by Amber Nation
After a few minutes the karaoke music went away and was replaced with sounds from the old jukebox that was against the wall behind Eden. A slow song came on and several people got up to dance. Looking around I noticed many of the same faces I had graduated with; it seemed like that night was a little pre-reunion preview. I was intently watching the table Eden was occupying and soon Marcie’s husband got up and asked her to dance, leaving Eden sitting alone. I wondered why Eden’s husband hadn’t accompanied her on the trip, and then my mind wandered, wondering if he was good to her. I’d never had so many different questions swirling around in my head.
Dean’s chair scooting across the floor pulled me from my conundrum of thoughts. I eyeballed him as he stood up and smoothed out his button-down shirt. “Where are you going?”
“I’m not going to let Eden sit all by herself, I’m going to ask her to dance.” He fixed the collar of his shirt before standing tall and walking towards her on the other side of the tavern. A pang of jealousy hit me square in the chest and I was pissed that I actually didn’t think of the idea first.
I watched closely as he walked up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders and leaned down to whisper in her ear. A bright sexy smile formed on her lips, the same type of smile she showed me yesterday. That smile should’ve been for me. My breath hitched when she got up and placed her hand in his as he guided her out towards the open area where everyone was dancing.
Picking up my glass full of beer I quickly gulped down the majority of it, trying to calm my nerves. I had no right to feel anything towards her, she was a married woman. And even though Dean was my best friend, my jealousy had never been stronger.
Seeing her mold into his embrace as they danced along the floor killed a part of me inside. It took everything I had to see them dance for the entire song but once it was almost over I knew I had to talk to her. He kissed her on the cheek as they broke apart. She turned around to head back to her seat but I quickly came up behind her and grabbed her hand. My heart rate increased dramatically as electricity ricocheted throughout my body from just one single solitary touch. She gasped as she looked back and her eyes widened in surprise then quickly darkened full of desire. One thing that didn’t go unnoticed by me was the lack of ring on her left hand when I grasped her soft skin.
“Eden, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?” I asked shyly, not knowing where the bashful side of me had come from.
Chapter 5
Eden
The evening started off with a bang; I had never been into Tillie’s Tavern but remembered growing up wishing that I could just see the inside. After crossing the line from the dreary weather of Oregon into the dimly-lit wooden structure, I could see why the place had been a favorite for so long. I could almost imagine the entire process it took to make it into the beautiful structure that it was. From the lumberjack finding the best-grained wood from the tallest of oak trees, to the contractor working closely with the architect making sure his vision was fulfilled in every way possible. That took me back to thinking about Baylor, who admittedly hadn’t been off of my mind since I saw him at the airport. Would he appreciate everything that had gone into the building? I knew he had a passion for architecture since that’s what he had wanted to go to school for. I felt a pang in my chest because I really didn’t know anything about Baylor or Dean anymore, even though at one point in time I would’ve said that I knew them almost better than they knew themselves.
I took in all of the faces in Tillie’s, some I recognized but most I didn’t and it was almost a relief. I took a little extra time trying to scope out the room to make sure Baylor or Dean weren’t there. And since the coast was clear, it didn’t take me long to loosen up my tension and indulge in several rounds of alcohol. It wasn’t long before I started to feel a little tipsy, and then Marcie had the ingenious idea to partake in a little karaoke.
As we looked through the song catalog on the computer she released a little squeal and pointed to her choice, “Can we do this song? Please! I absolutely love it.” I inwardly grumbled at her selection, because I still remembered that Prince was the last artist I had heard during the graduation party at her house and there she was picking another song by him. Can we say ironic? What was the deal?
After my brief hesitation she glanced up at me, “Do you not know the song?” Which caused another grumble to threaten to erupt. Of course I knew the damn song, I knew most songs. IT WAS MY JOB!
I had to mentally chide myself to simmer down and not let something so meager get me all worked up. “I know it,” I replied with very little emotion backing my statement. After releasing a deep sigh, I said “Let’s do this.” I supposed that I couldn’t make any bigger of a fool of myself than the screamer on stage was doing already.
The lady that was singing “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion was finally finished and I was extremely thankful that my eardrums were still partially intact. Sheesh, with howling like that, everyone should’ve been counting their lucky stars they didn’t rupture.
With a little too much enthusiasm, Marcie grabbed my hand and all but dragged me up the stairs, turning to give her husband a wink and an air kiss before the music began. Seeing their affectionate gestures towards each other made me miss even more what I didn’t have. Lord only knew if I would ever have the opportunity to have someone love me and be on the receiving end of the kisses that I blew their way.
The music began, indicating our cue to start Kiss by Prince. I wouldn’t call myself an excellent singer by any means, but compared to the comical squeaking that was flying out of Marcie’s mouth, I was Diana Ross. She was far more tipsy than me and I wanted to envy her for her ‘not give a shit’ attitude, so I was going to take a page out of the book that was Marcie and not care either. We each started making little dance movements around the stage instead of being complete zombies standing in place. I even got into the part where Prince makes the kiss noises, making a few of my own while I shimmied my shoulders. I couldn’t match Prince’s impressive set of pipes that went in a multitude of ranges, so during the parts of the song where he would have done his highest falsetto I forced my voice as hard as I could to reach somewhat up to his levels. At least no one was covering their ears, so I thought we couldn’t have been doing half bad. In that moment I almost felt sexy; guys had their eyes glued to me and it just boosted my confidence even more.
