Tina hadn’t seen Brody in years, five years exactly. The years had been kind to him, and apparently so had fortune. She had not expected to see him again, much less at this party. But it made sense. These were the same friends they had kept while growing up.

She had  not known that he was back in town, and no one had bothered to tell her. She was sure that at the least, one if not more of her friends knew that he was going to be here today but none had deemed it fit to inform her of his return.
Seeing him again brought back memories. Memories that she’d rather not remember. Not because they were sad, but because he was the past and it  did not serve any purpose to hold on to that past. To do so would mean undoing all the work she’d put into forgetting him.

He was her first, her first love, her first kiss, her first everything. They were in love once, really in deep. he was probably her one true love, but love did not pay the bills, nor did it get her the fine clothes and jewelry that she liked to don on. She wanted a life of luxury, and love alone was not enough. And so they’d broken up, she had broken them up.

Then came Michael, sweet, funny and kind Michael, probably a bit too sweet. They  met while at the university, he was the tall, good looking, smart and soft spoken guy who surprisingly enough was rich, or his parents were at least. Surprising because one did not often find rich kids who weren’t snubs. Michael was one of the few who had money as well as respect for others. That was what she liked about him, he didn’t turn up his nose at her or laugh at her naïveté, when it inadvertently showed up. Rather he treated her with respect and as an equal, and as a friend.  In time, their friendship grew into more and they began dating. She liked him well enough, and so had agreed. But she didn’t love him. He was too perfect, too good. Perfection was good, but it was not what she wanted. There was no excitement, no adrenaline rush like with Brody. With Michael everything was planned and organized, even his love making seemed to follow a pattern.

She liked her men a bit rough around the edges, men who could be assertive at times, she liked a man who was up for adventure, a man who could take her in more positions than three, and make her body sing. Ultimately She liked them like Brody.

Michael was a good man, he was kind, hardworking and sweet. Too even, and she had developed tooth ache.  Despite all of these, when he proposed she accepted. She reasoned that he could give her the fine things in life that she wanted, and given time she may come to love him too.
Their marriage was a good one, not the best, but it was good. All that she desired she got, he loved her there was never any doubt about that. In time she’d come to accept Michael as the man he was, but she did not come to love him back like she’d thought she would.

There was no spark, there was no excitement. It was a rather dull routine, one that she quickly grew tired of. So she tried to live vicariously through her sister and through her friends, occasionally partying like she was still yet unmarried. Michael never approved of the parties, but she went all the same. 

This was one such party that he had been opposed to. He did not like her friends. like precious, he thought they were a bad influence. But he’d grudgingly agreed when she told him Precious was going too. Not like she needed his permission or anything, but peace was always better than war.

Michael had much respect for her sister and was quite fond of her too, which wasn’t surprising, the two shared a lot in common. She often thought that he’d gotten married to the wrong sister. She had less in common with Michael than he did with her sister, foremost of which was being a great bore, they both excelled at being boring. It was almost a chore being in either of their presences. Michael’s especially. They both were intellectuals, one with a somewhat sour disposition, the other always had a smile for everybody.

Michael always looked forward to dinners with her family, and was always excited. When she had asked him why,
“your sister, I enjoy her acerbic wit, it is always exciting with her around,” he replied. Indeed the two would have made quite the pair, she thought. But alas it was she he married, and he was good to her, but he was not good for her.
Even though it was she who called off the relationship, she’d never truly gotten over him. She’d tried to forget him, she’d tried really hard to bury him within the deep recesses of her mind, and for a minute there it seemed she succeeded. She was married now, and it was not right for her to keep thinking about past lovers.
But meeting him here today had dredged up those old feelings and memories she thought were deeply buried. He looked better now, his large head was still as large, but his clothes and demeanor now bespoke of a man with money. He had always been confident, she found it alluring. But he was even now more so than he had been before, so much so that it bordered on arrogance.

Like a movie, their eyes had met from across the room, and the room and the people in it seeming to have disappeared as they held each other’s gazes. She had stood rooted as he made his way towards her.

“Hello Tee,” he said, smiling that confident smile.

“Hello Brody, how are you?”

“What happened to calling me Bee”

“That was a long time ago, a whole lot has changed since then,” she said.

“Yeah, you got married.”

“What do you want Brody?”

“You, I want you Tina,” he said matter of factly.

“That can not-”

“let’s go out back” he cut in, grabbing her arm and pulling her along. He did not give her chance to agree or not. She was led to a secluded corner before he turned around to look at her.

“Why did you bring me out here?” she asked.

“I wanted to talk to you, privately.”

“Why? about what?”

“About us.”

“Us? There is no us Brody, that ended four years ago, and like you just said, I’m married.”

“I know you don’t love him,” he said.

“You don’t know that,” Tina answered.

“I do,” he said moving closer. “It is me you love. I know because I still love you Tina and I know you still love me too,” he continued.

“Money was the problem before, but not anymore baby, like you can see I’ve made money,” he said  gesturing to his person, then taking her hand in his.

“I want to spend it all on you. Give you all of the things you want, all of the things I couldn’t give you before.”

He had indeed made money, it was evident in the understated clothes he wore, and the jewelry that adorned his fingers and wrist. He smelled nice too, masculine and she found herself being drawn to him, incapable of resisting.

Seeing him here, in the flesh was quickly bringing down the walls she’d built to cage him in. She found herself responding to the fingers he was slowly rubbing over the back of her hands.

“I know you don’t love him ”

“I do,” she said, feebly

“You don’t Tina,” he contradicted, emphatically. “Divorce him, and we could be married the very next day. You and I Tina, just like we dreamed.”

“I can’t do that Brody, he’s a good guy, he’s been good to me, and believe it or not, I do love him,” she said.

“He’s a good guy?”

“Yes.”

“Since when do you like good guys Tina?”

“I’ve changed,” she said. “I love him.”

“You may love him Tina, but you don’t love him like you love me. You can never love him like you loved me, like you still love me. Don’t you dare try to deny it, I can see it in your eyes.”

“I don’t love you Brody.”

“Say that again.”

“I do not love you Brody,” she annunciated, for both their benefits. For she feared she was at a precipice and may soon topple over if she did nothing to reel herself back. “I don’t love you,” she repeated.

He looked her in the eye, and slowly leaned down, until he captured her lips in his. She had known what he was going to do, but she was powerless to stop him.
The kiss was neither slow nor was it gentle. It was hard and rough, it was the kiss of a man who wanted to prove a point, and prove a point he did. For not long after, she was kissing him back, just as fiercely, just as passionately, her hand reaching up around his neck and pulling him closer, as his hand slid down, resting on the small of her back.

“Do you still believe that?” he asked, pausing the kiss for air.

“Oh Brody,” she said, still in his arms. He latched his lips on hers again, before she could say anymore.

Tina knew what was happening, yet she couldn’t stop, she did not want to stop. It had been so long since she felt this way, and shame on her but she wanted more.

“One weekend, just one weekend,” he said, breaking the kiss again.

“What?” She asked, not comprehending.

“Come away with me for one weekend, it’ll be just the two of us, let me treat you right, give you all the things I never could give to you.”

“Brody, I can’t do that. I have a husband, what would people say if we were seen together?”

“We’ll go far away Tina, no one will know. It would be just the two of us, think of it as our goodbye to each other.”

“I don’t know Brody,” she said hesitantly.

“Do this for me, and I’ll never bother you again Tina.”

“One weekend, not more,” said Tina after a some minutes of introspection.

“Yes, one last weekend not more” he affirmed.

*******

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