Kimberly and Tommy broke up years and years ago and their lives led different paths.

But what if one day, fifteen years later, they met again? Will the old flames still be there?

My story will take place in Chicago. Kimberly and Tommy will bump into each other on the street. Hurt feelings, old sentiments, memories… All comes back to them again.

Kimberly is a single mom of a pretty little girl, but she had never been married. She runs a small dance and gymnastics studio downtown Chicago. Tommy is divorced and also has a kid, who lives with his mom. He is really successful on the martial arts business and runs a couple of gyms across the country. He is temporarily in Chicago for a karate convention.

Kimberly woke up with a strange feeling Friday morning. Sophie's tiny hand rested lazily on her cheek and that was the only comfort she had, she thought.

She got up slowly, trying her best not to wake her daughter up and walked slowly towards the kitchen. Her feet hurt with the cold temperature of the hardwood floor, but she needed to turn on her coffeemaker right away or she would have a hell of a day. Rehearsals were consuming her. She coached three groups of middle school girls who were eager to win the regionals. Her talent as a coach had been meanly questioned by other studios and some prissy moms but she held her grip and was faithful she could do this. She had to do it. She had to win.

She drank her coffee while she packed Sophie's lunch bag. She had not much more than thirty minutes to get her ready to go to daycare. What would her life be like without that little princess? She sighed at the thought. She missed Austin, Sophie's dad, even though she was never truly in love with him. But he loved Sophie with all his heart. Before dying he begged her to marry a wonderful man that could be a good father to Sophie. Kim held his hand in his hospital bed until she could no longer hear him breathing. It had been awful. Sophie had never understood totally what happened. She was only two years old and Kimberly always told her that her dad was in a special place and would never be back. Now she was four, full of life and questions. Kimberly wanted to tell her, but she didn't know how.

Her thoughts drew her back to high school. Good times. Jason, Billy, Tommy… Tommy. Where had he been? They had lost contact. At first they used to write to each other. Then the letters stopped. She never knew his email address. She guessed it wouldn't make a difference since she couldn't think of what to say to him…

She once found him on facebook, but his pictures were locked. She could see that he was married, though. But she could see no pictures of his wife. He was beautiful in the picture. Short spiky dark hair and black eyes. He was definitely stronger now. She looked up his name on google and found that he owned a couple of businesses all over the US. Wow. That was his dream. She remembered when he first told her about it, after they had spent their first night together.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Sophie's sweet voice.

'Mommy. I'm awake.'

'I can see you're awake, princess!' Kim said, picking her up. 'Are you ready to go to the daycare?'

Sophie didn't answer.

'Come on, honey. It's not so bad. You can play with Miss Sonia and the other girls. You had fun last time you were there!'

'I wanna go to work with you.'

'Baby, you know you can't. Mommy is too busy and can't take care of you there.'

'I'm big. I can take care of myself.' Kimberly smiled.

'Sure you can! That's why you're going to the daycare and show me how you can have a good time and also help Miss Sonia with the toddlers. What do you say about that?'

'Okay…'

Kimberly hugged her tight and got her ready to go. House was a mess, she thought, but being a single mom was hard work.

Sophie got dropped off and Kimberly rushed to open the studio. A couple of moms were there and wanted information about the competition.

My day couldn't start any better than this. She thought.

Kimberly felt the air coming back to her on lunch time, when all moms were gone. What crazy business had she gotten into? She smiled at herself, a busy and overwhelmed business owner. But that was her dream, she couldn't complain now.

She rushed out of the studio to grab some lunch. The receptionist tried to catch her before she left.

'Miss Hart, what about the Delaney girls?'

'I'll deal with that when I come back, Anise. I'll call their mom, I promise.'

'But…'

'Please,' her eyes were begging. 'Just let me get out of here for a quick lunch.'

Kimberly opened the door to freedom and wanted to rush out of the studio. She could still hear Anise's protest inside, but she tried not to hear. That was HER time. As she closed the door, she turned to walk and bumped into a tall guy on the sidewalk. The bump was so strong that her petite body flipped and she felt she was losing control of her balance. Till he picked her up.

'I'm so sorry.' He said, apologetically.

'That's okay… I…'

Kimberly was quick to answer, but her eyes got stuck into that tall figure holding her up. His eyes met hers and she removed her sunglasses.

'Tommy…' She said, breath finally coming out of her lungs.

'Kim…' He said with a sweet and happy smile.'

'What are you doing here?'

He gasped, emotion and surprise all over his face.

'Martial Arts Convention downtown. You?'

She noticed he was still holding her up and little by little she went back to reality, letting his grip out of her.

'I live here. And I work here.' She smiled, pointing at the studio.

'Is it your studio, Kim?'

'Yes.' She said, blushing with his eyes on her.

'Wow. Congratulations.'

'Well, it's not big… yet.'

'It'll be.'

'I know about your clubs too, Tommy. I'm proud.'

Tommy looked deeply into her eyes.

'Are you going somewhere?'

'Quick lunch break. The studio is killing me. We're getting ready for regionals.'

'I'll eat with you. The convention is down the street, so I was looking for a place.'

'Sounds great.' She could tell that her color was red, but she didn't care.

As they walked to a small café two blocks away, Tommy talked to her, eyes pleading for an honest answer to his question.

'Kim. Can I ask you something?'

'Sure.' She answered, putting a strand of hair behind her ear. He loved that so much…

'If you found my business and knew how to contact me, why didn't you?'

Kimberly eyed him precisely and looked down.

'I didn't know what you say, Tommy. I… hurt your feelings before…'

'Kim', he called, smiling genuinely, 'that was normal. We were young and you wouldn't be back to town. How could I expect you to wait for me?' He paused and looked down, as they walked slowly. 'I wanted you to be my friend. You gave up on me.' He said in a teasing tone, making her laugh.

'It's not quite like that, Tommy.' She touched her hair again, nervously. 'I missed you a lot.'

He stopped walking and stared at her eyes. God damn it, she was even more beautiful than he remembered! Long hair, same petite body, but there was something about her that was definitely new. Maturity. Was she married? Kids? He had to wait for the best moment to ask her.

'You don't have to miss me anymore, then. We won't lose contact! In fact, what a coincidence to come across each other in Chicago. What are the odds?' He smiled beautifully, as her heart beat faster.

'You're right. Guess we're lucky enough to win the lottery now.'

He smiled gracefully at her as they walked inside the café. Her mind was spinning. She couldn't believe what was happening. She had thought about him a lot lately, but she never imagineed seeing him face to face again. Ever. Did law of attraction really exist? They sat by the window and for a couple of minutes they couldn't say a word, realization of what was happening crushing their minds. He looks so beautiful, she thought. Mature. Responsible. A man. She had loved him as a boy, a young lad with a lot of potential on his hands. Now he was there sitting with her.

That is going to be an interesting lunch, she thought, as she observed him ordering something to drink.