AN: Thanks to MyTimeIsNow, TheRealChamps, and TrishOrton for the reviews. You guys awesome! Here's the next chapter. Reviews are appreciated. Enjoy!

Chapter 4

"Hey, mind if I sit down?"

Trish squinted from the sunshine when she looked up at him. "Uhh… Sure."

John kicked off his sneakers and peeled his socks off. He stepped onto the ledge of the pool and sat down next to her, dipping his legs into the water. "Water feels nice."

"Yeah it is. Not too cold but not too warm."

"So… How've you been?" John asked, looking down at his feet in the water."

"Umm… I've been… Good. How about you?"

"Eh, can't complain I guess." John turned his head to look at her. "So, fill me in on your life. What's been going on? How'd you end up in Tampa?"

Trish hesitated for a minute, thinking about where to start. "Well… Mom and dad divorced," she began.

"Yeah… I remember that…" he said, trailing off.

"Dad took a new position in New York when the divorce started, two weeks later mom had a new boyfriend… Mom got so wrapped up in him, I didn't exist. I was like their unwanted roommate. Mom wanted Dad to take me to New York with him, she said there was no point in her keeping me because I was too old for her to collect child support from him and if she tried, and by the time she got it started I would already be out of school. Dad told her no because he said it was too close to the end of the year. He said he didn't wanna uproot me that late in the year and he wanted me to graduate with my friends. He said he didn't wanna take me away from my friends, he didn't wanna take me away from you…"

"Oh…" he said quietly.

Trish paused for a minute; she waited for the twinge of pain in her heart to subside. "Then we broke up… And… Well I decided I wanted out of West Newbury. I didn't feel like there was anything left home for me and decided I wanted a fresh start where I didn't know anyone and no one knew me. I wanted somewhere warm and I decided on Florida. I applied for colleges, got accepted to Stetson, told dad and he was thrilled. I packed up and was gone. Dad flew to Florida, met me there and got me settled in. I planned on getting myself a job to put myself through college, but dad wouldn't allow me to try to pay for college myself,so I took a job at a restaurant down the street from Stetson to have money for myself."

John nodded, listening intently.

"Chrissy was my roommate during our freshman year. We quickly became best friends. We've been basically inseparable ever since. We roomed together our sophomore year, and half way through our junior year we decided to get an apartment off campus together. When it came time to intern, I found my boss, Mr. Lynch. He agreed to take me on for my internship. A few years later, I was ready to graduate, and Mr. Lynch told me he had a graduation present for me and surprised me with an offer to take me on as a paralegal permanently. And that's pretty much it."

John smiled. "You were always such a smart girl. I always knew you'd do great things."

Trish smiled back. "So what about you?"

"I stayed and went to Springfield. I ended up with a degree in exercise physiology. Took a couple of here and there jobs. I ended up meeting Randy from going to the gym he was working at in West Newbury for awhile. We became good friends after that. We had an apartment back home. Then he ended up getting the offer for a transfer to Tampa. He told me his uncle had a house down there that he'd let us rent if I wanted to go with him. I was feeling like my life was in a rut and just got tired of the scenery and decided to pack up and move to beautiful, sunny, Tampa. I landed a job working for a physical therapy doctor that I love, and bam. Here we are today," he told her, giving her the knee weakening smile she used to love so much.

Trish diverted her eyes from his and stared at her feet in the pool. "Very cool. I'm happy for you," she told him with a weak smile.

"It's good to see you again," he said softly.

"Yeah… It is," she answered, unconvincingly.

"You don't seem as happy to see me though," he pressed.

She turned her head to look at him. "I just never thought that after all this time, I'd run into again. Especially somewhere so far away from home."

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right." There was a brief silence between them. "Go to dinner with me?" he blurted out. Trish didn't know what to say. She blinked at him, not saying a word. "Please?"

"I… Uhh…"

"It's me. Please?" he pleaded.

"I… I… Can't," she sputtered, tripping over her words.

He reached over and took a hold of her hand. She felt a shock of electricity course through her body from his touch. She went to pull her hand away and he held on tighter. "Why not? It's just me."

"Because… Jason…"

"Who's Jason?" John asked, confused.

"He's my… Boyfriend…"

"Oh… You have a boyfriend? That's cool…" John trailed off. "We've know each other for how long? We can go as… Friends."

"Jason woul…"

"What did I tell you about that name?" Chrissy scolded as she walked up behind them.

Trish turned her head to see Chrissy. "We were just…"

Chrissy cut her off. "You were just saying that name that I warned you not to talk about. I was serious when I told you I didn't want to hear it again." Chrissy quickly scooted her foot under Trish's butt and gave her a hard shove into the pool.

Trish flailed in the pool for a few seconds, but quickly regained her bearings and resurfaced. She shot Chrissy a glare as she treaded water. John had a smirk on his face; he was visibly trying not to laugh out loud. Chrissy had no shame about it and was laughing blatantly at her friend. "Oh you think that's funny?"

