WHAT A RELIEF IT WAS to be home. Riley was doing her best to forget the events of last night because of Brad’s embarrassing attempts to get her attention. She was afraid to look, but she was sure that there were photos of the two of them all over the news. Her reputation as a ‘serial dater’ was unfounded and absolutely ridiculous, pushed by the media and nothing else. She’d been living with that same ridiculousness for years, and just told herself she was used to it; it was easier to tolerate that way.

That man, though, the one who had come up to the terrace, was still in her thoughts, too. She couldn’t stop thinking about his handsome face and the way he’d talked to her as though she was a regular person. Riley had always found that people treated her differently because of her father –a famous businessman who knew everyone in the world it seemed– but the guy she’d met hadn’t treated her that way.

Gods, Riley, she thought. Just focus on your work, you’re going to turn everything in late if you keep this up!

She rubbed her face with her hands, and sighed deeply. Her eyes narrowed, and she nodded, determined to keep everything that had happened last night out of her mind; she had work to do, and a lot of it!

An hour or so passed, and Riley was deeply immersed within her writing when the doorbell rang. She paused, the sound of typing ceasing, and listened. A rap on the door made her groan, and she pushed up from her chair. She was just getting into a groove, too! Why did life always have such bad timing?

“Coming, coming!” she called.

She smiled widely when she opened the door and saw her best friend standing there with a tray of coffee when she opened the door. Jessica Kenney was a screenwriter she’d met while attending university, and the two of them had been practically inseparable since they’d met.

“Hello! I brought coffee!” Jessica flashed a brilliant smile and held up the tray.

“So I see! Come in!” Pleasantly surprised about the coffee, Riley stepped aside to let Jessica inside. “I wasn’t expecting you... don’t you have a screenplay you’re working on?”

“Pfft! I couldn’t very well abandon my best friend because of work, now could I? You’re important, too, Riley. Now where am I putting this stuff?”

“Dining room. And I think you need it all more than me; the only time you get super chipper like this is when you’re over tired.”

Jessica laughed and placed the tray on the dining room table. She held up her hands in defeat and flopped down in the closest chair, her hands swishing back through jet-black hair. “Man, you know me way better than I do. I was up most of the night working on this stupid screenplay. I’ve started it over like five times already and still absolutely hate it. Which is why I brought what I have over to you in the hopes that you’d give me your totally honest opinion. No holding back.”

“Hah! I knew it.” Riley laughed and sat down across from her. “And I know the feeling, but you just have to push through. Make it work, you got this, Jess. You always do. How about you send it to me when it’s done? I have faith you’ve got this!”

“Yeah, yeah... I know. Anyway... before we get into that, how was your night last night? I heard you had to go to some kind of event for cancer research or something?”

“Mmm. Yeah. It wasn’t that great, though, you know I hate those things. I only went because my parents were there, and I wanted to support them. They were so all over the place it was hard to really talk with them, but it looked like it all went well. There were so many people there. Including Brad of all people.” Her nose wrinkled. “Pretty sure the only reason he showed up was because he knew I’d be there. He tricked me into getting a picture taken with him, so if you see anything on the news or whatever... nothing happened. Just Brad being Brad.”

“Oi, really? What a loser. I mean, didn’t you only go on a few dates or something? And that was it? What’s his deal?”

Riley laughed. “Right? He’s obsessed with me or something, I don’t know.”

“So he should be.” Jessica smirked and touched Riley’s arm, and they both giggled. “So what else happened? Anything interesting? Or was Brad it?”

She felt a light flush rise to her cheeks, and she rolled one shoulder back in a half shrug. “Well... there may have been something else. Maybe. There was this guy I met up on the rooftop terrace.”

She raised both eyebrows as though she was interested, but then rolled her eyes a little bit. A sigh left her as she turned her attention to her coffee. After a long period of silence, she finally shrugged and side-eyed Riley. “And?”

