by Claire Adams
“Oh, did she refuse you? Poor buddy, it’s okay. I’ll take real good care of your plane when I take a few of my girls to Paris,” Mike added as he joined us.
It was ludicrous to think Mike was going to come up with the money to take anyone to Paris. Even if I did let him use my jet, he was going to have to find a place to stay and money to show the girls around. I knew he was just showboating, but that was one of the things Mike did best. Actually, making things happen wasn’t really in his wheelhouse. Me, on the other hand, I knew how to make things happen, and I had no doubt at all that I would land Kelsi.
“We had a great conversation, no worries here. I think you better get in contact with your movie people and start talking to them about my upcoming role.”
“What if this is the one girl who can actually refuse you? She’s going to deny you, and it will drive you nuts. Oh, I can’t wait to win this bet.” Mike laughed. “She’s not even into you. Look at her over there talking with everyone else and ignoring you. Man, just like high school. You’re the popular one, yet she’s the one who breaks it off. She’s so full of herself, look at her talking with those guys and rubbing it in your face. You should do something about that.”
Mike was drunk and he was starting to say things that both Bryce and I knew weren’t like him. Mike wasn’t a fun drunk. When he drank too much, he turned into a crazed lunatic who hated on everyone and couldn’t say anything nice about the people around him. When he was drunk, he probably wouldn’t have been able to think of something nice to say about his own mother.
“We better get you a glass of ice water,” Bryce said as he motioned that he was taking Mike to the corner.
“I don’t drink that shit. Get me another beer,” Mike demanded.
“Nah, let’s hydrate with something a little less toxic to your system right now.”
Bryce was a better man than I was, there was no doubt about it. In high school, the hierarchy of our friendship had all of us as equals, but over time we had separated into totally different identities. I had money, but I didn’t pretend to be emotionally mature at all. Bryce didn’t have money, but he was by far the most responsible of the three of us. Mike was neither responsible nor financially independent at the moment, but Mike certainly had good qualities; they were just hidden by his problems at the moment.
“Tyler?” I heard a woman say softly as I turned around.
I had no idea who she was. Her jet-black hair and glasses looked familiar to me, but I just couldn’t put a name to her face.
“Hey, this is a pretty fun night, right?”
“Yeah, much better than the 10-year reunion. I’m Michelle, in case you didn’t know. I have had a horrible time remembering who people are. I swear they look familiar, but then when I try to think of their names, nothing actually comes to mind. Last time, they had nametags with our old high school pictures on them, but this time they thought it would be better if we had to talk to each other to figure it out. I’d vote for the name tags next time for sure. I heard about your dad; I’m really sorry he’s not doing well. My dad passed away from cancer a few years ago; everyone seems to be getting cancer.”
Michelle sure was a talker, but I didn’t mind. It was nice to have someone to talk with who wasn’t trying to make a bet with me or trying to hit on me. She seemed like a nice woman; I wished I could have remembered who she was in high school. But the probability that I had been nice to her in high school was very slim. While Kelsi and I dated, I was distracted by sports or my girlfriend; I made time for my best friends too, but that was about it.
“Thank you. I know cancer does seem to be very prevalent nowadays. Hopefully, they will find a cure soon.”
“Oh, wow, wouldn’t that be the best?”
“That’s a beautiful dress,” I said as I admired her red, floor-length gown.
Women loved to be complimented. It wasn’t about flirting; it was more of a surefire way to connect with a woman. To tell the truth, anyone liked a good compliment. Even when I was trying to close a deal with a potential company, I’d compliment the CEO’s taste in music, cars, wine, or some other items. As humans, we liked to know we were making good choices; it was only nature.
When it came to women, though, I was probably flirting most of the time. Even when I didn’t think I was overtly flirting, it looked like I was to everyone else. I couldn’t help it. Women drove me wild. Tall women, short women, thick women, thin women; I loved them. They were certainly the fairer sex, and I liked having a woman around. Even standing in front of the bar with Michelle having a light conversation was much more preferential to me than standing there alone.
“Thanks,” she said as her eyes searched the floor for some mysterious item. “You know, I had such a big crush on you in high school,” she managed to say without looking at me.
“You did?” I smiled as I waited for her to gather the courage to look at me again.
“Oh, yeah. When you and Kelsi broke up, I was always trying to be around you hoping that you’d see me.” She laughed nervously.
“I don’t remember,” I replied and then saw the sadness quickly cross her face. “But I don’t remember much from those days, I was so broken hearted,” I lied.
“Yeah, it was weird how the two of you were so close, and then one day you were broken up. It was sad. A lot of us idealized Kelsi until she broke up with you, then we couldn’t figure out what else she could have possibly wanted in a man. I mean, you are perfect.”
“Thanks.” I laughed. “But I had my flaws; she was right to break up with me. I just wish there was some way to make it up to her, but even tonight she didn’t want to talk to me. I think I lost big time with her.”
“Oh, she doesn’t want to talk to you?”
“No, I got her to dance for a little bit, but now she’s just ignoring me. Any advice on how I can win her over?”
