Fire and Romance

by Melanie Shawn

  She figured he was teasing her in an attempt to fluster her, like he’d done so many times when they were younger. In those days, she would’ve ignored him or changed the subject. But she was all grown up now, and she called his bluff.

  “Marco Reyes.” Her left brow rose slightly in challenge. “Have you ever social media stalked me?”

  His lips parted, and he sucked in a hiss of breath between his teeth. “Stalk is a strong word. I guess it would depend on what constitutes ‘stalking.’” His fingers bent in air quotes. “If you consider having your profile saved as a bookmark and checking it several times a week, then yes. If not, then no.”

  Her heart leapt at the thought that what he said was true. But her inner realist harshly instructed it to come back down to reality. There was no way he did that. “You do not have my profile saved as a bookmark.”

  He sat perfectly still and quiet, never breaking eye contact.

  Was he serious?

  Did he truly have her profile saved?

  Did he check it several times a week?

  “Wait,” she still wasn’t convinced, but her heart was standing up on its tiptoes ready to take flight again like a balloon filled with helium. “Do you really?”

  “Yes,” he stated plainly.

  “If you…why haven’t you…you…” she stuttered as she tried to ask why he hadn’t messaged her or contacted her in any way in ten years.

  “There you are.”

  Sydney turned her head and saw that Avery Lincoln had magically appeared beside their table. Out of all the people at the reunion, Marco’s ex had changed the least. She still had shiny, golden-blonde hair and flawless, glowing skin without a laugh line in sight.

  “You promised you’d find me after your call.” The half-pout, half-tease in Avery’s voice was like a DeLorean that transported Sydney back in time.

  This was the closest feeling to déjà vu that Sydney had ever experienced. She couldn’t count the number of times she and Marco had been talking, studying, hanging out only to be interrupted by Avery. She would act as if Sydney were invisible, and pull Marco away. Two of those three things she still had no control over. But she was done being invisible.

  “Hi, Avery.” Sydney sat up straighter and searched for the right pleasantry as she added, “How are you doing tonight?”

  The only acknowledgment that Sydney had even spoken was a cursory glance out of the corner of Avery’s eye before she turned her attention back to Marco. “You promised me another dance.”

  “I didn’t promise anything, and I’m catching up with Sydney.” Marco covered Sydney’s hand with his own. “But it was nice seeing you.”

  Sydney’s eyes widened at Marco’s dismissal of Avery. A small thrill raced through her. It was petty, but she basked in the moment. The moment that Marco chose her over Avery. Her inner fifteen-year-old was jumping up and down with joy.

  Avery wasn’t quite as thrilled as she was. She looked a little…shocked. If Sydney had to guess, she’d say that this might be the first time in her life Avery had ever been shot down.

  “You can join us if you’d like,” Sydney offered, not entirely out of sympathy.

  Standing up taller, Avery acted entirely oblivious to the fact that anyone had spoken. The woman was nothing if not consistent. She’d been ignoring Sydney since grade school.

  “I’ll see you later, Marco.” Avery smiled brightly before turning on her heels and walking away, her head held high looking more determined than ever.

  “Well, she hasn’t changed a bit.” Sydney wasn’t solely referring to her outward appearance.

  “No. She hasn’t.” Marco might’ve been talking about his ex, but Sydney could feel that his focus, his attention, and his energy were centered completely on her as he moved his thumb slowly over her knuckles.

  Her eyes dipped to where their hands touched. She couldn’t help but notice the rough patches on his fingers and palms as they grazed over her soft skin. The sensation electrified her nerve endings.

  She was used to Simon’s touch, the touch of a surgeon. His hands were soft and well-manicured. Marco’s hands were strong and rugged. And large. Her own hand looked delicate and small beneath his.

  Time passed, and they remained silent. She lost herself in the sensation of his thumb brushing back and forth, up and down as he went over the peaks and dipped into the valleys of her knuckles. She couldn’t say for sure how long they sat like that. Seconds, maybe minutes. It was like time suspended and the rest of the world ceased to exist. She was captive to his touch. His breath. His stare.

  The sound of the crowd erupting in cheers served as cold water splashed on her face as it shocked her back to her surroundings.

  She glanced around the room and saw that the applause was directed at the two of them. Everyone was clapping and looking in their direction.

  Her eyes shot back to Marco, and he looked as lost as she was.

  Then she heard the DJ announce, “What do you think, folks? Can we get the King and Queen of Crestview Academy onto the dance floor?”

  Sydney saw that Avery was still smiling confidently as she strode from the DJ booth back toward Marco.

  Wow. She was good. It never ceased to amaze Sydney the lengths that Avery would go to get what she wanted. She’d cheated to get the grades she wanted. She’d bullied and intimidated other girls in class that were interested in Marco to get them to stay away from him, even holding the fact that she was cheer captain over their heads.

  She was a piece of work.

  Before she made it to him, Marco stood and held out his hand to Sydney.

  Her eyes darted to where Avery was quickly approaching on their left. “I think you’re supposed to dance with Avery.”

  He winked, and her heart took full flight. “I think I’m supposed to dance with you.”

