If You Come Back

by Alexis Leia

“Are you calling me fat?” Selene faked being offended.

  “Nope, you have a body to die for. But your boobs would probably rip my dress and I still haven’t worn it”, Annie said and took the “dress” from Selene, grabbing her breast passing by. Selene giggled and slapped her hand.

  Annie was her childhood best friend, also a kid she grew up with in the same foster home. They were the only two that stayed in Mountainview, while the others just vanished, including Marcus and Chris.

  She still didn’t think about Chris willingly; she had just buried the thoughts of him a long time ago. When she remembered him now, she simply tried to think of him like one would think about a once-escaped pet cat. Someone who was a part of your life, but you vaguely remember them. It was difficult, of course, since he was a constant topic of the magazines, a hotshot music producer based in L.A., the CEO of one of the most influential record labels in the country.

  Local newspapers especially loved pointing out that he grew up in Mountainview, and people loved him. If they only knew how he had felt about them before leaving, they would probably change their minds. Besides, he never came to visit his hometown, something the locals obviously chose to ignore. So, the pride was definitely one-sided. However, each time Chris became the topic of a conversation, she always played along.

  Selene, didn’t you grow up with that Ledford boy, the singer?

  The producer, actually. Yes, I did.

  Have you heard from him? Is he ever going to visit, bring along some celebrities with him?

  No, but I’m sure he will once he catches time. It’s a busy lifestyle, in a busy city.

  He was a good boy, wasn’t he?

  Oh yes, he was great.

  Even after all those years, she protected his ass, and kept the legend about Cristopher Ledford alive. Albeit, it was an ass she’d like to punch with her high-heeled, leather boot. It’s just people didn’t have to know that.

  Not that she was bitter or something. She was actually glad that he succeeded in life, but she wanted to keep him where he belonged – in her past. Shaking her head to erase the grim thoughts, she put on a sleeveless emerald green dress that was tight in the upper part and flared slightly at the waist and down to her knees. Her boobs looked nice and her figure was on display, but the dress itself looked pretty modest and nice. She decided to wear a thin cream-colored cardigan paired with heels of the same color. Nights in Mountainview could get a little chilly, even in early fall. She decided to let her hair down, since it was naturally wavy and fell down to her waist. In all honesty, with humidity still in the air, there was really no hope for taming it. She went neutral with make-up, but she allowed herself a blood-red lipstick that matched her hair.

  “Whoa, easy there Red Riding Hood, you don’t want wolves at your doorstep”, Annie said as she took her look in.

  Selene sighed and rolled her eyes at Annie’s usual quirkiness. She was looking gorgeous, Selene noticed. Her brunette hair fell down to her shoulders and her dark blue dress accentuated her tiny figure. She was gorgeous, a devious little thing, despite looking innocent and naive.

  “Looking good yourself, Miss Universe”, Selene fired back and winked. Annie approached her and plastered a big kiss on her cheek, followed by a tight hug.

  “You look amazing, Sel. I’m so proud of you”, she said and sniffled a little. Selene hugged her back and whispered. “Back at you, sweetie.”

  Recovering from the emotional moment they shared, Annie wiped her cheeks and smiled brightly.

  “Let’s get this show on the road.”

  The Town Hall was a beautiful, recently renovated three-story building in the central square of Mountainview. Selene had tried to keep the original look that dated back to early 1800s, and she more or less succeeded. The reason why she had any say in it even before running for the mayor was because she was the ex-mayor’s right hand. Old man Wilson treated her like a grandchild and she loved him like a grandfather, despite being his employee.

  When she finished college and returned to Mountainview, Wilson took her in as his secretary. Given how she never managed to keep her mouth shut, she began giving him ideas for the town’s well-being, he began accepting them and the rest was history. He decided to retire a year ago, and while he made all the preparations for his departure, he suggested she should try to take his place. At first, she’d laughed off the idea, but with time it became more appealing.

