Status: Indefinite Hiatus
Red Roses
I
It had been a long, tiring day when I saw him for the first time in years. I was at a café in Scotland after a long day of moving into my new home when he appeared in front of my table.
"Eve?" he said, his voice now deep and sexy. I looked up from my weird but heavenly tasting cup of hot chocolate and there he stood.
I hadn't seen him since our high school graduation and that was six years ago. What were the chances of running into him in Scotland of all places when neither of us were from anywhere near here? I stared at him. It seemed like he'd grown even taller since our graduation. He was already six feet tall the last time I saw him. Now I felt like a hobbit instead of a dwarf beside him. That may have had something to do with the fact that I was sitting though.
"You haven't changed a bit, Aiken. You're still as short as ever," he said, his wonderful blue eyes sparkling with mirth, almost as though he had read my thoughts.
"And you're still calling me by my last name, Jay, even after all these years," I replied.
"Only you. I almost didn't recognize you though."
"Why not?"
"Well, you hair is back to red, although not its natural red, and you're not wearing glasses anymore. That's the only part of you that's changed."
"Things tend to change when you haven't seen a person in six years, Jay. Take you for example: you've grown taller ‒ I don't even know how that happened; you were already impossibly tall ‒ and your face looks less boyish, more mature."
"Hard to imagine, huh?" he joked as he finally decided to take a seat at the table. I nodded, agreeing despite it being a joke.
"So, what brings you to Scotland, Jay?" I asked once he'd finished giving the waitress his order. We laughed as we watched her walk away with an extra swing in her hips.
"I heard that my favorite person had moved here, indulging in her Scottish roots, presumably," he replied. I stared at him, my eyebrow cocked. He grinned that boyish grin he always gave me back in high school. I was shocked to find it still gave me butterflies.
"Okay, so that was a lie. I only found out you moved here after I had already booked my flight and the hotel. I thought that I could make Scotland my little paradise away from home for the next two months," he added seriously.
"It's summer, the one time of year in Québec when we're not freezing our asses off and you want to spend it here? The weather's always the same and hardly as sunny as a summer day in Québec. Where's the logic in that?"
He grinned. "There is none."
"There never is with you, is there?"
He laughed and nodded.
"So, are you staying here in Liberton or are you just visiting?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.
He didn't answer right away. He watched the waitress put down his coffee and he smiled at her in thanks. We watched her walk away again but this time, she flung her hair over her shoulder and winked at him flirtatiously. He snorted into his coffee. I looked over at him again.
His blue eyes were still filled with life and sparkled endlessly. You could stare into his eyes and see everything there was to know about him there. Except you would never know him by just looking into his eyes. There was so much more to him than any one person could see. His dark brown hair was swept to the side and still straight as ever. I couldn't believe he still looked like himself and yet it was very obvious that he was no longer a boy anymore.
I continued to stare at him without completely realizing it until his lips twitched and our eyes locked. I flushed, my cheeks heating up and my gaze immediately switching to the cup in my hands.
"I'm staying at an inn in Liberton," he said, finally answering my question.
"I thought you said hotel," I said, teasing him.
He shrugged. "Hotel, inn: what's the difference?"
Suddenly, the alarm on my phone went off, signaling it was time to get home and feed my puppy, Skip. I turned off the alarm and looked at Jay, smiling apologetically.
"I have to go now but since you're staying in Liberton, I imagine we'll be seeing a lot more of each other," I said.
He smiled. "I hope so. In fact, why don't we go out for supper some time this week?" he suggested, his eyes shinning with something I couldn't recognize.
"I'd like that. Name a time and place, and I'll be there."
"How about Friday at 6? We'll meet up here and go somewhere else."
"Sounds good. I'll see you Friday then," I said. I smiled at him and waved as I left the café.
"Eve?" he said, his voice now deep and sexy. I looked up from my weird but heavenly tasting cup of hot chocolate and there he stood.
I hadn't seen him since our high school graduation and that was six years ago. What were the chances of running into him in Scotland of all places when neither of us were from anywhere near here? I stared at him. It seemed like he'd grown even taller since our graduation. He was already six feet tall the last time I saw him. Now I felt like a hobbit instead of a dwarf beside him. That may have had something to do with the fact that I was sitting though.
"You haven't changed a bit, Aiken. You're still as short as ever," he said, his wonderful blue eyes sparkling with mirth, almost as though he had read my thoughts.
"And you're still calling me by my last name, Jay, even after all these years," I replied.
"Only you. I almost didn't recognize you though."
"Why not?"
"Well, you hair is back to red, although not its natural red, and you're not wearing glasses anymore. That's the only part of you that's changed."
"Things tend to change when you haven't seen a person in six years, Jay. Take you for example: you've grown taller ‒ I don't even know how that happened; you were already impossibly tall ‒ and your face looks less boyish, more mature."
"Hard to imagine, huh?" he joked as he finally decided to take a seat at the table. I nodded, agreeing despite it being a joke.
"So, what brings you to Scotland, Jay?" I asked once he'd finished giving the waitress his order. We laughed as we watched her walk away with an extra swing in her hips.
"I heard that my favorite person had moved here, indulging in her Scottish roots, presumably," he replied. I stared at him, my eyebrow cocked. He grinned that boyish grin he always gave me back in high school. I was shocked to find it still gave me butterflies.
"Okay, so that was a lie. I only found out you moved here after I had already booked my flight and the hotel. I thought that I could make Scotland my little paradise away from home for the next two months," he added seriously.
"It's summer, the one time of year in Québec when we're not freezing our asses off and you want to spend it here? The weather's always the same and hardly as sunny as a summer day in Québec. Where's the logic in that?"
He grinned. "There is none."
"There never is with you, is there?"
He laughed and nodded.
"So, are you staying here in Liberton or are you just visiting?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.
He didn't answer right away. He watched the waitress put down his coffee and he smiled at her in thanks. We watched her walk away again but this time, she flung her hair over her shoulder and winked at him flirtatiously. He snorted into his coffee. I looked over at him again.
His blue eyes were still filled with life and sparkled endlessly. You could stare into his eyes and see everything there was to know about him there. Except you would never know him by just looking into his eyes. There was so much more to him than any one person could see. His dark brown hair was swept to the side and still straight as ever. I couldn't believe he still looked like himself and yet it was very obvious that he was no longer a boy anymore.
I continued to stare at him without completely realizing it until his lips twitched and our eyes locked. I flushed, my cheeks heating up and my gaze immediately switching to the cup in my hands.
"I'm staying at an inn in Liberton," he said, finally answering my question.
"I thought you said hotel," I said, teasing him.
He shrugged. "Hotel, inn: what's the difference?"
Suddenly, the alarm on my phone went off, signaling it was time to get home and feed my puppy, Skip. I turned off the alarm and looked at Jay, smiling apologetically.
"I have to go now but since you're staying in Liberton, I imagine we'll be seeing a lot more of each other," I said.
He smiled. "I hope so. In fact, why don't we go out for supper some time this week?" he suggested, his eyes shinning with something I couldn't recognize.
"I'd like that. Name a time and place, and I'll be there."
"How about Friday at 6? We'll meet up here and go somewhere else."
"Sounds good. I'll see you Friday then," I said. I smiled at him and waved as I left the café.