by Wood, Lauren
“I have to get some sleep, Tonya. I have something to get to early.”
She made a dramatic pouty face and asked me where I was going.
“I'm going to a friend’s wedding. We used to do a lot business together and since I was just recently hired by a friend of the family, I have to go out and send my regards.”
“Don't you mean congratulations?”
“No, I think I said it right. Have fun at the party.”
I started to go in and she tried to stop me. Before I knew what she was doing, her hand was going down my pants and she was asking me if I wanted a little bit of company. Like I said before, Tonya was one of many women that just could not get the hint.
“Not tonight, Tonya. Thank you though.”
I had to physically pull her hand off of my arm and again she started up with the pouting. At this point I really didn't care if she was upset or not. I needed my distance and for heaven’s sake, I needed some quiet.
The wedding was grand, although I knew that it would be. John had more money than God and he spent about half of it on the wedding from what I could see. I talked to him for a few moments and it was good to catch up, but mainly I was surprised at how happy he looked. I always went with the thinking that marriage was the first step into the grave, but I could tell that John did not feel that way at all.
I was enjoying myself and all the festivities, but all of that came to a shattering stop when I saw familiar black hair from across the room. It wasn't just black. It was so black it was almost blue in the light because of the Indian heritage. I knew right off the bat who it was and my heart started to beat a little harder in my chest.
The woman I was admiring was curved with a nice round ass and long legs. I would remember those legs anywhere and I knew if I got a little bit closer and lifted up the tight red dress she had on, there would be four or five tiny little stars going up the back of her upper thigh. The last one ended at the bottom of her butt cheek, and I remember quite fondly kissing and following the stars.
When she turned around, I realized that it was Lisa, but I also realized that she had changed quite a bit. Lisa had always been beautiful, but now she was sophisticated. She didn't wear those same glasses that had made her look even more nerdy than she was. Lisa had an IQ that was far higher than mine, and I had always liked the way those glasses looked on her. But now, there were no frames to cover her delicate features and brilliant brown eyes.
Now I was seeing that it had completely covered her face and the only time I saw her like that, was after we had been together sexually. She would always take her glasses off before she would ride me and a few things played in my head immediately. To be honest, I didn't want them there, because it just gave me a tightness in my loins that I had to ignore.
Her dark brown eyes were scanning the room looking for someone and they stopped on me. I could see the stricken look that came over her face and I hated the idea that I was the one that made her feel that way. It was certainly not the way that she made me feel and again, I felt guilty. All of a sudden the reason for that look on her face came to mind and I felt like crap. The most beautiful woman in the room, and I had turned her down so spectacularly horribly, that I have never forgotten it in all of these years. Never could I forget the pain on her face that I’d caused.
I started to go towards her. I didn't really know what I was going to say yet, but I convinced myself that somehow I was going to say and do the right thing so that she could finally forgive me. Hell, I needed to forgive myself. I had always wondered what had happened to Lisa. She had transferred out of school in the middle of a semester and went out west. I never expected to see her here, but I’d hoped that she would be here to represent her father’s company.
If I was a gentleman, I would have let her be. I had humiliated her before and the same look that came over her face when she spotted me at the wedding today, was the same expression that I had seen in the midst of my beer buzzed rant back then. I had to make things right.
Lisa had always been my biggest regret. I don't know why, but I really wanted to believe that somehow she would see how sorry I was and forgive me. I don't know how complicated it all was, but I didn't want to think about it. Maybe the whole reason that I had canceled meetings to come to this wedding was because of this. Something had told me to agree to it and RSVP. And I wanted to believe that it was because of Lisa.
4
Lisa
Damn it. Why was Frank here? Out of all the places he could be and at all of the weddings that he could have been at, why was he at this one? As much as I told myself that I had gotten over what he did to me ten years ago, in that instant seeing him, I knew that not to be true. The man had wrecked me and there was no way to get around that.
So, when I saw him coming towards me, of course I did the only dignified thing I could do. I ran.
There wasn't very far to go though, so when I got to the coat room and saw that I was at the end, I looked around for another door. There had to be a way out of the reception hall, some way that I could get out of here and not have to see Frank. He was the last person that I wanted to see, ever really. I don't think I could ever get over what he did. There was no forgiveness for Frank inside of me.
Then he was coming around the corner and I just stopped, frozen in place like a deer caught in the headlights. I didn't know what to say, what to do and when he took a step towards me, I took another step back.
“What are you doing here?”
“I am here because I know the groom. You?”
I had to say something and since I had barked the question and he had answered so nicely, it seemed obvious that I had to at least give him an answer.
“I know the couple.”
