We Meet Again

By Chelle Bee

Her beauty struck me breathless.

I always knew I would see her again, but I never expected that when I did, it would be like this. There she was, standing in her parents kitchen, looking beautifully disheveled from sleep.

Her golden blonde hair was short and tousled, cut just above her shoulders, accentuating her high cheek bones and sleek jawline. Her eyes, God those eyes. Light brown, glinting, surrounded by long eyelashes.

Lincoln looked like she was shocked to see me; she’d been avoiding me for almost ten years now. She’d been my next-door neighbor, my best friend, my other half, my closest confidant. I’d had a crush on her, who wouldn’t? I’d always stuffed it down, convinced she thought of me more like a brother.

Our whole relationship was platonic. There were moments here and there I’d thought she wanted to kiss me, but nothing ever happened. I’d dated other girls, she tried to date other guys, but none of them were good enough for her, so I always interfered.

She never took that well, when I tried to protect her from other guys. That was part of the reason we stopped talking. She’d had enough of my macho protection, stormed off and iced me out, and left for college before I knew it.

I stayed in town, went to a local college, and when my parents wanted to move, I offered to rent the house from them. There was no way I could leave this house, this neighborhood where I’d met Lincoln so long ago as kids. I knew she’d come back, and when she did, I was going to be there, right next door where she’d left me.

When her parents told me they were taking a month long trip to Europe and that Lincoln was coming back to housesit and take care of the cat… well, I knew this was my chance. Possibly my last and only chance at winning back the one that got away.

Lincoln apparently didn’t know her parents were hosting a sort of ‘Bon Voyage’ brunch in their kitchen, and the look on her face also told me she hadn’t expected to see me either.

Was she still upset with me?

As her eyes drank me in, I decided that no, she wasn’t still mad at me.

I wasn’t getting out of anything; sure, we hadn’t spoken in almost a decade, so we had a lot to talk about, but there was no mistaking the look in her eyes. The way her gaze lingered as it slowly swept over my body.

I think I said her name, but it’s also possible nothing came out of my mouth.

My heart quickened in my chest, my fingers twitched at my sides, and my throat went dry. A smile crept over her lips, and she rushed to me, crashing into my arms and hugging me fiercely.

I was home.

And as my own arms wrapped around her, I vowed to never let her go again.

🩷🩷🩷

Chelle Bee is a lover of spicy romance novels, and is the author of the steamy Oakshore Gentleman series, featuring green flag, cinnamon roll men, found families, and strong women. When she’s not thinking about fictional men worshipping their women, you can find her reading, hiking, or hanging out with her cats.