Reunited (3 page)

          “Yes
you
can
, now come
on
!”  She tugged my arm to pull me off of the
plane and I felt like a child.

          “OK,
OK
.  I’m
coming
.”  I sulked a little bit and she ignored it.  I
could tell Amy was on a mission and once she got an idea into her head, there
was no changing her mind.  We’d known each other for 14 years and she had
always been like that.  I should have known that once I said yes to going to
the reunion, there was no turning back with Amy.  The girl was relentless!

          After
we checked in on the ship, we showered, got dressed and went to look for other
people who had already arrived.  I’d chosen a beautiful, but casual dress and a
simple wedge heel and I made sure my makeup and hair were perfect.  I was a
nervous wreck.  I knew I had let my chance at true love get away from me and
today might be the second chance I secretly had hoped for.   

          We
asked the cruise director where we were supposed to meet everyone and she
directed us to the lounge area.  We ordered drinks, we saw a few people we knew
and we chatted and got caught up.  I felt a little bit relieved that I didn’t
see Jake yet and I was starting to relax.  Maybe he wasn’t going to show.  I
tried to switch my feelings to indifference but I did start to feel a little
sad at the thought of not seeing him.  Amy saw the expression on my face.

          “What’s
wrong?”

          “I
guess I was trying to pretend like I didn’t care if Jake showed or not, but I
will be so sad if he doesn’t come Amy.”

          “Lauren,
he’s coming.”  She sounded extremely sure of herself. 

          I
raised an eyebrow at her definitive statement.

          “How
do you know that?”

          She
looked down at the floor.

          “
Amy
,
what are you not telling me?”

          “OK,
promise you won’t get mad.”

          I
hesitated and just looked at her.

          “
Promise
.” 
Her arms were folded across her chest and she was tapping her foot like a
school girl, looking at me with her raised eyebrows.

          “Fine,
I promise…but very reluctantly.”

          “I
emailed Jake and told him we were going to the reunion.  He emailed me back and
said he would see us here.”

          So
it was official.  I really was going to see him today after 10 years.  I felt
like I was going to faint.

          “Well
say something Lauren, don’t just stand there looking like a deer caught in
headlights.”

          “I’m
just nervous, that’s all.” My voice suddenly got very small.

          “As
soon as you see him it will be like you just saw him yesterday.  You’ll see.” 
Amy had a very mischievous look in her eye.  I could tell that she had no doubt
that Jake and I would get back together.  But I didn’t want to get my hopes
up.  I had no idea where he was in his life.  I didn’t know if he was happy
with his professional life and I had absolutely no idea about his personal
life. 

          “I
know you two!”  I couldn’t quite place the vaguely familiar voice behind me but
when I turned around I was surprised to see Adam Franklin.  Adam was gorgeous
and had a crush on me our junior and senior year and he made no secret of it. 
Everyone knew that Jake and I were together, but that didn’t stop Adam from
asking me out a thousand times.

          “Hi
Adam!  It’s so good to see you!”  I gave him a big hug.  If there was anyone
who could turn my head for a minute away from Jake, it was Adam.  He was tall,
with dirty blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.  His look was the type I used to
go for before I met Jake.  His strong arms returned the hug and I had to admit
that it felt good.  He studied my face as he smiled at me.

          “You
look fantastic Lauren.”

          “Thanks,
so do you.”  I felt myself blushing as I smiled back at him. 
What’s this? 
I haven’t felt like this since Jake!

         
“Amy,
looking gorgeous as ever.  I know how you’ve been; I see your product
everywhere!”

          “Thank
you Adam.  It’s good to see you!  Yeah, things are good, traveling a lot for
work.   You know how it is.”  Amy was modest.  She
didn’t
like to brag about her success, but she had invented a line of shapewear our senior
year that literally flew off the shelves.  She was worth nearly 100 million
dollars now and she still lived like a regular person.  She had a townhouse in
the city, she flew coach, and still shopped designer discount outlets.  Of
course she did indulge in a few luxuries here and there.  One of the things I
liked about Amy was that she didn’t let money change her.  “
How
have you been?”

          “Good,
good, but busy.  I started an advertising firm in Chicago a few years ago and
things really took off about two years ago.  I finally have time to see my
friends and family.” 

          “You’re
living in Chicago?”  I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t know because I wasn’t
involved with alumni anything.  I wasn’t on any email chains and Amy was the
only person from college I’d kept in touch with.  I had been so focused on work
that I let all of my college relationships fall by the wayside.

          “I
am, right in the city.  I live in the West Loop.”

          “Oh
my gosh!  I live in the Gold Coast!”

          A
big smile spread across his face.  “I moved there five years ago.  Have you
been there since we graduated?”

          “Yeah,
and Amy lives there too, she’s in Lincoln Park.  How cool is this?”

          “It’s
a really nice surprise.”  He looked directly at me when he said that.  “So uh,
are you married?  Kids?”  He sounded a bit nervous.

          I
was surprised at how excited I felt talking with Adam. 
No, I’m not married
and I really hope you aren’t either. 
“No, not married and no kids.  Not
yet anyway.  And you?” 

          “Not
yet for me either.”  His blue eyes sparkled as he held my gaze.  I felt my
cheeks flush as I realized that I was attracted to him.  I was always consumed
with Jake in college and I never gave Adam a real look.  Oh, I knew he was
good-looking, everyone knew that.  But I never thought about him romantically
because I was so in love with Jake back then.  Jake was not the jealous type. 
He was aware of Adam’s crush on me and I think it made him feel good to know
that he had someone that someone else really wanted.

