Youth

Brandon rubbed his forehead, thinking about the email he had gotten almost a week prior. He had been best friends with Laura when they were younger, but he hadn't seen her in years. He had practically forgotten about her it had been so long.

Her email had come from virtually nowhere. Supposedly she had recently been looking through her old yearbooks and seen a picture of them together. She had forgotten about him, too, but seeing the picture made her feel like she had been missing something. She tried to contact him, but his old info was long dead. It had taken a lot of searching, a lot of pulling strings. But she was able to find him again. 

Laura. The name felt so heavy on Brandon's tongue. The last time they talked he had been 15. He was 33 now. Eighteen years was a long time. A lot about him had changed. He used to like her. Well, obviously he had liked her. They were best friends. But with time, it had become more than that. He liked her a lot. He wanted to spend every waking moment with her, to wrap himself up in her, to love her. He had feared that she wouldn't share the sentiments. In time, that fear had pushed them apart. It was a fairly typical story as far as he was aware. 

But that had been a long time ago. 

He looked up and saw Laura walking toward him, her classic bright smile on her face. Brandon couldn't help but smile back at her. "It's been a long time, Brandy boy," she teased. "Thanks for coming and meeting up with me. It's been a long time. I wouldn't have blamed you if you hadn't."

Brandon shook his head. "You, Laura?" he asked in reply. "I could hardly say no to you. Please, sit down. Talk to me."

Laura giggled and took a seat. "I don't even know where to start. Eighteen years is so long. So much has happened. I just... I don't know, Brandon. There are so many things I want to ask you."

"I know the feeling."

"What do you do now a days? I hope you didn't give up on all that writing you ised to do."

Brandon smiled and scratched his chin. "No, actually," he responded. "I took your advice. I published my third book last year. It took a long time, a lot of work. I spent several years working as a journalist and blogger. But always writing."

Laura giggled and smiled. "I'm glad you never gave up. You were always so good."

"Thanks. What about you?"

Laura laughed out loud. "I ended up on a different path than I expected. I'm a model now."

"No way."

"Hey now. Are you saying I'm not pretty enough to be a model?"

Brandon felt the blood rush to his face. "N-no, it's not that, I just..."

Laura laughed out loud. "God, I forgot how cute you can be."

Brandon's face got even redder at that. "You are so not helping right now."

"I can't believe I never dated you back then."

"Laura!"