Page 28 of Like First Love, Again

In a green and yellow dress, Mia was perspiration free thanks to the sun finally dropping over the horizon. Blasting the AC to stay dry, she calmed herself while she joined the evening rush into the heart of the Gables.

The normally insufferable traffic crawled at an even more maddening pace. She drummed her fingers against the steering wheel, every red light mocking her.

When she finally got to the parking garage, she was twenty minutes late. She didn’t have time to fix the curls she’d styled into the ends of her hair or make sure her mascara hadn’t run. She wanted to look as glossy as Tori, but not as much as she wanted to see her.

Heart pounding faster with every step from the garage to the restaurant, Mia was on the verge of panting when she reached for the heavy wooden door. Inside the restaurant, the noise and chaos of the happy hour crowd melted away as soon as she spotted Tori seated at the bar.

Silky brown hair tucked behind one ear as she looked down at her phone, Tori was a little flicker of light in the darkness.

Mia stopped and the guy walking behind her stumbled into her. She tried to apologize, but a wave of unexpected nerves crashed over her. It made her palms damp and her throat tight and her mouth useless.

And then Tori looked up. She made eye contact with Mia immediately, like she’d sensed her approach in the loud, packed place.

The small, crooked smile that lifted one corner of Tori’s mouth flooded Mia’s unprepared body with intense relief. Everything inside her settled, quieted.

She apologized to the man without looking at him. Barreling forward, Mia didn’t stop until she was standing in front of her.

“Hi—”

“I’m sorry,” Mia blurted before she could think it through. She didn’t care about why they’d fought. Didn’t care if she wanted to keep her old secrets. All she wanted was Tori back, whatever the cost.

Tori hesitated for an infinitesimal moment. A pounding heartbeat. A held breath. And then her shoulders dropped and the grin Mia had startled away was back.

“I’m sorry too,” Tori replied, color rushing up her throat and over her slim cheeks. “I don’t really know how we got?—”

“Who cares,” Mia interrupted, chest buzzing.

She lunged forward and pulled Tori into the tightest hug she’d ever given. She was clinging to driftwood in an angry sea. Asea that calmed as soon as she inhaled Tori’s scent and dove into the steady current of her embrace.

“You know… That was our first fight,” Mia said while she clutched Tori, wishing she never had to lose the safety of her arms around her.

“What?” Tori’s body shook when she laughed.

Without whining, even though she wanted to, Mia released her from her grip when Tori pulled away. “In honor of our first, we should order bubbly to celebrate.”

Tori leaned back, her expression dubious. “No, it can’t be.”

Mia slid onto the stool next to her and signaled for the bartender. “Okay, fine. Name another time we’ve so much as had a disagreement.”

Confidence was the steel in Mia’s spine and the smile on her lips. She ordered a bottle of overpriced champagne and tried to tamp down the giddy exuberance making her fingers tremble.

“Have you forgotten the great Team Edward/Team Jacob war of 2008?” Tori tried and failed to look serious.

Mia laughed. “In retrospect, I’m going to guess you didn’t really care all that much about Edward.”

Bottom lip sliding between her teeth, Tori was somewhere between bashful and unapologetic.

“Team Bella?” Mia guessed.

Tori laughed and then squinted so adorably, Mia had to stop herself from squeezing her face.

“Oh, come on. Are you not going to tell me?” Mia’s entire body was alive with the thrill of this game. Of being back in Tori’s light.

“Team Rosalie,” Tori admitted after the ice bucket holding their bottle arrived.

“Rosalie?” Mia couldn’t hide her surprise. “Wasn’t she kind of an asshole?”

Tori took the bottle before the bartender could and poured two flutes. “Rosalie never wasted time pretending. She knew what she wanted, and she didn’t care if people didn’t like it.”

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