Scarlett Bound

Chapter 11

I watch as Devin’s car passes us in the lot. For a while, we drive behind him. When we exit the lot he turns to the left and we turn to the right. The place we plan to go to isn't far away. It’s in the heart of town just like where we came from. We circle around for nearly twenty minutes until we find a spot. Once we place the paid for parking ticket in the front window of the car we take our still sweaty bodies to the restaurant. 

It isn’t a surprise that we beat Susie here. Luckily we are able to get a table right away on the patio. The day is hot but they have umbrellas set up to block out the sun to help us stay cool. There's even a nice breeze every once in a while. Without it, I think it would be too hot to sit out here.

“Sooooooo, are you going to tell me how you ended up hanging out with Devin today?” Rye asks trying his best to be nonchalant about it but I can tell he is bursting at the seems to know what happened.

“You’ll have to wait and see. I’m not spilling a word about it until Susie shows up.” He lets out an annoyed unhappy groan but doesn't push it. We look over the menu as we wait and a few minutes later the host leads Susie to our table. He gives her a menu and she takes a seat with us.

“I know it’s always hard to find parking around here but today it was extra insane. Now, rye and I have both been dying to figure out what is going on with you and Devin.”  She asks eagerly when she’s seated at the table.

“What she really means to ask is did you guys f**k this morning or not? You two looked awfully close today.” Since we’re in public I can’t smack him so I give him a hard pinch instead. He yelps and rubs the spot on his arm. Giving me a pout he tries but fails to look innocent.

“You can’t say s**t like that without consequences but the answer to your question is no. I have no plans to hop into bed with him. We are working on rebuilding a friendship, not starting something more than that. However, there is something I want to share with you guys to get your opinion but not until we order food and wine.” I’m so hungry it feels like my body is about to start eating itself. 

We look over the menu then have a quick discussion about what we want to get. Instead of ordering our own separate entrees. We order a few different things that we can share. We also decide it would be cheaper to just order a bottle of wine instead of each getting a glass or two.

When the bottle of wine has arrived and we are each poured a glass all eyes are on me. I take a sip then another to make them wait longer. Their anxiety is almost palpable. It’s amusing to see them getting antsy in their seats. After one more sip, I clear my throat and spill the beans.

“Devin stopped by this morning check on me. I forgot my phone upstairs and missed all his calls so he got worried. When he showed up we spent some time catching up over coffee. We had a nice morning just talking about life than other random things. Then he asked me what I wanted to do today and that’s how we all ended up at the bounce house.”

“That makes a lot of sense. You've been wanting to go there since they opened up the place.” Susie points out.

Nodding my head I continue on. “We drive there together and things are going great. It's the two of us hanging out getting to know one another again. Then he goes to get changed and comes out of the bathroom. I don’t know what came over me but I become so melancholy all of a sudden. My heartfelt as if it was on the verge of splitting in two. I’ve never felt anything like it before.” I rub my chest where the ache was the worst earlier today. It’s as if the thought of the pain brought back a phantom pain.

“That’s because you are still in love with the man, Scarlett,” Susie says it as if we’re discussing the weather. Like her words are no big deal but I have to slap my hand over my mouth so that I don’t spray wine all over the table or on them.

With great difficulty, I swallow the sip of wine. I stare at her wide-eyed but she doesn’t seem to notice what a big deal her words are. That’s Susie for you though, she isn’t the best people person. It took a lot of convincing to get her to come out with us or to even talk to us about things other than work. I don’t know how we ended up becoming so close seeing as she has a major aversion to people. She’d much rather be working with her numbers or listening to her crime videos.

Although she may be unaware of how her words can affect people she's one of the kindest women I’ve ever come across. She’d give you her lost dollar if you needed it or the shirt off her back. When you need it, she comes through with the best heartfelt advice and it’s also nice when you need someone to give you advice with no feelings affecting their reasoning. 

“I think what she means to say,” Rye interjects softly trying to smooth things over, “is that maybe you still have some old feeling for him that you weren't aware of. I don’t think love is the right word for it but maybe some lingering feelings of like.”

“Intense like.” She murmurs but it’s loud enough that we both hear it. “Ow!” She grumbles after Rye flicks her. His only response to her is a glare.

“Yes, there is some like there. I don’t think that completely disappears after what we had. At least not for me. I had a crush on the guy since I hit puberty then I fell head over heels in love with him. That doesn't just go away.” I babble in a near shriek as I start to think about what the implication of still liking him means. That is a disaster waiting to happen. “Can I also point out that the man is drop-dead gorgeous. Somehow he’s even more attractive than he was the last time we were together. How is that even possible?” Frustrated with my new found feelings, I rub my temples where I can feel a headache beginning to arise.

“He is gorgeous. None of us can argue with that. Do you remember the underwear ad that he was in? I went and bought a pack even though I didn’t need any.” Rye admits.

“Yes, I remember. Every time I saw that damn billboard I wanted to burn it to the ground.” I tell both of them. The day after they put that billboard up I was not happy about it. For six months I had to see the rock hard abs of my ex each day I left work. The board was posted on my route home. 

