by Amelia Stone
Ah, pregnancy hormones. The pendulum swings in the last two minutes were not entirely foreign to me, thanks to my fecund oldest sister.
“I think every woman says that,” I told her, trying my best to reassure her. “But most of them do just fine. I’m sure you will, too.”
And I really was sure of it. Kelly was always the mom friend, even when we were teenagers. Always taking care of everyone, making sure everyone was happy and had what they needed.
“But what if I can’t go through with the whole birth thing? Labor is scary!” She leaned forward. “I heard that when you push, sometimes you poop right there on the delivery table.” Her eyes were rounded in horror as she looked back up at me.
I winced, because, well, poop. “I don’t think you have much choice now.”
She let out a reluctant chuckle at that. “Yeah, I guess he’ll have to come out one way or the other, huh?”
I nodded. “Plus, you’ll get a ton of XP for completing the quest.”
“That’s true.” She sniff-laughed. “You were always so sweet, Krista.”
Yeah, I wasn’t so sure about that. And the moon eyes she was giving me were making me uncomfortable, so once again I shifted the subject.
“So how is Ty doing?”
Thanks to Jess, I knew that Kelly had married Ty Jennings a couple of years ago. I remembered they’d been on and off in high school, but everyone always thought they’d end up together for good.
Kelly gave me a huge smile. “He’s been great!”
She monologued for a couple of minutes as I ate my cookie, telling me about her husband, the little fixer-upper they’d bought near downtown, and even some of Ty’s antics at work. He and my cousin Sage were partners at the South Bay P.D., and they had an endless supply of wacky tourist stories to share with their wives, apparently.
While Kelly continued talking, I tried my best not to let my attention wander. But I couldn’t stop my eyes from scanning the room every twelve seconds or so. I hadn’t seen Seth yet, but it was still early.
I nodded absently when Kelly paused to take a sip of her water. “That’s great. I’m glad you guys are happy.”
“Thank you.” She laid a hand on my arm again. “You know, you should come home more. We’ve all missed you!” She looked up at me, tears pooling again.
Yeah, I highly doubted that. “I’m sure life went on without me.”
“I’m serious,” she insisted. “Ty asks about you all the time, especially after he saw you at Soundtrax last year. And Jenny was just saying she hasn’t seen you since her sister-in-law’s wedding, and she’s your family now!” She paused, giving me a guilty frown. “I know Melody gave you a hard time back then, but I always tried to be a good friend to you, Krista.”
Well, now I felt like a turd.
As I opened my mouth to make an apology, a male voice behind me stopped me – a voice I recognized all too well. My stomach clenched and I involuntarily wrinkled my nose in disgust.
“Hey, Kelly. Won’t you introduce us to your friend?”
I turned around slowly, trying to put off the moment I’d have to see Ward Hopkins and his insufferable smirk again.
If Melody Reyes was the Bowser to my Mario, Ward was the King K. Rool to my Donkey Kong – only without the unrequited love subplot I’d dreamed up as a five-year-old. Ward was just a banana-stealing jerk. I could safely say I would have been happy never to see him again.
Finally, I couldn’t avoid it any longer. I faced Ward as bravely as I could, and I was not at all surprised to see he looked much the same as ever – blond, arrogant, and too handsome for his own good.
What was new, however, was the interest in his eyes as he gave me a thorough once over. I hadn’t felt his eyes on me in a long time, and never like this. His gaze lingered on my boobs, and I was suddenly glad for the lace yoke on my dress, even if its coverage was meager.
I swallowed down a fresh wave of nausea. Ward freaking Hopkins, of all people. Now I really wanted nothing more than to escape into a dark corner with a whole basket full of cookies – or even better, go home. But a noise like a strangled groan made my gaze shift, and the sight that greeted me glued my feet in place. I couldn’t have moved if I’d tried.
Because standing right next to Ward, staring at me like he’d just seen a ghost, was Seth Holt.
