It was a given to pretty much everyone at our high school that if a guy was interested in either one of them, they'd have to get the approval of the other or it was dead in the water.
Even when Melissa and I had been together, she and Ashlynn had stayed close. Oftentimes, she was the third wheel on date nights and I'd considered her a friend.
A friend I'd lost the day I'd informed Melissa I'd cheated on her with a cheerleader from a neighboring high school.
Judging by the expression on Ash's face, she remembered that day as vividly as I did. Funny how four years seemed like such a long time at points and at other points?
It seemed like yesterday.
"Boxing," I said, finally. "I have a belt fight Saturday night here."
I willed myself not to look at Melissa when I said it. Even though she feared for my safety, she'd handled my sport like she did most things. By getting behind it with everything she had. One of the hardest parts about losing her, aside from trying to sleep without her curled around me, was looking around outside the ring and not seeing her there. Not hearing her kick-ass, two-fingered whistles or seeing her launch herself from her seat in excitement when I landed a good shot. There had been more than one time where I'd actually taken the time to seek her out just to see that reaction that had cost me a shot to the jaw.
Which was exactly why I had to get fuck out of the radius of her pull. She had as much control of me as the moon had over the tides, and I could already feel myself getting lost in her. What had she been doing? Was she going to graduate this year and go to med school?
Did she think about me even half as much as I thought about her?
"Yeah, well, we're here for the week for our last Spring Break. We're staying at the Oberon Resort, so do us both a favor and stay out of our way," Ashlynn snapped, taking Melissa's arm and helping her to her feet.
"Ash, it's fine. We're both adults, that was a long time ago," Melissa said, giving me a solemn nod. "It's a big island but I'm sure we can manage to be civil if we bump into each other again."
Ashlynn's jaw clenched but she nodded reluctantly and released Melissa’s arm before stepping back. "Yeah, well, that makes two of you," she muttered under her breath. "Take five, Meliss, until you see how you feel."
She picked up the ball and tossed it back into play, motioning for us to get off the sandy court.
Melissa ambled hesitantly over to the sideline and I trailed stupidly behind her. Part of me wanted to keep going when she stopped. Just keep my eyes forward and walk away until I was far enough to let out the string of curses that were rattling around in my head.
How was this even possible? I'd managed to avoid her for years living just a town away and now, halfway across the world, I run into her when I could afford it the least?
This fight was the fight. The one that was going to make me a household name. I needed to focus with everything I had, because my opponent was a straight-up badass. And the fight we were opening for was the fight of the year. A title bout between current champ Bash McDaniels and a veteran who was looking for a comeback, Frankie Mills. All eyes would be glued to the set on Saturday and yours truly was going to be on screen showing the world what I'd spent my life training to do. There was no point in getting all churned up over regret and past hurts that I stood zero chance of rectifying. Melissa hated me and she had every reason to.
I needed to do like Ashlynn said, get away, and stay away.
"Sorry about the nose thing. I shouldn't have called your name while you were playing. I was surprised, is all," I murmured.
"Not your fault, I'll be fine. Just a stinger." She shrugged, and gazed out into the ocean for a long moment before looking at me again. She made a point to keep her eyes locked on mine, but I could tell she was trying not to look down. I only knew because I was doing the same thing. I was like a starving man, desperate to take in every detail, from the top of her head to the tip of her toes. What had changed, what hadn't. Committing it to memory so I could update all my dreams--waking and sleeping.
We stayed like that, silent for another minute before I gestured to the headphones hanging around my neck.
"I should go. I have five more miles to run and it's only getting hotter." That was the truth, and only made the truth an even starker reality. I was now behind on my super tight training schedule for the day because I'd seen a glimpse of her. The quicker I got back on track and put this chance meeting behind me, the better.
For both of us.
She nodded and gave me a half-hearted wave. "Yeah, don't let me keep you. And…good luck on Saturday. I know how much it means to you."
Her words sounded sincere, and considering the gut-wrenching way we'd parted, they humbled me to the core. "Thanks. I appreciate it."
I yanked the headphones back onto my ears and jogged off before I said or did something stupid. Then I raised the volume up as loud as it would go, willing myself not to look backward. I could still feel her gaze on me, though.