by Scott, Lisa
That got the crowd chattering. Poor Lucy Jordan had been nominated homecoming queen as a joke because someone stuffed the ballot box. No surprise she hadn’t come to the reunion, although she was a big country-music singer now who’d disappeared from the limelight after a car crash. The reunion committee was hoping she’d come to the memorial service the next day to honor her best friend, Leah, who’d died a few years back. But Lucy hadn’t responded to any of the invitations. Alyssa really couldn’t blame her.
Brandi cleared her throat to get the crowd’s attention again. “Okay, ladies and gentlemen, our Jefferson class of 2012 ten-year reunion king and queen is…” She wiggled her hips as she opened the note. Her smile fell. “Oh, no,” she whispered into the mic.
“Who is it?” someone in the crowd yelled.
“Yeah, tell us who won!”
Brandi blinked a few times and looked at Alyssa. “The king and queen are Alyssa White and Kevin Whitmore,” Brandi said quietly, biting her lip.
All the chatter in the bar stopped. Then the whispering started. Alyssa froze. Was this another stupid joke? Surely they weren’t going to make them dance together. She looked around and everyone was watching her. Her heart was pounding and her legs felt wobbly.
Then Kevin walked toward her, his arms spread wide like “Hey, why not?”
She scanned the room for Tate but didn’t see him.
Kevin was right in front of her. “Guess everybody else thinks we make a good couple. Let’s not disappoint the crowd.”
Everyone was watching to see what she would do. She gritted her teeth. “Fine. It’s just a dance.” She put her hands on his shoulders and let him take the lead. “Dilemma” was playing and she could remember dancing to that very song at prom.
But the closer Kevin pulled her the more she wanted her space. She hadn’t made a mistake. She didn’t love Kevin. She didn’t want him back.
As the song ended, the DJ invited everyone else to join them on the dance floor. Couples filled the space around them as an Eminem song started playing. “Lose Yourself.” She cringed, remembering the significance of that one.
A smile slowly spread across Kevin’s face. “I love this song. Our first time. Remember?” Kevin planted a kiss right on her lips. She balled up her hand so she couldn’t slap him. No need to make a bigger scene. “What the hell was that for? You can’t just do that. You brought a date. I’m your ex-wife.” Her fists were clenched and she was shaking.
Laughing, he shrugged, then wrapped his hands around her waist. “Calm down. That doesn’t mean we can’t get together now and then for old time’s sake. I can lose Lorena. You wanna get out of here?”
Alyssa shook her head. “No. Not with you.” She tried pulling away from him but he wouldn’t let go.
Someone was standing next to them. “I think your dance is over.” It was Tate. His voice was deep and quiet and his face was turning red.
Kevin curled up his lip. “Dude, chill out. I’m having a word with my wife.”
Tate stepped closer. “Ex-wife. And your time is up.”
“Oh, you mean it’s your turn now?” Kevin asked.
Alyssa finally managed to pull away from Kevin. “What are you talking about?”
Tate’s eyes were bulging.
“You’re going after my ex-wife now? You haven’t left her side all night.” Kevin shoved Tate and Tate took a step back. People around them stopped dancing and stared.
“Kevin, knock it off and go find your girlfriend,” Alyssa hissed.
Kevin glared at her and held his hands up, stepping back. “Fine. Go out with Tate.” He laughed like it hurt. “I didn’t even want to go out with you in the first place. Did you know that?”
Alyssa froze. “What? Yes you did. You sent Tate over to ask, you were so embarrassed.”
“No. That’s not how it happened,” Kevin said, not taking his eyes off her.
She felt uneasy the way he was looking at her. “I was there, Kevin. I remember what happened. I think you’ve had too much to drink.”
“No, I think I’ve had exactly enough to finally tell you the truth.”
Tate moved toward Kevin. “Kevin, don’t do this. There’s no reason to do this.”
Kevin swiped through the air to push him away but missed. “She doesn’t want me; well, she needs to know I didn’t really want her.”
