Page 8 of The Wrong Move

He nods. “It’s been a while.”

I move so he can squeeze past to get to the bar.

Most of the people here I haven’t seen since school. It’s not that we didn’t get on, but our lives took us in different directions. I quickly learned who was fake and who I could trust. It’s why my teammate, Brandon, and I got on so well. We met at college, and his laid-back Aussie attitude resonated with me. Apart from my basketball friends from college and the LA Sharks, I only stay in contact with a few friends from high school.

When I find a space, I turn and look back to the bar, where Giana is still smiling. There was always something about her. She wasalmostthe one.

Mason and Paige take their drinks and thank me.

“I see you ran into Jessica.” Mason smirks, understanding what would have gone down.

“Yeah, but I sweet-talked my way into staying. She told me to enjoy the night.”

Paige laughs. “It’s because she had a crush on you.”

I choke on the water. “She hated me.”

Paige rolls her eyes. “Secretly, she was in lust with you. She wouldn’t chase you because she thought she was too good for that, so she got you to notice her in other ways.”

I shake my head. “I think you’re delusional. She treated me like I was scum.”

“Yeah, I agree with Byron,” Mason adds. “She said some pretty awful stuff to him.”

I stare at Mason. “Don’t bring it up. I don’t want to remember the bullshit.” I was the skinny, geeky kid back then, and she squished my confidence like I was nothing but an insect. I look at Paige. “She tried to get me kicked off the basketball team. She wanted to ruin me.”

Paige shrugs. “I’m not saying what she did was right… only what I heard from others.”

“News flash. If you want someone to like you, don’t set out to destroy their future.”

Mason clicks his glass with my bottle. “That’s a warning label if ever I heard one.”

“Damn straight.”

“Hello, Byron.”

Giana’s gentle voice wraps around me, and Mason has that knowing look in his eye. I turn.

“Giana.” I lean in and kiss her. “You look beautiful.”

Her dark waves fall over her shoulders as her large brown eyes meet mine, her smile shy. She lowers her gaze. “You didn’t get the memo?”

“No. My fault for skimming the email.” I grab Mason’s shoulder. “My friend here mentioned the dress code was smart casual. If you can’t trust your friends, who can you trust?” Everyone laughs.

“He wouldn’t have come if I said he had to wear a suit.”

Giana smiles at Mason. “He never did like suits, not even for prom.”

“How are you, Gigi?”

“I’m wonderful, thank you.”

“The Mediterranean sunshine agrees with you,” Paige says to Giana, then glances at me.

“Absolutely.” Though her glowing skin is not the reason I can’t take my eyes off her.

“How long has it been since you two have seen each other?” Mason asks.

“Too long.” I smile at Giana and allow myself to admire her for a few seconds before it gets weird. She is even more beautiful now, and my body hums with the attraction. After high school, we caught up after our first year at college. My memory of thelast time is blurry, but I left her on not so good terms. I can’t recall the exact reason why we stopped texting, except that we were both busy. All those feelings I had for her then rush back to me now, and I’m kicking myself for not trying to stay in her life. I tried to reach out again years ago, but she had disappeared. It was as though she didn’t want to be found.

---