The Reunion

She thanked God that there was no one in the halls, everyone was in class and it was just the two of them. She didn't want anyone to hear her confession, not that it really mattered anymore. She tugged him closer and tipped her head back, looking up at him. She could feel his breath on her face, feel his taut abdomen rising and falling under her hands that were fisted into his shirt. "I fell head over heels in love with you the very second I saw you coming out of the main office your first day here. I ignore you so my friends won't tease me; you know how fast rumors get spread through here, but still I stand outside in the freezing cold and pouring rain just so I can see you every morning. I know you feel the same way about me or you wouldn't follow me around like a lost puppy dog. We should be together; we're destined to be together–"

Zeke didn't know what did it, her words or one look in those forget-me-not blue eyes of hers but he caved. He reached down and took gentle hold of her chin again, tipping her head up. He kissed her right there in the hallway, neither one of them caring who could see. It was a soft kiss, a kiss that held all of the promises that the future could bring them. He raised his head and gazed down in to her eyes. "Meet me in the south parking lot after graduation."

Cate pressed a quick kiss to his lips and walked away. She stopped at the double doors that opened out to the breezeway and looked over her shoulder at him, smiling. She was finally getting out of this town and her future was standing there against the lockers, looking back at her with hot coffee-brown eyes and a wicked smile. She pushed the door open and hurried to the gymnasium, smiling the whole way.

A week later, with her diploma in her hand and her graduation gown billowing to the ground behind her as she hastily removed it, Cate ran as fast as she could to the parking lot behind the gym, flinging her mortarboard to the grass as she grabbed a handful of her skirt, pulling it up so she could run even faster. She rounded the corner and ran across the lot to where Zeke had left his Harley, but she was too late. He was already gone. She could hear the rumble of the motorcycle's engine; see the sun shining off of his helmet as he tore across the parking lot and out of town without her.

She slowly sank to the ground, tears welling up in her eyes as her future, her savior, her knight in leather and denim sped out of sight in the warm June sun.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Present day...

Cate picked up the loose change that had been left on the table for a tip and dropped it into her apron pocket as she wiped the table down with a wet towel. Woohoo, a whole whopping ninety-eight cents! It was a slow day and she never expected to make very much in tips but one would think that certain people could be just a little more generous towards the person that serves your food. She was expecting it to be busy with all of the alumni coming back into town for the reunion but there was going to be food at the park and they tended to stay in that general area. The breakfast hour could be busy tomorrow morning from the graduates that had stayed overnight, but that was even doubtful, most of the people that had graduated still lived in town or just up the freeway in Riverton, and the one's that had moved away, gone to college and had successful careers didn't want to bother reconnecting with their fellow classmates, they soon just forget they even existed.

She heard the bell above the door jingle and she said, without looking up, "Have a seat wherever, Hon, and I'll be right with you." She wiped the last of the crumbs from the table and straightened, brushing a lock of hair away from her face with one finger that had escaped the sloppy knot on the back of her head as she walked across the chipped linoleum towards the front counter. She dropped the towel into the sanitizer bucket and picked up a laminated menu from the holder and the coffee decanter, walking back out into the dining area.

Her eyes instantly fell on the tall bulk of a man that sauntered across the room, all broad shoulders and narrow-waist inch of him. His brown hair was cut business-short and starting to gray at the temples with a few strands of silver here and there. His pale blue oxford shirt was pulled taut across his shoulders and the sleeves were rolled up to reveal hair-dusted muscular forearms. His khaki cuffed chinos hugged his perfect ass almost to the point of being obscene and his loafers cost more than her rent. Her eyes were instantly drawn up to his sun-tanned face when he turned around and she sucked in her breath at the sight of the faded jagged scar on his face. It couldn't be– And when he slipped off his sunglasses and tucked them into his shirt pocket, she went dead still as her suspicions were confirmed when eyes the color of the hot coffee in her hand fell on her. She never expected to see him for the rest of her life. She dropped the menu down onto the closest table, sat the decanter of coffee down before she dropped it on the floor and marched right up to him.