His eyes were roaming over me and I was trying not to do the same. Frank had always been my Achilles Heel. He was too damn handsome for his own good and of course, he knew it. He was the type of guy that walked into a room and every woman in it turned to look at him. It was instant and biological. There was just something about him, and those magnetic eyes of his finally made me look away.
I almost wanted to see a little grey in his chestnut-brown hair, or some kind of wrinkles across his perfectly sculpted face, or even a little bit of chub around his Adonis body. But none of those things happened. He was still just as delicious as he had been before and the charisma was practically pouring out of him. It seemed like a professional NFL career had really done wonders for his confidence. Unfortunately, that was the last thing that he needed, because he had already thought that he walked on water. I can only imagine what he thought of himself now.
“You look good, Lisa. I mean damn good. I almost had a heart attack, seeing you across the room. Without your glasses on, you look a lot different.”
“Do I look more like your type now? You know, dingy kind of women with low IQs, that never challenge you?”
It all came out in a rush and I honestly wished that I could take it back. I was being rude, even to my own ears and even knowing what he had done to me. Just because he was that way, making a scene and humiliating me in front of people, I knew that I wasn't going to do that. It wasn't just the fact that I wanted to hold on to my dignity as best as I could, but also because I was in the middle of a wedding. It wasn't the type of situation where I could walk away and pretend like none of this had happened. I didn't want to do that.
“Sorry, that was rude. I am just going to go. I would think that you would have caught the hint when I started to walk away when you walked towards me, but obviously that isn't the case.”
He was a little surprised by my venom and honestly, I was a little surprised as well. I had spent all these years telling myself that I didn't care what Frank thought of me. I did care though and that was the biggest surprise of all. Just seeing him like this was really messing with my head.
I tried to walk past, but he stopped me.
“We should at least be civil to each other.”
“Why the hell would I b
e civil with you? You're lucky that I have a bit more respect for myself than you did. Last time we met, you made one hell of a scene in front of everybody. You're lucky I'm not into that kind of public humiliation like you are.”
He tried to comfort me or something, I don't really know what he was trying to do. All I know is, that he moved towards me like he was going to touch me and I jerked back so fast like he was on fire. That was the very last thing that I needed. Years ago, every time we would get into an argument, he would distract me with touches and kisses. I couldn’t let him do the same thing to me again. Not today, or ever.
“You know that I regret doing that, Lisa. You have to know that.”
“It doesn't matter if you regret it or not, Frank. I haven't thought about that in a very long time.”
That was a lie.
“It seems like you're still a little bent out of shape about it.”
He was trying to make light of the situation and for a moment, I almost took the bait. I wanted to rail at him and explain to him what his humiliation had done to me. How I had changed and grown colder now. I was living a life that I knew was a lie.
All of it was because of Frank. Everything would have been different if that day after the football game, he wouldn't have said what he said at the party. My whole life would have been different. Of that I have no doubt.
“I'm not out of shape about it, but I have learned to keep certain people out of my life. It was just for the best. Some people could really make me crazy.”
“You know, they say that every bad emotion is because of a good one that is felt for a person.”
He had this smirk on his face and so help me, it pissed me off so much. I hated how he was just laughing everything off.
“Well, I hate to say it, but it was horrible to see you and I hope that I never have to again. You can live with your regrets, because I have none of my own.”
“Alright then. I wasn't trying to upset you. I really wasn't. I just thought I would come over here and say hello to one of my new co-workers. I should have waited until Monday I guess.”
He was the one that started to walk away now and I was the one trying to stop him.
“Wait, what!?”
“Your dad didn't tell you? Of course he wouldn't. Well, he hired me last week to take over Tony’s position. He told me that we would be working together again. I was actually surprised that he knew that we had even dated, but he said he remembered me.”
My head was hurting because it was running so fast. The last thing that I wanted to hear was the idea that me and Frank would be working together.
“My father wouldn't do that. He knows what you did to me and how I feel about you.”
Frank just shrugged, acting like nothing was a big deal and I couldn't believe it.
“Maybe he thinks it's time that we bury the hatchet.”
“That is never going to happen. I will never be able to forgive you for what you did.”
5
Frank
To be honest, I was not expecting her to still be mad at me. It had been such a long time ago, but it was clear to me that Lisa was not the forgiving type. When she said that she would never forgive me, I felt that in my soul. Seeing her now, I can see all of the pain that I caused her and I can't say that I liked the looks of it very much.
“Calm down, Lisa.”
“I do not want to calm down, Frank. I just want to leave. Can you please move?”
I was standing in front of her because I did want to talk to her, but she was making it clear, that talking was not something she wanted to do. When I started walking over towards her, I had thought that this conversation would go so differently. I wanted her to feel that same attraction that I felt toward her. I wanted to tell her I was sorry, but I don't know if she would even be able to hear it now. Maybe the best thing I could do was move to the side.
