“Anyway, Ace was telling me he has had a hard time getting over a girl from his past. He won’t talk about her, but he wanted to let me know why he’s careful and wants to take things slow.”

Okay, this is news to me. She has mentioned how hot he is, and how beautiful he makes her feel. The rest is all new, and I do not understand where she is going with this.

Taking a sip of her tea, she looks off into the distance. “Tell me something about him, Pip. You don’t tell me anything about what happened, not even his name. I have never pried but why the hell can’t you just get over him?”

My moan lasts longer than I intend. “Oh Liza, there is just too much to relive it all. It’s best to leave it where it is.”

Without pausing, she asks. “Why did things end?”

Looking into her curious brown eyes, my mind drifts back. That question haunts me to this very day. How our marvelous one night together had changed my life forever. After that evening, things changed drastically. Micah became distant. I knew he never regretted it, but things were not the same. The short explanation I got is he had family issues to work out. Whatever it was, it took him from me. Not a month later, Micah had left. He joined the Air Force Academy earlier than originally planned. I learned he left school, being privately tutored so he could earn his diploma before heading to the academy. He was older than I, and only needed a few more credits to graduate. His father, and his father before him had all been in the military. Dave Taylor had connections in high places from what Micah had mentioned, at one time.

He had his life planned out, and apparently I would not be a part of it. I had to take a back seat to the larger picture. It happened so fast. One minute I’m in his arms, in his bed and the next, I’m on the outside. The girl he said he loved was a girl he needed distance from as he lived his dream. The idea his family expected of him. A note and a brief phone call were all I received. Life stood still, and shock took over. Losing him tore me apart and left me confused. Something did not add up and if losing him wasn’t bad enough, I certainly wasn’t prepared for the unexpected gift from our one night together.

Loving Micah was easy, hearing him say he loved me was an unexpected blessing. Even more surprising was finding out about the life we created from our love.

Shaking away those memories, I concentrate on Liza, who is eyeing me carefully. Finding my voice, I explain. “He never loved me though, not like he said he did. He moved on.” I leave it at that as I fight back my emotions. How could he truly love and then leave?

“You and Ace need to get together and see if you can both help one another move past it all.” Hearing her say this, I’m baffled because she is being sincere.

Seriously, there is no way I’m sharing my life with a stranger.

“Not happening, let’s get out of here.” I stand up a bit mortified.

With a wave of my hand at Tristan, we head back home. My phone rings in my purse. Holding it, I glance and see it’s Nick calling. He always seems to know when I need him the most. Over the years he’s been the one to calm my nerves. He just understands me.

Sighing, I answer, knowing he will help me forget one of the most painful times I had to just relive. “Hello Nick,” I say with an amused grin. Just saying his name, I feel better.

“Well, good morning beautiful. Where the hell are you two?” He asks, just as I can see him standing outside our building with the phone up to his ear.

My heart skips as I say, “Heading your way.”

PULLING A SHIRT over my head, I’m singing the lyrics to Fight Song by Rachel Platten, making my way to the kitchen. Nick came in with us when we got back from Starbucks and stayed until his questions were too much for me to handle. I swear, sometimes he needs to learn to back off. Announcing I was going to take a shower, I hoped he would take the hint and leave. It worked.

He pushed me today with lots of personal questions, starting with asking when the last time I spoke with my parents was. To be honest, I’m not sure. Two weeks, maybe. It’s an uncomfortable subject to approach with me, and he knows why.

To make matters worse, Nick is their investment banker. That small rift between us is another reason I don’t date him. He likes my parents way too much, and he knows the way they treated me back in high school. He knows it all.

“You realize Elsa, they also lost out, it’s not only you.” Their choice, not mine, I scream in my mind.

That comment from him made me want to punch his lights out. He may think he was trying to be helpful, but I did not take it that way. He was sticking his nose where it was not welcome.

Grabbing water from the refrigerator, I shake off all of those thoughts and sit down next to a grinning Liza who is typing into her phone a mile a minute. “Wow, must be good from the look on your face,” I revealed.

“Oh my God, he is so freaking hot.” Liza expressed, dropping the phone in her lap. Throwing her head back against the couch, she let out a passionate sigh. “He’s getting more brave and sexy in his messages.” Licking her finger, she holds it up giving a sizzling sound. “He may be the one.”

She can’t hide her giddiness for him. Its non-stop talk about the things he makes her feel. A part of me is beyond happy to see her so into this guy, then another part of me feels like I’m missing out. All those firsts you get to have with someone, yeah, I miss those.

Forcing a drink of water, I’m drowning out my slight pang of jealousy. I find it hard to breathe as my chest constricts. “At least one of us is lucky. I can dream of the wild sex I’m not having, through you.” Shifting my head, I realize she is not paying any attention at all. She’s blushing and typing back a message.

It’s time like these that Micah filters in my mind. I have yet to allow myself to date anyone. Part of the problem is, no one has ever appealed to me. Not the way Micah did. I can’t seem to escape him, no matter how hard I’ve tried. Maybe a part of me doesn’t want to forget him. Forgetting him might mean I will also forget a part of me that is locked down tight in my heart. That part of my heart, cries out in the middle of the night, just enough to make sure I never forget. It’s highly unlikely, but then again, I realize just how much of a broken mess I am.

Liza’s fingers freeze as she pauses, it's then I notice she is studying me. I can imagine the look on my face. It’s the same look I always have when I remember back to my thoughts that still haunt me.

“You’re spacing out again, Pip. Jesus, honey, you need to either let him go, or hunt his ass down. What's it been, four or five years?” Her bitchiness hurts, because she has no clue it’s not just him I miss. No, my pain doesn’t extend to just him. Her attitude is yet another reason I’ve not told her about it.

I don’t answer her right away. Finding peace to let it all go is not a feat I’ve been able to carry out yet. She drops it, for now.

“Okay, Ace is taking me out for dinner and drinks. What to wear?” Her puzzled expression diminishes as her eyes go wide, looking straight at me. I know what she’s doing, she wants to borrow one of my dresses. I love to buy beautiful clothes. Clothes I never wear, but idiotically enough, when I see a bargain, I have to buy it.

My groan and eye rolling don’t even phase her in the least. “Which one do you want?” I say with a deep, weighted sigh.

I’m sure I don’t even need to ask, she’s been eyeing this one since the day I hung it up in my closet. It’s a black, form fitted dress with sequins around the neck and down each side. The plunging neckline is perfect for showing off your chest. Someday I would dare myself to wear it out.