The guys and I pre-gamed at Wrestler’s, a grubby little sports bar that had somehow escaped the downtown gentrification machine. Well, the other guys pre-gamed. I had a Diet Coke, because college had taught me that alcohol and I were not friends. And because few things are less fun than being the only sober guy at a party, I managed to hold my buddies to two beers each before we headed off to the hotel. During the ten-minute walk there, I had to listen to Ward and Ty debate the freedom of bachelorhood versus the security of married life.
Three guesses which side Ward came down on. And the first two don’t count.
“I’m telling you man, I see no reason to shackle myself to the same pussy for the rest of my life.”
Ward sounded just as sure of himself as ever as we passed Sarah Jane’s, where Tom Summers sat at a sidewalk table, surrounded by a group of hot fudge-coated kids who were clearly his grandchildren, judging by the red hair and freckles generously sprinkled among them. He gave me a wry smile and a wave as one of the twin girls, who looked to be maybe two years old, repeated the word ‘pussy’ at the top of her lungs.
“My wife is worth it,” Ty replied, calmly ignoring the foul-mouthed toddler. “Marriage is a goddamn gift, I’m telling you.”
“Explain to me how it’s a gift,” Ward demanded. “Even if she’s a tiger in the sack, I can’t see why I should give up my freedom. I can have any woman, any time.” He shook his head sadly. “Why would you ever think you have it better?”
“Because we love each other, man. Sex is better when the emotions are there.”
“Jesus. You sound like a woman,” Ward sneered.
Privately, I kind of agreed with him. In my admittedly limited experience with relationships, emotions usually made things messy. One of you felt more than the other, or neither of you felt enough. No one was ever on the same page.
But maybe I just thought that because I’d always been the one who didn’t feel enough.
“Being in touch with my emotions does not make me a woman,” Ty replied, still totally unruffled by Ward’s antagonism. “It makes me a man who is worthy of his woman.”
Ward seemed to have no comeback for that, other than a sad trombone whistle. I had to admit I was similarly dumbstruck. I hadn’t seen much of Ty over the years, and the man walking beside me was different from the lunkhead I remembered from high school. He seemed more mature and responsible now, though I guessed a wife, a job with the police department, and a baby on the way would do that to a guy.
Still, he seemed so serene as he talked about his marriage, like he was secure in the knowledge that he was on the right path in life. He seemed… happy. His words, and the heartfelt conviction with which he said them, were actually starting to make me wonder if I’d been missing something. This whole conversation, in fact, was making me think way more than I’d wanted to tonight. I’d come out tonight for a good time with old friends, nothing more.
Jesus. Maybe I should have had a beer after all.
“Am I right, man?” Ty looked over at Sage Michaels, his partner on the police force, who seemed to have the same perma-scowl I remembered from when we were kids. “It’s better with Jenny, right?”
Sage grunted. “I got no complaints.”
Ty gave us a huge grin. “And that is really saying something, with this grumpy motherfucker right here.”
Sage gave him the middle finger in reply, and I grinned.
“I’ll take your word for it.” Ward shook his head. “Because there is no fucking way I would ever settle for just one woman.”
“Well, there’s no fucking way any woman would settle for you, anyway,” Ty retorted. “So it all works out.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at his dour expression as we filed in to the building. The guy looked like he thought “party” was code for “torture.”
“Now this is what I’m talking about,” Ward said.
The massive lobby was mostly empty, since we’d arrived almost an hour after the party started. Ward always wanted to make an entrance, and tonight was no exception. I could just picture him dramatically flinging the doors open as he entered the ballroom.
The idiot in question reached the sign-in table first, and he tapped the pen against the book as he scanned the list. “Damn. No potential one-night-stands here,” he said, giving me an odd look as he glanced back at the group. “Unless you count Kelly.”
Ty laughed, not rising to the bait. “My wife has better taste than that, Hopkins. She only likes the dark chocolate.” He smoothed a hand over his dreadlocks, flashing us a cheesy grin.
“You never know,” Ward replied, scratching his chin. “She could be in the mood for a little vanilla.”
