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“Especially in college,” Parker replies, raking his fingers back through the strands of his chestnut hair. “I’ve never seen someone so driven. It was all I could do to force him to take a break every once and a while to have some fun.”
I glance over at the powder room again and ask. “Did he date much back then?”
Parker snorts. “Girls were throwing themselves at him, but he was oblivious. Like I said, I practically had to twist his arm to get him to any parties.”
“So, no dating?”
The corner of his mouth hitches up in a wry smile. “Do you mean dating or just hooking up? The guy was single-minded, but he wasn’t a saint.”
I roll my eyes and hold my hand up, signaling him to stop. “Say no more. I can’t get angry over what transpired while we were apart.”
His smile softens, “What about you, Rachel? They must’ve been knocking down your door.”
I laugh. “My door remained intact, thank you very much.”
“No, seriously,” he says, his smile all but vanished. “Was there anyone special?”
I shrug and pick at my pillow. “The first couple of years at uni were kind of a blur for me.” I snort and hitch a thumb back over my shoulder. “I couldn’t get that guy out of my head. Subconsciously, I guess I kept comparing every guy I met to Rhence.” I shrug again. “He’s a tough guy to get over.”
Parker’s brow furrows slightly as he cocks his head to the side as if trying to remember something. “Hmm.”
“What?” I ask to know what prompted that pensive stare and the curious interjection.
Before he can reply, Eliza emerges from the powder room all full of apologies.
“How’s he doing?” Parker asks, demonstrating the proper degree of concern for Eliza’s plight.
“As well as can be expected.” She drops down next to Parker on the sofa and sighs heavily. “Well, that’s part of why I relocated to Charlotte, so I could be closer to him and help him out.”
Parker scoots himself around on the sofa to face her. “I’m sure he appreciates you. That’s huge of you to relocate for your dad.” He grins big. “But we’re all glad you did.”
I smile and note how sweet they are together. Something tells me, this thing has legs. Time will tell.
Rhence returns, carrying four, high-end bottles of beer and an opener. “All right,” he says as he quickly pops the tops off and hands the bottles out. “So, what did I miss?”
“There’s been a coup,” Parker quips. “You’ve been ousted as CEO.”
Rhence practically spits his beer out from laughter, which elicits even more from Parker. I hand Rhence a napkin. “Oh, my god, you two are like little boys.”
“Are they always like this?” Eliza says, trying to hold back her own amusement. “I guess it makes the workday go by faster.”
“Isn’t that like one of those corporate survey questions they always ask?” I chuckle and say mockingly, “Do you have a best friend at work?”
Parker has been like a brother to Rhence and is probably the person who knows Rhence best. Let’s face it, I knew him for about a year before he disappeared as a teenager. Parker has known him for the past 9 years. I wonder if Rhence ever confided in him about why he left me.
The next time we’re alone, I’ll have to casually ask Parker about it.
After listening to some music, we all move to the floor and gather around the coffee table for a game of Phase 10. We are all making jokes and laughing so hard, I feel like we’re all kids again. Me and Rhence back in high school where the only thing that mattered was being in each other’s company as we dreamed of our future together.
A sublime feeling of joy comes over me. This is real, it’s not just another dream I’ll wake from. I’m achieving all of my career goals and now have the man of my dreams back in my life. This has got to be pretty close to heaven.
“Hey, don’t make me bring out the timer,” Rhence chuckles, his eyes are rich with laughter. “Lay down a card, Bradly.”
I cock an eyebrow at him. “Fine.” I lay down my cards with a flourish, having completed a phase. “Ha, phase eight my friends!”
“Ah, man!” Parker groans, slapping a hand to his brow. “I’m still on seven.”
“Me and Rhence have been on phase nine,” Eliza says, leaning into Parker. “Catch me if you can.”
