Chapter 3: Always Us

Evan braced himself as he waited second from the head of the line, as the alum in front of him completed registration and turned away from the check-in desk. It was small relief to see the Secretary for the Class of 2018 was someone else, and not Alana Beck. The Class Secretary for his ten-year reunion, some girl named Jenna, instead went slack-jawed when he gave his name before getting up out of her chair and rounding the table so she could take a selfie with him. Evan frankly didn't know which reaction was worse: star-struck adulation from a classmate who wasn't aware that his entire claim to fame had occurred under false pretenses, or either Alana or Jared accosting him for the fake Connor, the fake him, he had propped up.

As Evan understood it, Alana Beck and Jared Kleinman were the only ones, other than the Murphys, who knew the truth about his and Connor's relationship: that it had never actually existed in the first place. Jared had known the whole time that it was bullshit, and had helped further the lie along with the fake emails. The Murphys, Evan had eventually come clean to directly. Unlike either of these two cases, however, Alana had come to the truth independently. It was a miracle she hadn't outed him at any point over these last ten years; she hadn't had the penchant for compassion and forgiveness the way that Zoe had. Evan hadn't exactly followed either of the only two friends he'd ever had in high school, beyond the occasional update that trickled through on his Facebook timeline or Instagram account. Jared was basically on track to take over YouTube, rising through the ranks. Alana was in a midlevel career position with the New York Philharmonic. Evan imagined that she and Zoe still kept in touch over such a shared love of music; he knew they were mutual friends on Facebook.

The 2018 Class Secretary, this Jenna person, chatted his ear off and was very helpful, almost fawning, in guiding him through the registration, constantly referring to him deferentially as 'Mr. Hansen.' He took his sticker nametag and shyly shuffled out of his place in line and stepped into the hallways, which now had the air of a tourist visit, as fellow alumni stopped in the halls to take pictures and fondly reminisce about days gone by.

For someone who had suffered socially a majority of his four years, and then only ascended the hierarchical pecking order by lying his way to the top, Evan thought the nostalgia over this place was borderline delusional. The only really worthwhile memories were stolen moments pining after Zoe, then being with Zoe. His speech following… following Connor. The speech that had run away from him and ended up changing his life. Whether for better or for worse was still not, even a decade on, for Evan to say.

"Hey!" A cheerful chirp from a very familiar voice made Evan spin around. He had been so lost in his thoughts being back in this time capsule (though it had only been just over two months since his last visit for his Arbor Day presentation) that he hadn't spotted her come up. Zoe's smile was bright and fond, her auburn hair done up in ringlets as though she treated this as some formal gathering. Evan was in a semi-casual dress shirt and slacks that his mother had subtly nudged him to don; his hair, he couldn't have been bothered to tame, and especially not for a farce like this. The still incredibly beautiful woman who now embraced him was the only reason he was here at all. The only reason he had come, in the hopes that he might see her.

"H-Hi, Zoe," he stammered, hugging her back and trying not to have it linger. He still hovered, however, slightly in her personal space, swaying forward for just a fraction of a second before leaning fully away. It was heartening that Zoe seemed to hesitate indecisively for a moment too, like she had also been caught up in an instinct, long dormant, to…. kiss…. She salvaged the moment by giggling and plunging in for another hug, allowing them to platonically kiss cheeks this time. Evan still felt his heart race all the same, when her lips brushed his cheek.

"Got your packet?" She grinned radiantly.

"And a selfie for my trouble," he groused. "Did you know a Jenna Tinfron?"

"Vaguely – she was Jenna… Hofstader, back in our day. Drama kid. The jazz band played in the pit for all the musicals; she was a regular presence onstage," Zoe prattled, looping an arm through Evan's and tugging him along down the hallways. Evan allowed himself a moment to bask in how she adorably chittered while taking brief glimpses at the reunion's itinerary. There was a presentation in the auditorium, an exhibition in the gym. Zoe insisted on their sitting in on as many events as they could.

It wasn't until their group broke for… dinner in the cafeteria that Evan remembered why he had been so nervous to come here in the first place. The best-case scenario would have been to muddle through this reunion while seeing Zoe, but not Alana or Jared. Unfortunately, that was not to be.

Zoe was the one who spotted Alana first, and Evan could do nothing to stop her as she dashed them both over to say hello. The two women hugged exuberantly; when Alana saw Evan over Zoe's shoulder, she stiffened, but nodded cordially. Evan nodded back, his mouth in a flat line. Absently, he rubbed his hands along the fabric of his slacks. They felt as damp as if he had just dunked them in bathwarm pool water. And…. the sweating was back.

Seated at the table beside Alana, Jared was hunched over, picking at his salad. Evan decided to let the girls catch up, dancing around them to approach his one-time friend. When Jared lifted his eyes and saw who was lowering into the seat next to him, he frowned hard, and grunted:

"Evan."

"Jared," Evan greeted politely. The duo then proceeded to sit in silence and not speak to each other, not even when Alana and Zoe finally sat down and tried to engage the men in a four-way conversation. Alana, at least, was still cordial, asking Evan legitimately interested questions about his career. She seemed genuinely fascinated about his work as an arborist, and Evan returned the olive branch by asking about the Philharmonic's concerts. All the same, the calling for the next presentation filled Evan with abject relief, especially since Alana and Jared weren't in their group.

It was late by the time the reunion ended, and Evan lingered with Zoe for as long as possible, as they strolled through the parking lot to his car.

"Will you be able to find your car OK?" Evan asked her. Under the streetlamps, he thought he saw her blush.

