Hometown Girls: Reunion

by Tressa Messenger

  “I bet Marissa would love to hear that,” she said under her breath. She crinkled her nose at the absurd comment. These thoughts were new to her. Why was she having them now? She sighed and focused her attention back on her book.

  He hovered over her, staring deeply into her eyes, caressing her thick red hair with the soft touch of his hand, a slight smile on his lips. He clenched his fist, her hair tight in his grasp as she winced. He forcefully brought her face up to his. He breathed the scent of her in, then stroked her hot lips with the tip of his tongue. He crushed his lips to hers, wanting desperately to taste her. He ravaged her lips with his own, stroking her tongue in a moist sensual dance. He released his tangled fist from her hair and ran his hand down the side of her cheek, across the soft side of her bare arm, leaving a trail of goose bumps where he touched her.

  “Oh, wow,” Katie said, putting the book down on her lap and fanning herself. Tingly chills rippled through her and a pulsating throb pounded in her chest. She knew it was just a story, of course she did, but a love like that, so full of passion and excitement, was something she had always wanted and craved. Not that Daniel wasn’t a passionate man. When he and Marissa were together in high school they’d been the hot couple, but once he and Katie got together they were simply perfect in the most innocent, sincere ways. They had passion and a need for each other, but once DJ came their priorities changed, leaving Katie wondering if the excitement of being in a new relationship was what had kept them together in the early days. She put her book aside and stood up from her cozy chair and walked through the living room, feeling antsy and restless. She headed into the office off of the living room to look for a distraction.

  “Let’s see who’s on tonight,” she said to herself, firing up her computer and logging onto her social media site. She had a personal account she used mostly for the business and keeping up with friends and family, but a year ago curiosity made her create a separate account under an alias. She’d used an especially sexy picture she’d found off of some random website as her profile picture, transforming her into a twenty-three-year-old college student by the name of Katrina Smith from Jacksonville, Florida, a town known for their beautiful women and party lifestyle. Pamlico County and the surrounding areas were small. Everyone knew everyone, especially if you were an established business owner. She wanted to be able to go incognito and speak freely with whomever she wanted about whatever she wanted. The sexy aspect of it just kind of happened. Her friends list grew quickly, which didn’t surprise her. What surprised her was that most of the people on her friends list were men. She hadn’t met most of them, but a select few were people she really did know. Katie was curious about their personalities outside of their norm, although they didn’t know who she really was. She played her part and spoke to them like a hot twenty-something would, from what she could remember anyway. After a while, she discovered who the fun ones were and tended to talk to them the most. And then there was Eduardo.

  Ding.

  The instant messenger chimed, alerting her that Eduardo was on, or Ed as she liked to call him. Eduardo was a gorgeous thirty-two-year-old man from New York City. Supposedly he was single, having never been in love deep enough to want to get married, although he wasn’t opposed to it, and he didn’t have any children. She and Ed had spoken many times in the past year, usually late at night while Daniel and the kids were already in bed, or when Daniel was away on business. He told her about his life, from his childhood up until now. He was from a small town in Italy and came to the United States in his teens with his parents and had been in New York, in a small bureau called Little Italy, ever since. After high school, he put himself through college and now owned an Italian restaurant right in the city. He seemed too good to be true. When he spoke on chat, she would imagine him speaking to her with a sexy Italian accent. As her feelings for him grew, she began to hate lying to him. To ease the guilt she told him about some of her real childhood memories, although some parts were exaggerated to glamorize things. It was more what she wished she would have done in life. On a select few occasions, when she was alone in the house, the conversations grew intense then quickly became intimate. They were in somewhat of a relationship, after all. It was wrong, she knew it, but exciting, and she couldn’t stop it.

  Ed: Hey, beautiful. How are you tonight?

  Katie: I’m a little lonely tonight. My roommate is asleep, and I have been reading all night.

  She was happy she wasn’t technically lying.

  Ed: I’m sorry, bella. I wish I were there to keep you company.

  Katie: I do too.

  Katie smiled to herself. Quickly her smile faded when she heard the steps creaking on the staircase. Daniel was coming back down. She wrote a quick reply before shutting down the computer.

  Katie: Oh well, super busy right now. Gotta go. Night.

  She hurried out of the office just as Daniel was about to enter.

  “What are you doing?” he asked curiously.

  She took a deep, steady breath to calm her nerves. “I was just checking my e-mails before going to bed.” She squeezed past him and went back in the living room and picked up her book. “What are you doing up? I thought you went to bed.”

  He shrugged and followed her in the living room. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered in her ear, “I did, but I missed you and was hoping you’d come to bed with me?”

  She leaned her head back against his chest and patted his hand. He used to touch her all the time. His muscular arms made her feel warm and safe, but such gestures didn’t happen very often these days. “Come on.” She grabbed his hand and led him upstairs.