Alyssa grabbed Tate’s arm. “What is he talking about?”
Kevin pointed at her. She could smell the alcohol on his breath. “I didn’t send Tate over to ask you out. He was going to ask you out. I wasn’t even interested.”
Someone nearby gasped.
Alyssa let go of Tate’s arm. “What? Why is he saying this? Is it true?”
Tate ran a hand down his face. “Alyssa…”
Alyssa stepped back, stumbling into a barstool. “Kevin didn’t want to go out with me? Tate did? All this time I thought…” She covered her mouth and ran toward the entrance and disappeared through the door.
***
Tate couldn’t help it. He curled up his fist and smashed it into Kevin’s face.
Someone in the crowd screamed and Kevin stumbled backward. His hand flew to his cheek. “What the hell? I thought you were my friend.”
“And I thought you were mine, too. You never should’ve gone out with her.”
“You told me to! You said she was asking about me.”
“You should’ve said no. You knew how I felt.” Tate shook his hand and ran for the door. He jogged down the boarding ramp, tripped, and stood up, out of breath. “Alyssa? Alyssa!” He shouted her name again and again, but she was gone.
He walked to his car, uncertain what to do. She knew the truth now—Tate had wanted to go out with her. And that news had made her run away. He swore to himself. There was probably no chance of repairing their friendship now. But he had to explain.
Tate tried calling her cell, but she didn’t answer. He took a cab to her apartment, but she wasn’t there. He went back to his place, threw up, and flopped onto his bed. Alyssa was gone. Probably gone from his life for good.
***
Alyssa walked along the waterfront, still trying to pin down her feelings. There were so many emotions swirling through her. Sadness that the sweet little story of how she’d met her husband wasn’t what she thought. Loss over what might have been with Tate. Anger that he hadn’t tried harder. Anger at herself for settling for the guy she didn’t want in the first place. And regret. Loads of regret.
Did Tate still feel the same way about her? She stopped and looked across the water, at the vast darkness that seemed to hold a thousand secrets. He couldn’t still have feelings for her. Not after all these years. How could he have handled staying such close friends with her if he did?
She pulled out her phone to call him but it was dead. She tucked it away. Probably just as well. She wasn’t even sure what to say to him.
She hailed a cab to go home. It was going to be a long night. How was she going to get any sleep? She leaned forward and gave the driver a different address. She had to talk to Tate right now and find out exactly what this all meant.
It was midnight and she wasn’t even sure he’d be home yet. The lobby to the apartment building was empty and warm. Yet still she shivered. With cold, shaky fingers, she pushed the buzzer to his apartment.
Nothing.
She pressed it again and when he didn’t answer, she turned to leave. Then finally she heard him on the intercom. “Hello?”
She ran back. “Tate, it’s Alyssa. Can we talk?”
“Want me to come down?”
“Can I come up?” she asked.
“Come on in.” The door leading into the apartment building buzzed and she walked over to the elevators. She’d never been to his apartment alone. Kevin had always been with her if they stopped to pick Tate up before going out, or if they were going to a party there. But come to think of it, she and Kevin hadn’t seen as much of Tate the last few years of their marriage.
T
he elevator stopped on the seventh floor, and as she walked down the hall, she saw Tate waiting outside his apartment. “Are you okay?” he asked as she came toward him.
She nodded but then she started crying. “I’m sorry.” She wiped away a tear and Tate pulled her close.
“Come on, let’s talk.”
She followed Tate inside and then sat down on his couch. “Did I wake you up?”
“No, I was just lying in bed. Thinking.”
She nodded. “I’ve been doing a lot of that, too.”
“He never should have told you that.” Tate sighed.
“But it’s true? He didn’t want to go out with me—you did?”
Tate closed his eyes and rubbed his knuckles across his brow. “Yes. He didn’t send me over to you in the cafeteria that day. I went over to ask you out.”
She tilted her head. “So why didn’t you?”
He dropped his hand and looked up at the ceiling. “Because you didn’t seem interested in me.”
She sat there, folding and unfolding her hands in her lap. “But I was.”