The song ended entirely too quickly and I eagerly voiced my opinion about rounding up another song. Marcie just shrugged her shoulders, which had me quickly running down to pick my choice. I had to do another fun song and who wasn’t more fun than Lady GaGa? So I chose her song Do What You Want and ran back into place before it began. Although I didn’t have the distinct and loud fashion sense that Miss GaGa instilled, I still enjoyed her fun spin and eclectic taste of her music.
When the song was about halfway over I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye. I searched the room and ran across a table that literally took my breath away. My words faltered as I completely forgot the lyrics to the song.
How long had Dean and Baylor been there? By the amused expressions on their faces I had to guess the entire time.
It didn’t take me long to get back in tune with the song, but my movement around the stage had pretty much ceased. I stood stock-still and my expressions remained stoic. I was willing the song to end but it was going against me, trying to prove me wrong by continuing on. I needed it to end so I could scramble back to my seat and out of the scrutiny of my former best friends and my first love. Once the song did end I all but dropped my microphone and rushed back to my table where Marcie’s husband was waiting with stars in his eyes for Marcie to sit down. My carefree mood and actions had quickly dissipated with one look at those faces from the past. I was ready to duck out and head for home, especially when the jukebox powered on with a slow song and Marcie’s husband Jack asked her to dance, leaving me sitting at the table alone.
Hell, I was used to being by myself, but I had
never truly felt more alone than I did at that moment. I placed an elbow on the table and perched my chin in the palm of my hand, thinking that maybe I could call Julia and see what she was up to. It had to be more thrilling than what I was doing. I was trying my hardest not to look at the other side of the room and into Baylor’s eyes; I didn’t need an emotional breakdown. I didn’t know why I had thought that coming back home would’ve been such a good idea. He didn’t even make a move to smile or wave at me in the airport, so he clearly didn’t want to talk to me and by golly I wasn’t going to seek him out.
Just as I decided that I was going to call Jules and leave, a set of hands grasped my shoulders and I felt hot breath on the shell of my ear. My breath hitched because it could’ve been only one of two people and I was praying to God that it was Dean.
“A beautiful lady such as yourself shouldn’t be left all alone. You’re lucky it was me who came by to snatch you up instead of some stranger,” Dean’s deep voice reverberated in my ear causing me to smile widely. He always had the ability to make me smile. I craned my neck around so I could look at his face and he didn’t waste another minute before extending his hand and asking for a dance.
His large hands encircled my waist as we reached the center of the building where everyone else was dancing, and my hands instinctively wrapped around his neck. With the space that was between us I felt like we were at a junior high dance but it was nice to be able to see his face.
It didn’t take him long before he started firing off questions; I just hoped that he didn’t repeat the same one that he had at the airport. I would answer any other question but that.
“So Miss Eden, what is it you do now?” he asked much like a game show host with a fake accent.
“I actually cohost a morning radio show in Nashville.”
His eyes grew wide, “So you have a website where virtually anyone could get ahold of you?” I was utterly confused by his question, but it was all but forgotten as he skipped ahead without even waiting for an answer. “I am so happy that you actually fulfilled your dream and earned your own radio show. And if I may be so bold, your voice alone is fucking hot. I can tell that your listeners love it as well.” Being bold was always Dean’s thing, so it was no surprise to me that he would’ve continued on with that trait. But him saying that he liked the sound of my voice left me not knowing how to respond.
So I did whatever I could to redirect the questioning away from me. “Blaine, my cohost, and I get along really well. We have a fun morning show that earns a lot of laughs. I’m proud of our little show.” I didn’t want to toot my own horn, but our show had received some prestigious awards for the area and that was saying a lot since we weren’t a country station.
“What is it that you do now that you’re all grown up?” I decided to put him in the limelight for a bit and give myself a bit of a rest.
“Who said I was all grown up?” he said in a flirty tone which earned another smile from me. “No, in all honesty, I’m actually a divorce lawyer. So while you are loved in your profession, people either dreadfully hate me or are repulsed by me.” He shrugged his shoulders. I definitely hadn’t seen that coming, Dean a divorce lawyer?
I wanted to make a little joke, but I didn’t know if he would take it the same way as he would’ve all those years ago. I decided to go ahead and take a shot. “So how many of your own divorces have you done?” I asked it in a light-hearted tone so he wouldn’t think I came across as a bitch.
“Two,” he answered flatly with not even an ounce of emotion.
“That bad, huh?”
“You could definitely say that again,” he finally cracked a smile which lowered my blood pressure rate again after he spiked it when I thought I said the wrong thing.
“You remind me of my best friend, Julia. She’s been married AND divorced twice just like you.”
His smile disappeared. What did I say?
After the questioning look I gave him, his voice lowered to a whisper which had to be lower than low since his voice was so deep, “We used to be best friends, Eden…The three musketeers, don’t you remember that?”
