Sweet Reunion (24 page)

They were both discovering, somewhat painfully, that
their thoughts and assumptions about the other were complete and utter
fabrications of their own imaginations.

Still, thought Amanda, this is a horrible time to make
a lasting decision about a big life event like whether to break up with
Geoffrey or not. Better to sleep on it, and talk the next day.

Amanda stood. “Look, Geoffrey,” she said, “I feel like
emotions are running high. Why don't we table this whole thing and call it a
night? I'll phone you in the morning.”

Geoffrey stood with haughty grace and made his exit.
As he was stepping out the front door, Amanda called after him, “We'll talk
tomorrow!” but he did not respond. Her only answer came when she heard his car
start up outside and drive away.

Amanda rolled her eyes. “Love you too, babe!” she
called sarcastically to the empty air as she started to clear the table.

“Thanks, honey,” came a voice from the kitchen
archway, causing Amanda to jump a foot in the air, dropping the forks and
spoons she had in her hands, and let loose a shrill scream. She whirled and saw
Justin standing in the archway laughing, and then he started a slow clap.
“Perfect 10 from the Russian judge!” he cackled.

“Oh my God, so not funny!” she exclaimed, clutching
her chest.

“Then why are you laughing?”

She giggled, “OK, decent point. God, you scared me!”

He gestured at the table, “Nice spread, kid. Did you
whip this up yourself?”

“Yup, sure did. Spent all afternoon on it, actually.
Not that it mattered.”

“It doesn't even look touched. Are you just tossing
it?”

She gave him a half smile, “Justin, are you hinting at
wanting to join me?”

He returned the sly half smile as he smoothly slid
into Geoffrey's recently vacated seat. “Look at me, haven't lost my touch,” he
winked.

She sat down opposite him, her lips curved in the
smile that seemed to be permanently affixed to her face when Justin was around.

“So, what happened? Did Prince Charming turn back into
a pumpkin?”

“OK, funny man,” she said, “enough fractured fairy
tales. There'll be plenty of time to get into my tale of woe later. Right now,
I'm dying to hear about your day out with Noah.”

Justin leaned back in his chair and a slow smile of
delight spread across his face until his entire visage was lit with pure joy.

“Oh, man, Amanda. It was so great. He's the best kid!
All day long, there kept being these little moments. He would do something, or
say something, and I would recognize it. It was like, I was getting to know
him, but in a way I already knew him, if that makes sense. I don't know how to
explain it.”

“He's your brother,” Amanda smiled, “there's an
inexplicable thing that goes on between family, a genetic synchronicity, and
you and Noah have it.”

“I think that's it,” Justin agreed, “I never felt it
with my own father, because there were so many other things in the way. I never
met my mother. Noah's the first real family I've ever had. It feel like...I
don't know how to describe it. It's...just...it's....”

“Intoxicating,” Amanda finished for him.

“Yes!” Justin exclaimed with a lopsided smile, “That's
the perfect word. I feel like I'm high. High on human connection. I wonder if
there's a way to bottle this feeling and sell it. I'd make a fortune.”

Amanda felt so warm and happy inside watching Justin
describe his day with his brother, seeing joy light his eyes. She knew what her
intoxicant of choice was. She was getting high on Justin's happiness.

All of a sudden, clarity descended on her like a light
switching on. She saw the two halves of her evening in stark contrast to one
another. The way she had felt when Geoffrey was sitting in that chair, and the
way that she felt now that Justin was. Sure, she might not know where things
would end up with Justin. But she knew where they were going to end up with
Geoffrey.

“I'm breaking up with Geoffrey,” she pronounced,
amazement infused in her voice. “I just realized I have to.”

“Wow, you just realized that?” Justin quipped, giving
her his sexy smile. Wait, who was she kidding? All of his smiles were sexy.
This particular smile was #111, the I’m-So-Sexy-When-I’m-Right smile. “I
realized that the first time I met him.”

Amanda laughed, “The girls are on your side there.
Especially Karina. She disliked Geoffrey from the moment she met him.”