“More like soft serve,” Ty shot back, and everyone – even Sage – laughed.
“I might be basic,” Ward said with a wicked smile. “But I can guarantee I’m the smoothest cream on the market.”
We all groaned.
“Fucking gross,” Sage muttered.
Ty cuffed Ward on the shoulder. “You’re lucky I got a strong stomach.”
Ward chuckled as he finished signing the guestbook. I went to grab the pen, but he put a hand out to stop me.
“No worries, man.” He gave me another of those odd looks, making me wonder what was up with him. “I signed us all in, just like I used to do in school when we had a sub.”
I laughed in reply, and he handed me a name tag, which I pinned to my lapel – after I checked to make sure it was actually mine, of course.
“Just as long as you didn’t put my name down as ‘Mike Hunt’ this time,” I quipped.
He held up his hands, affecting an innocent expression that fooled no one. “Does that sound like something I would do?”
“It sounds like something you invented, perfected, and patented,” Ty replied as we walk into the ballroom, and everyone cracked up again.
As I surveyed the room, the DJ flipped the track to one of my favorite songs by The Postal Service. A bittersweet feeling filled me, as it always did when I heard the song. Krista got me into these guys, and I thought about her every time I heard it, wondering if somewhere in the world, she was listening to it, too, just like the lyrics said. So much of the music I listened to on a daily basis, in fact, had been influenced by her – which of course kept her in my mind more than I liked.
I shook that line of thought off with a huff. Jess told me Krista wouldn’t be at the reunion. No need to let even the thought of her overshadow my evening.
Sage and Ty immediately headed off to find their wives, leaving Ward and me to fend for ourselves. I had just begun to scan the crowd for an empty table when Ward’s voice stopped me.
“Well, hello,” he said, his tone pitched low and husky in what I recognized as his ‘seduction voice.’ He’d been perfecting it since the seventh grade. The moron actually used to practice it in front of a mirror, working on his smirk while he was at it.
I followed his gaze to see who his next victim would be, and froze. My mouth ran dry and my blood heated up, and for an endless beat, all I could do was stare.
Kelly Jennings was standing near the bar, about twenty feet away, deep in conversation. But it was the woman she was talking to that held both Ward’s and my attention. Kelly’s friend had her back to us, so I couldn’t get a good look at her face. I could, however, see every inch of the ivory skin that stretched from her neck to her ass, thanks to her low-cut dress.
God bless the fashion genius who designed that thing.
The woman was standing in a dimly lit area, so her details were a little fuzzy. I couldn’t even make out the color of her hair. It was obvious she was tall, though, especially compared to tiny little Kelly. The mystery woman was probably over six feet, thanks to those fuck-me heels. Her luscious hips and ass were hugged by some kind of dark, lacy material, and my cock twitched at the thought of what might lay underneath. She definitely couldn’t be wearing a bra, not with that backless dress.
Christ, I needed to get laid. I hadn’t been with anyone since I left California – almost a full year now. Clearly that was too long, if I was seriously contemplating fucking a former classmate. It was bound to get messy fast, what with the history we’d undoubtedly have between us. There would be all kinds of expectations, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for something like that. My life was a clusterfuck right now.
But was this mystery woman actually someone I went to high school with? She seemed familiar, but maybe that was just the setting tricking my brain into thinking I should know her. I was in a room full of people who seemed familiar, after all. I took a minute to mentally run through my yearbook, trying to place her, but ultimately I came up short.
Still, something about the woman nagged at me, but I couldn’t put my finger on what. I’d figure it out soon enough, though. I definitely wanted to get to know her a little better.
“Dude, I don’t know whose plus-one she is, but I hope their relationship is on the rocks, you feel me?” Ward spoke in a low voice, leaning in to be heard over the music.
I tore my eyes away from Kelly’s stunning friend to look over at my childhood buddy. His eyes were practically bugging out cartoon-style, and he licked his lips as he scanned the mystery woman again. He’d obviously come to the same conclusion as me: probably not a classmate.
