She recognized him instantly, of course, even from halfway across the park.<\/p>\n
No matter that they’d moved apart four years ago, in the tumultuous midst of adolescence; one didn’t soon forget his like, with the brilliant, fiery plumage and a body that had only become more fit and athletic over the years, and that wasn’t counting what they’d had together. If she hesitated a little before changing course to cut across the park, it was because she almost thought she might be imagining him, not because there was any doubt about the face in her mind.<\/p>\n
He turned toward her, and paused, looking right at her and apparently going through much the same mental double-check; then he grinned, lifting a hand up high and waving. \u201cNaomi! Hey, Naomi!\u201d He started towards her at a dash, weaving around a few indignant passersby in the process.<\/p>\n
He knew her – that clinched it. It really was him. She lunged forward, colliding with the bird a half-dozen steps later in a tangle of limbs.<\/p>\n
His arms wrapped tight around her, the strength in them palpable even through her thick jacket. \u201cMmm, Naomi,\u201d he murmured over her ear. \u201cGod, I missed you…\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat the hell are you doing here,<\/i> Damien?\u201d she laughed, sliding a hand over his crest and down his back. Despite the early-spring chill, he had only a thin, if long-sleeved shirt on his upper half; he felt as good through it as he looked in it, solid and warm.<\/p>\n
\u201cSchool, naturally.\u201d He disentangled somewhat, but kept an arm about her shoulders, walking her towards the pathway through the pines. \u201cJust started here for the spring semester. That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, yeah, but I only live two hours away, not across the country! Why move this far, in winter of all times?\u201d<\/p>\n
He shrugged, suddenly sober. \u201cLet’s… just leave it at boyfriend trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her mind skittered to a halt. \u201cWait, what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI wasn’t false with you or anything like that.\u201d He leaned in to nuzzle at an ear. \u201cI just… found out I like the other side okay, too. I’d have told you, thought you might like the image, but that email you gave me doesn’t seem to work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Oh, hell, how had that gone wrong? No wonder she’d never heard from him all this time… She took his hand, gave it a squeeze. \u201cWe’ll sort that out. But if it was bad enough to send you all the way out here…\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s not that dramatic. For history, this was my second-choice school,\u201d he chuckled. \u201cAnyway, what about you? Any jealous boyfriends or girlfriends to object to this?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNeither one,\u201d she\u00a0 assured him. If he wanted to stay upbeat and positive, she wouldn’t push the issue. \u201cMaybe we can catch up, huh?\u201d<\/p>\n
He stiffened \u2013 in more ways than one \u2013 as her fingers drifted lower. \u201cI always did like the way you think, Naomi,\u201d he sighed. \u201cMy apartment’s just a few blocks away \u2013 a single, at that…\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSounds like a great way to ring in the spring,\u201d she purred, grinning up at him.<\/p>\n
He grinned back. \u201cSure beats what some<\/i> poor sods like me have been put through in history. C’mon, let’s get warm… properly.<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n
Said the guy who’d dressed for looks rather than warmth… but Naomi wasn’t about to complain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A chance meeting brings a fresh spark to an old flame.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[84],"class_list":["post-510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-icq","tag-flash"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=510"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/furry-tales.net\/shurhaian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}