"So, you'll never guess who I ran into yesterday," Charlie said, placing his cards down. Wheeler looked up from his own hand.

"Mr. Vatelli?"

His friends, sitting round the large table in Charlie's basement where they were playing poker, laughed loudly.

"God, no!" Fred choked on his beer. "That man hasn't been seen in public since the rumours about Mrs. Cole."

"Shame, 'cos he was a decent teacher," Sam added. "But, gosh, Mrs. Cole was, like, three times his age. Her kids were older than him! Gross." She wrinkled her button nose, and they all laughed again.

"Ok, then, who?" Wheeler asked, once the laughter had subsided.

Charlie looked at him, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

"A certain Patricia Lynne Thomas. I think you two are acquainted…"

The room immediately fell so silent that Wheeler felt sure they could all hear his heart suddenly beating feverishly.

"And guess what?" Charlie continued, seemingly oblivious to his sudden discomfort. "She did not know that you were already back in town. I quote, 'When I see that James Wheeler, I swear I'm going to kill him with my own bare hands'."

Wheeler could perfectly imagine the words coming out of his ex-girlfriend's mouth in that slow, even tone she used when she was furious.

"I-I thought one of you guys would've told her…" he muttered, looking down as the colour rose up his face.

"You've always been a terrible liar, Wheeler," Sam smiled. "So, you've been back four whole days and you haven't called her?"

"I didn't know if her number had changed…" he hedged, hating himself.

"So you didn't bother trying?" Fred said, eyebrows raised slightly.

"I…uh…I'm gonna call her soon," Wheeler said. "No, really I will," he added, seeing the looks of scepticism on their faces. "Can we get back to the game, now?"

They played for a few minutes till he noticed that they were all looking at him surreptitiously. He sighed and looked expectantly at Sam, who looked like she was ready to burst. She took his gaze as a sign to proceed.

"So what's going on between you two?" she said, trying to sound casual, but with an intensity in her gaze that made him flush again.

"Uh…between who?" he feigned ignorance, trying to buy himself some time. Sam reached out and felt his cheek.

"You're burning," she grinned mischievously. "I told you: you're not a good liar. It's written all over your face."

Wheeler knew it and he hated how easily his emotions were betrayed. Linka always said he wore his heart on his sleeve. He didn't know whether she meant it affectionately or not since she prided herself on being the opposite. The thought of the Russian made him flush even more deeply.

"The thing is…" he began, unsure of how to explain himself. "Ok, look, we never really broke up. We just decided to, uh, let things be. But it's been so long now. I really don't think she…that she could still think of me that way."

"Are you trying to convince us or yourself?" Fred asked.

Wheeler glanced at him, annoyed at his perceptiveness. The longer he stayed in New York and the more he thought about Trish and all they had shared, the less sure he became of what he wanted. His friends were simply adding to this confusion.

"Guys, come on," he said, frowning. "It's been, what? A year and a half since I left? There's no way-"

"One year, seven months, 2 weeks and 3 days, to be precise" Charlie interrupted.

"Wow, I didn't know you felt that way about me, man," Wheeler joked weakly.

"Actually that's what Trish told me yesterday," Charlie grinned. "She's been keeping count. So, yeah, I'd say she still thinks about you that way…"

Wheeler's heart sank. This was going to be harder than he had ever imagined. She still loved him as much as ever, which meant, if he knew her, that she would not let him go easily. And she was a very persuasive girl and she definitely would not let him off the hook without a fight.

"So, if you never broke up with her…" Sam began. Wheeler looked at her, silently begging her not to finish the question, but she continued. "Does that mean you still have feelings for her?"

Wheeler was silent. It wasn't that nothing came to him, but rather that everything came to him at once. His mind was a swirl of confused and tangled thoughts and emotions.

"I…I…of course I have feelings for her…" he said finally, uncertainly. "We were together for 3 years. So, sure, I still care about her…". He had tried to choose his words carefully.

"Lame!" Sam rolled her eye. "Come on, you know exactly what I mean."

"Look, the truth is…" he sighed. "I didn't I did, but I'm not so sure, now. And there's this other girl-"

"Linka?" Fred interrupted, giving him a sly look. "I've seen your pictures. I can't blame you. She's smoking hot! Ow!"

Sam had kicked him under the table.

"Yeah…Linka…" Wheeler said. "Anyway, it's confusing right now, ok?"

"Wheeler, you've been going after this girl for a long time," Sam said softly. Wheeler had told her about the Russian's stubbornness. "And she's still won't…I mean, maybe it's time for you to just accept that it's not meant to-"

"No!" Wheeler said sharply. He looked round at the bemused expressions of his friends. "I mean…it's really complicated."

But the truth was that it needn't be. It should have been simple. He was in love with Linka and either she loved him back or she didn't. She was the one who insisted on muddying the waters –flirting with him one day and then ignoring him the next. What made Sam's words sting more was that he himself had agonised many times over the very possibility she had just raised. But the idea that, after all this time and effort, Linka and he were never going to happen was too painful and he had banished it from his mind whenever it surfaced.

"Come on, this is Wheeler we're talking about," Fred said, breaking the awkward silence. "He always get the girl. Even when he's not trying! I think we all remember Maria…"

"And Jennifer…" Charlie threw in.

"And who could forget Erica?" Sam chuckled along with the other boys but Wheeler did not join in. "I think I can legitimately lay claim to be the only girl in the borough to be safe!" she added.

"And only 'cos you're practically a guy!" Fred guffawed. She punched him in the arm hard and they laughed again.

"Look, guys, do me a favour and let's keep this conversation in this room," Wheeler said, when they had quietened down again.

"Whatever you say, bud," Charlie said, turning back to his cards. Fred nodded.

"Sam?" Wheeler looked at her pleadingly.

"Wheeler…" She hesitated and bit her lip. "You know what she's like. She'll corner me and interrogate me about you. And you know she won't let it go. What am I supposed to say?"

"I don't know," Wheeler replied. "But you'll think of something. Please, you have to let me explain to her for myself."

Sam sighed.

"Ok, Wheeler. But it's a nice mess you've gotten yourself into."

"Tell me about it!" he half-laughed, half-sighed.

He looked distractedly round the dingy basement. There were many happy memories in the room, many of them involving Trish. She fit into so much of this life that he wondered how he could ever have believed that breaking with his past would be so simple. And now Linka was coming to further complicate the boundaries between his past and present. He looked at the stack of cheap beer in the corner, at the haze of smoke above the table, at the self-rolled cigarette dangling from Fred's mouth, at the pile of grubby bottle lids they were using as chips, and knew that she could not fit in. She was from a different world entirely and would be an outsider in this environment. And Trish… Trish fit right in, like a piece of a familiar puzzle.