It had been years since I'd seen him, and honestly I never thought that I would again. So when my eyes met those familiar brown ones, my stomach lurched and I fought the urge to turn and run. He smiled widely and his cheeks dimpled the way that I loved, which made my feet feel like they were stuck deep in wet cement. I felt my lips involuntarily lift to return his smile.
He looked like he was excusing himself from the conversation he was in, keeping his eyes on me. Oh sweet Jesus. Don't come over here, Tom. Please, just don't.
He seemed to be immune to my telepathic pleading, and he smiled warmly at the group he was speaking to and began to make his way through the crowd. I slid my drink back across the bar with a bill and stepped away. I just had to find Paul and I could be out of here. I couldn't talk to Tom. Not now. Probably not ever.
I heard Paul's raucous laughter from across the room, and I groaned inwardly, seeing that between my boyfriend and the place where I was standing was the very person that I was trying to avoid. I sucked in a breath and turned toward the door. Paul would kill me for leaving without him, so I decided simply to send him a quick text and tell him that I had a headache, then wait in the car for him. It might be a while, but it was better than having to put on a happy face with Tom.
The activity in the small pub was beginning to turn from evening drinks to nightlife and I shouldered my way past a few groups that were trying to make their way into the establishment. I really didn't want to stay here, but I knew that if I rushed Paul I would hear about it for the next week, and then he would insist on getting together with the friends he didn't get to finish talking to, which is something I hoped to avoid.
The door swung open a few feet in front of me as someone new entered the building, the cold evening breeze sent instant goosebumps up my forearms. Or maybe it was the memory of the man I was running from that my body reacted to starkly to. But I was almost away from him. I was almost to the door.
A warm hand on my shoulder. I turned.
"Hey, you." His smile was still bright, and his eyes were still welcoming. It felt like home. I pushed the thought away.
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"Tom, hi." I replied, trying to act surprised, as if I hadn't seen him already and wasn't trying to get away from him.
"You trying to get away from me?" He teased, and I felt my stomach clench. I knew that he wasn't serious. Or maybe he was.
"I was going out for some fresh air. The people in here . . . it's all just too much." It wasn't a lie. He was just the only person in here that was too much. Even just being in his presence brought back all the feelings that used to get caught in my throat. I couldn't put myself through this again.