"Yes, yes I do," Chrissy answered, still laughing at her friend. Just then Randy ran up behind Chrissy, scooping her up into his arms and tossed her into the pool with Trish.

Trish waited for her friend to resurface, "Not so funny is it now, bitch?" Trish teased, splashing water at her friend. John could no longer contain his laughter. The sound of John laughing caught Trish's attention. "What's so funny, Cena?"

"You never even saw her coming," he answered with a chuckle.

Trish slowly swam in closer to John. John watched intrigued by what she was going to do next. He knew from experience, she was up to something. "Was that funny John?" she asked him with the most seductive face she could.

"Uhh… Well…" he stuttered, swallowing the lump in his throat.

Just then four hands wrapped around John's arms tightly pulling him to his feet. He struggled for a few futile seconds, trying to ward off Randy and Mike, but it was of no use. The momentary distraction provided by Trish was just enough to throw him off. Trish quickly swam out of the way as Mike and Randy finally got the better of John and tossed him in the pool still wearing his shirt.

John flailed for a few seconds just like Trish and Chrissy did before he resurfaced. "Funny assholes, real funny." John swam towards the lower end of the pool so he could stand. He pulled his shirt off and threw it out of the pool and on to one of the chairs.

Trish couldn't take her eyes off of him. Wow… He looks… Damn he's even more sexy now then he was back in high school, she thought to herself.

"Psssttt," Chrissy called to Trish, trying to get her attention without drawing the guy's attention. Trish turned her attention to her friend. "Wipe your mouth, you're drooling sweetie!" she mouthed.

Trish responded by giving Chrissy the finger and stuck her tongue out at her.

"That's not very nice," John chided as he came up next to her in the pool. "You can't be mad at Chrissy for pushing you in. That was funny as hell."

Trish turned to face John. "That wasn't funny, but you know what was?"

"What?"

"Watching Randy and Mike forcefully chuck you in the pool."

"You gotta admit, you getting sent into the pull off the end of Chrissy's foot was pretty funny too," John told her with a grin.

"Not as funny as it was when it was you," Trish teased before shoving him back under the water. John took advantage of the opportunity and wrapped his arms around Trish, pulling her under with him.

"Not so fun teasing me, now is it?" John teased back when they resurfaced.

The rest of the night went well. Conversation flowed freely between all of them The awkwardness that put a damper on the night earlier had faded. Trish had a great time for the first time in a long time. Jason hadn't called nor texted her at all the entire day. Jason hadn't even crossed her mind the entire night. She enjoyed being around Mike and Randy. Mike was a riot and listening to Randy's smart ass pick on him all night was hysterical. She could see the sparks between Chrissy and Randy and she couldn't be any happier for her best friend.

After the sun went down and the water in the pool cooled, everyone abandoned the pool and opted to sit around the table talking. The conversation lasted deep into the night. Around 1:30, the girls decided it was time to head home. Randy and John followed the girls to the front door to see them off. Trish walked down to her car and unlocked the doors. John followed her to the car. She reached for the door handle, and his hand covered hers, stopping her from opening the door. He slid between her and the car and leaned back on the car.

"What are you doing?" she asked with a chuckle.

He gave her that knee weakening smile she used to love so much. "So do you think I could get your number?"

"How do you know you don't still have my number?"

He looked down at the ground. "Because I've called it. Many times…" he answered softly.

Trish was shocked by his answer. She wasn't sure what to say. "You did?"

"Yes," he whispered.

"Why?"

"I missed you," he answered, looking her in the eyes.

She could see the honesty on his face and the sincerity in his eyes. "Yes, you can have my number."

John wasted no time and pulled out his phone and hit the button, lighting up the screen. He looked up at her, waiting for the number. She reached up to take his phone out of his hand, but quickly put her arm down. "I'm sorry… I…"

"What?" John asked confused.

"I should know better. Touching things that do not belong to me is unacceptable. Your phone is your phone, it's not for my eyes to see."

"It's just a phone, it's not a big deal," he told her, still confused. "Why does it sound like you just repeated that sentence to me verbatim from somewhere?"

She looked down at the ground, embarrassed. "I may have heard it once or twice in my life…"

He took her hand in his then placed his phone in her hand. "It's a phone, no big deal."

Trish dialed her number on his phone, waited to hear her phone ring, and then hung up. "There. Now we have each other's numbers," she said, giving him a smile.

He took his phone back, and grinned at her. "Thanks."

Randy and Chrissy came down to the car. John stood up and pulled open the car door for Trish. Randy did the same for Chrissy. "Drive safe. Let me know you got home okay," John instructed.

Trish shook her head and chuckled. "You would think you were my boyfriend." Immediately, she realized what she said and got quiet.

Randy gave Chrissy a peck on the cheek and closed her door. "See you soon gorgeous."

Chrissy smiled in return. "I can't wait,"

John gave Trish a half-smile and shut her door. She put her key in the ignition and turned her car on. The girls waved to the guys before Trish pulled off. John watched as they disappeared down the street. "I wish," he whispered into the dark. "I wish…"