“And that’s Mr. Phines, he’s head of the overseas sales department,” Alex tugged at his striped neck tie, his eager face flush with excitement. “I’d love to introduce you to Mr. Bates if we see him. He’s kind of a hard ass sometimes, but he’s a really cool guy.”

I smiled indulgently at him, charmed by his boy like enthusiasm. We had only been on a few dates when he had - with much sweating and stuttering - asked me to accompany him to his offices Christmas party. Likely to prove to his office that he could get a date.

And with the promise of an open bar and great food, I’d agreed, thinking that even if this didn’t work out between us at least I could try to bulster his office reputation a little bit.

“Mr. Bates!” Alex smiles broadly and reaches out through the crowd, hand extended. As if summoning him from thin air, a tall, broad shouldered man appears. As he emerges from the pack, he grins at Alex before noticing me by his side. His vivid hazel eyes land on mine, the breath leaving me in a whoosh.

The world seems to diminish to a dull buzz. Nothing exists but me and him, eyes locked on one another, a hundred unsaid words flashing back and forth between us.

“Julianna,” his hand reaches mine, engulfing my delicate fingers in his own impossibly large hands.

“Devin,” I murmured, flustered by his sudden appearance. “Devin Bates.”

Kicking myself for not putting the name together sooner, I suddenly remember Alex at my side, whose look of elation has faded slightly as he looked back and forth between us. “Do you two…know each other?”

“Julianna and I grew up together,” Devin says smoothly. “We’re old pals.”

“Right. Our moms were friends,” I explained to Alex, “we grew up on the same street.”

And did a whole lot more than that, but now wasn’t the time to have that particular conversation with Alex, whose smile had slowly returned.

“How nice that you guys can catch up! Do you need a refill, Mr. Bates? I was just heading to the bar.”

He was so eager to please, this devoted puppy dog.

“That’d be great; scotch on the rocks for me. And a Manhattan for Julianna.”

Alex looked back at me. I nodded, and he scurried off into the crowd, leaving me and Devin alone.

“So,” he said, smiling at me, “here we are.”

“Here we are,” I returned the smile. “The big boss, huh?”

Devin runs a hand through his hair, looking chagrined. “Who would have thought, right?”

His thick wavy hair falls charmingly into his face, dark locks framing his forehead. “Do you want to go outside for a minute? Get a bit of fresh air?”

I nod, glancing towards Alex at the bar. He’d been waylaid by some colleagues and was animatedly chatting with them, waving his empty glass in the air exuberantly as he told them some story. “Let’s do it. I’m sure he’ll find us.”

I follow him towards a pair of large French doors at the side of the room, ducking out and carefully shutting the door behind us. Devin strode over to a secluded corner of the terrace, shrouded from view of the party by several ivy covered trellises, and waited, leaning against the stone wall and staring up at the stars.

I got the feeling he didn’t particularly care if Alex was able to find us or not - and if I was being totally honest with myself, neither did I.

“You’re looking good,” he said finally, arms crossed over his chest, finally looking back at me. He looked every bit the strong leader, much more grown up than the last time I saw him. “How long has it been? 10 years?”

“At least,” I said, hopping up to sit on the stone wall besides him. My thigh brushed his shoulder, a spark of electricity wending between us.

We sat in amicable silence for a minute and it felt so normal, so natural, that for a second I could almost picture that we were 17 again, legs dangling off the back of his ‘88 Ford tailgate.

“You changed your number,” he said abruptly. “I tried calling.”

I jolted, shaken out of my reverie by the pain in his voice, hidden well enough only I would notice.

“Yeah, I did,” I murmured softly. “After it all, it just seemed easier. Cleaner.”

We were quiet for a few moments, both lost in years of unsaid words, flooded with memories of yearning and the sorrow of first loves.

“Are you and Alex serious?”

The question comes suddenly, seemingly blurted out, as if he couldn’t help himself.

I play with the hem of my dress, trying to buy myself time. “No. We’ve gone on a couple dates, here and there. I’m mostly here as a favor.”

We lapse into amicable silence again, but this time, I notice him lean slightly against me, feeling his shoulder press against me.

I move, microscopically, into his warmth, until we’re fully pressed together. Then, holding my breath, I move a light hand to his shoulder.

The air feels charged, the buzz of the party white noise in the background, the warm night settling thick with anticipation around us.

He moves suddenly, swinging around so that he’s facing me, nestled between my legs. His eyes bore into mine, clear and intense, and I know what he’s going to do immediately.

When he leans in to kiss me, I match his ferocity, his fervor, immediately. The world slips away as the heat builds, inescapable, bubbling up as his hands move over my back, my neck, down my arms. My legs are locked around his waist, drawing him in, in, in, until the only thing between us is our layers of clothing. I claw at him like an animal in heat, like the ten years since I’ve seen him have been slowly building this between us.

“Julianna?” I hear Alex yelling from nearby and pull back, shutting my eyes, disgusted with myself for falling into Devin again so easily, when I had thought ten long years had been enough to break me free from him.

“He’ll go away if we just ignore him,” Devin whispered, resting his forehead against mine.

It was tempting. To jump back into Devin, to ignore everything that had happened between us, even just for the night.

But Alex was nice. And didn’t deserve this.

“I’m sorry,” I said, wrenching myself away from him. I jumped down and dusted off my dress, peeking out from under the vines to wave at Alex. “Over here!”

A wave of guilt sweeps over me, seeing Alex’s excited face, holding three glasses awkwardly in his arms. I rush forward to relieve him of mine, sipping it hastily to occupy myself. Devin takes his as well, murmuring a thank you. We stand in silence for a moment before I turn to Alex and say, “shall we head back in?”

There’s a beat where he looks between us, something deeper than I expected registering behind his eyes. A pain I hadn’t been anticipating.

“Sure, yeah.”

I follow him back in quietly, staying close behind as he winds through the crowd. Devin does not follow.

Eventually, we reach the doors at the entry to the room, and he turns to face me with a small smile. “There’s something there between you two, isn’t there?”

I gave him a begrudging smile of my own. “It appears so. I swear I haven’t seen him in years; I didn’t know.”

He stared at me for a long while, before quietly saying, “I think a love that never ends is rare. Don’t take it for granted.”

And with that, he turned around, and walked out.