“Um, well, I guess you have to know the things that she likes. Maybe talk to her friends; she won’t be able to just walk away if you are also talking to the same people.”
“So, you think I should just go over to that group and join the conversation?”
“Um, yeah, sure. I mean, you know those people, too. I’ll come with you,” Michelle said with a little confidence in her voice. “It will be easier to talk to them with you there.”
I still didn’t remember who Michelle was, but I could tell she was really anxious and coming to talk to me had probably taken a lot of her courage. I held my arm out for her and escorted her over to the group that Kelsi was talking to.
Kelsi’s eyes blazed with anger when I walked up with Michelle on my arm. For a minute, I think she assumed that Michelle was my date or girlfriend, but then a flash of recognition came to her and she realized that Michelle had gone to school with us.
“Hey everyone, I’m Tyler, and this beautiful woman is Michelle,” I announced as we joined the conversation.
“Hey,” Michelle said softly to the group.
“Keep your head up; you’re beautiful and all these people are going to want to talk to you. Look them in the eyes and smile. If you just listen, you’ll be the best conversation they have all night.”
Kelsi overheard what I said to Michelle and smiled at me. Admittedly, I was trying to gain some points with Kelsi by helping Michelle with her social anxiety, but I would have helped Michelle even if Kelsi weren’t there.
“Thanks,” Michelle whispered back to me.
“It’s like your own little acting job. Just pretend to be interviewing them and you’ll do just fine.”
I released my arm from hers and switched positions with her so I was next to Kelsi. There was no doubt in my mind that I was going to win this bet. The way Kelsi’s green eyes were looking at me, I had just won her over. At least for the time being, she was going to give me a chance.
“I have no idea who that is.” Kelsi laughed as I joined her.
“Me either. I don’t know who anyone is, really. I swear I spent my entire high school years more wor
ried about making you smile than I was about grades or anyone else that was here with us.”
It was the truth. When I thought back to high school, my two major memories were how Kelsi and I would walk through the halls together and the day she broke up with me. I could hardly remember what I did in my classes or anything that was going on throughout those years. Memories of Kelsi were flooding back to me now that she was standing right in front of me; I had kept the memories quiet for so many years, and now I couldn’t squash them any longer.
Just standing next to Kelsi felt comfortable to me. I tried to act like I did now with women and it hadn’t won her over at all. My only choice was to pull away a little of the new Tyler and let Kelsi see the old me again. I wasn’t even sure he still existed until that very moment, though. Maybe the old Tyler was only possible if Kelsi was around?
“Come with me,” Kelsi demanded as she started walking toward the sitting area just outside the convention center doors.
She didn’t wait for me, she didn’t turn around to see if I was actually following her, but I suspected she knew I would have followed her anywhere she asked me to. The chemistry between the two of us with unlike anything I’d had with other women. I wanted her, and of course my body throbbed at the idea of having her after so many years. But there was more to my wanting than just sexual; I also felt a need to talk to her, to catch up with her and see what her life had been like for the last few years.
“You know I’d follow you anywhere,” I said with a typical smile of mine.
Kelsi no longer appeared to be under my spell, though. While we had been out on the dance floor, I could tell that she wanted me, I felt her desire and it was practically dripping off of her. Now, she had a wall up so high there was no possibility I was going to be seducing her anytime soon. It was a good thing I’d made the bet for the whole time I was in town.
“So, tell me more about how life has been for you,” she said to me.
“It’s been good. Most of my time is spent working, a little left over for fun. How about you?”
“Same here. I’ve got a lot of responsibilities and work at the ranch every day. We have a couple full-time staff, but that’s about it. Do you still ride?”
“Horses?” I laughed. “No, I don’t have time for that. But maybe while I’m in town I could come out to your ranch and we could go for a ride? My parents are mostly doing cattle now, and the horses we have are used by the farmhands to manage the land. I wouldn’t want to take away from the work that has to be done.”
“Wow, Tyler, all that money and you can’t find time to ride a horse? You loved riding. Weren’t you the one who said you’d never get so lame that you would give up riding horses?” She laughed.
“That sounds like something I would say,” I agreed.
“You don’t need to come to my ranch, though; there are better horses over at the Everett ranch. They have hundreds and do full riding lessons and trail rides over there.”
“There is one huge problem with going to the Everett ranch.”
“What?”
“You won’t be there.”
“Wow, you’ve got quite the flirting game going on nowadays. I don’t remember you ever being this good with flirting.” She called me out.
“What? I’m not flirting, just stating the facts. I’d much rather go for a ride with you than some strangers. Nothing more than two friends enjoying each other’s company.”
She raised one eyebrow and looked at me skeptically. I remembered that look. It was often what she’d give me when I had a great idea for us to skip school and go riding, or when I suggested I could sneak over and visit her in the middle of the night.
“Fine, you can come out to the ranch, but I’ve got actual work to do out there, and I won’t have time to babysit you. I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to get time away to go riding.”
