Page 4 of Mommy's Boyfriend (Be My Boyfriend 1)

The last ten years had been a wild ride of investment, developing more progressive ideas, and spending more time in the office than I’d like. Now, however, I was back in my hometown in Idaho and ready to relax for the first time in almost six months. Even if a crappy high school reunion was not my ideal way of doing it. Hell, I didn’t even think we’d have a thirtieth reunion – most places don’t, after all – but apparently our class president, Janie Sanders, just couldn’t help herself. I figured that since she peaked in high school, reliving her glory days was the only way she could stand her dull suburban life. Either that or she took her original campaign promises of keeping school spirit alive and in everyone’s hearts forever a little too literally.

When I first arrived here and ordered a Jim Bean on the rocks, I wasn’t expecting much of a turnout, but almost half of the class seemed to show up. Soon, the cozy hotel bar was verging on bursting with activity and I was happily surprised to see a bunch of my former classmates arrive, including my fellow debate team members.

“Spencer!” Ryan McNealy called out from somewhere to my left. When I turned, I couldn’t help but smile. I hadn’t seen Ryan in ten years at the last reunion. I really should get his number this time and keep in touch.

“Ryan!” I called back with a broad smile on my face. “You old devil, how have you been?”

“Same old, same old,” the balding, smiling man replied as he reached the bar and leaned against it. “I can’t complain. What about you?”

Before long, we had devolved into polite and relaxed conversation as other old class mates joined us. The difference between this reunion and the last seemed to be that the urge to compete had died down. There was less talk about money and careers, though people still seemed overly interested in whether or not I’ve finally settled down and gotten married. I dodged the questions with a practiced ease and quickly moved the conversation along.

After a few minutes of enjoying the company of some of my oldest friends, I excused myself to go and get another drink and that’s when it happened. I pushed up from my chair, turned and walked straight into someone else, almost spilling their full glass of merlot over the both of us.

“Excuse me, I’m so sorry,” I muttered in apology.

“It’s fine,” a familiar voice assured me. Curiosity overwhelmed me and I looked up to see the bright blue eyes of an old friend: Robin Bratton, my high school girlfriend. She was the very first girl I ever dated and though we decided we were better off as friends in the end, she still had a small place in my heart.

“Robin, I can’t believe it’s you,” I said with a smile. “It’s been ten years and it doesn’t look like you’ve aged even a day!” I lied cheerfully.

She laughed and tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder. I noticed that it was streaked with white, something she clearly didn’t care enough to cover, and it was something we both had in common. How time had changed us all. “You always were a flatterer, Spencer,” she replied, “but thank you anyway. I’m glad to see you again, it’s been far too long.”

“You too, Robin,” I replied.

“What have you been up to these days anyway?” she asked with a raise of one eyebrow. “I bumped into your sister the other day and she said it’s rare for you to come back to Halston except for the occasional Christmas or birthday.”

I sighed and swirled the glass I had in my hand. “Well, that should all change now,” I admitted with a wry smile. “I’ve made some lucky investments over the years and I’m kinda officially retired. Well, it was largely thanks to a patent I developed years ago, but since then, my money has just been making money. Now, I’m coming back to Halston to consider investment opportunities.”

Robin scoffs. “You always had a good head on your shoulders, Spencer Reid,” she said before gesturing to a nearby table. “Come sit with me and we can catch up! It’ll be nice to have you back in Idaho.”

I nodded and followed her over to a small wooden table. We began to reminisce about our past and I definitely had one too many drinks because when Robin steered the conversation to our love lives, I didn’t change the subject like I did with everyone else. For once, I was honest.

“I was in a serious relationship a few years ago now with a beautiful woman named Katya,” I confessed, sipping at the dry, tangy whisky in my hand. “But we never married and eventually we both realized that we wanted different things and… Well, it’s been about six or seven years now since we’ve broken up. There’s not been anyone else since which is probably a good thing.”

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