  It wasn’t about power whatsoever; it was because she loved the place and felt there was something more she could give back. But also, the only potential candidate was Mike Waltz, a man so focused on money and turning profit, that she highly doubted he’d give his best to their town. In fact, she suspected he’d sell it to a huge corporation if that was possible.

  “When was the last time you got laid?” Annie suddenly asked her as Selene parked her car down the street.

  “Pfft, I don’t even remember.”

  There were no secrets or taboo topics with Annie. And her answer was painfully genuine; she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been with someone. To be honest, though, the prospect didn’t even seem appealing to her. She didn’t have enough time or desire to go through the dating process, and she didn’t do casual sex. It was a small town after all, and it wasn’t easy to find someone who wouldn’t spread the word the day later. She suspected the situation would get worse now with her being elected.

  “Why the sudden interest in my sex life?” Selene asked as they walked toward the square that looked like freaking Vegas. They probably lit up every Christmas light they had, despite the fact that it was October. Well, Mountainviewers never did subtle, that was for sure.

  “I was just trying to establish if we were both equally miserable. Turns out, we are. True soulmates”, Annie quipped, making Selene chuckle.

  “You know the situation is bad when you have to travel across Colorado to get laid”, Selene pointed out, earning an ‘amen, sister’ from Annie.

  “I mean, the last time I had sex was that time we had a weekend vacation in Denver, remember that? It was a year ago. Twelve lonely months, of absolutely fucking nobody keeping me warm. Don’t get me wrong, I love my vibrator, but there’s only a certain number of times a girl can go to the store to buy some batteries without looking suspicious. The last time I bought them, the clerk actually asked me if I was planning on opening my own power station”, Annie said and they both started laughing uncontrollably.

  Selene was still trying to catch her breath when they approached the Hall, where some of the guests smoked outside and greeted them with enthusiasm.

  “I’m still trying to get used to this”, Selene said shakily as people stared at her with approval and genuine happiness.

  “Well, you better get used to it fast, because there’s like a thousand people here and they’re all staring at you”, Annie said as they walked inside the huge room that was cleared of all the chairs and turned into a massive dance floor.

  People started clapping and whistling as she moved through the room, trying to find Wilson and his wife Martia, who was the main organizer of the party. She didn’t know how to react to all the attention, so she simply smiled widely and nodded to everyone. When she finally managed to get to the other side of the room, her neck was about to break and her cheeks were set in a firm grin that only a plastic surgeon could remove. But she did feel genuinely happy, so that counted for something. The music started playing again and people returned to their dancing, drinking and socializing.

  “There’s our girl”, Wilson exclaimed and pulled her in a big bear hug.

  He was sixty-five years old, but he aged so well, she would never guess his real age. He was incredibly tall, with a thick grey mane of hair, and a strong, agile body. His wife, Martia, was five years younger and very good looking herself. Her black hair with gray strands looked oddly beautiful, like a snowy winter night, with her warm smile as welcoming as always. She pulled Selene in a firm, but gentle hug.

  “How are you feeling?”
Martia asked her.

  “A little overwhelmed, but in a good way”, Selene admitted. “You’ve prepared all this for me?”

  “Of course we have. You deserve this and ten times more”, Martia said as she put an arm around Annie.

  “Are you taking care of Selene, baby girl?” Wilson asked Annie and she bowed in her waist, with her hands put together in front of her.

  “Yes, Mr. Miyagi”, she said and earned a laugh from the three of them.

  Annie was always the soul of the party, the one you turned to when you needed a good laugh. That’s why Selene loved living with her; she never felt alone. They’d decided to become roommates when they finished college and found themselves unwilling to separate after so many years of living together. So, they put the little money they had into buying an old house at the town’s end and through years managed to turn it into a modest home. And the only home they ever had.

  Suddenly, a strong, tall body got in between her and Annie, and two heavy arms draped over both their shoulders.

  “Are they bothering you again, Wilson? I might arrest them this time, for real”, Emmet said and earned a punch in the gut from Selene. He winced a little, but other than that didn’t react.

