She looks all around the room, only darting glances at me, chewing on her kissable lower lip and running her finger over the water bottle’s label. I take advantage of the opportunity to get a good look at her up close. Her hair’s a little darker than I remember, not quite as blonde as it used to be. She has part of it pulled back, same as she always used to wear. Her clothes are different, though. Instead of the more relaxed and serviceable T-shirts and not-too-tight pants, she wears painted on jeans and a clingy top that makes it hard not to stare at her tits. I don’t know if they’re actually bigger, or if my memory’s faulty, but I try to be inconspicuous as I adjust my seat and tear my eyes away.
After taking my time comparing the woman in front of me with the girl I used to know, it’s painfully clear that any conversation is up to me. “Samantha Barnes. I haven’t seen you in ages. How’ve you been?”
Her eyes meet mine for a second before breaking away. “Good. Busy … but good.”
I chuckle. “That doesn’t tell me anything. Busy doing what? Are you still writing? How was college? Are you married now? Dating? Fill me in.” I hold my breath, waiting for the answers to my last two questions, hoping that including them with the others doesn’t reveal my desperation.
With a roll of her eyes and a huff of breath, she finally morphs into the girl I used to know, relaxing into the couch, a smile pulling at her lips at my barrage of questions. “I’m not married. Or dating. I don’t … I just don’t really have time for that right now.”
I quirk an eyebrow, inviting an explanation as I take another swig of water, but she doesn’t fill in the blanks.
Instead she looks me over, unashamedly checking me out. “You’ve been busy too, obviously.” Her smile grows. “Your high school piano teacher would be mortified to see what you’ve become.”
I throw back my head and laugh. “It pays the bills, though. Better than teaching piano lessons to a bunch of snot-nosed kids, anyway.”
Her smile dims at my comment, and she looks down at the ground. “Yeah,” she says softly. “Yeah, I bet it does.”
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