It had been years since they had seen each other. 28 to be exact. That was the day they parted ways for college and the military. A long distance relationship was out of the question as she made her mind up to go to London. Him being recruited by the Naval Academy wasn't an around the corner option either. In truth, things weren't going well anyway, so it seemed all for the better.
He was back home now to help his mom who struggled with a myriad of health issues. His dad passed away 8 months earlier and there were no great alternatives. His parents hadn't saved enough for retirement let alone health care in a managed facility. His marriage was long since over. His heart was always someplace else.
She returned home not long after college, quickly got married and had kids. She had lived there ever since. Her kids were older now. One a recent college grad and the other a junior to be.
It was late on a Saturday afternoon and he walked into the library to use their computer. He needed to apply for a building permit to make his mom a ramp he planned to attach to the house. The permit wouldn't come without the proper plan in place. Mom's PC was ancient and bogged down by virus software.
Despite the years in between and never having stayed in touch, they recognized each other instantly. There she stood behind the desk looking more gorgeous than she ever did. She wore black glasses that achieved the scholarly look of mature, classy version of the young lady she used to be. Her hair was shorter but still remained the strawberry red he always loved. And the slight olive skin tone was a perfect match for it.
They made small talk and it was awkward to say the least. She nervously touched her hair and then adjusted her glasses. He leaned on the counter trying to stay cool. She sympathetically listened about his parents and then went on about how great her kids were doing in school.
Eventually they ran out of things to talk about. She gave him directions to head upstairs and then warned him they were closing in 25 minutes. They said how nice it was to see each other and she came around to give him a hug. As her breasts pressed up against him, his heart raced back to their youth. He had long forgotten how good it felt to be close to her. And he could sense the same from her. She held him a little longer than he expected.
The staircase had a landing which was halfway up and turned you 180 degrees to complete your ascent. As he made the turn, the stairs afforded a slight angle for him to look back down at her behind the desk. She looked so good. Her jeans accentuated her curves, she wore a white blouse and he watched as she opened one more button on it. Lost in a gaze he made his way up to the lab.