Mitchie Torres entered the door to the bar, escaping from the icy cold winters air outside. She flashed a quick grin at the bouncer on her way in, who nodded to her in response. God how she missed those days where she would be stopped for an ID check on her way in. No longer being stopped made her feel so... old. Stopping just past the entrance of the door, Mitchie scanned the room for one of the faces she could recognize. She couldn't see anyone, but she was a little early, as always. She made her way over to the bartender and ordered a glass of white wine. She gave the bartender the money, along with a nice tip. Taking a seat at the far end of the bar, she took a sip from the chilled glass. Over the top of her glass, she caught a glimpse of a dark haired stranger at the opposite end of the bar. He was a scruffy and dead beat looking man, who clearly had forgotten that a razor and a pair of scissors could do wonders for your appearance if you used them every now and then. As the man downed his beer, he was quick to order another and promptly started on that one too. The stranger then looked up and connected his sunken and bloodshot eyes with Mitchie. She immediately looked away, not wanting to appear rude for staring. But something made her look back, a fleeting moment of recognition. The stranger was still staring at her and she started to feel slightly unnerved. She looked away again and then saw somebody she defiantly recognized.

"Mitchie!" a curly haired woman yelled as she approached her at the bar. "Happy Birthday!!" She pulled her into a strong bear hug and passed over a small package wrapped up. "It's not much, so don't get all excited".

"Thanks Caitlyn!" Mitchie smiled at her best friend as she unwrapped her gift. Inside was a dark blue velvet box. She opened the box to find a nice gold bangle. "Oh, it's gorgeous!" She exclaimed, slipping the bangle onto her wrist. She gave Caitlyn a friendly kiss on the cheek and smiled. "Thank you my lovely."

More of Mitchie's friends arrived over the next 15 minutes. As the bar started to fill up with familiar faces, Mitchie couldn't help but look back to the man at the bar. He was drinking what looked like whisky now. Mitchie felt sorry for him, all alone by himself with no friendly faces in sight. She soon snapped out of it as a pair of strong arms snaked their way around her waist and a kiss was planted on the nape of her neck.

"Hello beautiful, sorry I'm late" the heavily British accented man said as he spun her round to face him and planted a kiss on her lips. Mitchie smiled into the kiss and mumbled, "You best be!" She picked up her wine glass and drank the little bit that was left. "Another?" he asked. She nodded in response as he lent toward the bartender to ask for some drinks. She smiled at him. His name was George Bennet. She had met him 6 years ago on a trip to London, introduced to each other by the friend that she was visiting. They flew back and forth for the next couple of months, and when they became pretty serious, Mitchie moved to London for 3 years to be closer to him. Her heart always remained in the country she loved, and she yearned to go back to America and to her friends. Just as Mitchie was starting to enjoy herself in her new 'home', George came home with the news that he was being transferred to the American office, right back in her home town. She was ecstatic, and within the month, she was back in the land of the free. Two years later, George proposed and of course, she accepted. They were due to get married next month. George turned around, two glasses of champagne in his hands. He passed one to Mitchie and grinned. He then stood up tall, his 6'3" towering above the others and cleared his throat.

"Excuse me everyone, if I could have your attention for just a second!" His voice boomed out as the gathering of people hushed. "I just wanna thank you all for being here today to celebrate my beautiful fiancés 30th birthday. I know it was hard to drag your old sorry selves out at this time at night, but it really is appreciated!" George joked as the crowd laughed. "I know she thinks she's getting old now, believe me, I felt the same when I reached that milestone two years ago. I, for one, believe that she is just getting more and more beautiful with the years that pass, and would like to take the opportunity to say here's to Mitchie!" George raised his glass in a toast, and the crowd joined in. "To Mitchie!!" they all cheered.

After several hours and plenty of drinks later, the last of her gathering were starting to clear. "I'll see you next week Mitch" Caitlyn called out as she waved goodbye to her friend. Mitchie turned to George as her last guest left.

"Babe, if you go out and hail a cab, I'm just going to run to the ladies" she said as she gave him a peck on the cheek. She went off to use the toilets and as she came out of the door, she bumped into someone and was knocked to the ground. "I'm sorry!" she exclaimed as a large hand reached out to pull her up. "My fault completely" said a deep voice. She locked eyes again with the man from the bar, the recognition stronger than before but she was still unable to pinpoint exactly how she recognized this man. She decided to just ask him. "Do I know...?" Mitchie started but realized that the man had disappeared. She shrugged her shoulders and it was then that she felt a crumpled up piece of paper in her hand. As she opened it to see what it was, she was unaware that opening that little bit of paper would change her life forever...

Mitchie

Call Me - 555 0149

Shane

She stared at the writing scrawled on the back of a liquor store docket. She was gobsmacked. That's how she knew him. It was... he was... Shane...Gray... She spun around; looking through the crowd wildly, but she couldn't see him anywhere. Somewhat disappointed, she walked outside to meet George. As she approached him, he put his arm around her shoulder. Noticing that she was in a far off land, he pulled her in a little closer. "What's up?" he asked her, concerned. She continued to stare off into the distance, the little piece of paper burning a hole in her pocket. She had one thing on her mind and that was him. She gave a half-hearted smile and sighed.

"Ever feel like you've just had an extreme blast from the past?" She asked, but not really expecting an answer in return.