Now, sitting across from him, drinking him in, old memories came flooding back. It was a welcome distraction from my problems at hand.
He smiled back at me, drilling holes into me with his beautiful eyes. They were the same eyes I’d ignored as a teenager years ago. I remembered how I casually brushed aside a jewel that had been right in front of my face. I’d watched him back then, in moments when he thought I wasn’t paying attention. When we worked on our science project at his mother’s kitchen table. Now, however, there was an added depth and intensity in his eyes and though his exterior qualities had changed, dare I say improved, I could still see he was the same caring person I knew in high school.
“What are you up to these days?” I tried to mask any salivating with perky quips. “You look… different than in high school.” I was not at all surprised that I’d missed the obvious when I saw him at a distance.
A slow smile erupted and he pulled his lower lip between his teeth before he said, “Well, contact lenses help and I filled out after high school. Finally developed some muscle.”
I smiled as I imagined sculpted abs to go with the powerful shoulders under that expensive tailored suit. I hoped my drooling wasn’t obvious. It was true that men didn’t finish maturing and growing until around age twenty, but he didn’t get that body from eating French fries on the couch.
“I’ve been living in Chicago, working, the usual.” His eyes seemed to search my face and then landed on my bare arm. “Would you like something to eat, or drink? I can call the waitress over…”
I pushed a loose lock of hair behind my ear and crossed my arms over my chest, trying to hide the bruises on my arm where Chip’s fingers had left marks from our heated argument. “Just coffee would be fine.” I slumped down a little in my seat.
Aedyn tipped his head in the direction of my now purpling arm. “Is everything okay, Lauren?”
“Yes, of course.” Aedyn stared blankly, waiting, his eyes demanding an explanation. “I was in one of those mud-run challenges for charity,” I lied, shocked at how quickly a cover up story came to me. “Besides running, it also involved an obstacle course, things like climbing a rope, scaling a wall made of railroad ties. Got a little banged up on the rock-climbing wall. It’s nothing.” I was babbling, so I stopped and plastered a fake smile on my face. “Anything for a good cause.”
I thought I noticed his jaw tighten, but the expression on his face remained stoic. “You should be more careful. Next time you have a charity event, you’ll have to invite me to come. I can help. You don’t have to get hurt.”
My puzzled look must have stumped him. I wasn’t at all sure if we were still talking about the charity mud run event or the bruises on my arm.
Aedyn cocked his head to the side, his eyes glowing as if from a distant memory and then he continued, thankfully changing the subject. “It’s good to see you again. It’s been…”
“Years.” I laughed as I realized I’d finished his sentence. My nervousness was making me antsy and every silence in the our conversation felt like hours, vacant minutes of time for Chip to walk by, or any one of Chip’s insurance customers who would report to him later that they saw me here with a strange man.
Aedyn returned my smile and said, “I was going to say, it’s been a while since I talked to any of our classmates. I don’t manage to get back to Granger very often. My work consumes me. I’m what you call the classic overachiever.”
“Well, that’s a notable quality. You were good in school. I remember that and you always made the honor roll.” I shook my head. “Man, those were the days. I was ambitious back then too.” I fell silent with the remembrance of my former self and the kind of life I’d wanted to live. Where had it gone? What had happened to my dreams? Suddenly my life seemed dull in comparison to Aedyn’s. He’d gone out into the world after graduation and became something grand while I settled for a life in this small town, hoping Chip would make it better.
I studied him as he ran his finger over the smooth handle of his spoon as he waited for the waitress to serve my coffee.
“Can I get you anything else?” She politely asked.
“No, not for now. Just keep the coffee coming.”
The waitress smiled and drifted back to her station behind the counter. Most of the other customers from the dinner rush had cleared out, leaving Aedyn and me alone to talk.
“It’s strange that we’ve never run into each other before,” he said.
It wasn’t strange to me. First of all, I remembered Aedyn Cumberland as—the truth was—just a science partner, someone always willing to help when I had a question about school. After graduation I hadn’t thought much, if anything, about him.