by Adele Buck
James dropped the phone on the bar, his head whipping around to trace the sound of Freddie’s voice. The sight of her was a physical blow, a soft whump to his solar plexus.
“Hey stranger.” The husky voice that James had gotten used to hearing on the phone was even sexier paired with her face. Freddie hated cameras, which pretty much left out video chatting on FaceTime and Skype, so their infrequent, sometimes lengthy conversations after they had gotten past the hurt of the breakup and stitched their friendship back together had been voice-only. James had appreciated the intimacy of just that voice in the dark, but looking at her now, he remembered how much he had been missing.
Her eyes still dominated her face: huge, dark brown, and tip-tilted, she was a Disney princess come to life. That pointed chin still advertised her stubborn nature. Her hair was longer now, grown out from the short curls that had clustered around her face. Now it waved nearly to her shoulders, and James’s fingers itched to tug at the dark brown silk.
“Hey.” His own voice flaked with rust and he cleared his throat. “How’re you doing, Fred?” he asked as she clambered to the stool next to him, making a face as she boosted herself onto the barstool, her short, shapely legs dangling and her skirt riding up distractingly when she seated herself. He coughed again. “Sorry. I should have picked a table, not the bar. We can move if you want.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m short, I’m not incapable.” Her glance flickered from James to the bartender and he tried to gather himself as she ordered a drink, winking audaciously as the man mixed her a gin and tonic.
Accepting her glass from the bartender with thanks, she took a sip as she gave James a long, assessing glance. She placed the drink down, centering it carefully on a little cardboard coaster. “So. You get a supporting role in a hot new tv show and you only call when you actually arrive? What’s that about?”
James’s throat went dry and he took a sip of beer. When he was offered the role, his first thought had been of her. But he had panicked, been afraid that she would be with someone or just not want to see him. And now those big eyes had him transfixed, unable to offer explanation or apology.
Two years before, he had taken the lead in their relationship. Now, it appeared he was following.
#
Shifting uncomfortably on the barstool, Freddie sipped her drink and continued to look at James. He was…Oh, crap. He was even more attractive than he had been that summer in Connecticut.
Nothing to do but to brazen it out. “Well?”
James shrugged, an unusually awkward, one-shouldered motion. “I honestly don’t know. I was definitely thinking about you. It’s just…I don’t know,” he said again.
She decided to let him off the hook. For now. “You shaved your head,” she said.
“Yeah.” He rubbed the dark brown skin of his scalp with an open palm. It looked smooth and inviting. Freddie’s fingers itched to stroke him. “‘Keepin’ it real,’ right?”
Freddie laughed, the nervous clenching of her stomach pushing it toward a giggle. “You remember that?”
“I’m going to forget you forcing me to watch Clueless fourteen times in one summer?”
“Once. I made you watch it once. And you laughed your face off.” Freddie sipped her drink and tried to look challenging. She was all too aware that she probably looked about as intimidating as a chipmunk.
James’ beautiful mouth stretched in a reluctant smile, exposing perfect, white teeth. Freddie melted a little.
It’s just not fair.
“Yeah. It was funny,” he said. “I admit it.”
Freddie’s eyebrows lifted. “You do, huh?”
“I do. In fact, my masculinity is strong enough to also tell you that it was on cable last month and I watched it again. Is it still your favorite?”
Gulping a sustaining mouthful of gin and tonic, Freddie nodded. “Yup. I used to watch it with my mom all the time when I was a teenager and what’s not to love? It’s probably the best modern-day Austen adaptation out there.”
“Well, all right then. Not going to argue with the classics.”
An awkward silence stretched between them. James spun his beer bottle on its coaster and Freddie fidgeted with the tie of her blouse. She had no idea how to ask the question she really wanted the answer to.
“So…” James said, tension drawing his jaw tight. “You seeing anyone just now?”
Or he could ask me, I guess.
#
Heart thudding, James took a sip of his beer. He hadn’t intended to get so personal so quickly. He had planned to get to know her again slowly, see if the attraction that they had shared two years before could be reignited.
Well, it had been abundantly clear from the moment he saw her again that he was still drawn to Freddie. Whether or not she still felt anything for him was another question.
Speaking of which, she hadn’t yet answered his question. James’s throat and chest tightened.
“No.” Her eyes flicked up to meet his. “No, not seeing anyone just now. You?”
James coughed, her response eased the band around his chest, but his throat still felt clogged. “No,” he said hoarsely. “Haven’t for some time.”
“Me neither.” Her eyelashes fanned across her cheek as she looked down. Impulsively, he cupped her face with one hand and she jumped.
“Sorry,” he said, realizing his fingers were freezing from toying with his beer bottle.
“It’s okay.” One of her hands flew up to clutch his, holding it to the curve of her cheek which flushed pink as he watched her.
“Your face is hot,” he said, his own relaxing into a smile as she glared at him. “I mean it,” he said more softly as he let his fingers caress the soft skin, his hand soaking up the heat. “Your face is hot. And pretty. And sexy.” He traced the plump curve of her lower lip with his thumb. “Always did love your mouth.”
“Likewise,” she said, looking at his lips. Her breath had a hitch to it, and she had slid a little way off the barstool, her skirt riding up on her thighs. He let his hand drop softly to her leg, and she looked down, seeing the exposed length of toned thigh. “Shit,” she said, tugging her skirt down and sitting back more firmly. Her face had gone from pink to bright red and her eyes darted around the bar.
“Relax, you didn’t give the entire place a show. Just a few inches of leg.” James took another sip of beer and was rewarded with yet another glare. “What? What did I do?”
Freddie sighed and finished her drink, clinking the remaining ice around in the glass. “Nothing. I’m just a little on edge today.”
James took in the skirt, the V-neck top that showed the barest hint of cleavage and wondered if they were just clothes or a coded message. His jaw tightening, he decided to risk it. “Any chance I could relax you? I’m in a hotel for the next few weeks. It’s not far away.”
Those big brown eyes flew back up to his face. “I thought you’d never ask.”
About the Author
When not writing, Adele is a librarian at a Washington, D.C. law school. Prior to that, she had a short stint as an index editor and over a dozen years in corporate communications and executive relationship management. Even prior to that, she was an actress and stage manager.
She holds a theatre degree from Syracuse University and graduate degrees from the University of Maine School of Law and the University of Maryland's iSchool.
A New Hampshire native, Adele has lived in the D.C. area for over 20 years with her fantastic husband and the requisite number of neurotic cats.
Sign up for Adele’s newsletter on her website, adelebuck.com.
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