by Julia Wolf
Cutting In
A Sublime Novella
Julia Wolf
Copyright © 2018 by Julia Wolf
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Cover by Amy Queau
Editing by Ashley Martin
Proofreading by Jennifer Lucia
Formatting by Cora Cade
Contents
1. Anna
2. Will
3. Anna
4. Will
5. Anna
6. Will
7. Anna
8. Will
9. Anna
10. Will
11. Anna
12. Will
13. Anna
14. Anna
15. Will
Epilogue
Julia Wolf
Cut Loose
Chapter 1
About the Author
Also by Julia Wolf
One
Anna
I had to get out of this dress.
It was too short, too tight, and most offensively, a dress. I had always been more of a tattered jeans, T-shirt and boots kind of girl. For some reason, I’d convinced myself that I needed to dress up for my ten-year high school reunion, although high heels were where I drew the line. Boots were so much more me.
I’d give this reunion five more minutes. The only person I’d wanted to see, my best friend in school, didn’t seem to be showing up. I hadn’t seen William in ten years, not since we fucked up our friendship. I don’t know why I’d thought he’d show up tonight.
A pretty blond woman whose face I couldn’t quite place sat down at my otherwise deserted table in the darkest corner of the ballroom. “Hey, Anna! Nice dress!” she said.
As surreptitiously as I could manage, I glanced down at her name tag. Simone. Right. I remembered her. She’d once “accidentally” spilled her Coke all over my hair.
“Thanks, Simone. How’s life?” I asked.
She sat up straighter and beamed. “Life is really great! Did you know I’m a flight attendant?” She mimed motioning for the exits. Sadly, there seemed to be no exit from this conversation.
“Cool. I did not know that. I can see it though.”
She leaned forward. “So where’s your other half?”
I tilted my head. “William?”
She giggled and pushed my knee. “Of course, silly! I thought you two were attached at the hip!”
“I haven’t seen him in a long time. I doubt he’s coming.”
She tsked. “That’s a shame. What happened?”
There was no way I would be telling this woman what happened. I doubted she actually cared anyway. She just wanted a juicy story.
“Oh, you know, we were dumb kids. And we went our separate ways for college. Nothing salacious.” If she only knew.
“Well, I hope he shows up. That’s what reunions are for—reuniting with old besties! I’m super happy I got to see you!” She rested her fingertips on my knee. “And I am self-aware enough to realize I was a total bitch to you in school. I’m really sorry about that. I have no excuse other than being a teenager.”
Huh. I hadn’t seen that coming. “Well, that’s...very nice of you to say. Thank you, Simone.”
She beamed again. “I’m so glad we had this talk, Anna! I hope William shows up!”
With that, she waved and walked off, stopping at another table to talk to more former classmates.
Maybe people really could change. I certainly wasn’t the same mad-at-the-world punk girl I’d been ten years ago. Granted, I still had my surly moments, but mostly I was happy. I’d found my place. High school sucked for me, but I opened myself to the possibility it sucked for most people, just in different ways.
After downing the last of the champagne in my glass, I grabbed my bag and stood. I’d spent two hours in this ballroom, waiting, hoping he’d show up. But it seemed I wouldn’t be getting my wish today.
I weaved my way through the maze of tables to the exit. Several more people stopped me on the way out to say hi or ask about William, so my escape wasn’t as hasty as I’d wanted.
When I finally pushed open the doors and walked into the hotel lobby, I felt like I’d just been released from a long, rough prison term and now I had to acclimate to life on the outside. Everyone had been perfectly nice, but reunions just weren’t my scene. I had no need to rehash the most miserable years of my life.
Except William. He was the highlight of high school and I’d go to a thousand reunions if he showed up too.
As I walked across the grand lobby, my steps were sluggish with disappointment. I hadn’t let myself admit how hopeful I’d been tonight. I’d imagined all these scenarios where we’d see each other and our time apart would melt away.
“Anna!”
I stopped in my tracks and turned. A man in a slim-fitting gray suit strode toward me. Even from thirty feet away, he was gorgeous. And the closer he came, the harder my heart pounded.
“William?” I croaked. My throat had become desert-dry when I recognized him.
His smile hadn’t changed. It still took over his whole face, from the crinkles around his deep brown eyes, to the stretch of his full lips, to his straight white teeth. I never could resist smiling back ten years ago, and that hadn’t changed either.
“Anna,” he said again as he drew near. “I thought I’d missed you.”
I held up a hand. “Here I am.” Oh my God, am I waving at him? Get yourself together, man!
“Anna,” he breathed when he was right in front of me.
I had to tip my head back to look up at him. Damn, did he grow up. In high school, he’d been slight for a boy. I’d towered over him at 5’10”. He’d always been striking though, even then. His mom was Korean, his dad Venezuelan, and he’d gotten the best of both their features. His skin was a golden brown and the angular jaw that had been baby-smooth ten years ago was covered in thick, black stubble. His eyes had always been my favorite feature. Slightly upturned in the corners, with a slash of dark brow above, they were a window into his heart. His eyes danced when he was happy, and when he was down, his sorrow was so clear it physically pained me.