He also became the new model for a cologne line. One day when I was at the mall with Rye I gave the bottle a sniff out of curiosity and of course, it smelled delicious. I went on a date with a guy a couple of years ago who wore it religiously. On our fourth date, he invited me over to his place when we were all finished with dinner. I didn't think him wearing that cologne would cause any issues but I was so wrong. We were making out on the couch with his hangs snaking up my shirt but all I could think about was Devin’s face in that damn cologne advertisement.

“Guys, what the hell am I doing? I’m going to end up getting my heart shattered into a million pieces again.” This was a terrible idea. What the hell was I thinking saying yes to this deal?

Ah yes, my company. I’m doing it for my company. If I keep reminding myself of that then maybe that’ll make the whole thing easier. This isn’t about getting into some new romantic relationship. It’s about growing my company, getting more recognition for the company, and mending an old friendship. It’s a friendship. Nothing more.

“Hey girly, don’t look so panicked. I think these feelings are all old ones that are being brought back up to the surface because you’re hanging around him again. I mean you don’t even really know this Devin. Five years in a long time. It’s plenty of time for someone to change.” I can tell Rye is attempting to keep me calm and I love him for that. His words and optimistic tone have even me believing in his words.

“That is a good point,” Susie agrees, “ the last time the two of you were together you guys were teenagers. Neither of you were done maturing or growing. Plenty could have changed. Hence the reason he is even more gorgeous.”

“Or he found the world's most amazing plastic surgeon.” Rye throws out there making us all laugh. 

A few of the things we order come out. They’re placed around the table and the smell makes my mouth water. Not only does it smell heavenly but it also looks delectable. We’re all also given some little white plates to use.

Once I get a little bit of everything on my plate, I dig in. Everything is fresh and delicious. I let out a moan of appreciation.

“I’ve never thought about getting work done but I might change my mind if I could find someone that good.”

“Susie you are beautiful, hun. Don’t you ever think about getting anything changed? I bet if you wanted you could be a model too.” As I speak I point my fork at her. She wouldn't be as tall compared to other models but she has a lithe body that most people look for when recruiting. Not to mention that blonde hair of hers could make a grown man cry. Hair companies would die to have her represent their products. “When I think about it sometimes I can't believe that we actually dated. I mean you’ve seen him in all the ads he's been in and now you’ve seen him in person. How did I manage to get a guy like that?” 

“If I can be a model then so can you. I don’t want to hear another word out of your mouth about how you two got together.” Susie tells me sternly. “Not only are you beautiful just like me but you’re also incredibly smart, talented, and kind. What’s not to like?”

“Look, all I was getting at was the guy is out of my league. I’ve always had that thought floating around in the back of my mind. He’s uber-rich, gorgeous, and talented. Isn’t that considered like the perfect trifecta? Or did I just read that in some random  magazine?”

“Magazine.” They answer in unison. Neither of them even bother looking up from the food they are getting onto their forks.

“I don’t care about how much money he has or even his looks. When we were growing up what I really loved the most about him was his kindness. He wasn’t like any of the other guys who were total assholes. Everything else was just a bonus.” I finish up my glass of wine and Rye refills my glass for me. “Thank you.”

“No problem, doll. I remember that about him too. The guy was upfront and honest with everybody. He was also always ready to offer a helping hand if someone needed it. When you first see him you wouldn’t expect it but the guy was a saint. The problem is that it was five years ago. Who knows what he’s like now.”

Holding onto my wine glass by the stem, I twirl the glass around on the table as I think. Today was the most time we spent around each other. The other times weren’t very long but looking back at each moment we spent together he’s still as sweet as ever. As I think about it more the only thing about him that’s seemed to change is his maturity level. Not only did he apologize to me but he’s also been incredibly polite as well as diplomatic about this whole arrangement we’ve made and working on our friendship. 

Yes, every once in a while we get a little closer than what is appropriate but those were accidents. They don’t mean a thing. We always end up stepping back from one another. Things don’t turn awkward and they don’t escalate and that’s how it’s going to stay. Like I said before this is a power move for my company and a chance to mend a broken friendship. 

“He’s still as sweet as he was in high school. At least so far. Who knows what he’s like when he’s not around me. So far I’ve gotten glimpses of how he’s grown over the years but other than that nothing much has changed.”

“You’ll have time to figure it out over the next couple of months. He’s going to be around for a while stalking you with his camera.” Susie snickers as she holds her empty glass out to Rye to refill.

“And anytime you feel overwhelmed or need to figure out your feelings you come to talk to us. We’ll talk it out like we did today. We may be able to drink a bottle of wine while we do it but it’ll still be therapeutic.”

Our chat has helped me out. It’s helped me realize that some old feelings are lingering from back in the day but it’s for what we had. For who he was then. He may look like Devin but for all I know he could be a completely different person. Susie’s right that I’m going to find out over the next few months but even if he’s like I remember this is a move for my business and a move to recreate our friendship. I’ve got too much going on to mix romantic feelings into this. That’ll just wreak havoc on this whole thing.

“Cheers, to having fantastic friends,” I say with my glass held high toward the center of the table.

“I’ll cheers to that,” Rye says. Two glasses clink against mine and we all drink.