It was a private signal between us. We’d seen each other through so much; no words could describe what we felt for one another. And no one knew any of us like we knew one another. Through thick and thin, united we stood.
Dramatic—yes.
Real—absolutely.
After we finished our toast, I stood on wobbly legs. “Excuse me, I have to use the restroom.”
“Do you want me to come with you?” Emmy asked.
She was nestled close to James and seemed pretty happy right where she was. Some things never changed. “No, you stay put.”
I looked down at my watch. It was only twelve ten, or maybe it was two. Funny, I couldn’t tell which was the big hand and which was the little one.
The stairs nearest to our booth offered me the chance to glance toward Dawson but I had a strange feeling someone was watching me. A silver button on a distressed leather jacket caught the reflection of one of the beams of light flaring down from the twirling disco ball. The leather stood out in a sea of fine fabric suits and sequin dresses but then faded into the crowd. For a moment, a sense of familiarity stirred in my belly. But I pushed the feeling aside and just thought—too much alcohol.
The restrooms were near the back—I’d been here before it changed owners and I remembered. Or I thought I did. I tried to peer through the crowd to locate the bathrooms but the place was way too big to see around the bar or the dance floor.
“Hello gorgeous. Long time no see. I was just coming to say hi,” Lars leaned down and kissed me right on the mouth.
I quickly stepped back, surprised by his close proximity and repelled by the feel of his lips on mine.
He shoved a glass of wine into my hand. “I bought you a drink. Thought we could celebrate . . . you know, moving on.”
I stepped back again.
And when I did, Lars’ eyes widened and his grin was wicked. “Whoa, you look sexy as hell. Did you start celebrating without me?”
I stood as straight as I could, trying to shake off the feeling of bugs crawling all over my body from the prickle of his stare. “No! I’m here to celebrate Danny’s new job.” That wasn’t really the truth, but I wasn’t about to explain to Lars.
“Well, fuck me upside down, but Phoebe it looks like you want to do more than celebrate.”
I considered his comment. My dress was shorter than I’d normally have worn, and the neckline much lower than I’d ever worn. But Lily had bought it specifically for me, for my unwedding day as she called it, and dropped it off that morning. How could I have refused her?
He lifted my chin. “You changed your hair too.”
“I cut it.”
After I broke up with Dawson I needed a change, so I cut my long tresses to just above my shoulders and darkened them a bit at the same time. My once long, wavy, golden blond hair was shorter, darker, and straighter.
My mother hated it. She said it looked like a bob and she detested bobs. I happened to love it. The whole change made me feel lighter, freer.
Lars tugged on the ends of my hair. “You changed the color too. It looks sultry.” He licked his lips. “You look sexy as fuck.”
I jerked my head back and just stared at him. Unsure where he was going with this and not really caring, I just wanted to escape his scrutiny.
“You’ve put some weight on too. Not so skinny anymore.”
I shrugged. I couldn’t control my weight. If I lost my appetite for even day, I looked unhealthily skinny. Everyone thought it was great to have such a high metabolism. But it wasn’t. I had to work at maintaining a healthy weight or my frame looked boylike.
“Has Dawson seen you yet?”
Disbelief clouded my narrowing eyes at the nerve of him. Like my ex-fiancé seeing me looking differently would change anything about our relationship?
My vision began to blur at that point and I knew I had had way too much to drink.
Lars’ mouth was at my ear before I could move away. “Your outfit makes it look like you have curves in all the right places though, don’t worry.”
I thought I might vomit.
Was he for real?
Words flew out of my mouth at lightning speed. “You’re such a dick. Go find some other woman to harass who’s into your kind of foreplay.”
An evil grin formed on his lips. “A dirty mouth too, just the way I like them.”
“You like them anyway you can get them,” I spat back.
Bile rose in my throat and I wasn’t sure if it was his attention or the alcohol causing the sick feeling.
“Feisty,” he grinned. “What was Dawson thinking letting you go? I bet you’re an animal in the sack.”
“Get lost,” I told him and turned to walk away.
He grabbed my wrist. “Now that you’re all worked up, what do you say we get out of here? I won’t tell Dawson.”
I tried to free myself of his grip but he wouldn’t let go.
Someone stepped between us. The distressed leather was the first thing my eyes were focused on when my skin started to tingle with a sense of familiarity. The tingling quickly turned into trembling as my gaze lifted and I saw the bluest of blue eyes.
They were soft, concerned, knowing.
They were the eyes of my past.
It was him.
I was surprised.
I was shocked.
I was mesmerized.
My body started to tremble even more and I downed the glass of wine I had been holding to help calm my nerves.
Still, I couldn’t stop staring. He looked the same. No, he looked better, if that was possible. His hair was shorter but his devastating good looks were even more striking.
This time I knew he was real—he wasn’t a figment of my imagination. Just that one look into his eyes and all the hurt was forgotten. It was as if the last five years had never happened. And we’d just met.
I lost myself in his eyes and I couldn’t stop myself from going back to when we’d first met.
It was the day I came alive.
As an extra, included is a preview of Kim’s very first novel. If you haven’t read Connected, you haven’t met River Wilde. Buckle up and get ready for the ride. It’s one you won’t want to miss!
Connected
Next Lifetime
We walked through the open door to the University of Southern California Campus Bar and Aerie pulled her tail up. “At least they aren’t playing that Halloween crap in here,” she yelled a little too loudly. As my ears adjusted, I heard a velvety soft voice singing an unfamiliar yet captivating song.
Aerie stopped to put her devil horns on, and I glanced around the large room recognizing a lot of students, while trying to get a look at the band. I shouted directly into her ear, “They sound really good. Have you heard them before?”
She was on her toes trying to see over the crowd. I laughed at how short she was until her pointy devil horn hit me in the eye. “No, but I love their sound,” she responded, still trying to see the stage and almost falling over.
I had been coming here for the last three years and couldn’t ever remember it being so crowded. I could barely see the long wooden bar to my right, and with the mass of bodies bumping and grinding on the dance floor, I couldn’t even catch a glimpse of the stage.
“Do you know their name?” I asked Aerie.
“I think they’re called the Wilde Ones,” she hiccupped and laughed. She winked at me as she started to dance her way toward some friends on the dance floor and yelled over her shoulder, “By the way, I love them! Great name and an even greater sound.”
“I’ll get drinks and meet you out there in a bit,” I said to no one since she was already gone. When the bartender acknowledged me, I ordered two beers, one with ice and one without, and tacked on two shots to help Aerie drown her misery.
The live music stopped and typical Halloween songs were blasted through the speakers. I turned my back to the bar and scanned the crowd for Aerie. You would think she would be easy to spot in her red sequin devil costume. She said she was out for vengeance and if her outfit was any indication, she would be vindicated.