  In the seclusion of their bedroom, Katie stood in front of him, picturing Ed in front of her rather than her husband. The image of his dark eyes shining as he stared at her, wanting her, blazed in her mind. The thought of being with Ed thrilled her. She longed for it. She reached out and turned off the light, letting her imagination run wild.

  Chapter Six

  Everything had gone exactly the way Marissa had expected. She’d gotten the job at the hospital in New Bern. By the end of the month she was a Pamlicoan again. But this time the trip back to Pamlico County was different. The drive was the same, of course, but this time she felt different, relieved. She was going home and reclaiming her life. Marissa felt conflicted; she was nervous and excited at the same time.

  She didn’t have a chance to look for a house before she made the trip, so she decided to stay at the local bed and breakfast in Oriental until work started in New Bern. Where she was staying was beautiful and grand, and her bedroom reflected the stature the building once held.

  She remembered it as a magnificent mansion from her childhood. When she was younger, the owners had been the Lees. They’d throw an elegant party once a year and would invite the local cream of the crop. Marissa had never been to one of those parties. Instead she would watch from afar, listening to the sounds of classical music and laughter of the wealthy from on top of the bridge stretching across the river, longing for the day she could be amongst them. However, the owner would open the grounds and hold exciting but low key parties a few times a year, inviting anyone who wanted to come. People would come from miles away to enjoy it. The Fourth of July was always Marissa’s favorite. The owners would string lights all over the place, lighting up the night sky all the way down to the open waterfront where everyone would sit and enjoy the annual fireworks display. Even though she had been to the open invite parties many times in her life, she had never actually been inside of the house. She looked around her room in wonder, curious about who may have stayed there previously. It seemed romantic. The room had its own wood-burning fireplace, antique furniture, and lacy linens. She would be happy to stay there until things settled down, especially since the old couple, the Bakers, who owned the place, were so sweet and accommodating and never seemed to pry into her personal business. But once she started working, she knew the drive would be too long. Marissa wond
ered if the new owners still threw parties. She made a mental note to find out.

  Unfortunately for her, the moving truck would be there sometime tomorrow and without a permanent place to stay she would have to keep all of her stuff in storage. But at least she had two weeks off before she started her new job. That should be enough time to find something great, hopefully. First thing’s first.

  She pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number, one she’d forcefully memorized in the past month. It rang a few times, and just when she was about to hang up a familiar voice came on the line.

  “Hello?”

  “Hey, Katie, it’s Marissa.”

  There was a pause. “Hey, Marissa, what’s up?”

  Marissa paced around the small room. “Well, I’m back in town and was wondering if you wanted to have dinner?”

  There was another pause.

  “I could really use it. I’ve missed you guys. We could get all the girls together if you’d like, like old times,” Marissa said quickly, feeling awkward with the silence.

  There was another long pause before Katie finally spoke. “I’m so sorry. I am swamped at the moment, but that sounds great. I guess that means you got the job?”

  “I did,” Marissa said, smiling.

  “Are you here now?”

  “Yes, I’m staying at the B&B in Oriental.”

  “Well, awesome. Welcome back. I think it would be a great idea to have dinner. The gang hasn’t hung out since high school. It’ll be fun.”

  “Wonderful. So, tonight then?”

  “Let’s shoot for tomorrow to give the others more notice.”

  “Can do. I’m looking forward to it.”

  “Sounds great. I’ll call the girls as soon as I get a minute,” Katie said with a smile in her voice.

  When they hung up, Marissa felt relieved. So much had happened during their last year of high school, the last time they really spent a lot of time together. Marissa worried there would still be weird feelings, even after all these years. Sure there were some on her part, but that should be expected, even though it happened a million years ago. She was going to keep those feelings to herself though.

  She felt anxious, so she decided to walk around Oriental for a little while and explore all of the changes which had taken place in her absence, although there didn’t appear to be many. She walked along the waterfront, feeling the cool river breeze as it blew all around her.

  Orientals’ waterfront area had always been magical to Marissa. She would walk back and forth from one side of the town to the other, the soothing sounds of the rippling water and slight breeze calming her thoughts. When she’d broken up with Daniel, it’d worked to calm her heart as well, even if just temporarily.

  She cut across from Water Street onto New Street and came to a stop at The Bean, a quaint-looking coffee shop which had sprung up in her absence. She walked up the steep steps leading into the coffee shop. As she opened the old wooden door, she breathed in the scents of different rich flavors of coffee and pastries. She was almost bowled over. Marissa walked up to the counter and placed her order with the young girl behind the counter. She stood back patiently, waiting.

  She looked around the room, taking it in. The décor was typical of what you would see in any coffee shop. Around the register were displays of coffee mugs of all sizes, including travel mugs nestled around various bags of coffee. On the walls hung a few coffee-inspired paintings, but mostly there were framed photos of scenes from around Oriental and the surrounding areas. She smiled to herself, remembering how locals always liked to include Pamlico County in everything they did. They were a proud bunch and always supported their own. There were tables placed seemingly randomly around the room as well as a few comfy chairs close to the big storefront windows. She noticed a scruffy, dark-haired man dressed in work clothes reading the newspaper, most likely the Pamlico News, sitting in one of the seats. She froze.

