“Yea, well… you know… that’s destiny for you. Life just goes on and people go in different directions.” I shrugged. “Speaking of which, you kind of disappeared after graduation. What happened?”
“I went out and made my way in the world. Put my nose to the grindstone, took the bull by the horns, you know, all those metaphors for going to work.”
“From the looks of it, you’ve done very well with your business. Nice clothes, a limo.” I stirred my coffee, although I’d already added the creamer minutes ago. “I have to confess, I saw you get out of your limo at the funeral home the other day.”
“Ah, so you were spying on me?” He raised his brows and teased.
“No, I just happened to be at the dry cleaners and….” I felt a blush rising to my cheeks.
“It’s okay, I don’t mind being watched by my beautiful high school crush.”
Now I was really blushing. “You had a crush on me?”
“Oh come on Lauren, all the guys did.”
“How sweet, Aedyn.” I bit my lip. I knew he liked me back then, he’d even asked me to prom, but I ran with a different crowd and already had a boyfriend. I was obsessed with trying to be somebody and scratch my way to the top of the popularity heap that seemed so incredibly important when I was a teenager. Had he really expected me to say yes? Looking at him now, I could see he did.
I looked down at my coffee again, feeling like a snobby bitch. That must have been the way I appeared back then.
“Well, that was eons ago.” He paused and took a drink of his coffee. “At least we have a chance to talk now. I’m glad you happened to catch me before I leave tonight.”
“Me too. Sooo, Aedyn Cumberland, back to my question. Tell me everything. What did you do after graduation?”
“The usual.” He leaned back in his seat. “First, I went to college, got a marketing degree, then I worked for a large company for a while. After that, I said, ‘why not do this for myself?’ Why work for someone else? So I started my own a marketing company. It’s a grueling business, but it challenges my mind and it’s nice to have a business that affords me a few luxuries, like the limo.”
“That’s no surprise to me. You were always smart at business, smart at everything. I can see why you’re successful now. I remember when you and Garrett were in Junior Achievement and your business sold those emergency flashlights for people to use in their cars.”
He shook his head and smiled. “The ones that plugged into the car’s cigarette lighter?”
“Yes. Those. Garrett couldn’t sell one to save his life, but you… you could sell ice to an Eskimo. My dad bought three of them from you and he only owned two cars.” My shoulders relaxed and I let out a breath. “You never came to the high school reunion .”
Aedyn shot a glance to the side and smirked. “I know.” He paused for a moment and stared at me. “I should’ve. But I was too busy building my empire, trying to rule the world. Anyway… those things aren’t my style.”
“You know who was there?” I didn’t wait for his answer. I pitched forward with excitement. “Miss Campbell, our French teacher.”
His eyes lit up. “I remember Miss Campbell. I think I had a teacher-crush on her, or at least on her push-up bra.”
“Aedyn. You’re terrible. I never would’ve thought that about you. You were so studious. And you were having perverted teenage thoughts about our teacher as I sat next to you in French class?” I swatted the air with my hand. If he had been close enough, it would’ve been a playful punch on the arm.
His delightful chuckle floated across the booth and he said, “All the guys had a crush on Miss Campbell. And all the guys had perverted crushes in high school. That’s what being a teenage boy is all about. Anyway, enough about that.”
“After our project together for the science fair, I don’t remember much about you. It was like you just dropped off the face of the earth.” My brows knitted in contemplation. “Did you even go to the graduation ceremony? I don’t remember seeing you there.”
Aedyn stalled for a moment, as if stopped by the need to gather his emotions. His voice came out measured and restrained. “No. I didn’t make it. My mother was in the hospital.” He took a breath as if wanting to change the conversation. “But up until a couple of years ago, I used to come back every year. I stayed to myself, just visited my aunt and my mother’s grave and left.”
I had to quell an overwhelming urge to reach for his hand to comfort him, although the thought of what his strong hand would feel like excited me. His thumb, which lazily coursed over the glossy white handle of the coffee mug, distracted me. I wondered what that thumb would feel like rubbing me, how it would feel for him to be touching me. I forced my stare to my lap. This was not what I should’ve been thinking about right now.