10 Years Later

My cell phone blared out through my car speakers, and I glanced over to see Tucker’s name flashing on my dashboard screen. I pressed Accept and blurted, “Why are you calling me?”

“Hey, buddy. Just wanted to see if you got there yet.”

I clenched my teeth. “Tucker, are you fucking kidding me with this? You think I’m at my reunion, seeing all these people for the first time in ten years, and so you call me to check in? Come on, man!”

“I’m just trying to live vicariously through you. You could have brought me as your guest and then I wouldn’t be calling right now.”

He actually sounded sort of sad. Tucker had suggested that I bring him with me, but I thought that was a little weird. He wouldn’t know anyone, and what kind of loser brings a coworker with them to their high school reunion?

“Well, I’m not there yet,” I said, then groaned with frustration. “I’m stuck in traffic on the 101.”

“You’re not there yet? You’re late as shit.”

I glanced at my car’s clock again and silently fumed. “I know I’m late, okay? You think I don’t know how freaking late I am?” I shouted, then glanced around, hoping no one saw that. If anyone else in traffic happened to look over at me, I probably looked like a crazy person, screaming by myself in an empty car.

“Whoa, whoa. Calm down, Caveman. I’m sure your cavegirl will still be there waiting for you.” Tucker roared with laughter, and I wished he was next to me so I could hit him like I usually did when he pissed me off.

“She better be,” I said, secretly praying to everyone holy to not let Cammie leave the reunion before I got there.

“Make sure you take pictures.”

“Of what?” I stared at the brake lights lining my upcoming freeway exit as I changed lanes.

“Of Cammie. Of any hot single girl you think I should bang, I don’t know. Just text me. I’m bored,” he admitted before crunching into something that sounded like potato chips.

“You’re worse than a girl. You know that, right?” I put on my turn signal and maneuvered my car toward the exit.

“I don’t even care right now. That’s how bored I am.”

“Tucker, it’s Saturday night. Go out. Make some friends,” I suggested, knowing that he wouldn’t do it. He hated going out alone, and since we worked most of the time on our case, he hadn’t had a chance to meet new people since we moved. “Ask one of the other guys to go grab a beer or something with you.”

“I hate most of those assholes. Twenty-year-old punks who think they’re invincible. They don’t know nothing. They’d shit themselves if they had to walk a beat in one of the boroughs,” he said, referring to New York.

I cleared my throat, but couldn’t disagree. Most of the officers assigned to our station were really young guys straight out of junior college. They were filled with piss and vinegar, and their egos rivaled that of a reality TV star. Basically, they thought they were far more impressive than they truly were. I only hoped I hadn’t been such a dickhead when I first got out of the academy, but I probably was.

“All right,” I said, throwing him a bone. “I’ll send you pics. Maybe. If I remember. I’m hoping I’ll be too busy.”

He huffed out a quick ha! before saying, “I’m hoping you’ll be too busy too. That way I won’t have to hear about this girl anymore.” His voice went up an octave as he mimicked a girly voice. “All your stupid-ass questions about if she remembers you, or if she still thinks about you, or if she might like you, all that whiny bullshit.”

“You’re the one who wants to live through me, remember? So you must not hate it too much.” I pulled my car off the freeway and made a left turn. His groan filled my speakers as I spotted the hotel up ahead in the distance. “All right, buddy, I’m about to pull into the hotel, so I gotta go.”

“Okay. Go get your girl, Caveman.”

“That’s the plan,” I said before ending the call and pulling up to the parking attendant.

He’s Here

Cammie

“He’s obviously not coming. I think I’m gonna head up to our room.” I faked a yawn and looked at Kristy, who pulled out her cell phone so she could check the time.

The thought of staying here another minute no longer appealed to me. My disappointment level had hit an all-time high. Dalton wasn’t here, he most likely wasn’t coming, and I was clearly a crazy person for believing that he would. Or more so, for believing he might actually come here to see me the same way I had come to see him. I felt like a fool, and I hated feeling foolish.

“Uh-uh. It’s only nine twenty. You’re not going to bed yet. He could still show up. This thing goes until midnight. Come on, Cinderella, don’t give up on your prince just yet.”

“No one shows up this late. We’ve already eaten dinner and dessert. You don’t really think he’s coming, do you?” I asked Kristy seriously, pleading for an honest response.

She tugged at her bottom lip before admitting, “Probably not.”