I was at the park on the swing all by myself. I needed some time to think; oh boy, did I need to think. So let's recap: Peter says it'll never happen and Josh sends you a crazy ton of roses all in the same day. I guess that's it then; Peter shot me down….. not that I actually confessed but still. I can't say I'm uber shocked; he and Gen had history- I still wasn't quite sure on their relationship status. My feet made me stop swaying as I stared off into nowhere; the sensation of Josh's beaded bracelet stuck out in my pocket.

I guess I should just let myself follow the course and fall head-over-heels in love with Josh. It was bound to happen anyway, right? He was single now and I adored every inch of him; he made me so happy… I loved Josh, I really did…. My lips instinctively parted as Peter's face unconsciously and unwelcomingly popped into my mind. It was only for a second, but it was still long enough; the imprint was there.

Ugh! I immediately gave myself a hard mental kick. It shouldn't be like this! I'm too old; we're too old. Josh is the most logical choice. Kitty's right- we go to the same school; hell, we even live side-by-side in our college. And I couldn't imagine my life without him; that wasn't an option. But… did that mean that we had to automatically be in a relationship? Another swift kick. What's wrong with me?! "You love Josh!" I kept shaking my head, wincing my eyes shut. "Just be patient, Aerity," I instructed myself. "Kitty and Chris are right. You don't know- or feel- it yet but this is real, romantic love. You just need time to see that; that's all." Yeah, that's right. There'll be a day, probably very soon, when I look at Josh and I get those lover's butterflies. My eyes opened just a tad. Just like when you saw… "Aerity….. Aerity." A cool shiver ran up my spine. Peter….. my Peter.

"After all these years, you still come to play at the park." This voice…. It was the strangest feeling. I instantly knew that voice, but I couldn't pin a face to it. It wasn't Josh's or Peter's; I knew but I couldn't picture who. With my eyes still mostly closed, they fluttered open to see someone I didn't recognize right away; the voice I got but not the face or body. It was a black man, roughly my age or a year older. Leaning up against the swing post with his hands buried in his pockets, he grinned over at me; a soft, knowing grin. "Uh, hi?" I didn't want to be rude, accidently hurting his feelings by letting him know I didn't recognize him. His grin grew.

"How many years has it been? Fourteen? We lost contact when we went to different junior highs." "Um, I'm sorry," well, there's no point in hiding it any longer, I guess. I'm sorry, whoever you are. "I really don't mean to sound horrible, but I don't remember your name." To my surprise and relief, he simply laughed. "I didn't expect you to; I remembered yours though. We were best friends in elementary school." "We were?" I had to think; still nothing. How could I forget my childhood best friend? What kind of monster was I?

The mystery man nodded and pulled out something from his back pocket. "Your writing was so messy, I could barely read your letter." "What letter?!" This definitely caught my undivided attention. He got one too?! But I didn't even remember liking him! How many letters did I write?! I only remember Josh's and Peter's; who else got one?! Seeing the confusion on my face, mystery man handed me the letter, which I instantly inspected. The envelop said Lucas Krapf; who? "Lucas?" I blinked up at him utterly perplexed. "Remember me? We used to play "the ground is lava" every recess." Every recess?

My eyes suddenly grew in remembrance and my fingers snapped. "Lucas!" That's right! My first male friend! "I remember you! You used to sneak me an extra bag of mini oreos every day." "Yup, that's me," his grin widened friendly. "I have to admit, I was more than a little surprised to get your letter; especially since you wrote it in grade six." "Yeah," I cringed. "To tell you the truth, I have no idea how these got out or why. I bet someone has it out for me." "So you didn't send them?" "Of course not!" I laughed for the first time in a while. "This is a cringe-fest waiting to happen," I then held up the letter with my kid squiggles all over it. "I don't know; I think it's kind of charming. I don't know why you didn't give it to me when we were younger." "I didn't give anyone any letters," my eyes lowered down to it softly; it didn't so bad right then. "I did it more for myself than anything, I guess."

Lucas waited for a minute before shoving his hands back into his pockets and continuing. "Yeah well, maybe it's a good thing you didn't." "How's that?" I peered back up to him. "Cause it's around then that I….. started to figure some things out…. about myself." Oh! Oh. And a smile crept along my face as I felt sudden joy for him. Ok, so this was one good thing that happened to me; to us. "I'm glad I got to see you again, Lucas," my face softened. "You were one good thing that came from all this chaos." "You were a good thing that happened to me; I mean, back when we were little," his eyes lowered a bit. "Trust me, if I was going to have a crush on a girl as a kid, it would have been you. And I missed you when we moved schools…. But I had a really good junior and senior high." "Really?" This was pleasantly surprising to hear. "No bullying?" "No," his head shook. "My boyfriends wouldn't let anyone pick on me," he added with a side grin and I chuckled.

"You look good, Lucas; grew up real well," I then rescanned him over. He was fine; I'd say that. "Thanks. You're beautiful too; I almost didn't recognize you." "Thank you." A quiet moment fell over us, but it wasn't uncomfortable; more of a natural pause in the conversation. I then sighed and grinned up at him, to which he followed suit. "Hello, Lucas." "Hi, Aerity." This was followed by a pleasant laugh. "What are you doing this afternoon?" "Oh, mulling over boy- or man trouble. Is it "man trouble" now that we're older?" "I think so. Dude drama, huh? I can relate. It's always a lot more fun than I think it's gonna be." "I cannot relate to that," I laughed for what felt like the millionth time.

Lucas smiled and offered me his broad black hand. "Come on, let's get out of here. I just met my childhood bestie and want to catch up. Will you give me the pleasure of an afternoon, my lady?" And I grinned, taking his hand; he pulled me off the swing up to him. "For you, Lucas- always." Our arms proceeded to wrap around each other in a much-needed embrace.