  Heat shot up her cheeks, and her pulse raced as she placed her hand in Marco’s. She was having her very own Dirty Dancing moment but this was better than a movie, this was real life. And as much as she’d loved Johnny and crushed on him for years, he was nothing compared to Marco.

  Chapter 6

  ‡

  “Are you sure about this?” Sydney whispered under her breath when she stood.

  Marco didn’t hesitate in answering, “Yes.” But, if he’d had any doubt, the smile that lifted on Sydney’s face would have put it to rest.

  He’d told Avery he didn’t want to dance with her. Told her he wasn’t interested in her. Told her that he was catching up with Sydney. He couldn’t have been clearer, and he was not about to let her manipulate the situation and hijack his night.

  This might be a high school reunion, but they weren’t in high school anymore.

  As they walked toward the dance floor, people parted like the Red Sea. Out of his peripheral vision, he could see the surprised and amused faces of his classmates, but he ignored them, and he hoped that Sydney would too.

  He knew that she hated being the center of attention, and he’d never want to embarrass her, but he’d wanted to get her out on this dance floor all night, and his window of opportunity was shutting.

  Avery pulling the King and Queen stunt ignited an urgency in him. He was hit with the clarity that this was a now or never situation. For years he’d let moments pass him by when it came to his relationship with Sydney. It drove him crazy to think about all of the chances he’d had to tell her how he felt and he never did. Tonight, he didn’t plan on repeating past mistakes.

  Determination swelled in him as he turned and pulled her into his arms. Just like their hug in the hallway, she molded against him.

  “Ahh.” He heard and felt her softly sigh as she rested her head on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  His hands spread out on her lower back and they swayed together to the music. There was a part of his mind that knew that they were in a room, surrounded by people, but there was another part that was concentrating solely on how it felt to have Sydney in his arms.

 
As they moved together, Marco was struck with wave after wave of contradictory emotions. This dance was very public, but it felt incredibly intimate. It gripped him with overwhelming intensity while at the same time it made him feel as relaxed as falling into bed after a forty-eight-hour shift. The connection between them was so powerful that his knees weakened.

  Marco had never been as aware of someone as he was of Sydney, right now. Not in all his life had he been so in tune with every breath, every look, and every gesture of another person. His senses were in hyperdrive. Even the molecules in the air surrounding them felt supercharged.

  Her head tilted back, and when she looked up at him, he knew it was ridiculous, but he had the strongest urge to tell her he loved her.

  Loved her.

  It was ridiculous and made him question whether or not there’d been something in his beer. Maybe someone had slipped something in his drink.

  He’d only said those words to one other woman. Avery. And it wasn’t a real, adult love. It had been an adolescent-soap-opera love. He hadn’t known what those words meant when he’d said them to her. He’d said them because he’d thought that’s what he was supposed to do.

  He was still reeling from his impulse when she asked, “Do you remember that night on the hospital roof? When we danced?”

  “Yes.” His hands tightened around her waist. It was the last time they’d been alone. The last time they’d really talked. The last night that they’d been them.

  “Why did you…did I do something…?” Her expressive eyes searched his. “What happened?”

  Marco had always felt like shit about how that night ended. He’d thought he was being selfless and doing the right thing, but after tonight he knew that he’d made a big mistake.

  A couple dancing next to them bumped his arm just as Richie walked by and gave him two thumbs up. This environment was not exactly conducive to the conversation that he wanted to have.

  “Do you want to—”

  “Yes,” she cut in as her head bobbed up and down eagerly.

  The corners of his mouth lifted as he finished his question, “Go to Sunset Diner?”

  “Oh…” Disappointment flashed on her features, but she recovered quickly and regained her enthusiasm. “Okay. Yes.”

  His eyes narrowed. “What did you think I was going to say?”

  “I thought…” A light pink stain flushed on her creamy cheeks, and his hands itched to brush his fingers over it. “I thought you were asking to…” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. The Sunset Diner sounds great.”

  She quickly turned and speed walked toward the exit. Marco had to double-time it just to keep up with her.

  When they made it out into the hallway, Marco reached out and wrapped his fingers around her wrist. “Hey.”

  She slowed and looked over her shoulder at him, and he dropped his hand.

  “What did you think you were saying yes to?” He had a feeling he knew the answer, or at least he hoped he did, but he wanted to hear it from her.

  She leveled him with a challenging stare that he didn’t remember her having in high school. “You first.”

  “Me first?” he repeated.

  “Yes. I asked you first. What happened the night on the roof?”

  He looked around them and saw that where they stood was reasonably private. There were a few party goers on phones at the end of the corridor and hotel guests waiting at elevators a few yards away from them. But no one was in their general vicinity.

  “Do you remember when I asked you if you still liked Caleb?” he began. “And you said you did.” He paused for a moment to try and figure out the best way to explain, but Sydney didn’t wait for him to figure that out.

  “So?” Her amber gaze was filled with confusion and if he wasn’t mistaken, hurt. “You knew or thought you knew, that I’d liked Caleb since freshman year. Why did me saying that I still did make you practically run me over as you sprinted to get off the roof like I had the plague or something? One second we were dancing, under the moonlight and the next you were tripping over yourself to escape. You couldn’t get away from me fast enough. And then you barely spoke to me after that. Every time I’d see you in the halls or in class, you’d barely look at me.”

