The Flashback

She looked at her bottle of Dolce and Gabbana Light Blue and the memory flashed over her, like the summer heat. Her hand gripped the edge of the sink and for a second she had to close her eyes. 

* He looked over at her with his deep chestnut eyes, then back to the road. 

-“ what?” she asked.

-“This might sound like a weird thing to say, but…you smell the same.” 

This made her feel warm inside, because she remembered that so long ago, he had loved her smell. She didn't know what to say back, except the truth.  

-“You smell the same too.”

CETHIN 

"Alright buddy. Let's not go crazy today, okay? We can be nice, we can be flirty. HOWEVER, we can NOT attach ourselves to this girl. (suddenly he begins to sing to himself) 

"She's got a way about her mmmm I don't know what it is...

but I know that I can't live..." WHAT the HELL! seriously..were gonna sing Billy Joel right now? Cool. very cool. Were totally doing the opposite of dis-attachment. ATTACHING dude..were attaching. awwwww shut up you freak. Stop talking to yourself." 

  His dark gaze made her feel suddenly nervous. She quickly turned away, feeling her face flush hot pink. She stared out her window, waiting for her heartbeat to slow down again. She wondered whether he had really changed enough. Deep down she knew that his beauty was not enough to make their love work. She could never get over her unrelenting attraction to Cethin. 

TATE:

"okay, so he's beautiful? so what? there are plenty of beautiful men in this world Tate. YEAH, but...he really is like STILL the most beautiful, To me. ughhhh." 

  It became Obvious. She could not drag this out, if she was unsure.

Everything was the same, and yet, it had all changed so much. After all, if had been six years since the last time she saw his face. His face. Oh, his face. The darkness of his features pulled her in like the shore follows the tide. The one man she knew, that if left alone for too long, she would have to touch. She didn't want to break the barrier that six years had created. She didn't want the mystery to be so quickly over. The only thing that was possible or allowed, in her mind, was to head somewhere public. Surely the public would hold the barrier strong. 

-“How about The Sarsaparilla Pub, near Bernard St.?”  She suggested.

He raised his eyebrows and his lips curled up towards heaven. 

-“Oh? the one with dark corners and sensual music? sure.” he smiled.

-“Sensual music. It doesn't have sensual music. It's just…It's just…” she spoke nervously and lost her words. 

  Truthfully, she had no rebuttal to his bold claim about the pub. Maybe she chose that pub because she secretly wanted to be in a deep dark corner with him, sipping on her Hefeweizen. She hated it so much, that he seemed to be always one step ahead. His confidence smashed her ever obvious indecision. 

-“It’s okay Tate. I just want to talk to you. I’m honestly just so happy you agreed to meet with me. Hearing your voice again…well, It’s made me happier than anything else I can think of at this moment in time. It's just, I never thought I would…see you again.”  

He turned his face away from hers and turned up the radio. A gallant attempt to distract from his sudden choice of vulnerability. He hadn't succeded in fooling that wise and beautiful girl. Maybe, that was why he had pushed Tate away before. Tate was so very intuitive. 

  It couldn't be. It was as if his voice had cracked in the declaration of his feelings. He never cried. She had to stop, she could hear herself, begging to over analyze why he was even the slightest bit emotional. Her bossy inner self began to scold her. 

TATE:

“Bla bla bla. Turn it off Tate. These feelings cant get out of hand. You really did it this time. Agreeing to meet with your one true weakness. Why are you such a fricken’ idiot. Just stop it. Get a hold of yourself, you blundering fool. He’s not to be trusted. Don’t you remember before? Of course you don’t. Because you’re thinking with your Hooha again. Dear Lord…help me.”

-“Cethin, Im fine. I just disagree with you. The pub is probably fully lit anyway. It's half past eleven. Man, I’m starved. I hope they still have that bacon sandwich I love.”  changing the subject was not hard for Tate.

-“Oh! That reminds me. Did I mention I’m a vegan now?” 

-“really? Wow. Well, that’s nice. I mean…thats different?”

CETHIN:

"WELL. She's not impressed. She probably thinks I'm a big ole' hipster now."

He gave Tate a glance and a smirk as he pulled into the parking lot of the Sarsaparilla pub. 

-"You're totally judging me right now aren't you?" -Cethin accused playfully. 

- "No! I mean...I just didn't expect YOU of all people to become a vegan...but It's fine, I mean obviously It's fine...

I have absolutely no say in your eating preferences...can we just change the subject now?"

-"Do you know what I hate?"

-"Me? For judging you about being a vegan."

-"haha. No. I hate people that park like that! that truck is taking up two parking places. I have this theory that 

people who park like that are extremely selfish people. I mean seriously? how hard would it be to just reverse and try again. Or maybe they're such d*****s that they actually MEANT to park that way. haha...I actually think that might be the truth."

A huge grin beams over Tate's face at the end of Cethin's parking rant. She slowly brings her arm across the divide between their seats. Bringing her palm to his forehead and giving his gorgeous face a playful shove.

-"You're a goof. Let's go innn! I'm so hungry. That bacon is calling my name! oops...sorry."

-"Tate. I'm not an animal rights activist...just for the record. I'm a vegan. Those two things are sometimes combined. In my case, they are not."

He leans over the divide, points out his finger, and taps the tip of her nose twice. Grinning from ear to ear, he unbuckles her seat belt. 

-"NOW! let's go get you some extra greasy bacon, my friend." 

Author's Note

grammatical errors are likely, content is nowhere near perfect, has not been edited or revised.