  “Boy, if you spent more time catching criminals than teasing me, this town would be a much safer place”, Wilson said jokingly. Emmet put his hands on his chest, acting like Wilson hurt him.

  “What criminals? This is Mountainview, the worst criminals around here are people who wear crocs in public, and I ain’t fashion police.”

  Emmet was the best man Selene had ever met. They were the same age and they became friends in high school when Emmet helped her rub a stupid jock’s face in the sand. The asshole tried to grope her ass and boobs just because she had them, and she wasn’t the one to tolerate his stupid antics. The weird part was, Emmet was the guy’s close friend, but didn’t like seeing his idiotic attitude toward girls. That was the real sign that he was born to be a cop, one of the good ones.

  Needless to say, his friend stopped being keen on him, and Selene and Emmet became inseparable ever since. She was a firm believer in friendships between different genders, and she had one to prove her theory. Of course, it was a bit rare to find, but Emmet had truly proved himself as a great friend, almost a brother. Especially because he never tried anything with her, most of the time acting as if she was his buddy. The feeling was incredibly mutual.

  “Well, since I’m your boss now, I might fire you for doing nothing”, Selene teased him.

  “Pfft, that shiny new police car won’t drive itself”, he said and put her head in a headlock, something he’d been doing for the past ten years.

  “Stop it, you jerk! You’re undermining my authority”, Selene squealed.

  “What authority?”

  The fight lasted for a while, until Selene managed to leave a permanent imprint of her nails on his forearm. When she finally looked up, she saw Wilson, Annie and Martia dying of laughter, and some other guests too.

  “You’re a jerk, Emmet”, Annie said through her laughter.

  “I can’t hear you, Shorty. You’re far too low”, Emmet replied, always teasing her about her height. Or lack thereof.

  “Hey, I’m wearing heels!”

  “Hey, I just got a new onion cutter from Shop TV.”

  “I thought we were talking about things that don’t help”, he said and laughed at his own joke.

  Selene saw the potential for trouble, so she grabbed his forearm and led him toward the dance floor before other dumb, yet funny, shit could fly out of his mouth.

  “Let’s go, before she starts spewing fire.”

  A soft ballad started and Emmet held her in a traditional position, his hand on her lower back, other hand holding hers.

  “If you go lower than that, I might use that cutter on your onions”, Selene smiled in fake sweetness.

  “Are you implying that I’m trying to take advantage of you, babe?”

  “Well, are you?” Selene teased but abruptly moved away when his head lowered as if he wanted to kiss her. He then started laughing so hard, he bent in his waist and put his hands on his knees.

  “Jesus tapdancing Christ, you should’ve seen the look on your face!” he exclaimed and pulled her back into his embrace.

  “Very funny, Sheriff.”

  “Oh, c’mon Sel, you would know if I tried to hit on you. And, no offense, but you’re my buddy with imaginary balls. Capisce?”

  “Uh-huh. You’re my buddy with imaginary balls, too”, she replied and grinned.

  She was subconsciously aware of the local press and reporters hovering nearby, and she guessed that was another thing she’d have to get used to. She also predicted they would have a fresh new story by tomorrow – is the new mayor dating her sheriff? Not that people hadn’t wondered before, but everybody who knew them a little better immediately saw there was nothing more there than a very good friendship going on.

  “Cozy there, Selene?” a male voice asked behind her.

  She knew that voice. It was a bit deeper, but it was the same voice she last heard thirteen years ago, and she experienced the same reaction as she had back then. She froze and breath left her lungs in a loud exhale. Her eyes went wide and her blood ran faster in her veins. Goosebumps jumped all over her skin and her fists clenched at her sides.

  Emmet narrowed his eyes as his gaze darted from her to behind her. It seemed like realization finally dawned on him, because he raised his eyebrow in question and she simply closed her eyes in response. He then put and arm around her waist and turned her around to face Chris.

