The next morning, I woke up to an empty bed. On the pillow beside me was a note.

"Got called in early. Be back late tonight. Love you, sweetie."

I sighed and sat up, staring at the phone, hoping it would ring. The rain outside pounded on the windows of our apartment. I reached forward and picked up the phone. I ran to my bag and pulled out the piece of paper with Craig's number on it. I stared at the number, wishing it would dial itself. Heart pounding in my throat, I dialed the number, slowly but surely. With great anticipation, I listened to the long rings. I felt myself drifting off, my eyes closing slightly.

"Hello?"

"I snapped my eyes open and managed to say, "Hey, this is Manny."

"Manny! Hey! What's up?" Craig said enthusiastically.

"Um, I was wondering if you'd like to go for those drinks tonight," I muttered.

"Sure. How about nine at O'Malley's?" Craig suggested.

"Sounds great," I said.

For a while, there was just silence. My heart pounded loudly as I waited for him to say something. But he didn't. Maybe he was thinking the same.

"Craig?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are you so interested in seeing me again?"

The words slipped out of my mouth like a wet fish from an inexperienced fisher's hands. I gasped slightly.

"I just want to catch up. I haven't talked to anyone from Degrassi in years," Craig's response came almost immediately, his voice sounding slightly hurried.

"Oh. Look, I didn't mean for that to sound rude or anything," I hurried, hoping he wouldn't be angry.

"I understand. It's weird," Craig said, tone lowering slightly.

"Yeah, it is. I mean, our past and stuff. It's kind of funny to see you again," I said, growing more and more nervous with each words.

"Yeah. So I'll see you tonight"

"Definitely."

"Ok, well, bye."

"Bye.."
I hung up the phone and plopped down onto my bed. Why was I so nervous? I had a good life now, and I was being stupid. Throughout the entirety of my day off, though, I felt more anxious with each second. The hours crept by slowly. I watched TV, ate, and slept to pass the time. Finally, it was seven-thirty, and I knew I had to start getting ready.

I showered first. For about twenty minutes, I stood into front of my bureau, contemplating what to wear. Should I wear something nice? Or was the dress code just supposed to be casual? When I finally realized that I'd wasted enough time, I went to dig through my closet. In my search, I found a slinky black dress.

"When the hell did I wear this last?" I said aloud, trying it on in front of the mirror.

I ran my hands over my curvy hips, wishing they were smaller. I'd never been stick skinny, but sometimes, I still wished that I was. Time was moving too quickly, however, to spend more time on my outfit, so I decided to stick with the black dress. I chose my sexiest underwear -- a red lacy bra and matching panties. I always felt confident in them.

Ten minutes later, I was completely ready. I spent the remainder of my leftover time pacing around the room, wondering what to wear. My heart pounded faster with each passing moment. I scribbled a note for Robert, quickly, before setting off.

I hailed a cab at eight-thirty, and I arrived exactly at nine. Walking into the bar, I knew I'd overdressed, but I tried not to let it get my down. My confidence had shrunk a little bit since my high school days, but I figured that if I had been able to make it through high school dressing the way I had, this would be a picnic on a sunny day.

Well, probably not.

My palms were growing sweatier with each step. Part of me wanted to turn around and run home to my comfortable apartment. But I stopped myself. I spotted him, and confidently strode up to where he was sitting. I flipped my hair slightly and smiled.

"Hey," I said, sliding into the seat next to him.

"Manny! You look -- amazing. I wish I'd dressed more appropriately," Craig said, smiling.

My heart sunk slightly at the sight of his casual outfit -- jeans and a t-shirt. I ordered my first shot, and he ordered a Corona.

"So, tell me about your life," I said as I downed my vodka.

Craig paused, "After I graduated high school, I wanted to continue into the music industry, but it didn't really work out. So I went back into photography, and now I sell my work to pay the rent."

I nodded, "I'd love to see some of your work sometime."

"I will most certainly show you," He told me, smiling slightly and taking a sip of his beer.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" I found myself asking.

"Ah, no. I did, but I ended it. It just wasn't working. I felt no connection to her," Craig explained, sounding slightly bitter.

"Oh."

And so it went on. We both talked in detail about our lives. All the while, we drank. I finished off my eighth at about ten-thirty. By then, I was in no position to talk like a sensible person. Somewhere after his second beer, Craig had graduated to vodka, and he'd had about four shots. Or five.

"We -- should probably stop drinking," Craig said finally, setting down his shot glass.

"Whyyyyyy?" I whined playfully, touching his arm gently.

He looked down at my hand and touched it lightly.

We went outside to hail a cab. The rain was still pouring, and my heart was racing.

"Craig, why did we break up?"

"Because things happened -- I think."

I laughed loudly, hiccuping as I did. Craig chuckled.

"You look really beautiful tonight, you know that," He said, managing to hail a cab.

I stumbled slightly in my stilettos as I tried to walk towards the cab. Craig took my arm and led me to the door.

"Thank you, Mr. Gentleman," I whispered into his ear, planting a teasing kiss on it.

Craig froze. I giggled slightly as I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. Craig put his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

A honk from the cab driver interrupted us, "Oy! Get in!"

I giggled loudly and slid inside the cab, followed closely by Craig. He had just enough time to say "311 Second Avenue" before I pulled him in again, planting kisses all over his face, completely missing his lips every time. He placed his hands gently on my face, pulling me in for a kiss on the lips. The cab came to a stop in front of what was supposedly Craig's apartment. Craig paused to pay the cab driver before dragging me out of the cab. My knees buckled as I held on to Craig.

"Up you go."

He whispered the words in my ear as he lifted me from the ground. Before I knew it, I was on Craig's bed, underneath him, kissing him fiercely. I gasped for breath as he sat up, running his hands up my dress. He pulled my dress up over my head, and began running his hands gently over my skin. I listened to the sound of the rain just outside, and watched the shadows the drops cast. My breathing became heavier as he began to caress my breasts. The wind whispered gentle, calming words as I moaned. I arched my back, allowing him to reach around and unclasp my bra. He hurriedly tore off my panties, throwing them to the side.

"I love you," I whispered to him.