          I
could see Amy’s disapproval as she noticed the obvious chemistry between us.

          “Hey
I think Jake Hunter is coming to the reunion also.  It will be nice to catch up
with him too, won’t it Lauren?” 

          I
shot her an annoyed glance. 
Very subtle Amy.
 

          I
think I saw Adam flinch. 

          “Oh? 
How is Jake?  Have you seen him recently?”  His question was directed toward me
and there was hidden meaning in Adam’s question and I knew it. 

          Amy
jumped in before I had a chance to answer him.  “We emailed back and forth and
he told me he was going to be here.  It will be good to see him after all this
time.  Don’t you think Lauren?”

          She
did it again and she was not very subtle.  “I think it has been nice to see
everyone
so far after all this time Amy.  And now that we know Adam lives in the same
city that we do, we’ll be able to see a lot more of him.”  I turned my smile
toward him.

          Adam’s
face lit up as he smiled back at me.

          “Speaking
of getting together, we should exchange contact information.”  I liked that he
wasted no time asking for my info.  Adam was always really assertive and I
liked that.  I knew for a fact that if I had not been with Jake I would
definitely have dated Adam.  Maybe we were seeing each other after all of this
time for a reason.  Maybe Jake Hunter was not the only man for me.

          I
was feeling pretty giddy at the prospect of someone new who was really not so
new, and we had just finished exchanging information and were chatting about
our favorite places in Chicago, when I was shocked into silence.

          “Lauren.”

          I
heard that familiar deep voice behind me and started to panic.  I almost
dropped my drink.  My heart was thumping so hard against my chest and my mouth
was so dry I couldn’t even swallow.  My stomach did flips as I slowly turned
around and looked up into those gorgeous dark brown eyes.

          He
looked good; more mature and sure of himself.  I was completely tongue-tied and
I stood there unable to speak.  Thankfully, Amy stepped in to save me.

          “Jake! 
It’s so good to see you after all this time!”  She gave him a big hug and he
looked at me as he hugged her.

          “Jake,
good to see you.”  Adam held out his hand and Jake gave him a half smile as he
still held my gaze.

          I
cleared my throat, told myself to breathe and finally was able to utter words.

          “Hi
Jake, it’s nice to see you.”  My voice was cautious and soft.  He was so
gorgeous.  I felt the familiar heat between my legs as my eyes studied his. 
My
body responds like this
s
till?  Even after all this time?

          I
could see a glimmer of hurt in his eyes and then it was replaced by complete
stoicism.  There was barely any emotion emanating from him and I couldn’t tell
if he was happy to see me. 

          He
reached out to hug me and it felt forced but I hugged him back.  I inhaled his
familiar scent and didn’t want to let go.

          “It’s
good to see you as well.”  He looked at me for a long time and I started to
squirm under his gaze.  I noticed that he had a few flecks of grey in his hair
and he looked more muscular.  He was even more gorgeous than I had remembered
and my stomach was going crazy.  He looked more like a man now and it was very
sexy.

          “I’m
surprised to see you here.”  I had to say something to break his gaze on me. 

          “Oh,
I think I see Allison!  I’m going to go say hi.  Adam, you remember Allison
don’t you?  We should both go say hi.  I’ll find you later Lauren.  Good to see
you Jake!”  Amy quickly ducked away, pulling a reluctant Adam along with her.

          Jake
chuckled for just a second and then he was stone faced again.

          “Subtly
is not Amy’s strong point.”  I tried to loosen things up but Jake didn’t respond. 
You could have cut the tension with a knife.  I could see people glancing at us
out of the corner of my eye.

          “Can
we go somewhere else and talk?”  I didn’t know if he would be receptive to my
request but I had to take a chance.  I didn’t want everyone staring at us.  Who
knows what they were thinking seeing us together after all this time.  I was
sure we would be the talk of the reunion and I had to get Jake to talk to me. 
I didn’t want the whole trip to be uncomfortable for anyone.

          “Sure. 
Let’s go to the other side of the deck.  We should have some privacy there.”

          I
followed him and we walked in silence to the other side of the boat.  We stood
at the railing and stared out at the water for a while.  The glass in my hand
felt cool even though the ice was almost all melted.  The wind blew through my
hair as I stood there amazed that I was actually with Jake after all of these
years.  But something was different about him.  He seemed hardened.  After a
few minutes, Jake finally spoke first. 

          “How
have you been Lauren?  How has life treated you the last 10 years?”

          I
told him about my success with law school, that I was able to get a job at a
top law firm and that I made partner a few years ago.  I also told him how I
liked living in Chicago and how cool it was to live right downtown.

          He
congratulated me on my success and it seemed sincere.

          “What
about you Jake?  I assume you’re working for your family’s business?”

          “I
am.  I’m the Chief Financial Officer and Joshua is the Chief Executive Officer. 
I’ve learned a lot about the business and I have to say I enjoy running it with
my brother.  My dad always told me he never had any doubt that we would do well
with the company and that makes me feel good.”

          I
knew that Jake’s dad had passed away while we were in college, and Jake had
always wanted to make him proud.  I was happy to see that things were going
well with him and the company.  I looked at him and tried not to stare.  His
face was more mature and he had small wrinkles in the corners of his eyes. 
You
are so gorgeous.

          I
could see a strained look on his face and I could tell that he was holding
something back. 

          “Now
that we have all of the formalities out of the way, I think we should really
talk.”  He had a pretty serious look on his face and I was nervous about what
was coming.  I knew that I had broken his heart and I hoped that he didn’t hate
me for it.  We sat at a nearby table and the question I had been dreading came
out of his mouth.