Without so much as a second thought to the consequences or her surroundings, and with all the pent up rage bottled up inside her after all these years, Cate brought her open palm up and slapped Zeke as hard as she could across the face, his head lurching slightly under the stinging blow. "You asshole!" she all but screamed at him. She could care less that the loud smack of skin-on-skin contact echoed through the small diner or her harsh expletive gained everyone's attention; he deserved more than just a slap on the face and the tingling pain radiating up her arm was well worth it. She instantly heard the heavy footsteps of the cook as he came out of the kitchen to her defense but she didn't look at him, just waved him off saying, "It's okay, Eddy, he was just leaving."

The bulk of a man nodded and went back into the kitchen but stood where he could keep an eye on her, his beefy arms crossed over his chest. He didn't want any fights to break out in his restaurant and a smirk turned up the corner of his mouth when he caught sight of the two couples sitting in the booths along the far wall. All four of them had their eyes fixated on Cate and the face of the man that she had literally just slapped the smile off of, eagerly anticipating an argument to break out between their waitress and the man she obviously hadn't seen in a long, long time.

Zeke looked over at the other man that had a smirk on his face, the bulk of his body filling the doorway of the kitchen. He didn't doubt that he watched over Cate like a hawk, much like he used to do, and he chuckled as he flexed his jaw, feeling the sting of her unforeseen slap all the way down to the roots of his teeth. He reached up, gingerly touching the burning red handprint on his face with the tips of two fingers as he turned his attention back to Cate. He knew there was another reason why he never wanted to come back to Oak Hills and it had just slapped him right across the face. He had broken Cate's heart and, after all these years, he would have thought that she would have forgiven him for riding off without her, but he was wrong. The corner of his mouth turned up into a cocky smile. "I guess after twenty years I should have seen that coming," he said, matter-of-factly.

Cate crossed her arms under her breasts and stared up at him. She had cried her eyes out in her pillow that night after graduation and she swore to herself that she would never forgive him for what he had done to her, toying with her feelings like that, getting her hopes up just to crush her dreams like the bastard that he was. And now he was standing right here in front of her, her handprint clearly outlined on his cheek and all she wanted to do was ask him why, why he had to go and do that to her. And then to make matters worse, he was looking a helluva lot hotter than he had back in high school and unlike her, the years had been good to him. He had put on at least twenty more pounds, all of it muscle, and she could have sworn his shoulders were broader and his waist was narrower than it had been back in his teenage years. But all of that was beside the point. Why was he even back in Oak Hills? She was the only one in town that paid him any mind. "Just what are you doing here?" Cate demanded.

"I could ask you the same question," Zeke said, looking at the four patrons at the tables that had turned their attention their way as they sipped their ice cold beverages, enjoying the free show along with their lunch. He ignored them and turned his attention back to Cate who was clearly upset to see him, as if the slap across his face wasn't indication enough. She was still as beautiful as she had been back in high school but the stress and strain of her life was showing on her face, on her body. She had put on a few extra pounds which suited her frame perfectly but her forget-me-not blue eyes were distant and unfriendly. He didn't know if that was just because he was back in town or her life had taken a turn in the wrong direction. He was going with the latter; she was waiting tables in a diner after all. He pulled out the chair at the closet table for her and motioned for her to take a seat. "I came back for the reunion. Now have a seat. We have a lot of catching up to do."

Cate huffed, reunion her ass. That was the last place he would ever show his face. He had an ulterior motive. This was Zeke after all, the badass of Humboldt County and even though his intentions towards her in the past had always been to keep her safe, she still couldn't quite bring herself to start trusting him again. He had come to her defense that night and she would be forever grateful, but that was where her feelings for him stopped and she could care less about rehashing their past, she didn't want to talk about it, period. She looked down at the chair he pulled out but made no move to sit down, she just kept watching him and wondering why, after all these years he picked now to come back. "I'm working, Zeke. And we have absolutely nothing to catch up on. You left me standing there like a fool twenty years ago and I could care less if I ever laid eyes on you for another twenty years. Please leave."

