The spill on Kerensa\u2019s skirt sent her rushing to the restroom, leaving me alone at our table. I was checking my phone, pretending to look busy, when I suddenly sensed someone standing beside me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked up\u2026 and it was him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dorian Reed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Up close, he looked even more familiar \u2014 the same eyes, the same half-shy smile I used to melt over. But there was something else now, something tired\u2026 something heavy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPomeline?\u201d he said softly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just hearing my name in his voice sent a shock through me. All the years between us felt like seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wasn\u2019t sure you\u2019d come,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I swallowed hard. \u201cI wasn\u2019t sure either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For a moment, neither of us spoke. The noise of the party faded into a vague blur. Then he exhaled and sat down across from me, like a man bracing for impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI know I\u2019m probably the last person you want to see,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if you\u2019ll let me\u2026 I need to tell you something I should\u2019ve said twenty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My breath caught. Every part of me wanted to run \u2014 but the bigger part needed answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He looked down, rubbing his hands nervously.
\u201cI didn\u2019t ghost you,\u201d he said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t ignoring you. I wasn\u2019t trying to hurt you. I\u2026 I was protecting you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I blinked, confused. \u201cProtecting me from what?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He looked up, eyes full of something raw, something I had never seen in him before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy mom,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cYou remember how strict she was\u2026 but you don\u2019t know half of it. When she found those notes you slipped in my locker\u2026 she lost it. She took my phone, locked me down at home, told me if she ever saw me with you again she\u2019d pull me out of school. She hated the idea of us together. She said you\u2019d \u2018ruin my future.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My heart slammed against my ribs.
I had always thought he simply didn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe made me cut you off,\u201d he said, voice cracking. \u201cBut I never stopped thinking about you. I kept every note you gave me. Every one, Pomeline.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My throat tightened. I didn\u2019t know whether to cry or scream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI tried to reach out after graduation,\u201d he went on, \u201cbut your family moved. I didn\u2019t know where to look. And when life got busy, I figured you\u2019d forgotten me\u2026 moved on\u2026 found someone better.\u201d
He laughed sadly. \u201cBut I never did.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I stared at him, stunned into silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He reached into his jacket with trembling fingers and pulled out a small, folded paper\u2014yellowed around the edges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My handwriting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had this in my wallet for twenty years,\u201d he whispered. \u201cI kept it because\u2026 you were the only girl I ever really loved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everything inside me broke at once.
Twenty years of confusion, hurt, longing \u2014 suddenly made sense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I didn\u2019t even hear Kerensa coming back. She stopped short behind us, eyes wide as she took in the scene, then quietly slipped away, giving us space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We talked for hours \u2014 about our lives, our failures, the things we never said. And with each word, the years between us dissolved until it felt like we were those two hopeful teens again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But this time\u2026 the timing was right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the end of the night, he asked softly, \u201cCan we start over?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And for the first time in twenty years, I finally felt the answer rise without fear or hesitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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