Everyone in the diner froze as we stood eye-to-eye, neither of us backing down from one another. That was when my memory flashed back to us standing in the high school cafeteria in this exact position. We'd beaten the shit out of each other over a girl, only to both be turned down by the same girl a month later, and at that point, we had vowed never again to fight over another woman. Yet, somehow, almost fifteen years later, we stood in the same position. Only this time, it was different. The girl we were fighting over, I was in love with, and I was fully prepared to take the punch I was waiting for him to deliver. However, the punch never came. Instead, he turned and ripped his coat off the hook on the side of the booth and stormed out of the diner.
Tess
I studied the menu in front of me, trying to decide between either the southwest chicken salad or a green salad with salmon, while Laura finished her phone call with a new client. I'd just closed the menu and taken a sip of my wine when she tucked her phone into her purse. "So sorry about that. I knew I shouldn't have answered the call. Did you decide on something?"
"Think I'm going with the chicken," I said, putting my wine down and opening the menu again. "Or perhaps the pasta."
Laura laughed at my indecisiveness and quickly decided, closing her menu. "Okay now, I want to hear all about this trip. I've been bloody well dying."
I giggled. "Well, who on earth goes on a business trip two days after the new year for a week? You should have been home."
"Hey, in my defence, it was supposed to be John who went. He had a family emergency, so I had to be a good co-worker and step up. Plus, it’s one of the biggest accounts I've worked on, so the opportunity that it presented was way too good to pass up."
"So, things are going well then at this firm. That makes me happy. You deserve it. You've worked so hard." I smiled, taking another sip of wine.
"Yeah, yeah, sure. All right, so spill it. How was Paris?"
"It was absolutely breathtaking," I said, smiling. "Best decision I ever made was to take that trip, regardless of what happened between Derrick and me. I am so glad that you talked me into it."
"Aren’t that what friends are for? To talk you into doing the things you don't really want to do but know you should do them?" Laura laughed.
"Can you not take a compliment?" I laughed. "That's it, I will not say anything else."
"Well, you are! Now, what about the food? Was it amazing?"
"Unbelievable. My God, the deserts were out of this world. Seriously, I am surprised I didn't gain a hundred pounds while I was gone," I said, picking up a slice of bread from the basket and ripping a piece off. "I honestly think it was the best part of every meal."
"I've heard desserts in Paris are amazing. Now what was your favourite?"
My mind flashed to Maddox sitting across from me, his eyes closed as he took the first bite of the crème brûlée. "I'd have to say the crème brûlée."
"And did you end up treating yourself and eat in the Eiffel Tower or did you just pass? I know you were so excited about that, and I swear if you tell me no after the way Derrick treated you over that, I think I may disown you. I swear if I had been in your shoes, I would have charged that dinner on the asshole’s credit card. Make him pay for it, because I am sure it wasn't a cheap meal. Would have served him right."
A funny feeling came over me as I thought back to that night. That was the first night that Maddox had kissed me. I could still feel his lips on mine, still smell the scent of the cologne he wore as he leaned into me. I softly smiled. "Yes, it was beyond anything I ever could have imagined. The view, the food, everything was so perfect."
That description couldn't have been further from the truth. Everything had been perfect. When I finally pulled myself out of the memory, I looked over to my best friend who sat staring at me, a curious look on her face. She put her elbow on the table and then rested her chin on her hand.
"What?" I questioned.
"You look...hmmm...you look happy," she said, squinting her eyes at me.
"So, I am happy. I just spent ten days in an absolutely beautiful city."
"Yes, you did, but you also just got your heart broken." She faltered, pointing at me with her fork.
I blinked at her words as if I had just realized it myself. Derrick had barely entered my mind since we'd returned. My head and heart had been consumed by Maddox. It was almost as if Derrick had never even existed.
"I guess I just figured that you would still be hurting."
I thought before I answered her, thinking back to Maddox and the night he had told me about his fiancée. A soft smile fell on my lips as his words flashed through my mind. I smiled. "I guess time has a way of healing a broken heart, and how fast it heals depends on how deep the wound was to begin with. I guess the wound wasn't as deep as I first thought." I shrugged.
Laura looked at me with a shocked expression. "What… the hell… happened to you?"
I shrugged. "Guess you could say I did a little soul searching while I was gone, and through that I learned a little about myself."
"Hmm, I see. A certain someone wouldn't have anything to do about that, would he?"
I swallowed hard and picked up my wine, just as our food arrived at the table and a bowl of pasta was slipped in front of me.