VERSUS (Second Chances 2)

Dylan watches as I take a tentative sip of the drink I ordered. I close my eyes briefly in appreciation of the skill of the bartender.

“The look on your face makes me wish that I’d ordered a Negroni instead of scotch.”

“It’s delicious.” I chuckle. “Scotch is your go-to drink, isn’t it?”

He swallows a mouthful of the amber liquid. “Guilty as charged.”

I’d take that as an invitation to wade back into the Alcester case, but he made it clear that this impromptu meeting isn’t about work.

“When did you decide to become a lawyer?” I ask, expecting that he’ll bounce the question right back at me.

“When my folks divorced.” He lifts the glass in the air. “When did you decide to withhold your identity from me?”

“Dylan.” His name comes out in a whisper.

He leans his elbows on the table, narrowing the space between us. “Eden. When did you realize it was me?”

“About the same time you didn’t realize I was me.” I take a sip of my drink.

The corners of his lips curve up. “Touché.”

I draw in a deep breath. “When you said your name was Dylan, it took me back to that quarterback in high school that I tutored. That’s when I really looked at you. When we danced, I knew.”

His gaze travels over my face. “Help me understand why you didn’t just come out and say who you were.”

I let out a heavy sigh. “I thought at some point you’d recognize me. By the time we got back to your place, the window to tell you had closed.”

“That window was wide open.” He curves his hand around the glass in front of him. “You should have told me who you were. I wish I would have known it was you before we fucked.”

Hearing the word come out of him in a growl sets me on fire.

“Would we have fucked, Dylan?”

His brow furrows. “What?”

I push my glass aside. “If I would have told you that I was the shy nerd who tutored you in high school, do you think we would have left the club together?”

He sits in silence, his eyes trained on mine.

“I didn’t set out to deceive you,” I go on, my hands shaking. “I thought that we’d sleep together, I’d leave your place before you woke up, and we’d never see each other again. I didn’t think you’d ever realize that I was the woman you went to high school with.”

“Eden.” He exhales roughly. “Eden, look…”

“You didn’t remember me.” Managing a small smile, I shake my head. “Or you didn’t recognize me. I don’t blame you for that. I know that I’ve changed.”

It’s the elephant in the room that neither of us has acknowledged.

I have no idea if Dylan even knows what happened to me on the night we graduated.

He left the party we were at to go to the airport with Barrett so they could fly to Europe for a two-month long backpacking adventure.

I never heard from him again until I saw him at the club a few nights ago.

He takes a long swallow of his drink. Placing the glass back down, he studies me carefully. “We’ve all changed.”

“Not as much as me.” I drag a fingertip over my nose and down my cheek. “I was in an accident.”

He nods. “Barrett’s mom told us. She said you broke your ankle.”