So, Clara and Sam’s wedding couldn’t have come at a better time. I needed to get out of Los Angeles and see if I wanted to move back home.

“I’m home,” I cried out into the empty hallway from the front doorway of the house.

“We’re back here, Co-co,” I heard Uncle Tom’s voice call out his nickname for me.

I headed in the direction of the kitchen where Uncle Tom’s voice had come from.

“Hi!” I greeted them both with hugs and kisses on the cheek. “How are you guys?”

“We’re good. Pretty boring now that we’ve retired,” Aunt Betty said with a smile.

I beamed at them. “You guys deserve to relax now.”

“So how’s everything with you? How’s that Jeff guy treating you?”

“We broke up,” I said in a matter-of-fact tone. “I’m totally okay with it,” I quickly added when I saw the looks of concern on their faces. “He was a jerk.”

“Well, I’m sorry that didn’t work out for you, honey.” Aunt Betty pulled me in for another hug to console me.

“No. Really. It’s okay. It happened almost three months ago. Sorry I forgot to mention it during our conversations. I really just didn’t want to talk about him.”

Aunt Betty nodded in understanding.

“So, what are your plans for your stay here?” Uncle Tom asked, changing the subject. “I hear from your aunt that you’re planning on staying for a few months.”

“Yeah. I’m thinking about moving back to the area and finding a job in Philly.”

“Oh, that’s great, honey,” Aunt Betty said. “You didn’t mention that before.”

I smiled, realizing I hadn’t told them much about my life since high school. “Sorry I hadn’t mentioned it. I actually just decided on it. I only bought a one-way ticket for Clara’s wedding because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.” I wasn’t about to tell them that I also wanted to see if I could reconnect with Jackson. In fact, I’d never told them that we stopped being friends, and from the way they occasionally brought up Jackson, it didn’t seem like he’d mentioned it to them, either.

“So what about Los Angeles?” There was a worried look on Uncle Tom’s face.

“I think it’s just not my scene. I subleased my apartment and took three weeks off of work. I figure if I find a job in Philly, I can just quit my job and stay here with you guys for a little while?” I ended my statement in a question and looked over at them sheepishly.

They laughed. “Of course, sweetie,” Aunt Betty said right away. “This is your home. You can stay as long as you want.”

“Thanks.”

“So have you talked to Jackson yet?” Uncle Tom asked.

The mention of his name caused my body to stiffen with a mixture of anxiety and excitement.

“No. Why?”

“Looks like he just got into town last night for the wedding. Did you go over to say hi before coming home?”

I shook my head. “I’ll stop by later.”

“You should invite him over for dinner sometime,” Aunt Betty suggested. “Since his father passed away two years ago, he rarely comes home anymore. It’d be nice to see him. If I remember correctly, he used to love my cooking.”

“He really did love your cooking, Aunt Betty. He used to tell me that all the time.”

Aunt Betty beamed with pride. “He’s a good kid.”

“How come you guys never had anything?” Uncle Tom cut in.

“Tom!” Aunt Betty shot him a meaningful look.

“What?” Uncle Tom shrugged. “I’ve always been curious. They were practically inseparable all the way through high school. And that boy’s always had a crush on our Co-Co here.”

My breath caught at his words.

Aunt Betty chuckled. “Tom, that’s between them. You know kids nowadays have a different way of working through their feelings.”

I looked at Aunt Betty. “Do you think that, too? That Jax has always had a crush on me?”

She gave me a warm smile. “Honey, everyone did. Everyone thought you guys liked each other, so we always wondered why you guys stayed just friends.”

That afternoon, I let her words sink in and realized how blind I’d been for so long. I’d thought our feelings for each other had developed while we were away at different universities. I thought that’d been when the flirting started. Before college, we kissed each other a few times, but that was it. In high school, we’d both dated other people, though none of those relationships seemed to last more than a few months.

Could Uncle Tom and Aunt Betty be right? Had Jackson liked me for more than just a best friend this entire time, and I hadn’t even noticed? As the question marinated in my mind, I became more excited about Clara’s upcoming wedding this weekend. Maybe this was what we needed to finally get back to how things used to be between us. Maybe this would be my second chance with him. Maybe he was the one I was meant to be with all along.

***

I didn’t know if Jackson was single, but I did know that he’d be attending the wedding by himself.

I had called Clara a month ago and casually asked whether Jackson and I would be sitting at the same table. I had RSVP’d without a plus one. She’d confirmed that he would indeed be at my table and proceeded to list the other people who would be sharing our table—something I’d thought she’d do. That was how I knew Jackson also RSVP’d without a plus one to the wedding. When I found out, I had to cover my mouth with my hand so that Clara didn’t hear my sheer giddiness at the news. Like Aunt Betty and Uncle Tom, none of my high school friends, including Clara, knew that Jackson and I were no longer friends. At first, I’d been too upset and ashamed to tell anyone that I’d ruined our friendship. I also had no desire for them to know what I’d done. And as time passed, it’d become harder and harder to tell people that we weren’t friends anymore. I wasn’t sure what Jackson’s reasons were, but he never told anyone, either.

After I knew Jackson was attending Clara and Sam’s wedding solo, I started preparing myself to see him there. I had planned out what I’d say to him. I had figured out how I’d do my hair and makeup. I had found the perfect sexy, but classy, emerald-green mid-length dress for the wedding. Jackson had once told me I looked the most beautiful in something green. When I’d asked him why, he’d said because it matched the color of his eyes, making us perfect for one another. Now thinking back to that conversation, I wasn’t sure how I had been so blind to the fact that he really liked me.

Despite all my preparations to see Jackson at the wedding, what hadn’t occurred to me at all, and what I hadn’t prepared myself for, was to run smack into him on my morning jog the day before the wedding. Our bodies collided against each other when we both rounded the corner of the street, coming from opposite directions.

“Sorry!” we both said automatically after the impact, but before realizing who we’d run into. But when we took a step away from each other, our eyes met and for a few seconds, we stared at each other in shock.

It’d been nine years since I’d last seen him, and as my eyes took him in, it was clear that age had been very kind to him. He was several inches taller and much more muscular now than he had been in college. With only his running shorts on, my eyes started lingering on his naked muscular pecs. As I watched a few beads of sweat start to drip down his sun-kissed chest, I had an almost uncontrollable urge to run my tongue up along the ridges of his washboard abs. There was no question that he was more handsome and more defined than I’d ever seen him before.

“Hi,” I finally said as I tried to recall what I’d wanted to say to him at the wedding tomorrow. I beamed at him, hoping that by some miracle, he had forgiven me and we could put everything behind us without ever having to mention the past.

“Hey.” His voice was cold and he didn’t return my smile. Instead, he started to move past me, preparing to continue along his jogging path.

“How are you?” I asked. I tried to sound friendly and happy, but my voice came off shrill and an octave higher than normal. But I didn’t care, I needed to get a conversation going with him. I needed him to talk to me so that he could forgive me. “Can you believe how long it’s been since we’ve seen each other?” I kept my voice cheerful as I looked at him hopefully.