Justin inclined his head. “Always liked that girl.
Good head on her shoulders.”

“So it's been a day full of changes for both of us, I
guess.”

“Yep,” Justin agreed, “I'm celebrating a fantastic
addition to my life and you're celebrating a fantastic subtraction.”

Justin had to duck to avoid the napkin that came
flying across the table at his head. He didn't care, though. It was worth
ducking 100 napkins aimed at his head, just to see that sparkle in Amanda's
eyes.

That sparkle reminded him of so many good times from
their youth, so many fond memories of camaraderie and affection. He started to
get slightly choked up, in spite of himself. The times he had spent with Amanda
as a teenager were the only times he had ever felt purely loved, just for
himself. He never felt judged, and he felt completely comfortable. In fact,
times spent hanging out with Amanda had felt far more like home to him than any
time he had ever spent in the so-called “home” that he had grown up in.

Amanda leaned back in her chair and yawned prettily,
moving her hand up to her mouth in a dainty gesture. She then brought her arms
up above her head and stretched like a cat, seeming to luxuriate in it.

Justin felt an acute sense of disappointment,
realizing that this probably signaled the abrupt end to this pleasant evening.

“Are you sleepy?” he asked, “Do you need me to get out
of your way so you can go to bed?”

“Hmmm...” she said, considering, “I do feel kind of
sleepy, but you know what actually sounds much better than crashing right now?”

Justin smiled. They had always had a weird ability to
know what the other was thinking in many situations, and this was no exception.
The scene popped into his head fully formed – the two of them on the couch in
the dark, covered in quilts and the flickering blue light of the TV. He knew
immediately that he was right, this was what was on her mind. This is how it
had always been between the two of them. He didn't know how he knew, but he was
one hundred percent certain.

“Movie Night?”

She rewarded him with the enthusiastic brandishing of
finger guns, which he had always regarded as her nerdiest – and therefore most
endearing – habit.

“Exactly!” Amanda exclaimed.

One thing they had never had was completely simpatico
taste in movies, but there were a few that they could always agree on. He set
one of these in his mind, and decided to test out their mental connection to
see if it still went both ways.

“You know what movie I'm thinking of?” he asked with a
wink.

“Goonies!” she said with complete conviction.

Interesting, so they still had it. He was glad. “Go
cue it up, I'll get the blankets,” he told her.

“I'm changing into sweats first, I don't even care
what I look like!” she declared emphatically.

“Amanda, don't you know? You're even sexier in sweats
than you are all dolled up,” Justin said with a smile.

They settled in on the couch, about six inches apart.
Justin pressed play on the remote and the familiar opening scenes of the movie
began to play, launching them both back into feelings of nostalgia. Seemingly
without thought, Amanda sighed contentedly and leaned her head onto Justin's
shoulder, just like the old days. As the film progressed, she snuggled in even closer.

By the time the kids on the screen were well into the
cave in search of treasure – and the movie had settled into a feeling of dimly
lit intimacy because of that dark, claustrophobic setting – that same cozy
sensation was permeating the den where Justin and Amanda sat cuddling and
watching the story play out.

Suddenly, it became a little bit too intense for
Justin to tolerate. Even though he had made up his mind that he would win
Amanda back, he wasn't ready to completely surrender himself to this feeling of
intimacy – of family, really – until he knew that she was all in, as well. If
she broke his heart when this was all said and done, it would be that much
harder to recover from if he'd let himself get accustomed to the feeling of
connection between them. Moreover, if he'd let himself become accustomed to the
feeling of being deeply connected to
anyone
in the world, it would be
that much harder to go back to being alone if it were ripped away.

Justin paused the movie and jumped up abruptly,
surprising Amanda. “I need a drink, want anything from the kitchen?” he said,
too quickly and too brightly. He heard his own voice betraying him as it left
his mouth, but he was powerless to modulate it, somehow.

Amanda shook her head and smiled shyly, “I think maybe
the last thing I need right now is additional intoxication,” she said, not
quite meeting his eyes.

