“No. It’s a good thing. You’ve always been amazing. The only thing that might have changed is that you’re even more amazing now,” he said, flashing that gorgeous smile again.
This time, I really did melt, and I could barely speak. I didn’t know what else to do, so I stood up. I was already annoyed at my brother for not being here. The flurry of emotions was too much to handle.
“Okay. Enough planning for today. I’m meeting a date in an hour. He’s available a bit earlier than I’d expected,” I excused myself quickly. And it was true. I was going to meet someone. Someone I hadn’t seen since high school… Someone I hoped had changed as well.
“A date?” he asked, sounding disappointed. “Oh… well, have fun,” he said, not sounding the least bit convincing. “Do you need me to pick you up after?”
This followed the old familiar pattern of our past interactions. When we were young, he would always pick me up. I stuck my nose in the air. “Maybe. But I might be out for a long time, so don’t wait or anything.”
“Who is it?”
“Logan Burnham.”
His eyes lit up with a strange light, and a scowl appeared on his face. “Logan? He’s a jerk-off. Are you sure you want to go?”
“Yeah. Besides, maybe he isn’t anymore. People change, right?”
Before he could say anything else, I hurried away, barely resisting the urge to run. I had always dealt with him by running away, even when we were kids. The only time I ever chased him was during the water gun fight.
“Fuck him. Fuck him to hell,” I muttered to myself, barely able to control my insides long enough to think. “I don’t care what he thinks. It doesn’t matter. I mean, he has no claim over me. So what does it matter to him?”
I left him to his beautiful self in Starbucks and walked out into the sun. We didn’t get enough planning done, but I could barely process the strong emotions he stirred up in me. Allison once told me that the person who hurt you the most was the one you loved most of all, and I was starting to believe that was true.
“I am going to have a good day,” I told myself quietly, “and I’m going to forget about Shane. Things are different now. I am not a scared kid anymore. I’m a grown woman.”
“Yeah. That’s right!” some dude said. He was staggering and obviously drunk. “You tell them,” he slurred.
I had said it louder than I’d meant to. I gave him a sheepish smile and hurried to get a cab. I didn’t want to be in this area anymore. In fact, I wanted to be as far away from Shane as possible.
SHANE
She really hadn’t changed much since we were kids. I remembered her running away on more than one occasion. My mind raced with curiosity. Why had she decided to meet with Logan? Surely she knew him well enough to know that wasn’t a good idea. In any case, it wasn’t my business. I was seeing someone too, though Monica was an open person. She wouldn’t care if I liked Sasha. Fuck, she’d probably try to sleep with Sasha, too.
I pulled out my phone and looked at Facebook. I had become friends with Sasha a while ago, but she didn’t know I constantly trolled her wall. I wondered if she did the same thing. The page took a couple of seconds to load, and I saw that Logan had written on her wall.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
Logan was a total douchebag. We’d gone to high school together, and I’d always known he liked Sasha. Luckily, she had never accepted his advances. He had a job in finance now, but he was still just as much of a douche. He would get girls drunk and fool around with them, and he had even been reported for it. Not many people knew it, and the only reason I did was because one of my clients in real estate was also a lawyer and had dealt with his case.
Sasha didn’t know how much danger she might be in. I looked through their comments, trying to find out where she was going with him before it was too late.
Logan B: Meet you at the Terrace at 2. The one in Midtown.
Thank God for Facebook, I mused, thinking about what a piece of crap Logan was. I picked up my helmet, plopped it on my head, and hurried outside to get on my bike. It was time to catch my princess. Even if I couldn’t be with her because of Eddy, I knew that I should at least try to keep her safe.
SASHA
I arrived right on time. Logan was already there, waiting to meet me. He looked professional in his business suit—nothing like he wore when we were in high school. People really did change. I mean, I had heard stories that he was a party fiend, but anything was better than sitting around and dwelling on Shane, who I could never be with for so many reasons.
“Hey! You look great,” Logan said, giving me a soft peck on the forehead.
I thought that was weird. We weren’t dating, so why would he do that? I shrugged it off as just a friendly greeting, grateful for the distraction. “Thanks. You do too. You’ve changed so much.”
He winked. “You’ve just gotten more beautiful, Miss Sasha.”
I shook my head and smiled, allowing him to take my arm and lead me into the lounge. It was fancy, with girls dancing on glass stages and posh waitresses handing out drinks. New York City was such an amazing place with so many incredible sights. Certainly, no other city could compare.
“When I saw you check in on Facebook, I just knew I had to reach out to you,” he said.
“I have to admit, I was hesitant. I mean, we didn’t always get along well back in the day,” I said honestly.
He smiled. “I was such an idiot in high school… But you know I always had a thing for you,” he told me with a cheesy wink. “So, how is your friend Allison?”
This struck me as odd. I mean, we were friends on Facebook, but he must have gone through my profile thoroughly. Had he been looking at my profile so often he knew the most intimate details of my life? He must have, because Allison barely used Facebook, and I seldom mentioned her on my profile, mostly out of respect for her privacy.
“Um… she’s fine,” I replied warily, wishing the waitress would come quickly. “Will you excuse me for a minute? I need to powder my nose.”
“Sure. Oh… What do you want to drink? It’s my treat,” he offered, his smile smarmy.
“I’ll just have a Diet Coke for now,” I said as I stood up and grabbed my purse.
Some kind of inner alarm was going off, but I didn’t know why. Logan was being friendly, though a little creepy. He was clean and pressed, and he certainly had a more mature demeanor. Why didn’t feel I comfortable, then? People always told me I was a good judge of character, but in that moment, being a good judge of character was inconvenient. I didn’t want to feel right now. I wanted to have a good meal with good company so I could figure out how to work peacefully with Shane.
I walked to the bathroom, which was immaculately clean and decorated with neutral décor. I pulled out my lip gloss, swabbing it swiftly across my lips. I rubbed my lips together and puckered, examining myself in the mirror. I’m going to get myself together, go out there, and have a good time, I told myself, trying to be stern.
When I walked back out into the hustle and bustle of the restaurant, feeling more confident, Logan was waiting for me. “You look fabulous, by the way. I am so glad you agreed to meet me,” he repeated.