60
After snuggling for a little longer, Ethan straightens. “Hate to ruin the moment, but I need to use the restroom.”
“Me too,” I admit, my breathing slowly returning to normal.
We throw away the remainder of our now-melted gelato. The men’s and women’s restrooms are on opposite ends of the square, so we agree to meet back in front of the bell tower.
My mind is scattered, so busy reliving the kiss that I walk right past the entrance to the women’s bathroom not just once, but twice. I admonish myself to concentrate and finally make it in. Once I’m done and back outside, I search for Ethan, but he’s not at our designated meet-up spot yet. My phone vibrates.
Melanie: Hey. Can I buy Fred some treats?
Tiffany: Just got a brand-new box. Out already?
Melanie: Used them all. What can I say? Fred has me wrapped around his paw. So cute when he begs.
Tiffany: Lol. Okay. Get more treats. Wow. You’re turning into a cat person.
Melanie: I know! OK, serious question.
Tiffany: ???
Melanie: When U get back, will U come to the shelter with me? I want to adopt a kitty!!
Tiffany: Really? Of course, I’ll go.
Melanie: It’ll be so fun. We can have cat play dates and take them on walks together.
Tiffany: Ummm…not how cats work. You’re thinking of dogs.
Melanie: Ohhh. Explains a lot. Yesterday, I took Fred on a walk, and he just laid there. Had to drag him along the sidewalk. Wondered if he was tired or something? Everyone kept giving me weird looks.
Tiffany: What???
Melanie: So anyway, how’s Mickey Mouse?
Tiffany: Amazing. The best!
Melanie: Ethan have anything to do with that?
Tiffany: Well…
Melanie: NO WAY! What happened? Spill it.
Tiffany: We kinda kissed.
Melanie: OMG! I knew it! Knew it from that first day. At UR wedding, I want all the credit.
Tiffany: Slow down the crazy train. It was one kiss.
Melanie: There’ll be more, right?
Tiffany: Hope so.
Tiffany: Keep it between us. Might not work out.
Melanie: Give him a chance, okay? Don’t sabotage it.
Tiffany: Okay.
Melanie: I have a good feeling about this.
Tiffany: Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I do too.
Melanie: When you get home, I want ALL the dirty details. Promise?
Tiffany: Promise.
I’m grinning at my phone, thinking about how funny Melanie is when I notice the large work boots that have entered my field of vision. They walk right up to me. I lift my gaze and look straight into a pair of cat-green eyes.
My breath catches in my throat.
No.
It can’t be?
Can it?
Sure enough, the man standing in front of me is Rafe, all grown up. He’s the same, but different. Sleeves of tattoos so dark I can’t make out the individual images crawl up arms thick with corded muscle. Another tattoo licks up the side of his neck, ending below his ear. He’s gotten taller, at least another foot since I last saw him. Broader and filled out with bulging muscles everywhere. Dark stubble covers his jaw and arches over an unsmiling mouth. His hair is black as midnight, wavy, and long enough to curl against the collar of his shirt.
He’s beautiful in a brutal kind of way.
The worst feature, the thing that I can’t look away from, are his eyes. They glitter, cold and merciless.
As I stand frozen, my mind spinning from shock, Rafe silently reaches his hand toward my chest. For a moment, I think he’s going to hurt me, maybe push me, but instead he picks up the conference badge that dangles from its long red lanyard against my sternum. The one I had forgotten I was wearing. He lifts it up to read, eyes narrowing.
Minutes ago, with Ethan, I had felt like I was floating. Now, staring at Rafe, I’m free falling, plummeting to the ground from a great height. My stomach turns, nausea rising up my throat. There’s a roaring in my ears, the sound of the ocean during a storm. It’s so loud that I almost don’t hear Ethan call my name.
“Tiffany.” Ethan’s voice is a thunderclap, waking me up from this nightmare.
Ethan!I can’t let him see Rafe.
Turning my head, I search for Ethan and feel the badge being released. It thumps back against my blouse and swings like a pendulum.
When I swivel back to Rafe, he’s gone. There’s only empty space before me. It’s like I saw a ghost who magically disappeared, evaporated into thin air. Rafe’s absence is so sudden and disorienting that for a second I think I hallucinated the whole encounter, but then Ethan asks, “Who was that guy?”