  Marco opened his mouth to explain, but stopped when he realized what he was about to say might not be true. He thought he’d known the answer to what she was asking, but now, hearing Sydney describe his behavior, he wasn’t so sure. He looked down at the ground in an attempt to gather his thoughts. Staring into her eyes was like looking directly into the sun.

  “Marco?” she prompted impatiently.

  “I thought I knew, but now…” Raising his arms, he ran his hands through his hair as he lifted his eyes to Sydney’s and the revelation he’d been struck with sank in. “I thought I knew, but I think that…the truth is…”

  Marco was rarely at a loss for words. He’d talked his way out of fights. He’d talked his way out of service fees. He’d talked his way out of tickets. But around Sydney, it was like he couldn’t access that part of his brain. She threw him off his game in the best, most frustrating way.

  Taking a deep breath, he decided to start from the beginning. “When Avery broke up with me a week before prom, you offered to go with me.”

  “Right,” she said cautiously.

  “As friends.”

  “Right,” she agreed.

  “I wanted to go with you, but not as friends. I wanted more than that.”

  Both perfectly shaped brows above her eyes rose. “More?”

  “More. And that scared me. What I felt scared me. That’s why I ran off. Because I was scared of how not friendly my feelings were for you.”

  He waited for her response, but instead of commenting, she merely stared at him in stunned silence. He understood this was probably news to her but he also knew that maybe he was not alone in his not-friendly feelings.

  “At the time, I thought I was doing the right thing. I’d heard that Caleb was going to ask you to prom and that’s why I asked if you still liked him. I told myself that if you did, I had to get out of the way so you could go with him. That’s why I was looking for you at the hospital. Then, I found you, and you were wearing those princess shoes—”

  “Cinderella heels,” she corrected as if that were the pivotal point in the story.

  “Cinderella heels—” he parroted as an involuntary grin tugged at his lips. “And your blue Garfield scrubs that were rolled up to just below your knee and you were tottering around. It was, you were, the cutest thing I’d ever seen in my life.”

  Marco could still remember when he’d walked out and found her. The second he saw her it was like he was sucker punched in the gut. His emotions hit him so hard he staggered as if it were a physical blow.

  He’d heard people claim that they knew the exact moment they fell in love with someone. He had a different story. From the first day he’d met Sydney, he knew that he had strong feelings for her. So much more than the friendship that she relegated them to. But, on the roof of that hospital, that was the moment he knew that what he felt for her, what he’d always felt for her, was love.

  Real love.

  That was the moment he knew that he was madly, completely in love with his friend. And it scared the shit out of him.

  Not sure she was ready to hear a declaration of love after all this time, he decided to skip that part and stick to the less revealing, less love-related facts of the story. “When you saw me, I asked you what you were doing. You said that you were breaking in your shoes. Then we heard that band playing, remember?”

  She nodded. “There was a wedding or something on the pier.”

  The hospital was only a block away from the pier. The pier was a popular location for weddings and banquets. From May through August there was a steady stream of events.

  Marco still remembered the song that had drifted up to the roof. “They were playing that Eric Clapton song ‘Wonderful Tonight’ and I said that the best
way to break in your shoes was to dance. So I asked you to dance. When we started dancing, I got…excited.”

  “Excited?”

  “Hard,” he clarified.

  Her eyes widened. “You did?”

  “Oh yeah, so hard I couldn’t see straight. I’m surprised I didn’t bruise your hip.”

  “I had no idea. I didn’t feel anything.” The second the statement left her mouth, her eyes grew even larger, and she stammered, “I mean…I didn’t mean…I’m sure you’re…” Her hand waved toward his nether region.

  He was not one of those guys that was insecure about the size of his manhood so he felt no need to defend it and he loved seeing her flustered. It was one of his favorite things in the world. “You’re sure I’m what?”

  The smile that lifted on her face spread through his chest like a shot of whiskey, warming him from the inside out.

  There was a knowing glint in her gorgeous eyes as she ignored his teasing and returned to the original question. “So that’s why you ran off? Because you got excited?”

  “Sort of. It sure as hell made me get to the point a lot faster than I probably would have. I blurted out my question about Caleb. When you said yes, I told myself the right thing to do was to step aside so that you could go to prom with him.”

  “And that’s why you got back together with Avery and went to prom with her?” The corners of her eyes pinched as she tried to make sense of what he was telling her. “So that I would go to the prom with Caleb?”

  “Yep. At least that’s what I told myself then. But now, now I think that I was scared to go with you. I was scared of what I felt for you. I was scared that something would happen if we went. I was scared I would lose you. But at the time, I thought I was the bigger person.”

  Her face softened in understanding. “Because you thought that I liked Caleb.”

  “Yes. I didn’t find out you turned him down until he showed up with Gabby Reece.”

  “I thought about saying yes, just so I could wear my shoes.” Her face lit up at the mere mention of her shoes. “But I couldn’t do that to Devon. Plus, I’d bought them to go with you.”