“That’s definitely not going to happen. She’s with Steve and his hair. And come on, can you enjoy a show without a gay element?”
“Technically, I could, but it’s not really preferred. I’m at that stage in my life where I only want to watch things that are gay…preferably when they don’t kill the love interest literally the scene after they first have sex.”
“Man, you’re still pissed about The 100?”
“I’ll forever be pissed about The 100. I devoted my life to it for them to ruin it completely. Plus, Orange Is the New Black got disappointing. Orphan Black got weirder and ended. So unless Stranger Things becomes gay, it’s not getting ahead of Killing Eve. I can’t turn down an MI6 agent and a loveable female psychopath assassin being obsessed with each other. Sign me right up.”
Right as I reached for my glass of water, my phone rang. The name that stretched across the screen sent my mind into a whirling spin of nostalgic disbelief. I nearly choked on the water as it descended my throat.
Speaking of dating, was this really happening? Was Kennedy Reed calling me?
“Oh shit,” I said through an airy exhale. “What do I do?”
“What? Who’s that? Why aren’t you answering?”
I looked at her with worried eyes. “Dating…I dated her.”
I couldn’t even form sentences I was so taken aback. Talia picked up my phone, studied the name, and flashed it in front of my face. “Kennedy Reed? I don’t remember hearing about a Kennedy Reed.”
My heart hammered as if I was sprinting down the pool with full force. “High school girlfriend. The best friend,” I said through the shortness of panicked breath.
Talia’s mouth dropped, and then she tossed the phone on my lap as if it burned her fingers. “Oh God, what are you going to do?” She finally reached my level of panic.
“I don’t know! I don’t know!”
“Answer it! Answer it!”
I fumbled for the phone and pressed the green button.
Kennedy Reed calling me a week and a half before I left for the Olympics? All the history we shared exploded in my memory. My childhood best friend who gave me my first kiss the night before she moved to New York City when we were thirteen, came back to Aspen Grove sophomore year only to ignore me until our senior year, when she confessed the feelings she’d had for me since we were eleven. And then when we were able to move past that, we dated, and those five months were some of the most amazing of my life. She was my high school sweetheart. My first and only heartbreak. Why the hell was she calling me? She hadn’t called me since…well…since we dated.
I sucked in a breath and planned on holding it until I got the reason she was calling. “H…hello?” Yup, I still had the amazing ability to sound like an idiot around her.
“Oh, hey stranger, long time no talk,” Kennedy said with a chipper voice, and I could almost hear the smile.
All she had to do was say one sentence to send me flying back in time. “Hey!” I replied and hated myself for my tremulous voice. I scratched the back of my head as Talia drilled her dark brown eyes into me, as invested in the conversation as I was. “What are you…why…how are you?”
She laughed, so that meant that bad news wasn’t pending, right? “Did I catch you off guard?”
“A little, but I guess in a good way. It’s always nice hearing from you. What’s going on?”
“A lot of things.” The noise in the background sounded like she was outside, rustling wind and huffing when she spoke. “First things first, guess where I am?”
“I’m assuming not in Brooklyn.” I paused to think, and if she wasn’t where she lived, at least from the last I heard, there was only one other place she could be that was worthy of this call. “Are you in San Francisco?”
“Ding ding ding!”
My mouth dropped. Talia rounded her stare.
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. You know my brother lives out here, right?”
“Uh, no. When did this happen? Where does he live?”
“He moved right after Christmas. Working in Silicon Valley. Living in Santa Clara, which apparently is only an hour away from you, Google Maps tells me.”
“Yeah, it’s not too far. Geez, how long are you in town for?”
“Glad you asked. Jacob’s getting married this weekend, can you believe it?”
I leaned back on the couch. “Wow. I guess that means we’re not kids anymore?”
“Hey, speak for yourself. I don’t have a house, a job, or a ring on my finger, so I’m still very youthful. But yeah, he’s getting married this weekend, and I just landed, and you’re the first person I called because obviously, I want to see you if we’re in the same city.”
My heart raced, practically leapt out of my chest the same way it did the last time I saw her, two summers ago after we finished up our junior year of college. We were both in Aspen Grove at the same time since high school. We met for dinner, which lasted the whole night, my heart never once taking a break from its sprint.
“I guess that’s the rule now, huh?” I said, thinking back. “Any time we’re in the same city we have to see each other?”
“Obviously. Unless you’re too important since you’ll be at the Olympics soon and all over the TV. Way too cool for me.”
“I leave in a week and a half. It’s pretty crazy, but I’m never too cool for you.”
“You know how freakin’ excited I am for you? You know how loud I screamed when I watched the trials and saw you qualify?”
I had an idea, but imagining it and hearing the excitement only made my smile grow. I loved that she watched me. After all this time, she still made time for it.
“Well, if you watched, then I guess you’re still my good luck charm,” I said, and my face burned. Goddamn, you can’t be blushing like this the next time you see her.
“If that’s the case, I think you need to see your good luck charm. You’re not ready for Tokyo if you don’t…if you’re free, that is. I’m sure you’re busy as hell.”
“Busy doing nothing. It’s tapering time.”
“I don’t know what that means, but you make it sound like a burden.”
“It is a burden. I’ve been prescribed lots of rest, which means no going out, not even to the store down the street. But if minimal activity is involved, I might be able to squeeze you in.”
“Really? Because I would really love to see you. It’s been too long.”
“A whole two years.”
“I feel like that doesn’t even count because it went by too fast.”
I laughed. “The dinner lasted for four hours. We shut the restaurant down. It closed on us.”
“And somehow, it still went by too fast. So can you squeeze me in? I want to treat you to a celebratory feast. I promise, minimal activity. A simple dinner and time to catch up.”
“I can’t say no to a celebratory feast. Let’s do it.”
“Yay! I’m so excited. I’ll text you sometime when I get to Jacob’s, and we’ll go from there?”
“Yeah, that sounds good. I’m looking forward to it.”