin to stretch once more, this time taking care not to flash anyone as we are now surrounded. I'm also keen not to elicit any smart ass remarks from Bayne, so I keep it simple and keep my backside covered.

As I lean forward to feel the familiar pull of my now over warm thigh and calf muscles, I notice a small group of girls gravitating towards Bayne like there is some sort of cosmic pull dragging them nearer to him.

If he has noticed, he doesn't let on, instead he turns to face me and stretches, he smiles warmly at me, putting his head down and ignoring the girls all together.

"Thanks for letting me join you this morning. You actually gave me quite the challenge to keep up there at the end." He says and wipes the palm of his hand across his forehead, swiping the flowing sweat away but not doing anything to stop it reforming.

"No problem." I reply and continue to warm down.
"It was actually nice to have some company for a change." I admit, mostly to myself. Internally, I decide that it was just the company and not the specific person that I enjoyed.

"Anytime really. Do you always run so early in the morning?" He queries, staring straight at me, causing me to feel a little uncomfortable and trapped under his intense gaze.

I shift awkwardly where I sit and redirect my sight to my shoes, anything to try to get my shit together. I don't know what it is about him that makes me feel so uneasy but I really am starting to dislike it.

"Ah, yeah, usually." I force out. Only momentarily meeting his eyes before switching them back towards the shoes and the grass. Anywhere but on him.

"Well, I can't say that I share your early rising enthusiasm all the time, but maybe, if I give you my number, you could text me if you want a running buddy again?" He offers me such a sincere smile that I can't help but feel perplexed. I feel so flustered around him yet he seems to be completely relaxed and courteous even. There is nothing forceful about his proposal at all. It's merely a kind gesture. At least, this is what I tell myself as I hear myself agreeing to take his number.

"Ok sure." I say, getting to my feet and fishing my phone out of my zip up shorts pocket.
I hand it over to him and he puts in his number, sneakily dialling it so that he now has mine.

Rookie mistake Ellis.

"Well, thanks, I should be going now. I need to start sorting out my lesson plans and actually get to know this campus somewhat before classes begin." Oh god, I'm rambling now, I think to myself. I need to just leave and save myself from further embarrassment.

Bayne, perhaps sensing my uneasy tone, nods and drags himself to stand. He begins to head off for the dorms, which is in the same direction that I am heading. I let out a small laugh as he waits for me and we set off together.

A light casual conversation covers our walk back to the dorm. We cover the usual getting to know you topics; where I'm from, where he is from and what we want to study. I'm surprised to hear that he has no major because he hasn't decided what he wants to do post college, other than LaCrosse.

"So if you don't get selected to play after here, what then?" I ask, dumbfounded. I have always known that I wanted to dance professionally and that this is just the first step for me to getting there. Having a set plan is something I crave. Order. Discipline. I plan just about every part of every day. His complete lack of planning astounds me.

"Then I guess it's plan b." He says, his trademark smirk sets across his face and I can't help but return it. He is too beautiful to look at without being affected somewhat and the more I try to ignore it, the harder it is. The natural charisma he omits is infectious. I can see how people are just so easily drawn to him.

I laugh and shake my head. I have never ever met anyone quite as carefree as Bayne. It's as alluring as it is frightening to me.

We head into the dorm together and he turns towards the cafe as I head to the lift.

"Thanks for this morning Ellis, I had fun." He tips his head towards me and turns away.

"Me too." I reply and give him a small wave and step back into the lift. As the doors close and obscure my view of him, I feel slightly colder than I did in his company. He is everything warm and comforting, so much so that being around him warms my whole being. I know now that trying to avoid him would be like trying to avoid the sun.

Impossible.

Ok! If you have got this far, Thanks! I am so excited about this book. I have wanted to write it for a long time. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!!!

I would love to know who you see the characters as? Any ideas for a cast?

What do you all think about Ellis? And Bayne?

Do we all love Candice? I adore her!

Please vote and share xxxx

Ali xoxox