Reunited Page 2

  ***

  The invitation caught me off guard and I started to think of ways to get out of going, but I had promised Amy I would go and I didn’t want to let her down. The reunion was going to be held on a week-long cruise to the Western Caribbean and we were leaving from Miami. She was convinced that Jake and I were meant to be together and she thought that if we saw each other again we would pick up right where we left off. I was afraid to let myself get excited at the thought of seeing him again. What if he had a girlfriend or fiancé, or worse yet…what if he was married? I pushed those thoughts out of my mind as I sat down to RSVP. I decided not to bring Mike because I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea. I didn’t want him to think things were more serious between us than they actually were. I could feel the butterflies in my stomach as I thought about what I was going to wear and what it would be like to see Jake after all this time.

  The ringing of the phone jolted me out of my mini-fantasy.

  “Did you get yours in the mail today?!” Amy was breathless with excitement.

  “Yes I did,” I laughed, “and I already filled out the RSVP.”

  “You’re not bringing Mike, are you?”

  “Of course not Amy.”

  “That would kill any chance of you and Jake getting back together. Oh Lauren, I just know that you guys are meant to be! I can’t wait for this reunion! I think it’s so cool that it’s going to be a week long cruise. We’re going to have the best time!”

  “Paul will probably be there, you know.” The lilt in my voice lightly teased her. Amy and Paul dated briefly in college.

  “I’ve been trying not to think about that. I don’t think it’s in the cards for me to meet anyone Lauren. I’ll just live vicariously through you and Jake!”

  “First of all, it absolutely is in the cards for you to meet someone. You are a fabulous woman and any man would be lucky to have you even look their way. Second, me and Jake? He probably hates me so I wouldn’t hold your breath on that one. I think if Paul shows up and he is single, you should definitely see where things go. You guys really liked each other in college but you were so focused on your business that things kind of just fizzled. Who knows? Maybe you’ll pick up right where you left off. If you are going to be so optimistic about Jake for me, then I am going to be optimistic about Paul for you.”

  “OK, you’re right. I’ll keep an open mind. Happy?” Her pouty words didn’t faze me.

  I smiled through the phone. “Ecstatic.”

  CHAPTER 2

  I rushed around my apartment looking for my keys so I could head to the airport. Amy lived 15 minutes from me, but she had some last minute work to finish up so I was meeting her there and we were flying to the reunion together. I finally found them tucked in a sofa cushion and grabbed my purse and suitcase and headed out. I did a quick mental check as I hurried down my hallway to the elevator to make sure that I’d brought everything. I started packing for this trip the night I received the invitation. I wanted everything to be perfect and I didn’t want to forget a thing, so I had quadruple checked my luggage to make sure I had everything. The closer I got to the airport, the more nervous I became. The flight to Miami was only a little under three hours, so it wouldn’t be long before I saw Jake.

  Amy had a huge smile on her face and gave me a big hug when she saw me. “This is going to be so amazing Lauren! We are going to have the best time!” She started to ask me all kinds of questions like who I thought will have changed the most, who would still be living at home, who would be married with kids and on and on. I swear I must have blanked out at some point because I saw her lips moving but I didn’t hear any words coming out of her mouth. All I could think of was that this was really happening and I would be seeing Jake really soon. Then it hit me. What if he didn’t show up?

  I grabbed her arm. “Amy! What if he doesn’t show up?” I had a panicked look on my face which I tried to play off.

  “Lauren, there is no way that he will not be there.”

  I wondered how she could be so sure, but I let it go. If he wasn’t there then it wasn’t meant to be. We cleared security and walked to our gate. As we were boarding the plane my palms became really sweaty and my throat felt very dry. I wanted to have a drink to calm me down but I knew that just one wouldn’t do the trick, so I decided against it because I didn’t want to show up to the reunion sloshed out of my mind.

  I must have dozed off on the plane because the next thing I knew we were touching down in beautiful Miami. I was a bit groggy and the second I realized where we were, panic set in.

  “Amy, I can’t do this. I really can’t.” I was terrified and I didn’t want to leave the plane.

  “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 us
ed 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 still? 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 wante
d 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.

  “Why did you break up with me before graduation? Was it really about work?”

  I definitely saw hurt in his eyes and I hated that it was me that made him feel that way. I looked down at the floor and took a deep breath. My heart was pounding. I took a sip of my drink before responding to him. He was searching my eyes for an answer.

  “I didn’t want you to throw your life away because of me. Jake, you were offered an incredible opportunity to work for your family’s BILLION dollar business. And you were going to throw all of that away for me! I couldn’t let you do that. If things didn’t work out between us you would have resented me and I didn’t want that. I wanted you to take that opportunity and see if it was what you wanted to do, and decide on your own if it was right for you. I didn’t want to be an influence in any way. I broke up with you because I wanted the best for you. And from what you just told me, you made the right decision going to work for your family.”

  He sat there silent, looking out over the water. Was that relief that I saw wash over his face? I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

  “You ignored my calls and emails when I tried to contact you after we graduated. You wouldn’t even talk to me. We were together for four years and you wouldn’t even talk to me. Do you have any idea how much you hurt me Lauren? Any at all?”

  I could see a flicker of anger in his eyes but mostly I just saw sorrow. I felt horrible. It hurt me to know that I had hurt him so badly. Tears started to well up in my eyes and they spilled down over my cheeks.