Elliot is graduating from grad school in May and then he's coming home. I can't wait to see him. He wasn't able to make it home over the holidays and I have been too busy to even think about trying to plan a trip to see him. Only a few months and then we can reunite. I'll probably be sick of him after only a few days, but I'll still be happy that he'll be closer.

I reach my marker and turn back towards the house. I look down at my watch and immediately pick up the pace. I'm slacking this morning. I may not have to head to work, but I still have things to do today. Plus, I don't want my average time to suffer. I dig in harder and concentrate on my breathing.

Felicity seems to be excited that Elliot is coming home. She has been trying to get me to plan a party for him since she found out last week. I'm sure we'll celebrate. I'm sure people will migrate to our house like they always do. Elliot will be staying with us until he finds a place. That fact alone means that the party might last weeks.

Today Felicity and I are clearing out the guest room and starting to get it ready for Elliot. It's been our storage room since we moved in. I have no idea what's even in there. I moved a bunch of stuff from my parent’s house over about a year ago but never sorted through it. I have boxes of stuff I'm sure I haven't even thought about in almost a decade.

After showering off, I grab a cup of coffee. Felicity is on the back deck waiting for me, her coffee already half gone. We need to go shopping for furniture, bedding, pretty much everything you can think of. We can't do any of that until we clear the room out, though.

"Morning," I say as I take a seat across from her.

"How was your run?" She asks as she takes a sip.

"Refreshing as always." Running helps me clear my head. I needed a good run after last night. I still can't believe that Frank was Will's wingman. Elliot is going to get a kick out of that when I tell him.

"Ready to tackle all those boxes?"

"Not really but it has to be done and I'm not sure when my next weekend will be this free and clear. Did you pick out furniture yet?" I love to shop, but I haven't had the time so Felicity has taken over the project. She says the room needs to have a beachy yet masculine feeling to it. I have no idea what that means, but I trust her.

"I found a few places I want to check out today. Do you wanna do that first or clear the room first?"

"Let's get it cleared out in case we find stuff while were shopping that can be delivered today." Felicity nods in agreement, but neither of us makes a move towards the room. It's a scary place. I noticed that the door was open when I headed to grab my coffee. Felicity must have been in there while I was in the shower. It's a mess.

We finally make our way inside and start to tackle box after box. Some are full of old clothes that we set aside to donate. Others are full of random crap that I collected as a kid. I had not one but two sea shell collections. The third box I came across had dolls in it that I set aside to donate. By the time we made it to the last few boxes I was worn out. As I opened the box on top of the stack, I froze in place.

I pull out the shoe box that's inside and set it aside. I know what's in there, but I'm not sure that I want to relive those times yet. One day I will and I'll keep the box in a safe place for when that time comes. Until then, Luke's smiling face will remain hidden. I wonder if he still looks the same as he did back then.

George.

Derrick.

Adam.

Mike.

Tucker.

Will.

The list could go on and on. The past two years have been a whirlwind of sub-par dates. None of them even came close to comparing to Luke. Tucker lasted the longest. He made it all the way to the third date before I was done with him. The rest, Felicity calls them one-date-wonders. I left two of them in the middle of the date. I felt bad, but there was no way I was going to be able to suffer through the rest of the evening.

George talked too much. I expected conversation during dinner but not during the movie. Derrick barely talked at all. When his hand tried to slide up my dress before the appetizer arrived, I knew I was going to bail on him. I excused myself to use the bathroom and slipped out the back door of the restaurant.

They all called the next day. They all asked for another chance, one more shot. Derrick even promised to be on his best behavior. Not. Going. To. Happen.

My dates have made for great stories lately. Felicity and I have shared a few good laughs the last few months discussing my epic fails in the dating department. This weekend, I get to discuss those fails with Elliot, in person for a change.

He's finally finished with grad school. I'm not sure why he signed up for two more years of school, but he did. He graduated last week with his Master’s in Education. Then, he called to tell me that he accepted an offer to teach at our old high school. I think he's crazy to want to go back and spend his life there. I didn't hate high school, but I was glad when it was over. I certainly wouldn't want to go back.

Tomorrow I get to hug my best friend for the first time in too long.

I pack up my stuff for the night and head to the parking garage. I'm going to hit the gym on my way home today. I haven't been in a while and I'm craving the endorphins. I've been running on the beach in the morning, but I haven't worked on my upper body lately.

My arms start to burn after only a few minutes using the free weights. I switch to a machine, but the burn won't go away. I give up and head for the treadmill. I'm half-way through my two-mile run when I hear his voice as clear as day. He can't be more than five feet behind me. I trip over my own feet and almost go flying off the treadmill.

"Reagan. How are you?" I turn to find Will, shirtless and sweaty, suppressing a sexy grin. He saw me trip, he had to.

"Hey, Will. I'm good. How are you?" I try to act casual. I haven't seen him since Felicity and I left him and Frank-the-tool at the bar months ago.

"Good." The girl standing next to him nudges him in the side. "Sorry. Reagan this is Angela, my girlfriend. Angela, this is Reagan."

He doesn't attach a title to my name which is probably good. How would he describe me, anyway? The girl he attempted to date? The girl who left him standing in a bar?

"Hi," I say in her direction. She's glaring at me. I would act the same way if my boyfriend were staring at another woman that I didn't know. She needs to retract her claws, though. I'm not here to fight for him. "Well, you two have a nice night. I'm going to hit the showers."

I walk away from them without another word. That's turning into my MO these days. Words complicate things. I don't like complicated. I have enough things in my life that are complicated. I don't need to add anything else to the list.

The next morning I'm just about to leave the house for my run, when my phone rings. It's the ass-crack of dawn. I answer without looking to silence the ring. I don't want to wake Felicity.

"Hello?" Who in the hell is calling me?

"Would you like some company on your run this morning?" I recognize the voice but don't place it right away. "The fact that you're awake tells me that you still run the beach every morning."

Will. Why is he calling me? After running away from him and his girlfriend last night, he has no reason to call me. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea. Your girlfriend didn't seem too excited to meet me last night. I have a feeling she wouldn't like you running with me. Alone. On a beach. At six o'clock in the morning."