  Well, holy fucking shit. He looked even better than in magazines. Photographs did nothing to present how gorgeous he actually was. His coal black hair was neatly stylized, still wavy at the top like before. His jaw was now covered in a five o’clock shadow, his full lips not smiling, and his eyes... God, those dark blue eyes looked stormy in their intensity. He was wearing the same expression like that last night she saw him – a frown on his face.

  His eyes darted from Emmet to her and then to the embrace Emmet held her in, making her want to roll her eyes. Even after all these years, he still felt the right to act like a possessive, overly protective big brother. His body was deliciously big, strong biceps stretching the black shirt he wore, taut stomach covered by only the thin fabric, and strong legs clad in black jeans. Even though she was wearing four-inch heels, he still towered over her with his 6’5’’ tall frame. He was even taller than Emmet, and she considered him to be a pretty big guy.

  Electricity charged between them, tension palpable in the air. People stopped in their tracks to witness the new scene and they seemed mesmerized by the sight. They couldn’t tear their gazes away from such an obvious attraction that flowed between these young people. And they both felt it too.

  Selene knew it was wrong to get aroused in a situation like this, but God help her, she did. She shivered and swallowed hard as she kept eye contact with Chris. The memories flooded her brain; the laughter, the brawls, and all the good times they had. And then, the last memory that put everything into perspective. That Christmas Eve when he left and never looked back. She let coldness take her again, just like that night when she spent a long time sitting in the snow.

  “Can I help you?” she asked. He let out a bitter laugh as he crossed his arms across his chest.

  “So, this is how you’re going to say hello to me? Act like you don’t know me?”

  “I’m not pretending I don’t know you, I’m just asking if there’s something I could help you with”, she said with a shrug. He narrowed his eyes and inched closer, fully intending to separate her and Emmet.

  “You’re invading her personal space”, Emmet said with his teeth clenched.

  “Then she can tell me to fuck off, no need for you to interfere”, Chris snapped back.

  “Watch it, Ledford. I’m not on duty tonight, but that doesn’t mean I can’t put your ass behind bars”, Emmet warned and Selene immediately
knew he was fully ready to deliver on that promise.

  “You can try”, Chris said with a smirk, and she tensed when Emmet took a step towards him.

  “Emmet, give us a second, would you?” He looked pissed, royally pissed in fact, but when he took in her expression, he simply nodded and walked away, giving Chris another warning glance.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked Chris, looking him dead in the eye. Shit, she hated how her heart trembled at his proximity. He was close enough for her to feel his breath on her face as he spoke.

  “I have to have a reason to come and visit my hometown?” he murmured softly.

  “If you were a normal human being, then I wouldn’t doubt you. But this is you, so don’t pull that bullshit with me”, she snapped.

  “Are you with him?” he abruptly asked, not giving her an answer.

  “What?”

  “Are you with that cop?” he repeated the question, louder and harder this time. Oh, motherfucker. No, she wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of answer.

  “Get your head out of your ass, Chris. You have no right to ask me such personal questions. We haven’t spoken or seen each other for over a decade, so I don’t really see why I’d tell you anything. Now tell me why you’re here, and once you do that you can leave”, she said, already pissed. His expression hardened and his lips pressed into a thin line.

  “Yes, we haven’t seen each other in thirteen years. But you’re still my Selene”, he said possessively, like he had any right to call her his.

  “Oh, don’t you fucking dare’’, she raised her voice and saw a number of heads turn and watch the show. Mayor alert, she thought to herself and smiled at the watchers, not wanting to cause a scene.

  She gave them all a wink, as if the interaction between her and Chris was nothing but a friendly conversation. That seemed to please them, although nobody stopped watching, since they obviously recognized their runaway celebrity. Before they could take their smartphones out, she put on a fake smile on her face, and in feigned friendliness spoke to Chris again.

  “Why don’t we take this conversation outside?” She immediately began walking towards the exit, although numerous citizens stopped her on the way, wanting to shake hands, congratulate her, and take pictures. It was sweet, and she gathered all her patience to confront Chris during the chitchat.