He slowly turned his head to her. “No you weren’t. You started asking about Kevin right away when I sat down that day.”
Alyssa groaned and slammed her fists onto her thighs. “I’m so stupid. I was really nervous. Tate, I had a big crush on you and I didn’t know what to say to you. I saw Kevin watching us across the cafeteria, and the first thing that came to mind was to ask who you were sitting with, even though I knew. I was just making small talk.”
Tate said nothing, then shook his head. “So you didn’t want to go out with Kevin?”
“No. I wanted to go out with you.”
“Why did you go out with him then?”
“So I wouldn’t look like a fool after saying that I would. And the first date wasn’t bad, and I wasn’t seeing anyone, plus I thought you weren’t interested, so we just kept going out. Then we went to homecoming, and it just snowballed into this relationship—into this thing. I never had any intention of getting together with Kevin.”
“Wow,” Tate said.
Slowly, she nodded. “Wow is right.”
They sat there together saying nothing, then Tate grabbed her hand. “That crush of mine never went away.”
Alyssa struggled to say something. “Seriously?” she finally managed.
He nodded. “It just got worse. I spent so much time with you and Kevin that I fell in love with you. I was in love with my best friend’s girlfriend. What a complete shit I am.”
Alyssa popped up from the couch and starting pacing the apartment. Her head was swirling and her stomach hurt. All that time she wasted with Kevin, she could’ve been with Tate? She was so angry at him. And angry at herself. So sad, too. Her heart ached and she sat down on the couch, dropping her head against the back of the seat.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “You have no idea.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “No, I do. And I’m sorry, too.”
“I wish I would’ve said something sooner.”
She chuckled softly. “Like that day in the cafeteria maybe?”
He laughed. “That probably would’ve been a good idea.” He propped up his elbow on the back of the couch and faced her. “Is it too late to tell you I still love you?”
She leaned back. “But why didn’t you say something sooner? I’ve been divorced for six months.”
“I thought you needed a friend more than another complication.”
“You’d never be a complication, Tate.”
“Kevin might have a problem with it. I don’t know how understanding he’s going to be if you and I are together,” Tate said. “It might cost me our friendship. But I can live with that.”
“After seeing the way he was tonight, I don’t know how he’ll react. And I don’t care.”
Tate reached for her hand. “What about you? Could you date your ex’s best friend? You might not even be ready to date. I can wait, if that’s what you need. I’ve been waiting for a long time. You tell me when you’re ready, Alyssa. I’m not going anywhere.”
Choking back tears, she slid up on her knees and leaned toward him. She took his face in her hands. “I’m ready now, Tate. We’ve wasted enough time.”
He pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his hands around her waist. He just looked at her and smiled.
She laughed. “Aren’t you going to kiss me?”
“I have waited so damn long to kiss you, I just need to savor this moment for a bit. It’s going to take a minute until I can convince myself this isn’t just another dream.”
“It’s very real,” she said in a husky voice.
He trailed the tip of his finger along her cheek. “Somehow, you just keep getting more beautiful.” He brushed her hair off her cheek.
She set her hands on his shoulders and brought her nose to meet his. “Don’t think I never imagined this either. We’ve known each other a long time.”
“Then let’s stop imagining.” With one hand wrapped round the base of her neck, he pulled her mouth to his and skimmed his lips over hers.
She sucked in a breath and kissed him back, his lips a perfect fit against hers. “All this time wasted time.” She sighed.
He kissed her again. “Remember what I said about what ifs?”
“Right. Ask what’s next.”
“More of this, that’s for sure.” He kissed her again as if he’d been kissing her for years. She wasn’t his best friend’s girlfriend; finally she was his.
Homecoming Queen
Lucy Jordan sat in the grass, leaning against the front of her rental car as the Jefferson Class of 2002 got ready to start the memorial service for her best friend. Former best friend, that is. Even from one hundred yards away, she could see Leah’s pretty face smiling at her from the big picture propped up on an easel, flanked by huge flower arrangements. The picnic for day three of their ten-year reunion was being held at a swanky country club. Leah’s service was taking place by a small pond. She would’ve liked that. Leah loved the water. She adored fancy things, too.
