MADversary (13 page)

Lisa was quiet for a moment until she said, “No, but we’ve reconnected on an intense level, Meg.  It’s like we’re soul partners or something.  I can’t believe we never got together in high school.  It’s weird.”

“I’m happy for you, Lisa, but…”

“But what?”

“What happens when he leaves?”

“So he leaves.  I know that’s
gonna
happen, and I don’t care.  I know he’s got his own life and I’ve got mine, but I want to enjoy it while I can.  I can either mourn the fact that he’s leaving tomorrow or I can eat him up while he’s here.  I choose to have fun while I can.”  She sighed.  “And I think you should too.”

Megan let Lisa’s words sink in.  She knew her friend was right.  Choosing not to see Tyler again was not only cowardly, but it was letting her circumstances rule her life rather than choosing to run it herself.  And she really did want to see him again, when she looked deep inside herself.  She took a deep breath.  She had the books for two weeks.  If he left tomorrow and she felt empty then, well, she had plenty to keep her mind occupied.  Only now, at least, she was already into the books
and would be able to get lost more easily
. 
“Fine.
  But I didn’t get anything formal and I refuse to wear anything over the top.”

Lisa squealed.  “Well, I’m not
gonna
wear anything overly formal either.  You should know me better than that.”

“Do you want me to drive this time?”

“I don’t care.  Randy’s got a rental car if I need it.”

“I used the cab this morning.  They cost a little, but they’re fast
er than you’d think
.  So, really, I don’t care.”

“I would love your support…
.
  Dinner starts at seven, so I’ll be by your place around six-thirty, okay?”

Megan couldn’t believe she was doing it, so she just said, “See you then.”

And then her stomach started doing flip flops.  She was going to see Tyler again.  Her heart soared, eager to be with him once more.  It was
those
feelings that scared her and made her realize just how much she was setting herself up for a fall, but she didn’t know what else to do to stop
herself
from
hitting the ground
.  Maybe a fall was just what she needed.

* * *

Megan
walked
inside the hotel with Lisa once again.  She’d settled on a little black dress, something
not formal at all
but something she knew would be good enough.
  It had the tiniest of sleeves, just an inch of flowing fabric, but the dress itself fit her like a glove, showing off her thin waist
and accenting the curves of her breasts and hips
.  The skirt, though, was what made the dress.  It had multiple overlapping layers of sheer black fabric that ended around the knees, creating a wispy, ethereal look.  And she wore black high heels, something she rarely did, but she wanted to look sexy.  Tyler had commented last night on how
desirable
she’d looked in something conservative, so she wanted him to feast his eyes on her wearing something meant to impress.

And
then
she felt nervous again.
  Having blown off the entire day, would Tyler even care at this point?  Megan knew it could go either way.  But she’d made no promises when she’d last seen him, so she hoped he could forgive her for having disappeared for the day.  He’d asked if he’d see her
later
.  Well,
didn’t
dinner count
?
  If he asked, well…she wasn’t sure what she’d say.
  She didn’t want to tell him how torn she’d been earlier.

But as the two women entered the large room they’d been in th
e night before
now converted to be a dining space, she couldn’t see Tyler anywhere.  Granted, the place was packed not only with former classmates but their spouses too, but Tyler was a little taller than m
ost and Megan thought he’d stand
out.  Or maybe he hadn’t planned on attending the dinner and she would have known if she’d gone to the brunch or the hike.

But she wasn’t going to let any of her disappointment show on her face.  The only thing that would make her lose it entirely would be if there was an announcement that
Madversary
wouldn’t play at the show tonight. 
That
would cause her to freak out.
  Otherwise, she could sit tight and wait.

There were lots of round tables in the room, all decked out in crisp burgundy linen
tablecloths adorned with
white candles.  As they started walking around the room, Lisa and Megan looked for empty seats.  Megan saw black fabric napkins at each place setting, folded to look like a fan.  There were also goblets at each setting, along with carafes of water.  The reunion committee had done a nice job, and well they should, considering how much everyone
had
paid to attend.

Lisa pointed to a table halfway through the room that only had one couple.  “
Wanna
sit there?”

“Yeah.”
  Megan was okay with not being a social butterfly.  She glanced at the couple seated on the other side of the table and smiled.  The guy looked a little familiar, but she didn’t recognize the woman.  She knew if the man had more hair on his head, she’d recognize him, but no such luck.
  Well, she recognized him now; she just couldn’t recall his
name or how she knew him.  Was
he someone who had been in a class with her or someone she’d just passed in the hall on a daily basis?  Did he remember her?  What was worse was there were quite a few people at
the reunion she’d had the same reaction to.  But this poor guy…not even thirty and he’d lost half his hair.  But his wife didn’t seem to mind.  She sat close to him and looked enamored.

Lisa and Megan sat across from the couple and Megan made a point of smiling at them.  She didn’t want to seem standoffish or rude, even if she couldn’t remember them.  She looked around the room once more, verifying there was no sign of Tyler.  She asked Lisa, “So when is Randy supposed to show up?”

“I think he said he won’t be at the dinner at all.  He’s going to try to meet us at the high school later.”

“What’s he got
goin
’ on a Saturday night?”

Lisa shrugged.  “I didn’t ask. 
None of my business.”