Zeke pulled out the chair on the opposite side of the table and sat the weight of his six foot muscular frame onto the somewhat sturdy chair, leaning back against the rest and crossing his arms over his broad chest. He looked up at her, his coffee-brown eyes never leaving her face. He could see the hatred for him that filled her eyes, the pain that she had suffered while he had been gone. When he had decided to come back to Oak Hills, it had been a spur of the moment decision, and even though he expected to run into Cate, he just never expected it to be under these circumstances. When he'd left her standing there on the sidewalk twenty years ago, it had been for her own good, he didn't know where he was going or even what the future held for him. But now that his life was on the right track and better than he ever expected it to be, he should have swallowed his damn pride and come back for her years ago. "It's been too long, Catie-girl, and I'm not leaving until we talk," he said, softly.

"Suit yourself," Cate retorted. She picked up the decanter of coffee off the other table and looked down at him. He was still a customer whether she liked it or not so she had no choice but to be congenial towards him when all she wanted to do was pour the steaming coffee down the front of his impeccable pale blue shirt. "Coffee," she asked. When he nodded his head, she reached for the overturned mug on the table and sat it right side up, deliberately pouring coffee into it right up to the rim so he had to lean forward and slurp from the cup before he could pick it up without fear of spilling it all over the table or the front of his shirt. She turned on her heel and walked away from him, going back to her customers that were quickly turning their attention back to their meals; the show was over for now.

Zeke shifted in his chair and swore under his breath when his knee hit the table leg and the hot coffee sloshed over the side of the mug. He yanked several napkins from the dispenser on the table, quickly sopping up the coffee before it had a chance to run over the edge of the tabletop and drip down onto his thigh. Clearly, she did that on purpose and he didn't blame her in the least, plus it was better than having her pour the entire pot over his head. He huffed as he carefully picked up the mug and took a sip, wiping up the ring of coffee with the sopped napkins and setting them aside. He was going to be here for a while so he might as well eat, so he leaned over and grabbed the laminated menu she had left on the other table and opened it up, reading over the lunch items.

He watched Cate from over the edge of the menu as she tended to her other customers, clearing their empty plates off of the table and refilling their iced teas from a clear plastic pitcher. She made small talk with each and every one of them and the corner of his mouth turned up into a smile when he heard her politely tell the elderly lady that good-looking guy in the blue shirt was just an old friend, and he smiled at them when they eyed him curiously. Cate came back and took his order, still looking none too happy to see him, and he settled with the roast beef special, handing her his menu and watching her as she walked back over to the front counter to ring up the other patron's meals. He couldn't help but wonder just what had happened that she would end up waiting tables. He wasn't going to criticize her for being a waitress, his mom had been one in the very restaurant she was now working in, and that job had kept a roof over his head and food on the table, even if the roof did leak when it would rain and the food was the day's leftovers.

Cate spied the black Escalade with California plates parked along the side of the road through the widow as she wiped down the table her last customer's had just vacated. The vehicle was out of place in this part of town but the owner didn't seem to mind, in fact the owner was right back where he belonged. She glanced back over her shoulder at Zeke who had moved to a booth on the other side of the dining room so he could lean back against the wall to straighten his long legs out along the seat, crossing them at the ankles. He was sipping his coffee as he alternated between tapping on the screen of his phone and looking up at her, a smile turning up one corner of his mouth. She hadn't seen a wedding ring on his finger, but that didn't mean anything, a lot of guys didn't wear them. There was just something different about him and it had nothing to do with his luxury vehicle or his short cropped hair or the clothes he was wearing; his troublemaking days were gone and he was now a pillar of his community. Either that or he had shoplifted at Ralph Lauren and stolen the Cadillac.