"Oh, no, I…. I took the bus. Gonna have to walk to the corner to catch the last one."

"I can drive you!" Evan blurted out. She tilted her head at him, blinking, and now it was his turn to flush red. "It's just that… that… you shouldn't be walking alone at night, even to the corner. And the… the bus terminals aren't well lit, and…"

"Evan:" Zoe touched his arm, smiling appreciatively. "Thank you. That's sweet, but…" She trailed off, tried again. "OK. Sure. I'll give you directions enroute."

Evan gentlemanly helped her into the shotgun seat, then practically ran around to the driver's side. The ride passed companionably, the peacefulness of the night relaxing Evan if only a little. With Zoe seated less than two feet away from him, his mind was still no longer his own. Being in her presence, even after all these years, was intoxicating.

"So….. you have your own apartment or something?"

Evan flushed, this time from embarrassment. It was a hard thing to admit that he was 28 years old, almost 29, and still living with his mom, but it saved on costs. His mother had promised him that once the day came that she made partner at her firm, the dough would really start to roll in enough that he could eventually buy his own place, if he so chose. "I, uh…. my mom and I still live together. We're close, and… it's nice to have someone else in the house."

To his immense gratitude, Zoe didn't judge him, nodding her head, her lips adorably pursed in thought. "I get that," she murmured. "My apartment can feel lonely sometimes. That's probably why I chose a complex only a couple miles from my parents." A pause, and then: "It's strange: when we were teenagers, most kids wanted nothing more than to get out from under their parents' roof. Go far afield and be independent. Now that we can be, we find ourselves staying close to the nest."

Had he considered himself more erudite and verbose, Evan might have followed that up with what such a state said about their millennial generation. Instead, he just shrugged. "Wandering isn't for everyone, I guess."

"Turn up here," Zoe instructed.

He obeyed dutifully, and his car rolled to a stop at the curb of a small apartment complex. Zoe turned to him, and even in the dim light, Evan could see that her smile was flushed, her voice a little breathless.

"Quite a night, huh?"

"Quite a night," Evan echoed. "Though for…. for sanity's sake, let's wait another ten years before going back there, huh?"

She giggled. "I know what you mean…." Their collective laughter quickly petered out awkwardly, until they were just staring at each other.

Then, quite suddenly, Zoe Murphy was straddling his lap and kissing Evan furiously. The memories of them doing this when they were dating came rushing back, and though he was shocked, Evan proved skilled at sinking right into the kiss. Zoe's lips pried his own open and her tongue pushed through eagerly to tangle with his. She was panting, gasping, moaning, her arms silkily looped about Evan's neck and the backrest of his chair. Her nails digging into the backrest's leather, Evan choked into Zoe's very pliant and very willing mouth when he felt her bounce up and down on him, frantically rutting against his leg.

"Oh, Evan! Oh, baby!" Zoe hissed, gasped breathlessly as she continued to rock against him.

Evan barely had enough self-control to keep his hands reasonably where they should be, rummaging across Zoe's back and down her thighs. His fingers bunched up the hem of her cute, tight little dress, pushing it up over her hips; she didn't move to shake him off.

Something silky and soft brushed against the burgeoning erection in his pants, and only a chill from the outside air alerted Evan to the fact that the beautiful woman now astride him had opened the fly in his pants and freed him. Zoe now grasped him covetously, stroking his length, pumping it, while she continued to bounce on him all the while.

"I…. I've wanted to fuck you again ever since Arbor Day," Zoe half-growled, and something ludicrous about the statement made Evan almost laugh. He could only groan into Zoe's insistent lips instead – a groan that quickly turned into an astonished sigh as he felt himself guided and slid into a cavern warm and wet.

Zoe came down on him mercilessly, throwing back her head and letting out a cry of pleasure as she now lifted her hips, pushing them eagerly against Evan's so that he slammed into her. Zoe rode him fast and hard now, almost desperate, purring in contentment as her and Evan's lips battled in a war of dominance. "Hmmmm….. Mmmmm….."

Evan dared to cup the creamy, now exposed flesh of her tight little ass while being only too happy to let Zoe take and retain the lead in their lovemaking. Her lips were now mouthing down his face before burying themselves in his neck, slaving and biting along his pulse point and making his heart race.

Zoe was starting to quiver like a live wire against him, and she undulated against him, rolling her hips so as to remain pressed closer, closer still, to his shaking body.

"Evan, baby, I'm…. I'm gonna goddamn cum….. Oh, JESUS YES!... FUCK!"

Zoe exploded all around him hard, shivering in her release and collapsing on top of Evan in a sweaty, windswept mess. Evan was practically choking on the pleasure he was feeling as he chased his lover over the edge, digging his fingers into her ass and jerking up into Zoe mercilessly before he ejaculated deep inside her with an almost pathetic whine.

Zoe kissed him deeply, lazily, and Evan kissed her back, utterly thrilled. His beautiful former classmate rose languidly off him finally, smoothing down her dress. Only then did her big, green eyes enlarge as it at last seemed to dawn on her what they had just done.

"Evan! Evan, I….. I…. Oh, shit!" And a baffled Evan could only watch as Zoe dove for her purse. "I… I have to go!" She couldn't look at him as she half-stumbled out of the car, rounded it and hustled up the curb to the door of her apartment. Through the windshield, Evan watched as Zoe half-turned, gave him a lame, halfhearted wave before cringing and fleeing inside. He could hear her door slam from the street.

Still in a daze over what the hell had just happened, Evan quietly tucked himself back into his pants and zipped up his fly. Putting the car in drive, he rumbled at a snail's crawl the last mile or two for home.