Riley’s heart dropped, and she felt her lips pull down into a frown. “And...we actually had a really nice time. He wasn’t like other guys, he actually seemed to give a shit about things. About me. Like he didn’t care who I was or why I was there, he just wanted to hang out.” When Jessica didn’t respond, she added, “why are you acting this way? I thought you’d be a little happy for me at least.”

“Well, I don’t know. I never know what you’re doing or what you want. One moment you say you’re finished with guys forever, then the next you’re going on about this hot guy you met up on a rooftop terrace. It’s just confusing is all. I know you have your demons, hell, we all do. But eventually you’re going to have to figure out what it is you want, Riley.”

An awkward silence grew between them, but Riley was nodding. She played her fingers over the lip of the coffee cup, that frown still there on her features. “I know...and the truth is, I have no idea what I want in that...department. Not even a little bit. It’s not like I jumped into the sack with him or anything, though, and I have no intentions of that, I just...” She leaned back into her chair and glanced up toward the ceiling. “I just have no idea what the hell I’m doing.”

A smile curved Jessica’s mouth, and she hefted a gentle sigh. “Hey... none of us do, girl. But we at least need to try.” There was a long moment before she took hold of Riley’s hands with her own and gave them a squeeze. “Do you remember when we were like, I don’t know... eight years old? And you kept telling me how much you liked that guy? What was his name? Robert?” When Riley flashed a smile and giggled at the familiar memory, Jessica continued: “You hated that he wouldn’t pay attention to you. It drove you crazy because he was always so distracted by his train set. Remember that?”

“Yes.” She giggled again, briefly. As memories flooded her, however, the laughter faded. “I also remember what happened when I finally did get his attention... he told me that he didn’t associate with white trash and then left.”

“Yeah... he did. But do you also remember who stood by you during that time, when you cried and cried and couldn’t fathom living life without Richard or whatever his name was? It was me, it was your family. The people who really matter in the end, you know? And that’s what you have to focus on now, the people who matter, the things that matter. Concentrate on what you want, sweetie, and not what you think the world wants you to want. That came out so weird and convoluted, but I think you understand what I mean; you always do.”

Riley felt her heart swell, and she squeezed her hands around Jessica’s. “How did I get so lucky? That’s what I want to know. Somehow, you always just.... Know exactly what to say. Thank you.”

She quirked a smile and winked. “Welcome. It’s hard sometimes, I know. Take it from the one who’s been through two abusive relationships and one that belly flopped so bad my head is still spinning. You just gotta find a way to get that beautiful ass of yours up again, you know?”

“Get this ass up, right...” Riley shook her head and laughed. “By the way, speaking of old memories, do you remember that night at the movie theater? I think you’d just turned 21 and wanted to know what it was like to make out with a guy at the movies. But in the end, that Rebecca girl stole him and made out with him in front of you? And then you grabbed the gigantic bucket of popcorn, screamed at them about how you never liked him anyway, and dumped the popcorn all over them? Butter and seasoning and all?”

“Oh my god...” Jessica put her hands over her mouth and let out a sharp screech of laughter. “What the hell, Riley?? How do you even remember that? I blocked that out of my memory hours after it happened, I was so embarrassed!”

“Hah! You were beside yourself with rage, but there were also tears streaming down your face on the way home. I hugged you and told you that he wasn’t worth it... I told you someone would come along, and you’d just know that he was the one. And I still believe that for you, Jess. I absolutely do.” She smiled, just faintly. “In all honesty, I guess I’m kind of hoping the same thing will happen for me one day.”

“Oh, Riley...” Biting down on her bottom lip, Jessica got up and folded her into a tight hug. “It will. I promise, it will.”

“I hope so.” Returning the smile, she hugged her back. As it always happened, though, the buzzing of her phone ruined the moment, and she tugged it out of her pocket. “Ugh, hold on a sec. I think it’s mom.

“Hello? Oh, hey, Mom. Yeah, sure, I’ll be right over. Okay, bye.” She hung up and winced. “Sorry, that was Mom. She’s redecorating the house again and wants my opinion on some paint options. I feel like an asshole letting you in for coffee, then kicking you out, but...catch you tomorrow after your classes?”

