Her actions surprised me. Or, more than surprising, they were hammering in something for me that I didn’t want to face just yet. Had she really moved on from me, to the point that she no longer had any feelings for me? I knew it would be wrong to try and pursue her again, but with the way she looked and was acting tonight, the thought was a natural one, if only the force behind it wasn’t so strong.
“As you said,” I murmured, clinking her glass with the neck of my bottle. “I can't say I entirely feel the same way, though.”
“Why?” she asked, corking her head to the side.
I showed a lazy smile. “Because I’m feeling a little down. The only reason you’re taken by someone else right now is because I was careless and I let you go. Your husband to be is sure a lucky guy.”
Brooklyn let out a giggle, tossing her hair over her shoulder as she took more of her drink. I noticed how she’d leaned closer to me once more, and I unconsciously moved closer as well.
“You’re just saying that trying to be nice, aren’t you?” she asked with a pout. “If I’m really such a great catch, you wouldn’t have let me go in the first place.”
“I admit I was young and foolish. Also, I would really love to meet this man that managed to win you over. I have a feeling you gave him a hard time before anything happened between the two of you. You and, uh…”
I stalled for a moment. Not because I hadn't heard the name she gave before, but because I was working up the courage to get the words past my mouth.
“Kevin,” she said before I could manage. “His name is Kevin, and don’t think of any weird, complicated stories. Kevin and I…we met at work during a project, and ever since then, we just clicked. We hung around together after work and eventually, it led to the current situation. There was absolutely no reason why I had to give him a hard time.”
It wasn’t like I expected her to come out and say she’d had a hard time ever since we broke up. It had been that way for me, to the point my parents had set up several blind dates to try and pull me out of the funk I dropped into. only, none of the women I ever met measured up to Brooklyn in any way. To me, it wasn’t about being the prettiest or the smartest. My interest in Brooklyn began because of her personality.
There was something even more important than that, though. Hadn’t she mentioned a John just some moments ago? I’d assumed that was her intended’s name, but somehow it now turned to Kevin. I watched Brooklyn closer, but she didn’t look like anything was wrong at all.
“And Kevin,” I started slowly. “Is he around in New York? If he is, then would it be possible to meet?”
“What do you mean, meet? I’d thought you were teasing, don’t tell me you were actually serious. The wedding invitations went out ages ago, there’s no way I can just add someone in last minute.”
Thoughts whirled around in my head. I wasn’t sure, if she was saying so because she didn’t really want me. Or maybe, it was because there wasn’t a wedding? Or maybe it was wishful thinking on my part and I’d just mistaken what Brooklyn had said before?
I decided to ignore it for the moment, and Brooklyn and I continued to chat as we drank, hopping from topic to topic and keeping things light. Even after so long, the conversation between us flowed so smoothly, I was hit again with just how much I had missed this woman.
If I ever had a chance to do it over… I can’t be sure I wouldn’t do the same thing all over again, but there really could have been better ways.
I never even thought to ask Brooklyn to come with me to New York. It might have been unfair of me, asking her to uproot her life just so she could follow me. But I really had been ready to do the same for her, before reality came crashing down on me. Surely, she might have at least given it some thought?
It was one of the scenarios I’d imagined over the years, but I still wasn’t sure if that meant we would have been happy in the end. We might have still loved each other, and within that time, come to hate each other. Because of the demands my work had on me, for the first couple years I didn’t even get time to myself. If Brooklyn had really been around for that, she would have been the one to leave me instead of the other way around.
After having a few more drinks, I suddenly felt like moving my body. The place felt entirely too stifling, and I pulled off my coat. The dance floor was simply an open space put in the middle of the tables in the bar. There were quite a few people there already, not enough for it to be so large a crowd, but since the space wasn’t that big to begin with, it was cramped.
I didn’t mind. A crowded dance floor simply meant Brooklyn and I got pushed together from all sides.
“Mr. Sanchez,” Brooklyn said, ducking her head closer so she wouldn’t have to shout. “This is bit of a surprise. I don’t really remember you being much of a dancer.
”
I smirked at her. “We went out to plenty of clubs, Brooklyn. But we never went alone, so how could I possibly dance with you when Nora was always there trying to cause problems? I know you know she doesn’t like me.”
Brooklyn giggled and spun around a little too quickly. She almost stumbled, and my arms reached out automatically to straighten her. Only, I didn’t let her go, and she didn’t try to pull out of my arms. If anything, she got closer, and a bump from behind made me take a step forward myself, minimizing the space between us.
My heart started beating faster in my chest. My breathing was ragged, and my eyes went half-lidded. Brooklyn met my gaze, and for a long moment, neither of us spoke.
“You really do look beautiful,” I murmured, my arms tightening around her just a bit, bringing her ever closer. “So beautiful that I really do think I was an idiot before.”
“Well, it’s true you were an idiot,” Brooklyn retorted.
I took notice of her tone, her pitch dropped a bit when she knew she needed to speak slightly louder for me to hear their words.
We weren’t even dancing anymore, the both of us just barely swaying in space. I could feel Brooklyn’s hands as they tentatively moved to my waist and held on there. A shiver wracked through my body, and then I did something really impulsive.
With one of my hands behind her, I ran it up the length of her spine, to the back of her neck, tanging my fingers in her golden locks. I used my grip on her hair to tug her head back slightly, and when I heard her gasp, I wanted to curse. Instead, I ducked my head and slanted my lips over Brooklyn’s, the arm I still had around her wrapping around her waist and dragging her body up against mine.