Colors of Love

2 - Beige

I stretched my legs and stared at the empty track, relishing in the fact that no one was out running this early in the morning. The morning air was crisp. It was slightly chilly, but in a comfortable way. The sun was just starting to peak above the horizon, ready to take over its morning shift. 

Off in the distance was the soccer stadium where I could see the team practicing.  I could hear the coach shouting instructions and could make out the players doing drills. Taking a deep breath and a swig of my water, I popped in my headphones and turned on my music. It was time to run. 

An hour later, I had worked up quite a sweat. I sat down and took a drink of water and then began stretching my legs so I wouldn't be sore. I needed to start making the long trek back to my apartment and shower. My first class was at 9 am and it was already almost 7:30. I stood up after stretching and gathered my water bottle. I took my headphones out and started making my way towards my apartment. 

As I walked, I noticed a group of guys walking in front of me, mostly shirtless. I realized that it was the soccer team, as some of them were holding soccer balls and all of them were wearing cleats. I felt slightly self-conscious in my sports bra and cropped tights. I was still kind of sweaty and I was sure that my face was blotchy and red after my intense 3.5 mile run.

At my footsteps, one of the guys looked back and then raised his eyebrows. His face broke out into a grin and he stopped and turned around.

"Hey, Elliot! It's that chick from our apartment whose shit was all over the place!" the guy said, pointing right at me. I rolled my eyes.

Great.

Two of the other guys turned around and I realized that one was Sebastian. I hadn't run into him the rest of move-in week. This was partially because I hadn't really left the confines of my apartment since the day I had first met him. 

Sebastian smiled at me and waved.

"Hey, Blake!" he called out. I raised my hand and waved, too, as I approached the three boys. 

"Hey," I said flatly.

"Damn, girl," the guy that had turned initially said, scanning my body up and down very obviously. Sebastian elbowed him in the side and he scowled.

"What are you doing out here so early?" he asked.

"I was running," I said. 

"Into my arms," the first guy said, extending his arms out.

"James, can you quit being a dick?" Sebastian asked. "We were out here practicing," Sebastian said, with a wave of his arm. 

Thanks, I didn't ask.

"Yeah, I noticed," I replied. "That's cool that you're on the soccer team," I added. 

"These are my roommates. This is James. That's Elliot," Sebastian said.

"Pleasure to meet you," James said, taking my hand even though I hadn't extended it to him. "Emphasis on the pleasure," he added with a sly grin. Sebastian closed his eyes in annoyance.

"Seriously?" Elliot said, shaking his head. "I'm going to get him out of here before he makes an even bigger fool out of himself," Elliot said to me, grabbing onto James' shoulder and ushering him away. "We'll catch up with you after class, man," he said to Sebastian.

"James is an idiot," Sebastian said, looking at his roommates' receding backs. He turned to face me. "Sorry about him," he said. I shook my head.

"It's not your fault your friend's a douche," I said. He chuckled and nodded.