Reunited (5 page)

Amy
could see that I was getting visibly upset and I felt her hand lightly pat my
thigh as she chimed in.

“Was
it worth it?  Well, that’s the million dollar question for sacrificing
anything, isn’t it?  I say if you have achieved your goals then sacrifice is
always worth it.”

 “Even
if you miss out on something…” Jake eyes shifted to me, “or someone that could
have changed your life?”

I
shivered under his intense gaze.

Out
of the corner of my eye I could see Adam look from me to Jake. 

“Absolutely,
and I will tell you why Jake.”  Amy was on a roll and I was so happy she was
there.  “I believe that it is not possible to miss out on something or
someone…if it was meant to be.” 

“Meant
to be, huh?”  He sounded so jaded.

Amy
was not fazed.  “Yes, Jake.  Meant to be, you know, destiny.  If something is
destined to be, it will happen no matter what obstacles are thrown into the
mix.  We can plan our lives until we are blue in the face, we can follow a
perfect script, but plans get derailed all the time.  We all know this at this
table.  I don’t think one person here can say that everything they planned in
their lives has happened exactly as they planned it, right?”  Amy looked around
the table and everyone was nodding, even Arianna, although very reluctantly. 
“If something is meant to happen in your life, it will happen.”  Amy looked at
me and then looked at Jake and held his gaze.  “Destiny is a powerful thing.”       

Everyone
was silent for a minute digesting Amy’s words, and she was absolutely right, if
something was meant to be it would happen.  But it was really hard for me to
apply that belief to me and Jake.  It was clear to me that Jake didn’t want
anything to do with me.  My heart broke the day I left him all those years ago,
and it was breaking all over again today.

“I
agree Amy, it is very powerful.  I also think timing is a powerful thing.  We
might wonder why something didn’t work out at a particular time in our lives
only to find out that the timing was off.  And then later in life, we get a
second chance at whatever or whomever, and timing is perfect and everything
falls into place.”  Adam boldly looked at me as the words rolled off his
tongue.

I
glanced at Jake and his eyes narrowed and he set his jaw.  I had never seen
such a dark expression on his face. 
Is he jealous??
  The Jake I used to
know was never jealous.  He always considered it a compliment to him if someone
else was interested in me. 

Arianna
seemed to be pleased that Jake and I weren’t getting along.  She was literally
pawing him at the table.  She was seated right next to him and she flaunted
their close proximity every chance she got.

“Jake,
I’m going to have to eat with my other hand if we keep bumping elbows like
this.  You just want to touch me any chance you get, don’t you?”  Arianna
batted her eyes at him and I rolled my eyes at Amy. 
Desperate much?  Witch.

Amy
resorted to condescension as she spoke slowly to Arianna.  “You know, Arianne,
you could move your chair to the left and you would both have plenty of room.” 
I had to hold back my laughter at Amy’s sarcastic comment. 

Arianna
glared at Amy.  “You know my name is
Arianna
not Arianne.  Everyone
knows who I am.”  She tossed her hair over her shoulder as she leaned all the
way down to her plate to take a bite of her food.

“Hmmm,
that’s interesting
Arianna
.  Did I get your name right?  Anyway, that’s
so
interesting
that you dip your face all the way down to your food. 
Dogs eat like that also.”  Amy smirked at her as the words rolled off her
tongue.  Arianna’s face turned bright red as she glared at Amy, seething, but
she didn’t dip her face down to her plate anymore during the evening.

“Amy,
you’re so bad,” I whispered.

She
winked at me as she whispered to me.  “I’m not going to let her think she’s
getting to either one of us.”

Amy
was so awesome, I loved her.  The talk at the table turned to the festivities
that were planned for the week.  We were going to some amazing places and I
hadn’t had a vacation in a while so I was excited to go.  Our first stop was
going to be Cozumel.

“Jake,
remember our trip to Cozumel a few years ago?  It was
so incredible
.” 
Arianna’s words shocked me.  Did they go on a trip together?  Did he actually
date this girl?  Jake smiled and winked at Arianna and looked right at me.

“I
do remember that trip, we had a great time.”  His dark eyes carefully watched
my reaction as I tried to disguise the hurt I felt. 
Why is he trying to
hurt me like this?
 

I
could have sworn I saw a slight look of remorse on his face as he watched my
reaction to his words.  I think he felt bad for hurting my feelings because he
quickly cleared things up for me.

“It
was a nice surprise that our families were vacationing at the same place at the
same time.  My mother was thrilled to see your mom since they rarely see each
other.  It’s just too bad that your family was leaving the day after we
arrived.  We didn’t get to spend very much time with you guys.”

I
saw Arianna pout as Jake explained what really happened on their trip.  I don’t
think she wanted me to know the truth.  What he did just then, clearing things
up, was something the old Jake would have done.  I felt a light flutter of
butterflies in my stomach as I realized that the old Jake was still inside this
hardened person somewhere.  I just had to figure out how to get him to
re-surface.

“It’s
been lovely to see you all, but I am exhausted.  I think the wine may have gone
to my head.”  Arianna really knew how to pour on the sugar when she needed to. 
She turned a very demure smile toward Jake.  “Jake, would you be a doll and
walk me to my room?”

My
stomach churned as I watched her flirt so openly with him in front of me.  He
didn’t seem to mind the attention as he smiled at her.  “Absolutely, I’ll get
you all nice and tucked into bed.”

He’s
being awfully flirtatious. 
I
bet Vivienne wouldn’t like to see this
if there even is a Vivienne. 
If I was his girlfriend I certainly wouldn’t
want him flirting so openly with another woman.  His flirtatious behavior was
confirming my belief that Vivienne was a fictitious person he’d made up to hurt
me.  Jake and Arianna left the table and I felt so confused and sad at the same
time.  This man definitely was not the man I fell in love with years ago.  Amy
and Paul could see that I was upset and they tried to lighten the mood.