Justin turned and walked into the kitchen, smiling
broadly at her statement. That was a good sign if he'd ever heard one. He also
considered the wisdom of her words. If he were to keep his emotions in check
this evening, then probably alcohol was the last thing he needed.

Besides, he thought he had a better idea. A way to
satisfy a different kind of craving, as well as move forward with his campaign
of showing Amanda what a great, thoughtful guy he could be, and further
solidifying their bond.

A few minutes later, Justin re-entered the den with a
large bowl heaped full with mounds of ice cream, covered in chocolate syrup and
nuts, and topped with whipped cream. Sticking out from opposite sides of the
bowl were two spoons.

“Here you are, madam, a sundae for two. What would
movie night be without ice cream?”

Amanda's eyes lit up and she actually clapped her
hands in front of her like a 6-year-old. Justin thought that it was possibly
the most adorable reaction to ice cream that he – or maybe anyone – had ever
seen.

He sat back down in his place on the couch and bundled
himself back up in the blankets with one hand while holding the bowl aloft with
the other. When he lowered the bowl between them, he saw a glint of
disappointment in her eyes. “No cherries?” she said, slightly dejectedly.

“Girl, please,” Justin said with a laugh, “You think
you need to remind me about you and ice cream? Not only are you the only person
I've ever known who craves ice cream even when they're freezing cold, but you
have the most obsessive fondness for Maraschino cherries known to mankind. You
think I left you hanging?”

And with that, he used his spoon to move aside the
outer edge of whipped cream, to reveal that the interior of the entire bowl was
ringed with the bright red candied cherries, probably 25 or 30 in all. Amanda
laughed delightedly and, without forethought or guile, leaned over and gave
Justin a light peck on the lips.

She drew back quickly, flustered, having obviously
surprised herself as much as she had surprised Justin. Justin's lips burned
with the heat of their contact with Amanda's lips, however fleeting and casual
it may have been. Suddenly, his body was alive, electricity firing his nerve
endings, his heartbeat and breath speeding up, and his desire for Amanda
stirring in every cell of his body.

He gazed into her eyes, and he saw by the flush
creeping up her neck and the increased speed and shallowness with which her breaths
were coming that she felt the charge in the atmosphere that was now between
them, as well. With that one millisecond of contact, their facade of casual
camaraderie had dropped like the curtain on a bad play. Suddenly, their true
emotion and their true connection was on naked, raw display. It could no longer
be denied.

They moved their heads closer together, their lips
drawing towards one another, slowly, inexorably, the crackling tension in the
air growing thicker with each millimeter closer together they moved.

Justin had just closed his eyes, anticipating the feel
of Amanda's warm lips on his, so tantalizingly close he could almost taste them
– when a wriggling rush of black fur jumped up onto the couch between them,
nose twitching as he jostled them apart.

Amanda gasped, and Justin laughed in shock.

“He must smell the hot fudge,” Amanda giggled shakily.

Justin bent down and called Teddy back onto to the
floor between their feet, where he curled up and plopped his head down with a
dissatisfied chuff.

Justin straightened in his seat on the couch, and
looked at Amanda, studying her face for clues as to how to proceed. She was
flushed, and couldn't quite meet his eyes, but she seemed determined not to let
the atmosphere turn awkward. She too-brightly said, “At least he didn't tip
over the ice cream!”

Justin smiled, and followed her lead, “That would have
been a real tragedy,”  he smiled.

He pressed play on the remote control, and the tale of
the ragtag band of misfit teens of Astoria, Oregon resumed on the television
screen.

Amanda and Justin each grabbed their spoon and dug
into their ice cream. They didn't snuggle up again for the rest of the movie,
but Justin felt that a very important line had been crossed. He had seen that
he still got to Amanda – not just physically. She still cared. And tonight had
shown him that she did have the ability to get past the hurt and enjoy spending
time with him. He still had the unique ability to bring a smile of delight to
her face and eyes with the simplest gesture.

Really, it was everything, Justin reasoned. If he
turned her on, which had been well-proved on more than one occasion, and she
still got pleasure from spending time with him, which tonight had convinced him
of, if nothing else – well, what more was there?