“Well then, I guess I will see you Monday morning. I just figured it would be better to get this out before we were in front of everybody at work. Your father just hired me and I do not want to start off on a bad foot.”
That made her scoff and she told me that she was going to do her best to get me fired.
“Didn't you make enough playing football? Maybe you should just live on that money and get out of the business world. Or, at least get out of my world, Frank. You don’t belong here.”
She walked past me quickly and even though she was pissed off at me and looking at me like I was some fresh hell, I couldn't help but smile. She was just as beautiful as before, even more indignant, and all of the trappings from the past were still in play. I still wanted her. I wanted her back then, but it had been too complicated. My life was a lot less complicated now. Maybe a good challenge was all I needed, to get back on the right footing.
John asked me what was going on when I saw him a bit later. I guess I had some sort of look on my face. I really don't know. All I know for certain was I felt embarrassed. I felt like all of the wind had been taken out of my sails.
“Not much. I just ran into Lisa. I didn’t expect to see her here.”
“Yeah, we dated for a while. She was actually the person I was dating when I met Dina. It got a little messy there in the end, but I'm glad that we could all work it out. I'm glad that she's here.”
As soon as John said something about dating Lisa, this look came over his face it pissed me off more than I could ever imagine. The last thing I wanted to think about was John being with her. Anyone being with her.
I know that I was the one that had broken up with her. It really had been the only chance I had though. It was something that I had to do. Lisa had always been too much of a distraction.
“I'm glad that she's here too. I haven't seen her in a long time and I wanted to catch up with her.”
We looked over to where Lisa was standing and she was giving me a death stare from across the room. That made John chuckle and he told me that it looked like she was not so happy to see me. He obviously found it all funny, but I had a feeling that he had gotten the same looks. Lisa's face was always pretty clear about how she felt and right now she was not very happy with me at all.
“Maybe you should go over there and try to make up with her?”
I shook my head. There was no way that I was going to do that.
“Why not? She is single now you know.”
The last thing I was thinking about was getting with Lisa. It had certainly been on my mind when I first got to the wedding and I figured out that she was here, but that had quickly changed. It did not matter if that's what I wanted, I certainly was not going to get it. I was going to have to wait, and even though I wasn't very good at it, I knew that I had no other choice.
“No, I don't think she is ready to have that conversation. She likes to hold a grudge.”
John emphatically agreed and I felt a little bit better. I wasn't the only one that had disappointed her. I didn't understand how it was going to play out though. I did have to go to work with her on Monday, and since her dad owned the company, I didn't want to make things any more complicated than they already had to be.
Somehow I had to make it up to her. Not just because I had thought about her over the years and realized my biggest regret was breaking up with her, but also to make it easier at work. I had made a lot of money playing football, but at the same time, money went by a lot quicker. I had a little bit saved up, well a lot saved up, but I wanted to finally use my degree.
I didn't talk to John very long, because he was the groom after all, and everybody wanted to have a conversation with him. Everybody was wishing him well and I was keeping my eyes on the woman from across the room that kept looking at me. A song came on that we used to dance to and I started to approach her to see if she wanted to dance, but once again, she retreated. This time I didn't chase her.
I knew things were going to be complicated with Lisa, but I had no idea how complicated they were really going to be. This was not going to be the easy conquest that most women ha
d turned into. This was going to be a challenge and it reminded me of why I first started noticing her to begin with.
When we were in school I noticed Lisa because she was one of the only women there who didn't notice me. Now she noticed me, but it was definitely a different type of attention than I was used to. I was used to women practically falling all over themselves to get to me, but not Lisa. Never Lisa.
She was the type of woman that needed to be chased and I was ready to go for it. I wasn’t going to let her slip away, not again.
6
Lisa
Dina came over and asked me if I was okay. I didn't know the answer to that if I was honest with myself. I never knew that I could feel so many emotions in one moment. Or maybe I was just unused to the attraction and the need that I felt when I was with him. It was different than anything I'd ever felt before. I've never felt this way with John, or anyone else. Frank had always been different.
That was what bothered me the most. It wasn't the fact that he was here or the fact that my father had hired him for some ungodly reason. What bothered me the most was how he had affected me. He was the only man who broke my heart and it felt like he still had that power. That was the scariest part of all to me. I didn't want anybody to ever have that power over me again. I was never going to let someone hurt me like that again. I wouldn’t let it happen, not again.
“Who was that guy?”
“He was a guy I dated a long time ago.”
“You don't seem very happy to see him.”
“He broke my heart freshman year when I was in college. And he did it in front of everybody. It was the most humiliating moment of my life and it was something that I never forgot.”
