I freeze when I see him walking towards me. It can't actually be him. I must be dreaming. God couldn't be this cruel. How many people live in New York City? What are the chances that I would run into him in the middle of Manhattan after all these years? My heart begins to race as he gets closer and I will my legs to move but they stay where they are. All of a sudden his eyes meet mine and they widened in shock for a moment before a smile spreads across his face. The next thing I know he is standing in front of me and the rest of New York fades into the background as I lose myself in his blue eyes.
"Brooke…." He sweeps me easily into his strong arms, lifting me off the ground. "I can't believe it's you. How have you been?"
"I'm good, really good." The words leave my mouth and I am a little shocked that I can even form a sentence. "How are you?" A passerby brushes past me, causing me to stumble and I feel my heart skip a beat as he catches me easily and steadies me on my feet before moving us out of the traffic of the sidewalk.
"I'm great!." His smile lights up his face and I notice that he hasn't changed much in the years since we last saw each other. "I'm the new basketball coach at NYU." His eyes sparkle as he speaks and I can tell that he is excited about this new job. "I actually just moved here a few weeks ago." Small world, I think as I search his eyes. We chat for a little while longer. I tell him about my life, my clothing line. "God, Brooke, I can't even begin to tell you how much I've missed you." He hugs me again. We slowly separate and he looks down at me. I resist the urge to ask him why he chose New York. There are better athletic departments at better universities than NYU and I know that he could have gotten a coaching job at any one them. But I can't help but wonder if maybe he chose New York because he knew I was here.
"There you are!" A voice interrupts my thoughts as a pretty brunette appears at his side. "You were supposed to meet me at the restaurant." She says with a smile as she kisses his cheek. My stomach sinks as he wraps his arm around her waist and draws her to his side. He smiles down at her and kisses her temple.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart." The term of endearment rolls off his tongue so easily and I feel my heart thumping in my chest, so loudly that I am sure they both can hear it. "I ran into an old friend." Friend, the word stings. Was that all I was to him, an old friend? "Brooke, I'd like to meet Lindsay, my wife." Nope, I was wrong. Wife definitely hurt more than friend. He's married? "Lindsay, this is Brooke Davis."
"Oh my God!" The woman, his wife, squeals although I'm not really paying attention. I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that he's married. "You're Brooke Davis! It's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you."
"It's all lies, I swear." I smile and pray that he won't notice that it isn't my real smile. He knows my real smile and this isn't it. His wife laughs. She seems to have bought my act. "It's really nice to meet you." I shake her hand and remind myself that she didn't do anything. She just fell in love with him, I can understand that. "… and congratulations." I add as an afterthought.
"Oh thank you." She smiles as she looks at him, love evident in her eyes. "I really wanted to invite you the wedding. I've been looking forward to meeting you but no one knew how to get in touch with you…."
"Linds, honey…" He stops her, his eyes dart in my direction and I can see he is uncomfortable. The three of us are silent for a moment.
"Anyway, we were just going to get some lunch. Brooke, would you like to join us?" His wife asks me, smiling, completely oblivious to the tension.
"Oh, no…" I shake my head. I don't want to say goodbye to him yet but I know that there is no way in hell I will get through a meal if I have to watch the two of them together. "Thank you for the invitation but I'm actually late for a meeting as it is." I glance quickly at my watch.
"Oh, well, that's too bad." She frowns and I can tell that she is being sincere, making it impossible for me to hate her. "Well, maybe we can all have dinner some night?"
"That would be lovely." I nod. I steal a glance in his direction and our eyes meet. We both know that no such meal will ever take place.
"Great!" All of a sudden she's hugging me and I have no idea what to do. Hesitantly, I loosely put my arms around her. She pulls away from me just as suddenly, a bright smile on her face. "Well, I'll give you two a minute and go get us a table." She says to him and he nods. "It was so wonderful to meet you Brooke." She squeezes my hand before turning and heading back down the street.
"I'm sorry about that." He says when we're alone.
"Don't worry about it…" I try to sound convincing but neither one of us believes me.
"I didn't want you to find out like that." His words take me off guard and I have to quickly compose myself.
"Please, there's no need to apologize." I shake my head slowly. "I mean, you got married, that's a good thing. She seems wonderful. I'm happy for you…" I trail off, marvelling at how transparent I am.
"She is wonderful…" He agrees slowly. "Brooke…" He steps toward me but I step back. "I'm sorry." He says again and gently brushes the hair from my face.
"Do you think that things would have been different if…?" I begin but stop myself. "Never mind, I don't want to know." I take a deep breath as I look up at him. "You should go. Your wife is waiting for you." He nods, almost sadly, before enveloping me in one final hug. I hold on to him tightly, trying to imprint him on my mind; breathing in his scent, trying to commit it to memory. Slowly, almost hesitantly, he releases me. His hands linger on my hips as he leans down to whisper in my ear.
"Everything may be different now, but some things don't change, Pretty Girl, and they never will." His lips brush against my cheek and then he's gone, vanished in the sea of people. I stay frozen where I am. I touch my cheek almost in a daze and I smile again, although this time it is my real smile, his smile.