No one seemed to notice Lucy sitting so far away. She’d gotten a prime spot at the front of the parking lot so she could see the festivities without having to take part. She was wearing all black—even the scarf covering the scar on the side of her face. Her rental car was black, too, so she blended in. Not being noticed was a good thing. Lucy was done being the center of attention.
The few people there with kids chased after them while others sat at round, wooden tables with umbrellas shading them. Laughter and chatter floated on the breeze. Lucy tried to remember the last time she’d laughed.
She plucked a blade of grass and curled it around her finger. Despite several invitations and personal phone calls from the organizers, Lucy hadn’t planned to come back for the reunion. She’d already paid her respects to Leah at her funeral when she died four years ago. Why would she have to come to a ten-minute ceremony at their class reunion? But at the last minute, she’d packed her bags and taken a flight back to Boston, because knowing Leah, she’d probably haunt Lucy’s ass and go all poltergeist on her if she didn’t come to the memorial and look appropriately distraught.
Hopefully sitting on the edge of the parking lot counted as paying her respects.
A few butterflies darted past her as Lucy scanned the crowd gathering for the service. There was no one she wanted to see and plenty of people she didn’t. Although she hadn’t wanted to see anyone since the accident. It was risky coming here. The press was dying to get a photo of country singer Lucy Jordan all banged up from the car accident her drunk ex had caused, living as a recluse like someone in one of her songs. It had been six months since the accident. They had to lose interest in her sometime, right? More likely though, she was making herself an even bigger tabloid target.
Lucy could hear someone’s shrill voice bringing the memorial service to order. She didn’t need to hear the words to know what was being said. Undoubtedly something about Leah’s sparkling p
ersonality, how she was sorely missed by her classmates. Basically, a load of crap, because most of the people in their class had been just as rotten to Leah as they had to Lucy. That is, until Leah started dating Joe Latham. That’s when Leah stopped dyeing her hair pink and took out her piercings. At least she hadn’t ditched Lucy, but conforming to the cool crowd had strained their relationship.
“I’m not conforming,” Leah had said. “I’m growing up. You might want to try it.” Their relationship had definitely cooled, but they’d still kept in touch, even after Leah went to college and Lucy went to Nashville with the crazy idea that a violin-playing girl could become a fiddle-toting country-music star. Nashville had never seen anything like her with her wild hair and deft fingers. She’d put out an indie record that blew up the charts and had been courted by several labels before signing a deal. Not bad for a girl with two lawyers for parents who thought she’d follow in their footsteps. Lucy never wanted to be what people expected of her.
The memorial appeared to be wrapping up as people walked over to the pond and each person grabbed a handful of rose petals to toss in the water.
“Excuse me, this is a private event.” A voice behind her surprised her and she adjusted her scarf.
“That’s fine. I was just leaving.” She stood up and grabbed her cane off the ground, leaning on it for support.
“Lucy?”
She knew that voice, but couldn’t place it. Turning to look, she saw it was Joe Latham. Leah’s old boyfriend. The guy who had ruined Lucy’s senior year.
He looked just as surprised to see her. “I didn’t think you were coming,” he said.
“I didn’t either. But now I’m leaving, and I’d really appreciate if you didn’t mention to anyone I was here. I came for Leah, not for anyone else.”
“I won’t tell a soul.” Joe took a step closer. “But honestly, how are you handling everything?”
She rolled her eyes and shifted her weight off her injured leg. “Because you care.”
“I do. You were Leah’s best friend. I’m sure her death still hurts. Hell, we’d been broken up for three years when she died, but I still can’t help but wonder how many times my face was swimming in her brain right before she shoved that needle in her arm.” He gestured down to the pond. “This ceremony today was harder than I’d imagined, seeing so many old pictures of her before all the problems started. I came up here to be alone. Then I noticed you.”