“It’s all right, really! I should actually head home and take a nap. A really, really long nap that will probably not end until tomorrow morning at some point. But I’m taking this coffee with me.” She held it up with a small grin.

“Hah, yes! The coffee is yours, take the whole tray. I think you need it a lot more than I do.”

“Very funny.” Jessica chuckled and gave Riley’s shoulder a tight squeeze, then grabbed the tray and headed out the door.

––––––––

FIFTEEN MINUTES LATER, Riley pulled up at her mother’s house. She parked out front by the driveway and just walked inside without knocking, calling out, “Mom? You home?”

“In here!”

At the sound of Tracey’s voice, she headed from the foyer and into the living room. She could smell the paint already, as well as new cabinets and furniture. As long as Riley could remember, it had never smelled ‘lived in’ at her mother’s place because she was constantly upgrading and buying new things.

“Didn’t you just change everything last month?”

Her mother grinned. “Yes, but I didn’t like the color of the walls, so now I want to paint them blue. The problem is there are so many kinds of blue paint these days. You can even mix shades together to get even more colors and textures. It’s not fair I tell you!”

“Oh my god, just pick a color and stick with it!” She laughed and shook her head. “You’re crazy. But if you must know my opinion, I say keep it the same as it is.”

“That’s always your answer.” Tracey smirked. “But it’s happening regardless. So come on, help me pick. The floors are going to stay the way they are, and I’m getting a new black leather chair to go by the fire place. The brown chair just doesn’t do it for me. I’m also taking out the wall between the living room and the foyer to create a more open feel. The natural lighting will be able to come through more, too, it will be wonderful!”

“Um... wow... what does Dad think about all of this?”

“Oh, you know him.” She waved a nonchalant hand. “He doesn’t care as long as there’s food on the table when he’s hungry; he’s almost never here these days anyway.”

“Still!” Riley sat down on the couch and leaned over four different shades of blue. They all looked nearly the same to her, but one stood out more than the other three. It had a really rustic texture to it, and almost looked like the trunk of a tree or layers of fossilized wood. “This one is really cool actually. The other three seem kinda...I dunno. Boring.”

“Yes, I really like that one, too. And since the layers are darker and the background is lighter, I think it will accentuate the black chair and the fireplace, and even the design of the hardwood floors. And everything else!”

“Until you decide to change it all again?”

“Yes. Until I decide to change it all again.” Tracey chuckled and pointed to another sample. “What do you think of this one? I thought it was really neat, too. It’s almost like a faded metallic sort of deal, really modern. Do you think it’s too modern maybe?”

“Yeah, a little. I still like the other design idea a lot better.”

“Hmmm... well, mull it over a little bit. Your father should be back any second now, and I’ve got some lemon tarts ready to go. He’s bringing a young man over from the function last night. We’re hoping to invest in his company and get some more money flowing through these walls.”

“Oh?” Her heart skipped a beat for a moment, and she found herself dreading what her father was up to. It was absurd, of course, to think that Brad of all people could be ‘the young man’, but Riley wouldn’t put it past him to coerce his way back into her life by whatever means necessary.

The front door opened, and she could hear the sound of her father’s voice, along with one other that she definitely recognized; it was the man from the function. Her eyes widened, and she forced herself to stay seated. Her heart was in her chest the moment they turned the corner, and when her eyes met the stranger’s, she found herself smiling uncontrollably.

No! Wait a minute now! He’d been the one to bail on me, not the other way around. So why on earth am I so happy to see him?

He looked equally as surprised to see her and paused in the open archway that led into the living room. That hesitation seemed to span for many seconds, and Riley found herself hoping that he would stay and leave at the same time. She still hadn’t figured out how she felt about him, and the majority of her really didn’t want to. Still, there was a nagging within her that wanted to know more about him and what he was really like. Because history didn’t always repeat itself...did it?