That was not how I wanted the conversation to end. “I’ve never forgotten, Dean. I thought of you every single day, believe it or not.”
The song was nearing the end and he gently pushed a strand of hair to the side of my face and said with a small smile, “We’ve missed you, Eden.” Not just I, but we. With the closing notes, he leaned forward and brushed his lips against my cheek, giving me the faintest of kisses. My heart broke all over again for the friend that I left behind. The friend who had nothing to do with what happened and was thrown in the middle when he was just an innocent bystander during the downward spiral of my departure. I hoped that he would someday forgive me for my naivety as I hadn’t meant for him to get burned in the crossfire.
He walked away sadly with his head hung low which just further decreased my already depressed mood. I didn’t realize the effect I would have on everyone after being gone for so many years; I guess it was rather presumptuous of me to think they’d be happy to see me again. I tried to walk back to my seat when a strong hand grasped mine from behind.
“Eden, would you do me the honor of dancing with me?” His voice was slight as if he was almost unsure of himself. That wasn’t the Baylor that I once knew, the old Baylor was confident in everything and never held any doubt.
I stood there rooted to the spot as I glanced down at where ours hands connected and then back into Baylor’s emerald eyes. My nipples immediately pebbled underneath my dress and the desire that burned deep in my core just from this one simple touch was an inferno. I was no longer on the verge of being tipsy from my previous alcohol consumption, no, I was suddenly stone-cold sober. If I responded to him this way just from a mindless touch, what would happen if he were to actually kiss me again as he did all those years ago? I couldn’t let it to get to that point; hell, I didn’t even know if he had feelings towards me anymore or if he was even married.
Swallowing past the lump that was in my throat, I nodded my head. Call me a glutton for punishment but I wanted to hear what he had to say. My curiosity always had gotten the best of me; I wanted to know what he’d been up to all these years.
He pulled me onto the dance floor and clutched me in his embrace much like Dean had but it felt so different. Instead of the junior high hand placement, he drew my right hand up with his left and held it so that it rested against his heart while his free hand wrapped around my waist, pulling me closer to him. His rapid heartbeat was the first thing I noticed because it matched my own. He was affected by this just as much as I was. The ring finger on his left hand was bare, which was the next thing I noticed. All of my senses were hyper-aware; my body melted into his as I filled my nostrils with his scent.
The song began playing and we started swaying back and forth with the smallest of actions. I couldn’t look him in the eyes, because I didn’t want to begin the backlash on either of our parts so I focused all of my attention on our joined hands until he finally spoke.
“Do you know this song?” What was with everyone asking me if I knew certain songs? So I thought I would tell him exactly what all I knew about this song…
“”(You Want To) Make A Memory” by Bon Jovi. From their tenth album entitled “Lost Highway.” I believe it was released in March of 2007 but I wouldn’t quote me on the exact day.” The look on his face was too much for me, so I tipped my head back and let out a hearty laugh.
“God, it’s so great to see your smile,” he said without breaking eye contact. With our eyes we portrayed every single feeling that we had felt while we had been apart. In this moment I had never felt more exposed or on display and it all happened just looking into the depths of each other’s souls.
I averted my eyes, looking down at our interlocked hands once again, “I’m a radio DJ, and music trivia is kind of my thing.”
“I remember…”
I felt like it was my turn to ask a question but
I hadn’t planned on what came flying out of my mouth next. “Are you married?” I couldn’t believe that I had let it slip; in my line of work I had to be careful of thinking before I spoke, otherwise I could end up saying something completely offensive on the air.
He released a long, drawn-out deep sigh, which forced me to hold my breath as I began to regret my line of questioning until he answered, “Once upon a time I was, but that ship has long since sailed.”
Without a beat I had to know, “To Kristina?”
Another sigh escaped, “Yeah, to Kristina.”
Deep in my heart I knew he had married her. That would mean that the girl I saw at the airport was most likely hers.
“So was Dean your divorce lawyer?”
“Yeah, how’d you guess?” He asked with a bit of annoyance.
I shrugged a shoulder; I had really just assumed that he’d volunteer to represent him. Back then Dean hated Kristina just as much as I did. “Dean just never really was fond of her back in the day, so I figured he’d snap up the chance to show her what for.”
“You really aren’t wrong there. He was able to get me full custody of my daughter, Norah. It wasn’t like Kristina wanted much to do with her anyway.” My heart felt heavy in my chest for what his daughter must have been going through. If I were ever awarded with the chance to have a child there would be nothing that would stand in the way of that happiness.
He audibly swallowed which had my eyes snapping back up to his. “What about you?” he began, “is your husband good to you? I know I don’t see him here tonight and I didn’t see him at the airport, did he not join you?”
I felt my eyebrows lift clear into my hairline. What on earth was he talking about? “I don’t understand. I don’t have a husband, I’ve never been married. Hell, I’ve never even been close to marriage.”
The movement of his legs stopped instantly as he immediately dropped his arms away from me, almost as if my answer had burned his skin. “You’re not married?” He asked, flabbergasted.