“I didn’t think you were going to show,” I said.
“I wasn’t. But then I saw your name on the guest list. I couldn’t believe it. Anna Rainer at a school event? Unheard of.”
I smiled. “I came to see you. Well, and I wanted to see if those awful girls grew an extra appendage or something.”
He threw his head back and laughed, a deep sound that travelled from his chest to mine, constricting my insides. “And did they?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Of course not. They’re all more gorgeous than before. But they’re, like, nice now, which really annoys me.”
He smiled that William smile. “I’m glad to see you haven’t changed.”
“Well, damn, I hope I’ve changed at least a little!”
This is surreal.
How were we laughing and talking as if we had days between us instead of years? I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. There was a distinct possibility that it would turn out this had all been some kind of hysterical hallucination brought on by the stress of spending the evening surrounded by the very people that had helped make my life miserable for four straight years. If this turned out to be some elaborate hoax my brain was playing on me, I was going to be glad I’d soaked up every second of it.
He raked his eyes over me. “You’re wearing a dress. I don’t think I’ve seen that before.”
I held up a finger. “Except prom.”
&nbs
p; He nodded. “Except prom.”
I pointed at my feet. “Look!”
“Combat boots. Thank fuck. I’d started to think the world had turned upside down.”
I glanced over his shoulder and saw Simone making a beeline for us, so I grabbed William’s hand—that was so solid and warm, it had to be real—and said, “Run, Lola, run!”
His eyes went wide, but he laughed and let me pull him through the lobby and out into the night.
Two
Will
I’d almost missed her.
A high school reunion was pretty much the definition of hell for me. I’d had exactly one friend back then, and we hadn’t spoken in ten years. Ten fucking years. All because of one stupid night. Well, it was more than that, but that night had been the beginning of the end of us.
Ten years was more than long enough. So I'd dusted off my suit, took a few deep breaths and went to my high school reunion.
When she hadn’t been in the ballroom, my gut had clenched with disappointment. The one chance I had to make things right and I’d been stuck in goddamn Baltimore traffic.
But then there she was. Even from the back, even with the added curves to her hips and ass, I’d recognize her walk anywhere. Her mile-long legs moved with purpose and she carried herself almost regally, shoulders back, chin up, as if she were daring anyone to fuck with her.
When she turned and I saw her face in person for the first time in a decade, it felt like I’d been given a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart. My pulse boomed through my veins and my hands twitched to touch her.
My friend. My beautiful, too stunning to look at straight on, friend.
Anna had always been pretty. Even the day that I met her in science class when we were freshmen. Her desk was in front of mine and when she’d turned and asked to borrow a pencil, I’d been hooked. Back then, she cut her own hair into some semblance of a choppy pixie cut and dyed it pitch-black. Even at fourteen she’d been tall and all legs, like a colt.
As we got older and she filled out a little more, I saw the other guys looking. But she’d never seemed interested. It was the two of us against the world, and sometimes I thought that was how it’d always be. One day she’d see me as more than a friend and love me the way I’d fallen in love with her.
But nothing ever works out quite like we think it will, especially when it’s the dream of a kid.
When I stood face-to-face with her in that hotel lobby, I started to wonder if maybe things would work out how I’d hoped, just slightly delayed. Because for me, when I saw her, it felt like no time had passed. She’d let her hair grow long and blonde, and she’d filled out, no longer the gangly girl from high school. But her eyes, those round blue eyes that were almost too big for her heart-shaped face, they were the same. She was still my Anna. And when she’d grabbed my hand and referenced a semi-obscure German movie from the nineties, I knew I’d go anywhere with her.
Out on the sidewalk, Anna laughed breathily. “I think we lost her!”
I peered behind me. “Who?”
She let go of my hand and tucked a blonde wave behind her ear. “Simone Macinnes. She was all up in our business in there. And she was coming for us, William.”
I nudged her with my shoulder. “It’s actually Will now.”
She raised an arched eyebrow. “Will, huh?” She stepped back and tapped a finger to her lip. “Okay, I like it.”
“You’re still the same pain in the ass.”
She pinched the skirt of her dress and curtsied. “I mean, Will, I’ve got to keep you on your toes.”
I smiled at her, my chest tight with a flood of affection from the dam she’d burst with her cute-ass curtsy and her sassy mouth. “Let’s go someplace. Coffee? Beer? Wine?”
“Are you listing liquids or asking me where I want to go?”
“Can’t I be doing both?”
“You always were good at multitasking.” She snorted. “I’m down for a beer. There’s a good place a few blocks away in Fell’s Point. Walk?”