She turned her attention back to the table, scrubbing the invisible piece of dirt off with her sanitizing rag, feeling Zeke's eyes on her from across the dining room. It took a lot of courage for him to come back here, back to a town that he had a reputation in for being nothing but a menace, to come back and face his past, to face her. She still had a love for him; she could feel that knot tighten in her stomach whenever he would look at her. The least she could do was give him another chance, she owed him that much, even if she was just setting herself up for heartbreak. People could change; she had made her own mistakes and was trying to put everything behind her. Zeke had made his fair share over the years and now he was trying to make amends for those misunderstandings; that had to be the reason why he was back in town. She let out a long breath. She would be a fool to allow him another chance and she would be an even bigger fool if she didn't.

She heard the bell ding behind the counter as she walked back to get his lunch and the pot of coffee off the warmer. Her smile was a lot warmer as she brought him his meal, carefully setting it down on the table in front of him as he shifted around on the bench to sit up properly. She refilled his mug, this time leaving him enough room to drink, and looked down at him as she reached up to brush a lock of mahogany brown hair back from her face. He had been her knight in denim and leather, been her savior and protector and all those feelings she had for him twenty years ago hit her full-force. When he looked up at her with the hot coffee-brown eyes, she could still see that eighteen year old boy inside him, the one that had stolen her heart and hurt her just the same. But he was older and wiser now, still just as dangerous, still just as enticing. And she still loved him. "We don't close until eight. Are you sure you want to wait around for that long?"

Zeke promptly sat his phone down on the table and looked up at her. He couldn't help but notice the change in her tone, she never could stay mad at him, and the corner of his mouth turned up into a smile. She was the only person in Oak Hills that had ever showed any genuine feelings towards him and he knew that deep down inside her heart she still had those feeling for him; he had just shocked the hell out of her by coming back after all these years. He probably should have stayed in touch with her but after the way that he had left she more than likely would have slammed the phone down in his ear, tore up his letters or just reported him to the police since they would have loved to see him behind bars back then. He was still the badass, he just wasn't the troublemaker anymore and he hoped that Cate, of all people, would see that. "Yeah, I don't mind," he said. "I never should have left you here."

"You did what you had to do, Zeke. Like you said, the open road was no place for a girl like me," Cate replied as she sat the pot of coffee down on the table and slid onto the seat across from him. She rested her arms on the edge of the table and gazed across the narrow expanse at him, feeling that knot in her stomach tighten even more. She could see it even if no one else could. He had changed physically along with psychologically. The scars were still there, faded and long forgotten, but something had happened to him and she couldn't quite pinpoint it, it was like he was no longer fighting to stay alive and finally at peace with himself. She reached across the table to touch the side of his face that was undoubtedly still burning from her welcoming slap but quickly drew her hand back. "Sorry about slapping you. I was never expecting to see you again and when I did, it just brought up so many memories..."

"You did what you had to do, Cate," Zeke said with a smile. He wanted to reach across the table and take hold of her hands, touch her, feel her soft skin under his rough, calloused hands once again, but it would be uncouth to do that at her workplace with her boss eyeing her protectively. God, how he had missed her, missed how she would look at him with those forget-me-not blue eyes when she wasn't walking past him with her nose in the air, missed the way she smelled, missed the feel of her pressed against his back as he tore down the road on his Harley. But most of all he just missed the girl he never had a chance with back then and by the look of despair in her eyes, that girl was long gone. He didn't see a ring on her finger so maybe he still had that chance, but he wasn't going to hold his breath. "I was just glad you didn't pour the coffee over my head."

Cate smiled as a laugh started to build up inside of her. She could just picture him soaked to the skin with hot coffee, spitting and sputtering mad at her. Would have served him right and it would have gotten her fired for sure, and she couldn't afford to lose her job. "I thought about it." She heard the bell above the door jingle and she looked over her shoulder as a family of four came in, and she quickly turned her attention back to Zeke. "I gotta get back to work. The dinner crowed is starting to come in." She slid out of the booth and picked up the pot of coffee. "I've missed you, Zeke," she confessed. She gave him one last smile and went back to work, feeling his hot coffee-brown eyes on her the entire time.