  “Ma’am, your coffee is ready.”

  Marissa jumped at the sound of the girl’s voice. She turned around to see the young girl at the counter holding a hot cup of coffee out to her. “Oh, thanks.” With her coffee in hand, she walked up to the man and stood in front of him. “Hey, Daniel.”

  Daniel looked up at her, surprised, his newspaper still in his hands. “Marissa? What are you doing here?”

  “I live here.”

  “Oh yeah? Since when?”

  “Since today. I just moved back. I’m staying at the B&B in town.”

  He closed the newspaper and set it on the table beside the chair. He sat up straight. “So you got the job?”

  “I did indeed. I start in two weeks,” she said proudly.

  “That’s awesome. Congratulations.”

  “Thank you. So what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be working?”

  “I had to meet with a client earlier then decided to take a little break.”

  “Tsk, tsk, slacking off,” she said playfully, which made him laugh.

  “Yeah, I guess so. What about you? What are you up to today?”

  She looked around the coffee shop. “I’m doing the tourist thing.”

  He stared at her quietly for a minute, a mix of emotions playing across his face. “You want company?”

  “Seriously?” she asked him, feeling much more excited then she should.

  “It would be my pleasure.”

  They walked out of The Bean and headed back the way she’d come in. They walked silently for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. When they reached the pier on the waterfront, Daniel stopped and laughed as if a memory had come to him.

  ***

  On the hottest day of the Indian summer, he and Marissa stripped down to nothing, throwing their clothes on the rocky shore and jumping into the river, ignoring the ‘No Swimming’ sign on the railing. They splashed each other and laughed, making it, maybe, the best day they ever had. When an old couple walked the length of the pier to watch the river roll by, Daniel leapt toward her and put a hand over her mouth to stifle her joy. They quietly inched their way to the side of the pier so they wouldn’t get caught. They each raised their arms up, grabbing the side of the pier to keep them in place. With Marissa’s hands occupied, Daniel swung his body around until he was facing her. As he held onto the pier, he leaned in and kissed her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and released the pier with one hand and happily kissed him back, forgetting about the old couple or anyone else who might be near.

  ***

  “Hey, do you remember that summer we stripped down and went swimming out here?” Daniel asked, pointing to the pier jetting out from the sidewalk a few yards into the river.

  Marissa burst out laughing. “Oh my God, I had completely forgotten about that,” she lied.

  “How on Earth could you forget something like that? We could have gotten arrested, you know!”

  “I know, and we almost did, but it was so hot out and there wasn’t anyone around when we jumped in.”

  “Yeah it was, but once we were in there it seemed like the whole town wanted to stroll by. It worked in our favor, if I’m not mistaken.”

  “No one seemed to notice, and if they did I didn’t notice or care,” she said, bumping her shoulder with his.

  “Me neither.”

  “God, those were good times,” Marissa said, laughing and staring at the water, feeling like a kid again.

  “Yeah, they were.”

  “The best,” she said, turning to find him staring back at her, his dark eyes full of unreadable emotion. What is he thinking about? Marissa thought. Whatever it is, it seems so tender. “Do you ever miss it? You know, the good old days?”

  Daniel made a face as if he were thinking about it before responding. “All the time. Life was never as good as it was then, but that’s life I guess.”

  Marissa looked away from him and stared off at the water again.

  “So, cardiology, huh?” he asked, breaking the silence.

  “Yeah, I always knew I wanted to be a
doctor of some sort, but I kind of just fell into that field.”

  “How do you just fall into a field like that?”

  Marissa looked down at her feet, shifting from side to side. She looked back out at the river, trying to not let him see the conflicted look in her eyes. “Well, I wanted to learn as much about the heart as I could. The ins and outs, how it worked, what happens after it’s broken and how to fix it. It sounds so silly now.”

  “Maris, I’m…”

  “Please, don’t. What’s done is done and we can’t change it now.”

  “No, but there’s always forgiveness,” he said softly, staring at her.

  “I forgive you, Daniel,” she said, blinking away tears. This was so silly. It was a long time ago. Why did it feel like it just happened?

  “Do you really?”

  She nodded.

  “Good, I’m glad. I really am sorry. Everything seemed to happen so abruptly and we never had a chance to talk about it before. Things kind of just happened and then you left, and it felt unresolved.”

  “I know. I’m sorry about that too.”

  “You know what they say—you never know what tomorrow may bring.”

  Marissa nodded again, still staring off at the water, picturing that day when they were young and free and in love—when everything was right in her world. “Tomorrow.”

  Chapter Seven

  In downtown Greenville, all four girls sat around a table at the trendy night club called Live, clutching fruity mixed drinks as they looked around the dark club, taking in the scene. They couldn’t help but notice they might just be the oldest women there. But the more the drinks flowed, the louder their laughter got and the less they cared.