home with Morgan. She’d caught me watching her dancing on the sidewalk, and as much as I didn’t want to admit it, she still stirred something in me.
“I think it’s funny that you try and pretend she didn’t mean anything,” Jess mumbled as she excused herself from the table. “I’ll be right back.” She nodded as she escaped, leaving me there to sink in the ocean of problems I had surrounding me.
My boss, Henry, motioned to Mia, “So nice you could make it. Tyler, this is Mia Callahan. I invited her, and asked her to sit with us tonight.”
“Nice to meet you,” I gave a tight smile as I nodded in her direction before going back to picking at my salad.
“You, too.” Her voice was soft, and the way the words fell from her lips reminded of those nights we’d spent making love. The way she’d sigh my name as I slid deep into her. The way her eyes would glaze over as the euphoria took over, bathing us in the sensations that we created for one another.
I glanced up at her just in time to see her date kiss her cheek, and that was enough to bring me back to reality. She wasn’t mine anymore. She’d chosen dancing over me. She’d chosen her partner over me. She’d pretty much chosen everything over me. She wasn’t who I’d thought she’d been all those years ago, and seeing her here like this was just the slap across the face I needed. Christina was the best I’d ever get. She was the type of girl I was supposed to be with. Mia was the past. She was my childhood. She was the one who ran through the orchard with me. She was the girl I fell in love with. Now, I was a man, and this man couldn’t be with the woman she’d become. This man didn’t get the angel, he got the devil. I was going to hell. I just knew it, and Chrissi was leading the way.
MOST OF THE night passed in a blur. I ignored Mia as best I could, and concentrated on the conversations of my coworkers. Henry had escaped to an area by the bar, and had been sipping what looked like brandy for most of the night. Christina had spent the evening shooting daggers at me from across the room. I think, when I didn’t follow her to the bathroom earlier, she finally figured out that it wasn’t happening tonight. I was almost certain that she’d try again, but I was hoping that it would somewhere other than here.
“Wanna dance now?” Jessi rose from the table and offered me her hand. “You’ve been brooding here for a while now. Might be nice to show her what she’s missing.” She grinned at me as her eyes darted to where Mia was wrapped in her date’s arms.
“I’m not much for dancing tonight,” I muttered. “I’m not sure if I even remember how.”
“Dancing is not something you forget. I seem to remember you being really good at it back in the day.” Her fingers wrapped around my wrist, and she tugged lightly, causing me to stand.
“Fine,” I conceded. She was right. When Mia and I were in high school, she taught me to dance. We started out in her living room, but then began attending events like this when we moved to New York. I’d hated it, but did it for her. I needed her to remember that. I needed her to see what she’d given up.
I led Jessi to the dance floor. Soft music was playing, and a few couples had been swaying back and forth all night. There weren’t any professionals other than Mia, at least it appeared that way. The way her body moved was breathtaking. Her date knew exactly how to hold her, and let her take the lead. He knew what he was doing, that much was obvious, but he backed down to her every time she changed directions.
When Jessi paused a few feet away from Mia, I tugged lightly. I didn’t want to be right there. The heat that flushed my face told me that Mia was staring. I didn’t really care if I made her uncomfortable, but Jessi seemed to be on a mission. She’d been there when everything fell apart. She and Gavin had helped me pick up the pieces, and try to put my life back in