“Since
we’re not lushes I guess we can stay and still enjoy each other’s company.” 
Paul didn’t say much but when he did it was always funny.  Amy and I started
giggling at the silly situation.  Adam went to catch up with some friends, and
Paul started talking about how long it took him to get there and that he almost
missed his flight.  He was from Alaska and we always thought it was so neat
that he lived there.  I think he still had a little crush on Amy.

          After
dinner, everyone kind of milled around and was catching up with each other. 
Amy was off chatting with one of her old friends and Paul and I were talking
when Jake returned.

          “Hey
Buddy!  I didn’t expect to see you back here tonight!’  Paul playfully punched
Jake in the arm. 

          “You
know me Paul, always the gentleman, even when tempted.”  His eyes smoldered as
they fixed on me.  My stomach flipped as I held his sexy gaze.  I could feel
the heat rising between my legs again and I wanted him to grab me and take me
right there.  But then I thought about the way he behaved with Arianna in front
of me and it was like being hit in the face with a pail of cold water.  I gave
him a cool stare not wanting to be a part of his little game.  I wasn’t going
to put up with him looking like he wanted to devour me every minute.  He had
been openly flirting with Arianna all night but directing his lustful looks toward
me.  I turned away from him to talk to Paul and he sauntered off to go get a
drink.

          “So
how is work going Paul?  I hear you opened your own law firm in Alaska.”

          “I
did, I have an office right in downtown Anchorage, and it’s going great.  I was
really nervous about doing it, but since I came from such a prestigious firm I
was able to really get my name out there while I worked for them.  So once I
opened my own doors I had former clients refer people to me.  I couldn’t take
any current clients with me so word of mouth really worked for me.  In the
beginning my clients were 100% referrals.  And what about you Lauren?  I read
in the alumni magazine that you made partner at your firm in something like 3
years.  Is that true?”

          “You
did?  Amy must have sent in my information.  Anyway, it is true.  What I really
want to do is exactly what you did.  I want to go out on my own.”

          “My
best advice would be to make sure you research the need for your type of law. 
You want to make sure there is a crowd who needs representation.  In order to
stand out among the competition, you must offer something that no one else is
providing.  That could be something as simple as reducing your fee.  Once you
build up your client base you can raise your fee on new clients only.  I have
to tell you, I love it and I would never go back.  If I can do it, I know you
can too.  Lauren, when you go out on your own, if you ever have any questions,
feel free to reach out to me.  I will be more than happy to help you.”

          Paul
had always been so nice to me in college.  Since he and Jake were frat brothers
I saw him a lot because I spent a lot of time at their frat house.  And now he
was turning out to be an invaluable business contact. 

          “That
would be awesome.  Thank you so much Paul.”

          We
both pulled out our phones and exchanged numbers, email addresses and LinkedIn
info.  I could see Jake watching us out of the corner of my eye and he did not
look happy.  He started to walk toward us so I changed the conversation to a
subject that I knew would rattle Jake.  He wasn’t the only one who knew how to
push buttons. 

          “So
Paul, how’s the love life?  Is there a wife?  Kids?  Girlfriend?”  I asked my
questions playfully not wanting to be too flirtatious but wanting Jake to hear
so he would think I was flirting.  It was time he had a taste of his own
medicine. 

          Just
as Paul began to answer me, Jake walked up.  “You two look like you are deep in
conversation.  I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”  He tried to sound
light-hearted but I could hear the strain in his voice.    

          “Love
lives, dude, we’re talking love lives.  To answer your question Lauren…no wife,
no kids and no girlfriend.  I haven’t met the right woman yet, but I know she’s
out there.”

          “She
definitely is.  When it’s right it will happen.”

          “Yeah,
and what about you?  Husband?  Kids?  Boyfriend?”

          I
hesitated as I glanced at Jake who was practically burning a hole right through
me.  My throat was dry and my heart was pounding as I glanced at Jake again
before answering Paul.

          “No
husband or kids, not yet anyway.”

          “
Oh
,
but a boyfriend, huh?”  Paul gave me a teasing smile.

          Jake
was not amused.  His tone was cold as he chimed in.  “Yes, let’s hear about
your boyfriend Lauren.”

          I
could feel myself getting upset and I didn’t want Jake to see the way he
affected me.  I cleared my throat and tried to excuse myself.

          “My
throat is really dry.  I’m going to go get a drink.  Excuse me.”  Before I had
a chance to leave, Paul chimed in.

          “I’ll
get it for you.”  Just as I was about to protest, he was gone.  My heart was
pounding as I realized that Jake and I were standing there alone together.  I
cautiously looked up at him and he turned his stony gaze toward me.  I searched
his eyes looking for a hint of the man I fell in love with in college.  He had
to be in there somewhere.  When I saw that cruel look again, I had to say
something.  This had to stop.  I wasn’t going to go the entire trip with him so
angry at me.

          “Why
do you keep looking at me like that Jake?”  The irritation in my voice was evident.

          “Like
what Lauren?”  Sarcasm dripped from his words.

          “You
look so angry, like you hate me and it is killing me.  I was hoping we could
get past what happened between us.”  I felt so sad and I could feel the tears
coming and I really didn’t want to cry in front of him.  I glanced down and
pretended to sneeze as I quickly wiped away what was about to spill over down
my cheeks.

          “God
bless you.”  I glanced up at him surprised at the kind gesture.  I could see
the anger in his eyes shift as a bit of remorse set in. 

          “Thank
you.”  My words were nearly a whisper.

          “I
don’t hate you Lauren.”  The words were cold but the anger had subsided.  I saw
Paul walking back over to us with my drink in his hand.