My Best Friend

Despite the girl with curly black ponytails and large blue eyes messing up his marbles that he had arranged by color when they played allies and other street games with other children on the sidewalk or in her foster family's driveway, 4-year-old Ryan Wolfe fell in love with Emily Jaxson soon after meeting her. Emily fell in what preschoolers called love with Ryan as well, even if she never understood the boy's need to be so meticulously organized with everything. The way he set up his marbles bugged her too much. That was why she couldn't resist missing them up. The two became instant best friends, nearly inseparable and stayed that way through primary and elementary school, becoming a steady couple in junior high till graduation.

Then one could say "life happened." Ryan got accepted to police academy in Florida. Emily was accepted to college in North Carolina. Ryan had wanted to be in law enforcement since he could talk. He was excited to be accepted to the academy in Miami by would have been much happier if Emily had accepted to Miami University to indulge in her love of photography. But as it was, she was given a great opportunity being accepted to the University of North Carolina which had one of the best photography programs in the southern US. Knowing that the long distance would only strain and possibly ruin their relationship the two broken off their relationship days before they had to go their separate ways in the road to growing up. Though he hid it till he was out of her sight, Ryan sobbed as hard as Emily did the day they broke up.

Though they kept in touch or tried to, it was never the same; after they both graduated college, the two lost touch completely. Though they both dated other people, they never stopped loving one another and unconsciously comparing any new person to their first love.

Three Months prior...

Emily Jaxson was packing up her apartment with the help of her neighbors and a few friends from work. Her new job was taking her to Miami, Florida.

"Who knows? You might find this Ryan guy you talk about," one of the women helping her pack said.

Emily certainly hoped for this but she knew Ryan only trained in Miami. He might not be there anymore. She wasn't getting her hopes up. She wasn't sure she could handle the disappointment, plus, she was aware that Ryan could have moved on and be living happily with someone else now. Emily still loved Ryan but would never dream of ruining any happiness the man had found without her.

Unknown to her though, Ryan Wolfe could not get Emily out of his mind even after all these years. And like her, anybody and everybody close to Ryan knew about his first love, why they had to unwillingly end their relationship, how they lost touch and how no one he met compared to Emily for Ryan. His co-workers often asked him why he just didn't look her up. His answer was similar to Emily's; if she had found happiness he didn't want to intrude.

Please R & R!