Megan felt her eyebrows climb up her forehead.  She lowered her voice.  “He had his
dick
in you last night, Lisa.  I don’t think it would be super-nosy to just ask.”

Lisa couldn’t help but smile.  She turned to Megan and whispered, “Yeah, well, I don’t know him
or
his dick enough yet to feel comfortable asking where he is every little second.”

Megan shrugged and nodded her head.  “Yeah, I get that, but he’s here for his high school reunion, for God’s sake.  Wouldn’t he want to be part of all of it?”

Lisa smirked.  “
You
didn’t.”

The smile slid off Megan’s face, but she wasn’t angry.  “I didn’t want to do this in the first place if you’ll recall.  You’re lucky I’ve showed for anything.”

Lisa stuck her tongue out and grabbed a carafe of water, pouring it into the larger goblet in front of her.  The man across from them said, “Megan Walker and Lisa French, right?”

Both women nodded.  Lisa was drinking from her glass, but Megan said, “Yep.  I’m afraid I can’t recall your name, though.”

“Ben
Regan
…
Benny
.
  We were in—”

“Biology and physics together.
  Yeah.  Two classes I’d just as soon forget.  But I passed them.  I remember you, Benny.  How’ve you been?”

“Great.  This is my wife Amanda.”  The wife nodded on cue.  “We’re expecting our first child.” 

Megan smiled and nodded.  She hardly remembered Benny.  In fact, all she could recall was that he was one of the smartest guys in their class.  “Congratulations.”

“So are you two still single?”

Lisa said, “Afraid so.  It’s not so bad, though.”

Megan really
did
believe the sentiment that being single wasn’t so bad, but she knew Lisa couldn’t buy it.  It was a lie her friend told herself to make herself feel better.  Megan didn’t want to marry until she knew she was with the right man, and she was beginning to think there was no such thing.  She’d already reconciled herself to it.  She’d rather be single than stuck with
the wrong guy and kids to boot, and it had been starting to feel like there was no right guy.

Penny Austin saved them from more awkward conversation.  There was a small mike at the head of the room and she began talking into it. 
“Hello, everyone.
  I hope you’re all having a great time here.  We’re getting ready to start.  I hope you’ve enjoyed yourselves as much as I have.  Anyway, your servers will be around shortly to fill up your drinks and serve you food.  You have a choice of beef or chicken.  If you don’t want either, there are a small number of vegetarian entrees.  Just ask if that’s what you need.  Anyway, when we’re done here, we’ll head over to the high school…
.
”

Penny prattled on but Megan found herself tuning out again.  All the reunion had done was
depress
her. 
Sure, it was kind of interesting to see how people had changed, but the novelty of
that had already worn off.  And then she realized…she was suffering from Lisa syndrome.  She would have been perfectly content if Tyler was there.  And he wasn’t.  And she was going to have to spend the next two hours listening to
talk of
Benny’s job teaching science at a high school in another state.  She should’ve listened to her instincts and stayed the hell home.

Chapter Sixteen

IN THE SPAN
of five minutes, three more people had joined their table and they’d been served salad and rolls.  The three other people at the table were women
who
had belonged to
the
clique
of the second-most popular girls in the school.  They hadn’t changed much
in the last decade
.  And they’d been friendly enough
tonight
, introducing themselves to everyone at the table.  The girl named Jasmine had remembered everyone else at the table—Megan, Lisa, and Benny.  Megan was impressed by that. 
The woman
seemed genuinely interested in everyone else.  Jasmine had started telling them that she was now a registered nurse and working at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs
until
her other two friends pulled her back into their more intimate conversation.  Just as well, Megan thought.  They’d all be going their separate ways again tomorrow.

Lisa touched Megan’s forearm with her cool fingers.  Megan looked at her and she said, “Look, Meg, I know what you’re thinking, and it’s not an option.”

Megan tried to look innocent.  “What?”

“I know you’re considering ditching the dance afterward, and it’s not going to happen.”

Megan stabbed a cucumber slice with her fork. 
No use pretending with Lisa.  “You wouldn’t even care if Randy was there.”

“That’s not true.  He
is
going to be there, but I know…”

“Know what?”

“I know something special happened between you and Tyler, and I think you need to finish what you started.”

Megan scoffed.  “I didn’t
start
anything.  It was one thing, one night,
okay
?  That’s it.”  She didn’t know that she believed it, but she
had
to
try
.

Lisa’s eyes shifted focus to behind Megan.  “Yeah, well, tell that to
him
.”  Lisa’s eyes wound up back on Megan’s, but Megan knew Tyler must be approaching their table from behind.

Megan took a deep breath.  She didn’t want to seem too eager, too desperate, too excited, because inside she had just leapt from grief to elation at neck-breaking speed.
  And in that space of seconds, Megan decided to stay.
 
But n
o matter what Lisa said, Megan didn’t trust that Tyler wanted anything else beyond this one weekend, and she didn’t want to set herself up for supreme disappointment.  She had to play it cool.  It was the only way she could make her mind believe it.

She felt his hand on her upper back between her shoulder blades before she turned around in her chair.  As she swiveled, she saw Benny stand up and extend his arm over the table.  “Tyler Green.  I’d heard a rumor you were at this shindig
.”

“You heard right.”  Tyler took Benny’s hand and shook it.  “Benny
Regan
, right?”