“I have definitely found my one night stand,” he added.
At his words, I felt a sudden, stabbing surge of anger, and a single word popped into my head, reverberating through my skull.
Mine.
I frowned, taking half a step back in surprise. What the actual fuck? I’d never had that kind of reaction to a woman. And I’d definitely never had any kind of territory dispute with the dude standing next to me. Ward and I had been each other’s wingmen since before we even knew the term. We’d made a pact, actually, something we’d cooked up as a couple of dumbass thirteen-year-olds: first see, first serve.
The agreement had been tested once, and only once. I wasn’t about to let that happen again.
Besides, I was not a goddamn caveman. That kind of jealousy, that dark, possessive fire, was utterly alien to me. And I did not like the way those ugly feelings were invading my mind. Not at all.
I shook my head to clear my bizarre thoughts as I followed behind Ward, reminding myself that no woman was worth ruining a longtime friendship. Besides, maybe we’d both strike out. Maybe she was married, or at least happily taken. Or maybe she wasn’t even interested in dudes. We would just have to wait and see what happened.
“Hey, Kelly. Won’t you introduce us to your friend?” Ward’s voice was suave, his smirk firmly in place.
As the woman slowly turned, the puzzle pieces of her identity fell into place in a split-second, before I could even consciously come to a conclusion. I realized, now that I was closer and could see her a bit better, that her pale skin was dotted with freckles all over, and the curly hair twisted into a knot at the base of her long neck was a familiar shade of red, like rust.
Not the same girl anymore, in a lot of ways. Jess’s words from a few months ago echoed in my mind even as my stomach dropped and all the blood drained from my face.
Fuck. It couldn’t be.
Finally, she was facing us, and those huge, sapphire-blue eyes I hadn’t seen in ten years were suddenly right in front of me, staring at me like I was a hallucination, or a ghost, maybe.
Krista freaking Summers was here.
This was going to be a fail for the history books. One day, you’d see my name alongside
Prometheus, who had only wanted to give fire to humanity, and had ended up getting his liver pecked out for all eternity for his troubles.
“I have nothing to wear,” I whined, looking up at Jess in despair.
Normally, my no-frills wardrobe didn’t bother me much. I happily wore jeans and some kind of tee shirt every day. In the winter, the shirts had long sleeves, and I added a hoodie when it was really cold. In the summer, the shirts had short sleeves, and sometimes the jeans were cut offs, as long as they didn’t show off too much thigh. Because my thighs were jiggly, and people stared. Or laughed, when I was really lucky.
Still, I was mostly okay with what I wore. But I knew, with absolutely certainty, that I could not wear jeans and a tee shirt on my first-ever official date.
Jess rolled her eyes at me. “I told you, you can wear my blue dress.”
My own eyes widened in panic, and my hands flapped around in a Kermit flail. “I can’t wear that in public!”
My baby sister had loaned me a blue dress earlier that day, when I’d first complained about my lack of wardrobe choices. Because the dress was a mid-thigh length on her, it hit me right at the knee. Plus, it wasn’t pink. Both wins, in my book.
It was also like a second skin on her, which suited her unfairly curvy figure. (She was only thirteen! Ten whole months younger. How did puberty manage to strike her first?) But if the dress fit her snugly, that meant it made me look like ten pounds of lumpy potatoes stuffed into a five pound bag.
There was absolutely no way I could walk up to Ward Hopkins, one of the cutest guys in school, wearing that dress. I mean, I wasn’t sure I could go through with this date at all, to be honest. But I did know that if I ended up in the school gym tonight, it definitely wouldn’t be in that dress.
“Well, the only other thing you have that’s even kinda dressy is this one Nana gave you,” Jess reminded me.
She held up a floral monstrosity with a lace collar and puffy sleeves that had leveled up to 1987 at most. My grandmother had given it to me for my fourteenth birthday earlier that year, and I’d worn it once, to church. Even Father Bell had looked at me with pity when I’d shown up to the children’s mass dressed like, well, like my grandmother’s sofa.