Chapter 1 : A Reunion

Denial, was what he was best at, she knew it more than he himself..

Yet, his subtle glances that she noticed from the corner of her eye kept tempting her to test his limits.., push him to give in.

A part of her was dying to tease the hell out of him.

Now that they were merely "friends" since he decided she should bet on the other horse, being around him hadn't been harder.

She knew that he knew that she disagreed with his choice.

But now, for a fleeting second she was glad about his choice.

Merely because it put her in control..

Her skin, golden Brown from the Sun, perfectly in contrast to her navy blue tank top, a top which she had carefully picked out to wear for this special cancer support group session.., knowing he would be there..

She hated how the mere mention of his name tugged at her heartstrings..

She hated not being able to look him in the eye and whisper his name..

She hated the ease in which he seemed to keep his distance..,

She hated not knowing if his nights were as long and restless as hers were.,

What she didn't hate was the memory of that night when they made love..,

How his soft touch sent a chill down her spine,

How he caressed her neck with passionate kisses..

How their whispered moans seemed to be so in sync..

How they stopped for a few seconds to stare deep into each other's eyes..,

How he—

"April! Would you like to share with us how you've been coping since your first round of chemo?" were the words that interrupted her endless flow of thoughts. It was a fellow support group member named Kevin who raised the question.

"umm..sure. It hasn't been that easy to be honest. But as always my family has been right by my side." She replied hesitantly forcing a slight smile but made sure not to shift her gaze towards where Leo was seated.

"How did your boyfriend take it? ..I mean the news?" Asked Meg.

April uncomfortably let out a sigh, but this time unable to refrain from stealing a glance at Leo.

He had his sight steadily fixated on her. After all, he himself must have been curious to know how it all panned out.

"well.. He broke up with me." She responded shooting Meg a smile and watching her jaw drop in shock.

"Why?!" interjected Leo, almost too eagerly.

April stared at him and replied "He had his reasons." Then she quickly turned her gaze towards Kevin "Shall we take our break now?"

"Yes we shall." Kevin replied cheerfully.

Everyone one else, having been impatiently waiting for a break, hurriedly stood up and made their way towards the refreshment area. Yet April and Leo remained at their seats.

Feeling a rush of awkwardness filling the air, April slowly took out her phone and started clicking aimlessly.

"You do know how cliché that is don't you?" Leo broke the silence in his usual hyper tone.

"What?" April replied frowning.

"Pretending to use your phone to avoid awkward social interactions."

"Oh sorry I forgot. You are the expert of everything." She replied sarcastically.

"Hey ..you said it, not me!" He responded heartily.

"Whatever. I'm really not in the mood for this. If you'll excuse me…" she said getting up.

"You leaving?" He inquired not pleased.

She paused after a few steps in response.

"Listen..,Leo.., you can pretend all you want that nothing happened between us or that it meant nothing. But I'm done playing games. You made yourself perfectly clear that day so let's just leave it at that and move on." She stopped to catch her breath, expecting a snappy come back from him the very next second.

But to her surprise, for once, he was speechless. He had a distant look and seemed to be racking his brain for words

"You okay?" She inquired in concern.