Because she’d started it, I said, “Run?”
She looked at me with a wide grin. “Skip?”
“Dance?”
“Yes! Let’s dance to the bar!”
I grabbed her hand and spun her in a circle, then pulled her long body close and dipped her so low her hair skimmed the concrete. When I pulled her upright, her face was flushed and her eyes shined with delight.
“You dipped me!”
I kept my hands on her hips, still holding her against me. “I did.”
Anna lifted up on her toes and leaned her forehead on mine. “Will...I’m so happy I found you.” And then she wrapped her arms around my shoulders and hugged me with such ferocity her body vibrated from the force of it.
I stroked the back of her hair and held her. “It was about damn time, wasn’t it?”
She nodded and stepped back. “Yeah, it was,” she said hoarsely. “Where’d you go?”
I twined my fingers with hers and squeezed. “Let’s go get a beer. I think we could both use one.”
“Hell, yes. Let’s get outta here!”
The walk was longer than I’d anticipated, but I would have walked for miles if it meant I could keep holding her hand. We didn’t get into anything heavy on the way. Anna told me about all of our classmates she’d seen at the reunion. I hadn’t really noticed anyone when I'd gone searching for her. Everyone had been a blur. But Anna took in every last detail, like she always had. I’d never known anyone more present, more aware of others, than Anna.
We stopped in front of a place called Bar Royal. It wouldn’t have been my first choice, but she pulled me inside.
“Come on, a few of my coworkers hang out here. It’s cool,” she said.
The inside was dim but looked better than I’d expected from the nondescript exterior. The wide-plank floors were only slightly sticky and the games in the back were calling my name.
“We have to play some pinball,” I said.
She grinned. “Obviously. Let’s grab a drink first though. I play better with a buzz.”
We found a spot at the crowded bar, our stools so close that our shoulders were pressed together. When she turned to me, her face was near enough for me to see the ring of navy blue around her irises.
“Did I say how happy I am to be with you?” she asked.
I dipped my head and smiled. “You may have mentioned that.”
She cuffed my chin with her knuckle. “Good. Well, I am.”
“Me too, Annie.”
She pinched my arm. “Literally no one has called me Annie since I was eighteen!”
“Am I not allowed to anymore?”
She bit her lip and eyed me for a beat. “No, you can. You’re the only one I’ve ever let call me that.”
A wall of a man with a full red beard came over to take our order.
“What can I get you?” he asked in a low, growly voice.
“Do you have local beers?” Anna asked.
The wall crossed his arms. “Of course.”
Anna leaned in. “Flying Dog?”
The bartender uncrossed his arms and gave a ghost of a smile. “Mm-hmm. Have a preference?”
“Raging Bitch.” She turned to me and winked. “They named a beer after me.”
Smiling, I said, “I’ll take a Doggie Style.”
When the bartender went to get our beers, Anna asked, “Are you going to make the joke?”
I shrugged. “I kind of think it speaks for itself.”
Anna leaned her head on her hand, elbow on the bar, and studied me. Her eyes roamed my face, seemingly searching for something. “How can ten years have passed and it feels like I just saw you yesterday? Like we’re picking up right where we left off.”
I brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek. “I don’t want to pick up where we left off. We left off in a fucked-up place.”
“We did. But we’re older and wiser now. No more fucking up.” She reached out and yanked my tie, loosening it,
then unbuttoned the top button of my shirt. “Better.”
I rubbed my throat and swallowed hard. Nothing had ever been sexier than Anna yanking off my tie in the middle of a bar. And she did it without a care in the world, just because she wanted to. She still had no idea the effect she had on me. She saw everything, except for what she did to me.
Three
Anna
The bartender, James, slid our beer bottles in front of us on the scuffed mahogany bar.
“Thanks,” I said, flashing him a smile.
He rubbed the back of his neck. “Hey, you work with Frannie, don’t you?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I’m Anna.”
He gripped the bar with both hands. “Right. Anna. Uh, how is she?”
“She’s good. We’re more coworkers than BFFs, so I don’t know her innermost secrets or anything. But she’s healthy, wealthy and wise. Or two of those three things at least.” I waggled my eyebrows. “Want me to pass along a message?”
He flushed and backed away, holding up his hands in front of him. “No, no! That’s okay. I just haven’t seen her in a while. But no message.” He walked to the other end of the bar, not looking back.
“What was that about?” Will asked.
I pointed in James’ direction. “I think he has a thing for my coworker. Which, good luck to him. I don’t foresee that girl settling down anytime soon. I mean, she’s lovely, but not the relationship type.”
“What about you? Are you the relationship type?”
I took a long swallow of my beer. “Maybe. I’ve had one or two over the years. How about you, Will? Is there a lucky Mrs. Will somewhere?”
He chuckled. “Despite the fact you know my last name is Diaz, you’re calling my fictitious wife Mrs. Will?”
