Reunited Ch. 01

"How so?"

"Well after you left, I didn't want to go to community college - you know I was never a big fan of school. So my parents made me get a job. Didn't want me lounging around the house all day." she paused to finish her bite, "Remember Leo's? I started waitressing there first."

"God I haven't been there in ages! Not since I left, I think."

"Closed down a few years ago, sadly. Some chain took its place. But I found I was pretty good at it, and after working at a few different restaurants, I got into management. Eventually I ended up working for one of the bigger companies, and I was given a choice in promotion. This one just happened to pay more!"

She chuckled as she chewed.

"Although if I knew how expensive living here was gonna be, I might have taken the GM position instead."

Cass smiled.

"It isn't cheap, that's for sure. But I'm glad things worked out. I always wondered what you were up to..."

"You know social media exists hon'," Lisa joked, "you could have always looked me up!"

"Yeah but... well, you know I never liked that stuff."

Lisa did know - Cass never had many friends back then when they were in school and connecting online was blowing up, and those sites were probably a depressing reminder for her.

"Well what about you?" she quickly changed the subject, "You're over here looking like a bad bitch businesswoman!"

"Kinda," the blonde chuckled quietly at her friend's crassness, "I'm the VP of Sales at this city's branch of FORC."

"Wait, FORC? Why does that sound familiar..." Lisa thought to herself as their waiter brought over their entrees, "Oh! That's that company. How fitting!"

"I thought so." Cass smiled back knowingly, "My degree is in business, and the company helped me out a lot when I was in college. I interned there like every year and got some scholarships they sponsored for, uh, people like us."

She paused and took a bite of her grilled chicken.

"That's actually why I um," her mouth slipped into a frown as she chewed, "I didn't really come home a lot."

"Makes sense. Sounds like you were busy."

"I was. I barely had time to make it back for holidays. I was working a couple jobs and studying all the time, and then my parents moved away during my junior year and..."

Her sentence drifted off unfinished as she dug into her food, Lisa watching her closely as she started cutting into her own steak. To her own embarrassment, she hadn't minded her friend's absence that much, and hadn't thought much about it until she'd gotten older. A lot older. Being able to go solo in their little town was the freedom she thought she'd always wanted. It wasn't lonely, and after the shackles of highschool were discarded, it was easier to make friends when everyone wasn't so concerned about social norms and being popular or cool. It wasn't until she'd grown up that she realized how lucky she was to have another person that was like her around.

"That makes sense," Lisa broke the silence, "you were trying to make something of yourself, and it looks like you succeeded!"

"Thanks." the smile returned to her face, "So uh, do you uh..."

Cassandra seemed to trip over her words, stopping to finish her glass of red alcohol before she spoke again.

"Are you seeing anyone?"

"Not seriously!" Lisa smirked and winked at her, "Still doing the same thing we did back when we were younger, just by myself now."

"Some things never change!" the blonde joked, both of them erupting in laughter.

"And what about you Cass? Ever find that special someone you always talked about wanting in highschool?"

"No luck in that department, sadly. I'm too busy with work all the time."

They went back to eating, Lisa not needing to inquire further. Cassandra ordered them more wine, which caused the taller of the two to recount a story about them in their youth where one of them had too much to drink at a party; Cassandra blushed profusely at the memory. As they laughed and talked, the conversation turning towards more general topics, a realization hit Lisa: if this really was the long-awaited reunion she didn't realize she wanted, they would have to christen it. They would need to celebrate the same way they did as teens, the way they did after making a pact when they both turned eighteen. The second thing that kept their friendship alive despite their differences. It would be perfect!

"You know Cass," Lisa started, putting her elbows on the table and leaning in closely, "I have a few, ahem, friends I've made in the city since I moved here."

Lisa matched her friend's posture, their noses almost touching.

"Oh?"

"Mhm. Now if you wanted, we could... relive our younger days with one. Do what we used to do before you left."

She looked around to see if any of the servers or other patrons were listening.

"You know, share someone."

Cassandra thought for a moment.

"Well, it has been awhile," she gave the dark-haired woman an embarrassed grin, "so I guess I wouldn't mind, uh, doing that again."

"It'll just be like old times. And who knows, maybe it can be something we do regularly. I would like to hang out with you again."

"That would be nice..."

Cassandra pulled back suddenly and downed her nearly-full glass of wine, her cheeks turning an even deeper shade of scarlet.

"Ok," she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and let out a long sigh, "I... I think I'm up for it."

"Nice! There's a hotel I use whenever I can't go to someone's place where we can do this at. You know how much of a bitch cleaning up is!"

Cassandra nodded.

"You know I can get you a discount on that stuff now?" she offered, "Even have a crew come and do that for cheap."

"I might take you up on that offer one of these days!"

The conversation changed once more, Lisa inquiring about the specifics of Cass's career and her path after college. Once they finished with their meal they decided that dessert was out of the question, Cassandra graciously paid for the check, much to Lisa's relief - this place wasn't cheap! They sat for a couple more minutes to finish their wine before finally departing. Making their way out into the cold of the night, they stood in silence for several long moments, neither wanting to be the first to depart. Lisa pulled out her phone and started texting someone, Cassandra staring off into the distance next to her. Looking up from the rectangular device, Lisa turned towards her friend.

"Does this weekend work for you? I think I can set something up."

"Sure, I'll be in town. Don't have any trips scheduled for a few more weeks."

"Great! Are you gonna be okay to get home? I know how you are after a few drinks, and you definitely had more than a few in there!"

Cassandra looked away from the taller woman as she started laughing.

"Yeah I'll be fine, I live close."

"Good!"

Lisa reached over and pulled Cass in for an unexpected hug. The blonde wrapped her arms around her friend's strong back tightly, burying her head in her shoulder. They stayed like this for several moments, swaying slightly. Lisa tried to pull back, but Cassandra only let her go so far, keeping her close; their faces hovered only inches away from each other, and Lisa could see Cass's mouth open just a bit, like she was going to say something. The shorter woman leaned forward, then pulled back with a cough, scratching the side of her head. Lisa gave the blonde a questioning look.

"It's really great to have you back," Cass spoke softly, "I can't wait for this weekend."

"Same." Lisa made a move to start heading home, "I'll text you hon'!"

She glanced over her shoulder to look at her friend's gentle features one last time; she really hadn't changed that much!