Free Reunited (The Love You Left Behind #1) by Annie Kelly Page A

then waves at a tall man wearing a grey suit.
    “Bill, come meet Cass and –” she glances at me, then does a double take. “No shit. Jay Shumaker.”
    “Guilty,” I say, shooting her a smile. “How’s it going, Laura?”
    She sniffs and takes a long swig of her drink. “A little blurry, but good overall. I’m glad my girl found someone to keep her company for the weekend.”
    Cass glances at me, then opens her mouth to protest, but Laura’s already turned toward her husband and pulling him closer to us.
    “Billy got us the penthouse,” she says, hiccupping softly. “He’s in real estate. He makes a shit-load of money.
    “Jesus, Laura.” Bill shakes his head, and holds out a hand to me. “Sorry. We haven’t gone out since our second son was born. She’s taking advantage of the open bar.”
    “I don’t blame her,” I say, shaking his hand. “And it’s nice to meet you.”
    Around us, the crowd begins to swell. It seems like most of our senior class decided to show up, and all of them have brought dates. There are a good three or four hundred people filling the bar, spilling out into the lobby, and trickling in and out from the water-front patio. As more and more people approach the bar to get drinks, Cass seems to move closer and closer to me. At one point, our bodies are pressed tightly together, my front pressed into her curvy side. I have to actively prevent myself from getting hard against her hip.
    We chat with Laura and Bill about their kids and their jobs and Cass seems to relax a little more. I can’t help but watch her face as she talks. The way she smiles, man. Happiness hits her eyes like a goddamn light source. She practically glows.  It’s so different than the pictures I’d seen on her Facebook page, the forced, fake-ass smile that she puts out into the world. I can see the potential of her blush, of her flushed skin. I can practically remember how soft it was under my hands. How can fifteen years seem like only a minute ago?
                  After two more drinks and some passed appetizers, I see Cass start to yawn. She sees me watching her and chuckles apologetically.
                  “Sorry. I taught early this morning.  I probably should have taken the day off.”
                  I lean in a little closer, under the guise of whispering into her ear.
                  “You want to go?”
                  She glances at her watch. “God, it’s not even ten. I feel like such an old lady.”
              It’s my turn to laugh and I shake my head.
                  “Come on. I’ll walk you to your room.”
                  Cass opens her mouth to protest, but another yawn slips out instead. Without another word, I grab her hand and gently tug her away from the bar. She waves to Laura, who’s already chatting with another couple, and we slip out the side exit and toward the elevator.
                  “That wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected,” Cass says, smiling up at me. We reach the elevator and I press the UP button.
                  “Yeah. Could’ve been worse.”
                  Frankly, it could have been way fucking worse. I don’t know how I managed to get away with not running into Diana tonight, but I’ll take that gift any day of the week. If I can manage to dodge her tomorrow, too, I’ll be goddamn thrilled. Maybe she just won’t show up at all. That would be some stellar shit.
                  As we reach the seventh floor, though, I start to focus on another source of anxiety – okay, not anxiety as much as nervous energy.
                  “So,” Cass says, fiddling with her key card. She squints a bit as she looks up at me.
                  “So,” I echo. We walk toward our rooms and, when we get to her door, I lean back against the wall. I cross my ankles one over the other and my arms