Page 12 of Twenty Years Later

She nodded, her eyes watery. "Well, it's the least I can do. I've thought a lot about it over the years."

"We had some good times too," I reminded her. "Don't forget that."

"I won't ever forget." She let out a hiccup, and we all laughed. "Oh, dear, I think I better get some water."

I let her hands go. "Good idea."

She headed for the ballroom but turned back toward me with a smile. "Sonowyou can sneak out of here."

Chapter Five

Jayda

After she disappeared through the door, I looked up at Alex. "You know, I think I'm going to head out. It was really fun but, well, big day tomorrow."

He nodded. "I get that. I'll grab the car."

"No, no. I'd like to walk back. I'll just tiptoe right out there." I pointed to the courtyard beyond the open patio. "You should stay and have fun."

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" His sexy smile lit up his face.

"No, I'm—"

He leaned closer, making my heart rate tick up a notch. "Nice try, Jayda. But I'm not going to let you walk back alone at night."

I hesitated, feeling bad that he was leaving the reunion before it was over, and thought about going back in. But as a highly introverted person, there was only so much of parties I could take. Evenwithalcohol. "Sure," I finally said.

We both stayed quiet as we stepped into the courtyard, the music fading behind us. And soon, we were out on the bright Miami streets, cars blasting by us, beats bouncing in celebration of a Friday night.

"You holding up okay?" Alex asked.

"I am," I said, warmed by the thoughtfulness in his voice.

"Thanks for being my date tonight."

I smiled up at him. "It was actually really nice."

"Good. I know you were dreading it."

That cracked me up. "I wasn't dreading it."

"Yes. You most definitely were," he argued between laughs.

"Okay. Yeah. I kind of was," I admitted. "But I'm glad I went."

"Me too." He paused a beat, then said, "I bet it was nice to catch up with Melanie and the rest of your friends."

I sighed. "Yeah, I wasn't sure how that was going to go. But she's changed a lot since high school."

"Hopefully, a lot of us have."

Feeling bold, I asked, "What about you? Have you changed much?"

Our eyes met as we crossed the street in front of my hotel. "More than you know," he said.

What on earth did that mean?

The front of the hotel was hopping with people coming and going, valets running past, luggage being hauled in. Alex walked with me into the lobby, and I prepared to say goodnight. But he stopped suddenly, a serious look on his face.

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