My Ten-Year Crush by Olivia Spring

Chapter Six

Melody was right. They’d done a great job of decorating the venue. As soon as I stepped inside there was a huge red-and-gold banner hanging across the entrance—Queen’s University, Hertfordshire, Class of 2000: Ten-Year Reunion, it said—along with matching balloons.

Large collages lined the walls with photos of the many events and parties we’d enjoyed during those three years. Okay, full disclosure: I’d been a total nerd at uni (truth be told, throughout my entire education), so I couldn’t pretend that I was at most of them. Only when Mike used to drag me from my room, literally kicking and screaming, to whatever function was going on at the student union.

Mike was one of those annoyingly talented people who barely had to study and still got straight A’s. I, on the other hand, had to put the effort in if I wanted a decent grade. It didn’t help either that I did my best work at night, which was of course when everyone wanted to go out.

Bloody hell.

I spotted a very unflattering photo of me holding up an alcopop. How had I not realised at the time that the glasses I wore were so hideous? I knew most people looked back at old photos and questioned their fashion choices, but they really weren’t pretty.

As I walked down the corridor, my heart beat faster. The music was getting louder, which meant I was getting closer to the main part of the venue, where everyone was. And of course it was the thought of seeing everyone that was making my stomach extra jumpy and definitely not the idea of coming face to face with one person in particular…

‘Hey, Isabella!’ said a brunette with a big smile.

‘Hi…!’ I scanned my brain, trying to remember her name. I recognised the smile, but I couldn’t quite place her.

‘It’s Frances,’ she said, reading my mind.

No way.

‘You look amazing!’

‘You mean fat.’ She winced.

‘No.’ I frowned. ‘I mean exactly what I said: you look amazing!’ Frances was always dieting, and if I was honest, I often worried that sometimes she took it a bit too far with skipping meals and manically exercising. She’d never looked well. Yeah, she’d gained weight, but to me, she looked much healthier.

‘Thanks!’ Her shoulders relaxed. ‘You look fantastic too. I love your hair, and what happened to your glasses?’

‘Thank you—I discovered contact lenses and the wonders of anti-frizz hair serum!’ I laughed.

‘Good for you! Everyone’s in there. Nice seeing you.’

‘Okay!’ My stomach churned. ‘You too.’

I entered the large main room. There was a bar and a buffet table towards the back, a dance floor in the middle, and a DJ in the corner at the front. It had mellow lighting, bright enough to see people’s faces clearly, but dim enough to create an atmosphere at the same time.

As I looked around, it felt really surreal. In some ways, it was like I’d stepped back in time and was at uni all over again. Whilst some people looked more or less the same, just with different clothes, others showed that a lot could change in ten years. They’d undergone complete transformations. So much so that it took several glances to place them.

There was Winnie, who used to wear ripped fishnet tights, leather skirts and a biker jacket and had purple hair, with one side shaved, the other long, now sporting a very sensible-looking brown bob and wearing a floaty floral dress. It was only when I heard her infectious raspy laugh that the penny dropped and I recognised her.

Bryan, who’d always had shaggy shoulder-length hair and walked around with his head low like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders, was now bald (or had decided to shave it all off) and seemed a lot more smiley and confident.

I continued walking around, smiling and waving to people I knew whilst scanning the room. I told myself I was looking for Melody, but really I knew I wasn’t. I was just about to get a drink when I spotted him.

Oh…

My…

God…

As soon as I laid eyes on Mike, my heart announced it was competing in the Olympic gymnastics.

It flipped. Jumped. Did backflips. Somersaulted. Twirled…

The acrobatics became so intense, I was sure my heart was going to fly from my chest at any second.

Melody wasn’t exaggerating after all. Mike looked HOT. And this time, the use of CAPS was entirely necessary.

He’d been gorgeous before, so how was it possible that he was even more attractive now?

It wasn’t just my heart that was in danger of escaping my chest. My eyes were in danger of shooting from their sockets too.

Even though he was unsurprisingly surrounded by a group of women who were dribbling like starving babies, I could still see him clearly. And as much as I tried to resist, I couldn’t help drinking him in.

He towered over everyone like a god. His hair was shorter than it was at uni. Dark and slightly mussed up, but in a good way. And that face. He was still clean-shaven, with skin that looked like it was smoother than the finest silk. I had to fight the urge to race over and run my hands over his beautifully chiselled jawline.

Mike was wearing a crisp white shirt with a couple of buttons undone at the top, giving a glimpse of his rock-solid chest. I could tell by the way his pecs strained against the fabric that he still worked out.

Because of the bees surrounding him like a pot of sweet honey, I couldn’t see what trousers he was wearing, but whatever they were, I already knew they’d look magnificent.

Just as I was reminiscing about how good he used to look in his Levi’s, our eyes locked.

He’d seen me.

His dark eyes widened and his face broke into a smile. Mike excused himself from his conversation, much to the disappointment of a girl I think was called Angie, then made his way through the crowd.