“It’s a deal. I’ll come over tomorrow then,” I said but then remembered I needed to visit with my father. “Or, wait, how does Monday or Tuesday look?”
“Tuesday would work.”
“Deal.”
We sat in silence for a few minutes as I tried to think of something witty to say and she looked at me like she was waiting for me to say something witty. I couldn’t think of anything. My normal cheesy pickup lines wouldn’t work with Kelsi; she knew me much too well for that. I couldn’t even ask the old life history questions about where she grew up because I knew all the answers to those questions as well. No, I was stuck in some sort of purgatory. Not knowing Kelsi well enough and yet knowing her very well, all at the same time.
“Do you want to dance again?” I ventured to ask.
“No, I think you and I have done enough dancing for the night, don’t you?” She smiled and I felt the warmth from her as it radiated in my direction. “You know that smile is one of the things I remember most about you,” I said sincerely. “Everyone lit up when you were around because you made people feel good.”
“Maybe we should get back to the party?” she replied as she ignored my compliment.
That was something else Kelsi was really good at: not seeing her own positive traits. People loved her growing up, everyone wanted to be her friend, but she hardly noticed at all. Kelsi often seemed wrapped up in her own world and anxious when anyone wanted to come into it, even if they were trying to compliment her. It was sad that she still had such a hard time seeing what warmth the radiated.
“I’d rather stay here for a bit, if you don’t mind?” I said in an effort to get her to stay with me.
“Sure, what else would you like to know?”
“Did you go to college? Where at? How did you end up back at home?”
“Should I write you a book with all the answers to your questions or just sit here and recite them?” she teased.
“I’m sorry, I just want to get to know you better.”
“It’s okay. I was joking. I went to college at the University of Texas and finished my undergraduate degree in business. I was going to go on and get my MBA but just never got around to it. My family seemed to be struggling here, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to go on, so I came back, and I’ve been here ever since. Your turn.” She smiled and moved over to sit next to me on the couch I was sitting on. “How did you end up rich and famous?”
“I’d argue with you about the famous part, but I think there are too many paparazzi who want to take my picture for that to be a credible argument. I went to Duke and studied marketing, but when I tried to work in a big firm, they were too stuck on the old print ads and not interested in moving forward. I had a bit of a temper and ended up quitting my job. As a last resort to make some money, I offered to do the marketing for a new restaurant for free. For three months, I talked to everyone I knew about the restaurant, I went to parties, I talked to my barista, word of mouth spread and they became a huge hit. Food and Wine did an article about their success, and they dropped my name. By the end of the month, I had set up Market Mayhem and was fielding calls for new clients. By the end of two years, I was a multimillion-dollar agency.”
“That’s pretty damn impressive. So, you must work really hard to keep that level of business going. How did you manage to get enough time to come take care of your father?”
Just the mention of my dad had my stomach in knots. It wasn’t like I had a choice to come back home or not; he was my father, the man I had looked up to and loved for my entire life. I still felt guilty for not coming sooner and for not being able to do something with my money to prolong his life. What use was it to have so much money if you couldn’t keep your family from being harmed?
“I’ve got great people who work for me. I’d been trying to phase myself out for a while, but was holding onto it. I don’t feel the passion like I once did. I’d like to let my staff run it and move onto something new soon.”
“That’s good that you have people who you can trust.”
“Yeah, I’m glad I got to come home with Dad for a while. It’s such a tragedy, and I want h
im to feel loved as he says his goodbyes.”
Kelsi reached her hand over and touched mine in sympathy, and the warmth rushed through my body. Chemistry was one of those things you couldn’t fake; you couldn’t pretend to have the level of electricity that Kelsi and I had between one another.
“I’m glad you got to come home. I can’t imagine what this all must be like for your family. If there is anything at all I can do for you, let me know.”
“You can go horseback riding with me on Tuesday,” I said with a cheeky grin.
She couldn’t resist me now. Kelsi had literally just asked if there was anything she could do and going riding with her was exactly what I needed after spending a few days with my family. As much as I loved my whole family, it was going to be impossibly hard for me to adjust to having them around all the time. I was more of a lone ranger than a social butterfly, which was contradictory to how I lived my life, but I always had my walls up in social settings, and around my family, there were no walls.
“Fine, I’ll take you out. Damn it, I forgot how persuasive you could be. You should have gone to school to be a lawyer.”
“Yeah, I do like to argue.”
For the next two hours, Kelsi and I talked about our lives and how they had changed over the years. I felt like there was something she was keeping a secret from me though and I just couldn’t put my finger on it. When she talked about her past, there was definitely a man or two in there, but she didn’t mention a single boyfriend or husband. As much as I wanted to pry into that detail of her life, I withheld my curiosity and hoped she would open up to me when I came to visit her for the horseback riding later in the week.
“I better get going. I’m exhausted, but this has been a really fun reunion. I’m glad you came and we got to catch up,” Kelsi said as she stood up and started to leave.
“Aren’t you going to say goodbye to the others?” I asked.
“No. Anyone who I’m friends with has my cell phone and can call me. The others are just distant memories of a life that is long lost.”