NOTE: Every sexual encounter in this story, no matter how small, is between individuals that are at least eighteen years old or older.
The Reunion Trap: Chapter 5
I noticed that there were more people crowded into the large room than I expected to be there. We had arrived about a half-hour late, but that was part of my plan. I had no desire to hang out here and wait for the people that I needed to talk to. Besides, they may enjoy this thing. I hadn't even entered yet and was already feeling annoyed by the whole spectacle. A little sign-in desk sat by the door, with little Kathy Johnson handing out tags. Celia practically dragged me over to the desk.
"Name?" asked Kathy.
I just looked at her in disbelief. This was our five-year reunion, not our thirtieth. I didn't answer her. If she couldn't figure it out on her own, I would just leave. I looked over at Celia before speaking.
"I think this was a bad idea, let's just..."
"Jace?" asked Celia. "Is that you? Wow, you look so different. Here's your name tag. I'm so happy you came. Please, come talk to me before you leave. You disappeared half-way through our senior year. I want to know everything!"
I took the tag she offered in a bit of shocked confusion. A couple of questions immediately popped into my head. Why did I look so different to her? And how could she not know what happened to me? Puzzled, I absently stuck the tag in my pocket and strode into the reunion. A felt Celia come up beside me and snake her arm into mine. At least I had one ally here. Looking around, I saw many familiar faces as they laughed and joked with each other, catching up after several years apart. Honestly, I was glad for them. Most of the kids of my school were okay, I just had never got that close with them. In my mind, I wished them all well. Then I heard a voice that sent a chill down my spine and much of the old anger came bubbling back up.
"Hey Jace," said my former best friend, Paul, as he came up and offered me a beer. "Please."
I looked at him dead in the face as I took the offered beer. "Hey Paul."
"Can we go somewhere private and talk?" he asked nervously.
"Sure," I replied as I felt a tug on my arm.
Looking over, Celia gave me a smile. "I'm going to let you two catch up."
"What are you going to do?" I asked, not wanting to abandon my wife to a room full of strangers.
"I'll be fine. Besides, I want to do a little reconnaissance," she answered. "Now go, love."
"Love you," I replied as I left with Paul.
I was glad Paul had approached me. This was half the reason I came here, after all. Paul led me to the other side of the conference room, and we found a small table.
"First, thanks for hearing me out, Jace," Paul began. "I would like to start by apologizing for bringing you to that party under false pretenses. It was Nadia that asked me to bring you. She swore me to secrecy, so I told you that it was that girl I wanted to see. I honestly didn't think it would matter or I never would have drug you along."
"Well, I figured most of that out on my own, though I didn't know it was Nadia," I cut in. "I figured you just dragged me along to play wingman for you even though I hadn't been invited. What I don't understand is why you didn't have my back when everything went down."
"Well, that's the second thing I feel bad about. I saw you talking to Nadia and figured you were good. Cindy took me upstairs and gave me the first blowjob of my life. It was amazing and probably still the best blowjob I ever had. We had moved onto the bed and she was riding me when all the commotion started. I would have thrown her off me and rushed to help if I had any idea it was you in the middle of it. I don't care if it was the whole football team."
"Okay, I get it...but what happened to you after that?" I asked.
"That's the weird part. By the time I found out, it was something like 30 minutes later. I drove to your house, but your parents said you weren't home. I drove around looking for you for two hours but ended up going home and going to sleep. I was at your house the next day and you were already gone. Your parents were useless. I finally tracked down your brother and he told me about the prison. That's the weird thing. Nobody said shit. Not the teachers, not the newspaper, not your parents. I confronted Nadia and she broke down and told me what had happened that night but had no idea what had happened to you either. It was your brother that finally put us on your trail. I mean, from our point of view, you fucking vanished. I drove to the prison once, but couldn't bring myself to go in. I felt awful for my part in it, so I wrote you a letter and sent it to you. When I didn't hear back, I sent a second and a third. After that, I figured you didn't want to see me. I told Nadia about what I had discovered, and she broke down right there. That was the only time I ever spoke to her and I moved on, Jace."
"That's the God's honest truth?" I asked him point blank. The look on my face showed that I would offer no respite if he lied to me now."
"I swear it on my sister's life," he said solemnly. I knew he and his sister were very close, so I was reasonably sure I could trust him. Besides, his story did mesh with a few other things I had learned recently.
"Well, Paul," I said. "For what it's worth, I believe you. But I never received your letters. I had a lawyer mention the same thing. Some of the guards had it out for me for one reason or another."
Paul looked visibly angry. "So, that's why you never answered? Damn. We lost five years of friendship because of a misunderstanding and a few douchebags? Well, my friend, I hope you agree we should make up for lost time. Fuck those assholes."
Abruptly, he stood up and stuck out his hand. I followed and shook his hand, sharing an iron grip with an old friend. Before I could let go, he pulled me into a hug and by the time he had released me, I could see tears streaming down his face.
"You're leaking," I said, chuckling at his discomfort.