He was now just metres away, striding towards me in his dark blue jeans. My heart clearly approved and was thudding like crazy.

There was no doubt about it. As much as I hated to use a wine analogy after that cringey date, this time it was warranted. Mike was like a fine wine. He just got better with age. And unlike that underwhelming glass of red, I was sure that he could definitely give me the sweetest orgasm…

I quickly pushed that illicit thought out of my head and attempted to compose myself.

‘Bells!’ Mike threw his arms open, picked me up and spun me around.

Talk about knowing how to make a woman feel welcome.

I wrapped my arms around his broad back, squeezing tight.

Mike’s scent was divine. He’d graduated from the supermarket body sprays and upgraded to a delicious woody aftershave. I didn’t know what it was called, but All Man would be an accurate description.

The sensation of having his big, warm muscular arms wrapped around me was just insane. Mike had always given the best hugs. I hadn’t realised how much I’d missed them until now. I felt like I’d come home.

No, no, no, no, no.

I mustn’t allow myself to get carried away. Yes, Mike looked phenomenal, but looks weren’t everything. And just because I was enjoying this hug, that didn’t automatically mean that we were romantically compatible or some nonsense.

He gently put me down on the ground, took a step back and looked me up and down from head to toe. If I didn’t know better, I’d think… No. Of course not. Mike was probably just wondering if I’d become even taller, that was all.

‘Fuck! You look absolutely incredible!Come here!’ He pulled me in for another hug. My mind raced. Mike seemed genuinely happy to see me. He’d complimented me multiple times. Had all these years apart changed things and made him see me differently?

‘Thank you,’ I said graciously. I almost told him that he looked pretty amazing too but stopped myself just in time.

He released me and stared with disbelief again.

‘Wow…’ He shook his head. ‘My old bestie is all grown up!’

‘Less of the “old”, thank you!’ I poked him in the ribs. Yep. Those abs were still as rock-solid as ever. ‘We’re the same age.’

‘You wouldn’t think it, though. You haven’t aged a bit. And look at your hair.’ He stroked it gently. ‘I love it!’

Suddenly we were surrounded by a group of women. I knew they wouldn’t leave him alone for long.

‘Hey, Mike!’ A woman I recognised as Ursula twirled her long hair around her fingers seductively.

‘Ursula!’ He threw his arms open and gave her a hug. A twinge of jealousy shot through me before I quickly suppressed it. That was just Mike. He’d always been a big hugger. ‘You remember my friend Bella, don’t you? She was my best mate all through uni—one of the sweetest girls I know.’

Friend. Mate. Bestie.

Earlier he’d called me cute,and now I was the sweetest girl he knew. All really nice compliments, but also words used to describe a puppy or your little sister. The answer to my question was clear: the way Mike saw me hadn’t changed. He might have thought I looked all grown up, but I was still well and truly in the friend zone.

‘Yeah.’ She fake-smiled.

I remembered Ursula all right. She was always trying to get her claws into Mike. I understood why, but unlike me, she hadn’t cared whether he was single or not. She would openly try it on with him. At a New Year’s party, she’d actually walked up to Mike, clutching a handful of mistletoe, and asked him for a kiss when his girlfriend, Rebecca, was standing right beside him. No shame.

‘Hi,’ I said.

‘Hold on… you don’t have a drink!’ Mike glanced down at my empty hand. ‘Let me get you one. I’m guessing you’ve moved on from Hooch and Bacardi Breezers. What you drinking these days?’

‘Chardonnay… definitely not tequila.’

‘Got it,’ he replied, his face falling a little. He remembered. It was tequila that had got us into a sticky situation before, and I hadn’t touched the stuff since. The last thing I wanted was a repeat of that disastrous night.

After asking some of the others who’d come over if they wanted anything, Mike disappeared towards the bar and Ursula stood in front of me.

‘So… Bella.Are you and Mike going to be, like, a thing?’

‘Sorry, what?’

‘Are you two going to get together? I know you always liked him at uni and it’s obvious you still do, so with him being single and all, I wasn’t sure if you’d be trying to hook up tonight.’

Ha. Never going to happen.

And how did she know I’d liked him? I’d always thought I did a pretty good job of hiding it.

‘N-no… we’re just friends.’ Something he’d stated several times already tonight. Just in case I was in any doubt.

‘So you don’t mind if I make a move, then?’

Ursula hadn’t changed. But who could blame her? She saw what she wanted and went for it. Her asking ‘permission’ was new, though, not that it was mine to give. If Mike was looking for a hook-up, judging by the women swarming around him tonight, he’d have rich pickings. ‘Course not!’ I squeaked. ‘Go for it!’

Even if I did mind, it was irrelevant. Mike had never been interested in me in that way, so it didn’t really matter.

I wasn’t about to make a fool of myself again like I had that night. When I’d done something stupid that had led to us not speaking for over a decade.

That night had been unforgettable for all the wrong reasons.

Yes.

That night was the worst…