The One That Got Away Read Online Free

decent amount of alcohol made me bold, bolder than I had ever been. I wasn’t exactly known for being a lady-killer, and often found myself tongue-tied in the company of an attractive girl. But there had been something about that night, that moment in the quiet, dark nook that compelled me to tell her the truth. I was sure she’d rebuff me, but I’d needed to get the truth ‘out there’. Heidi hadn’t said anything in response which had scared me—but not enough to make me resist the urge to kiss her. After all, what was the worst that could happen?
    That first kiss had gone on for what felt like hours, leading into several more that night. Each one turned me on more than the one before. I remember going home in the wee hours of the morning and struggling to sleep until I was able to bring myself to release in almost total silence. It wasn’t the first time I’d had a wank in the middle of the night thinking about Heidi, and I doubted it would be my last.
    The five or so months that followed were stored away in my mind as part of my happy place. Whenever I had a shitty day at work, I would transport myself back to the days we spent sitting in a pub or a park, talking and laughing. I’d remember the way she would grab the hair at the back of my neck whilst we kissed, sometimes getting so turned on by the memory, I would have to excuse myself from whatever conversation I was having.
    One thing I’d never explained was the phone call which had ended everything almost as soon as it had begun. It was a choice made in panic and haste, in the hope of preventing either of us becoming hurt from our growing attachment to the other. I knew I had to go to London for University, and a long distance relationship held no appeal for me. Nor was it something I wanted either of us suffering through. It was a choice I’d regretted from the moment I ended the call, but I had been too much of a chicken to call her back and tell her I’d changed my mind. That I didn’t mean it.
    I’d spent the rest of that day, and the few following, on the phone trying to organise myself a university placement. Eventually I managed to secure a definite place on the science course I’d wanted, but wasn’t so lucky with where I’d be living. While I had hoped to stay close to London, my exam results hadn’t been good enough so I would have to move to Liverpool.
    My sister Joanne and Mum had given me the third degree over ending things with Heidi, badgering me every day to talk to Heidi and get back into her good graces. Both of them had hoped we’d have a long future together, even though I was only just eighteen and she was still seventeen. Mum had met her a handful of times but adored her. My sister, who wasn’t in the same circles as Heidi at school, got to know her better and had been getting close to buying a bridesmaid dress. They took my breaking up with Heidi as a personal affront and never let me forget it, which Dad thought was hilarious.
    I moved out, got on with my life, and ended up graduating with a first class degree, cementing my job in Liverpool at a pharmaceutical company. Even as the years passed me by, I never quite forgot Heidi Johnson.
    She was the one I let go.
     
    :: ::
     
    Thanks to a social media site, we’d gotten back in contact and started reconnecting through random chit-chat about everyday things. She filled me in on her life since leaving school and London, and I reciprocated. Even though her recent history wasn’t connected to my own, I’d seethed when she’d told me about her fella cheating on her. At the same time, I was proud of her for calling him out on his bullshit and kicking him out. Back in school, she had been outgoing and vibrant, but she hadn’t been confrontational the way some girls were. It was good to see her stand up for herself.
    We’d also talked a bit about our own history, i.e., the short-lived relationship back at school. Reminiscing about the one date we’d had and the time we