The four of them stood laughing and talking, sipping their cocktails and talking about how much everyone had changed. Bridgette was listening to Harper and Grant laugh about someone falling on the dance floor earlier after attempting an extreme dance move when she heard a deep voice say her name. She spun around to see a tall, handsome stranger standing behind her. He was wearing a slim cut navy suit the accentuated his broad shoulders and square jawline. His black hair was styled perfectly and accentuated his bright green eyes.

She stuttered a bit before answering, “Uhhh hi.” She said before looking at his name tag. “Oh my god Paul!” Realizing who the sexy stranger was she quickly pulled him into a warm embrace and couldn’t help but feel how firm and solid he felt under his suit.

Paul laughed and returned the hug, then pulled her back to admire and tell her how beautiful she looked. She felt heat creep up her neck and she knew she was probably a shade of red that rivaled her dress. Suddenly she heard Harper clear her throat behind her. “Oh my god I’m so sorry, Paul these are my friends from high school. You might remember Harper, she and I were in the same grade but these other two you probably never met.” She went around the group introducing everyone, trying to make Paul feel welcome.

“So how have you been? What have you been up to?” Bridgette couldn’t hide her enthusiasm as she bombarded him with questions. While he spoke she caught herself looking at his hand to see if he wore a wedding band.

“Well after high school I went to college at Northwestern for premed and medical school and now I’m doing my residency at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. So I haven’t had much of a life but it’s worth it.” He said laughing a bit to himself.

“Wow that’s amazing! I always knew you’d do something to help people, you were always volunteering outside school, I remember that about you. So do you get out in the city much? Seems weird so many of us moved to Chicago after college but we never run into each other.”

The group listened and made small talk before Harper and Grant headed off to freshen up their drinks leaving an awkward Luke standing there with his hands in his pockets listening to Bridgette and Paul get reacquainted. He had to admit he kept expecting her to introduce him as her fiancé after the many stories they’d told tonight but instead it was as if he didn’t exist. Annoyed by the situation he went off to get another drink and find out what Grant and Harper were up to, it’s not like Bridgette would notice anyway.

The night continued on and soon Bridgette found herself out on a terrace under the stars talking about life with Paul. They hit it off immediately, it was as if they hadn’t missed a beat throughout the years. “I hope this isn’t too bold but would it be ok to get your number? Maybe we can grab a drink or a Cubs game sometime?” She was ecstatic but quickly reigned it in before she gave away too much of her excitement.

“Yeah absolutely! I’d love to but only because you said Cubs, if you had offered to go to a White Sox game I’d have left you hanging.” She said with a little smirk as she reached out and affectionately touched his arm. She gave him her number and as he was thanking her she could feel him leaning in, his eyes dropped from hers to her mouth…

“Hey Bridge it’s time to go.” Luke had stepped outside just as Paul was leaning in to kiss her. Are you fucking kidding me! She thought to herself as she gave Paul an apologetic smile.

“Thanks again, this turned out to be a great evening.” She said as she placed her hand against his chest. I’ll look at for your call.” She turned to Luke with a look of annoyance and headed inside to join her friends. As they rounded the corner she slapped Luke’s arm, “You couldn’t have waited like 30 more seconds?!”

“Why so some dude you haven’t seen in 10 years could shove his tongue down your throat after you’ve been drinking all night? Excuse me for looking out for you Bridge, Jesus.” She had initially been joking but his attitude set her off.

“I don’t need a goddamn babysitter Luke! I’m not drunk and he wasn’t taking advantage of me. Hey I’m talking to you don’t just walk away from me!” She raised her voice as Luke stopped and turned around to face her.

“Bridge come on Harper and Grant are waiting. You blew us all off and left us to entertain ourselves most of the night so maybe we could put this little tiff on hold and deal with it later?” She rolled her eyes and brushed past him quickly, making her way to go fill Harper in on how things had unfolded and not let Luke ruin her night.

By the time they returned home it was extremely late and everyone was exhausted. The girls were staying in Luke’s brother’s bedroom, they quickly showered and crawled in bed laughing and giggling until they fell asleep. It really was like they were back in high school again.

The next morning Bridgette woke to the smell of breakfast wafting through the house. She rubbed her eyes and crawled out of bed, making her way to the bathroom across the hall. As soon as she opened the door and stepped out in the hall she ran right into Luke. “Oh hey good morning.” He muttered a response and moved to step out of her way. She reached out and grabbed his arm before he get far, “Hey, come here. I’m sorry about last night. I know I was rude to you and I feel really bad that I bailed on you guys.”

He pulled her into his chest and gave her a tight squeeze, “No worries sweetheart, I’m sorry I was kind of a dick. Not my finest hour. Let’s just chalk it up to shitty alcohol and not enough dancing.” He gave her a kiss on the head and made his way toward the kitchen.

Bridgette stared at herself in the mirror as she waited for the water to warm up. She thought back to last night when Paul almost kissed her, she still felt giddy with excitement at the thought of going out with him. She knew part of it was the excitement of something and someone new but she couldn’t help but feel like things were about to change.

They spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon visiting with Luke’s family before piling back in his Range Rover and making their way back to Chicago. The girls reclaimed their spot in the back and chatted about the reunion.

“I was surprised how many people actually came, I didn’t remember graduating with half of them!” Harper commented.

“Same, I had completely forgotten about a few of the people. It was fun to reconnect with them though, kind of makes me feel bad I’m not on any social media sites.”

Harper jabbed at Bridgette’s side, “Reconnect eh??? When are you going out with Paul? Has he text you yet?” Bridgette laughed and pushed her friend away playfully.

“Yeah he messaged me last night actually, asking if I made it home safe and that he was super excited to get together next week.” She smiled coyly, she had to admit she had a few butterflies in her stomach when she talked about him again. In truth it was most likely just the excitement of something new, she didn’t know anything about him anymore but she was hopeful that they’d have no problem connecting.

The girls continued to giggle and talk about Paul, the tension coming from the front seat though seemed to grow. Luke pulled the SUV into a gas station to fill up, his demeanor seemed solemn and moody again. Bridgette wasn’t about to try and figure out what she’d done wrong now so she stepped out to stretch her legs and get some fresh air as he walked inside with Grant, the two of them making causal conversation

“What’s wrong with him?” Harper whispered to Bridgette as the guys walked inside.

“Who knows. He was pretty annoyed with me last night too, told me I bailed on you guys and left you to entertain yourselves or some shit. He said we were all good this morning but clearly he’s back to being hormonal.”

Harper raised her eyebrows, “maybe he’s jealous.”

“Of what?”

“The fact that you were so taken with Paul. Luke has been your fall guy forever. He’s always ready to rush over whenever your heart has been broken, he’s the one you run to whenever you need help, you make him feel needed and validated…maybe he’s threatened that Paul will take his place.”

Bridgette held up her hands, “Ooookaaaay hold up. Paul and I simply talked for a few hours and Luke has never acted like that about any guy I’ve dated so your theory is invalid. Plus Luke doesn’t see our relationship like that, he has made it more than clear to me that I’m just a friend and I’ll never be anything more than that. He probably just got a text from one of his regular girls saying she’s done or something.”

Harper shrugged her shoulders and made her way towards the convenient mart of the gas station, “Whatever you say Bridge but I’m telling you this whole two adults just being friends that rely on each other for everything and are emotionally tied together isn’t going to last. One day you or he will get into a relationship that changes everything.”