"Hey!" Voices I hadn't heard in a decade called out to me. I turn to find myself embraced against a warm soft bosom.
"How are you?" she asked in her persistent shrill. She always was the excitable, perky one, whose breasts quiver uncontrollably whenever she giggles.
"I'm great, actually. How are you doing?"
"Couldn't complain!" Her beaming smile was annoyingly contagious. I found my mouth mirroring hers as we proceeded with chitchat.
"I'm surprised at this turnout, but it's nice to see how everyone is doing now. And they picked such a nice hotel for the reunion."
"Yeah, I know! Did you check out the little bottles of shampoo they gave?" Her voice dropped to excited hush tones, "Name brand stuff. I called room service and told them my room didn't have any and got some extra bottles." She winked, a little too proud of her victory.
I smiled and nodded affirmation of her deviousness. "I live just 5 stops down, so no hotel glory for me."
Soon, others spotted us across the room and they joined in our small talk. Each time a new person came up we would recap everything from the previous people's updates on their lives.
I excused myself to get another drink at the bar. "White Russian, please."
I sipped it slowly, watching the reconnections being made around the room. A few more people wandered over and we engaged in conventional catch up. We laughed and reminisced, but in the back of my mind, there was only one person I wanted to see. The last we saw each other was 10 years ago at the airport. We had spent that summer together. Nothing happened back then. Nothing more than secret glances and sly smiles. His eyes penetrated me so thoroughly, and back then, that was enough to spark nightly fires. I squirmed in my dress, thinking back to those warm summer nights. My mind wandered back to us standing atop of the peak, looking out at the city below us. The last excursion of our summer trip was to watch the sunset from the highest point in the city. The night view was already enough to take my breath away. The dotted lights from the skyscrapers formed grounded constellations, stories of the city floating in the glow. We both leaned with our forearms against the railing, looking out across the twinkling splendor at our feet, smiling at our own thoughts. I looked over at him and wondered what he was thinking. As though he read my mind, he turned to me, leaned in close and pointed to the buildings and lights to the far left. He told me that was exactly what his hometown looked like. There was a proud and reminiscent tone in his voice. I wished I could've melted into him. My fingers absentmindedly started stroking my collarbone and down my chest before raucous laughter jolted me from my trance.
After my second drink and still no sign of him, I decided to head home. I glance around the room once more as I made my way towards the coat check, saying farewell and "See you in 10 years!" to those I pass. As I stood at the counter waiting for the coat check to find my things, I heard someone announce in aggravation, "You've GOT to be kidding me. How does a hotel just LOSE someone's reservation?!"
I look around the corner and there he stood. He was still gesturing and yelling when I approached him.
"Jeff?"
He turned towards me and all signs of annoyance disappeared from his face. We hugged like old classmates do.
"What's going on here?" I asked, my eyes shifting towards the manager behind the counter.
He let out a deep, exasperated sigh.
"I am homeless for the evening. My reservation has mysteriously disappeared. Are you staying here tonight? Maybe I can just bunk with you like the old days," he joked, slapping my arm.
"Ha!" My face flushed, hopefully not as red as I felt. "Yeah... No, I live a few stops from here actually. If you don't mind couch crashing for a couple of days, you're more than welcome to stay with me."
He contemplated the offer carefully. "Are you sure I won't be putting you out?"
"Well..." I feigned hesitancy, then smiled and said, "Of course not! Come on, let's store your luggage, you can say hi to a few people, we'll come back to get your stuff and head over to my place." I turn to the hotel manager, "I assume the least you could do is store his luggage for free, correct?"
Before the manager could answer, Jeff taps my hand and says, "Don't worry about it. I'm not really in the mood to see anyone right now. Can we just head back to your place?"
"Sure, sure, of course. I was on my way out anyway."
As we started to walk towards the doors, he asked, "So how comfortable is your couch?"
"Oh, it's the most comfortable couch your ass will ever have the pleasure of sitting on."
Luckily, we managed to catch a cab on our way out. It was starting to drizzle when we stepped out. Any later and we'd be stuck in the downpour or fighting our way through the subway with drenched clothes and luggage. The ride was short but we used the time to catch up a little. By the time the cab stopped in front of my apartment, rain was coming down in ribbons. We ran inside as fast as we could but were so soaked our shoes made squishing sounds as we walked up the stairs.
I helped him put his things in the living room as he took off his shoes and hung up his coat.
"I guess this will be your room for the next couple of days. Which day are you heading out?"
