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Ashley Johnson set her book on the table as she rose slowly from the chair. She was conservatively dressed in an ivory cashmere sweater set and a pair of pleated khaki pants. An understated string of pearls hung loosely around her neck matching her small earrings. Her softly highlighted, chestnut hair fell delicately over her shoulders. Her makeup was subtle and natural, serving only to enhance her already stunning beauty. As far as Antonio had always been concerned, she never needed any to begin with.
Antonio shoved his hands nervously into the front pockets of his faded Levi’s. He wore a blue oxford shirt that was casually unbuttoned revealing a white t-shirt underneath. Ashley could see that his arms and chest were muscular and toned. He had always had a good body, but his physical appearance had matured as much as hers in the last six years. She felt that same flutter in her stomach she always had when he looked at her. They stared apprehensively at each other for a fleeting instant before Antonio broke the silence. "It’s good to see you, Ashley." Antonio’s voice was the same deep, soft voice that she still heard in her dreams. Hearing it again, for real, touched the deepest part of her heart. "It’s good to see you too, Antonio," her cobalt eyes sparkled as she spoke to him. "How have you…" She paused knowing she had no right to ask him, not after what she had done. "I’m fine…I’ve been fine." Antonio smiled softly at her; she had always brought about a smile from him so easily. "How about you?" "Good," she said as she dropped her eyes. "I’ve been really well." She had to lie…she just hoped he still couldn’t read her mind the way he used to. "So, what are you doing in Sunset Beach?" His curiosity got the better of him even thought his heart told him he should run like hell in the other direction. "I thought you were in…?" "Paris," she said quickly. "Yes. I came back when my father passed away." The passing of Ashley’s father saddened him deeply. He wished he had known so he could’ve attended the service. "I’m so sorry, Ash." Antonio was shocked to hear her old nickname slip so casually from his lips; Ashley was surprised as well, but admittedly touched. "Was it sudden?" "No," she replied, "he had been sick for some time. I flew home as soon as my mom called to tell me he wouldn’t make it much longer." Ashley’s eyes filled with tears and she looked away from him. "I was with him when…we were all there." "I always liked your dad," Antonio said sincerely. "He always liked you, too," Ashley replied with a smile which quickly faded. "I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…" "That’s okay. I know, I’m glad he did," Antonio smiled. There was a brief pause and he saw someone heading towards the empty table. Speaking from his head, not his heart, he asked, "Do you want to sit down and talk?" Ashley was astonished he even wanted to look at her let alone talk; she wasn’t about to turn him down. "Sure," she replied as she pulled out the chair next to hers. "I’d love that." She smiled shyly and as he turned to retrieve his coffee, she hastily straightened her sweater and pushed her hair behind her ear before she sat down. Antonio grabbed his coffee from the other table and joined Ashley. It had been so long since he had seen her; more than six years to be exact. He could hardly believe they were sitting across from each other again. He often thought about what it would be like to see her again; what would he say, how would he feel? Antonio was assaulted with memories of what used to be for them. Antonio met Ashley when they were both seniors in high school. Tryouts for the swim team had Antonio’s stomach in knots. He was the most capable swimmer in school, but having to prove himself at the beginning of each season always made him nervous. As he stretched near the pool, the girls swim team emerged from the locker room and made their way around the water. Antonio was sitting on the deck when a pair of swim goggles landed near his leg. He raised his eyes to find the most beautiful girl standing near him leaning over to retrieve her goggles. The thing he noticed first about her was her smile; it was warm and incredibly sincere as she spoke. "I’m sorry," she said softly. "I didn’t mean to disturb you." Antonio smiled shyly at her and she immediately blushed. He recognized her from a group of Maria’s friends from the year before. She had always stood out from the crowd; tall and thin, she was the object of every freshman boy’s newfound hormonal rampage. Ashley recognized Antonio as well. She had been to Maria’s house once and seen Antonio and Ricardo working on a car in the garage. Antonio had been dirty and sweaty but she had to admire the way he looked in his grungy white muscle shirt. She wanted to ask Maria to introduce her, but that wasn’t her style. Ashley was still quite shy; being taller than most of the boys, she was quite self-conscious about making the first move. Antonio reached out and picked up the goggles, handing them carefully to Ashley. "Ashley, right?" Ashley blushed even darker as she plucked the goggles from Antonio’s hand. "How did you know that?" Antonio noticed the way her eyes sparkled; they were the deepest blue he had ever seen. "You’re a friend of my sister, Maria Torres." Antonio had always been shy with girls, but Ashley was so easy to talk to, he found the words slipping effortlessly from his lips. "I saw you at my house once before. I was working on my brother’s car." "I saw you," Ashley dropped her eyes with some embarrassment from her casual admission as Antonio smiled. "Ricardo’s car, right?" Damn, Antonio thought. Whenever a girl knew Ricardo, he never stood a chance. Ricardo was quite the Romeo with the ladies and had managed to steal the few girls Antonio had found the guts to ask out. Ashley saw the disappointment in his eyes and, fully aware of Ricardo’s reputation, decided boldly to put his mind at ease. "You know, I just don’t understand everyone’s attraction to Ricardo." Antonio raised his head. "I mean, he’s nice and all, but who wants to date a guy with THAT kind of reputation." She rolled her big blue eyes. "No offense," she added for emphasis. Antonio smiled widely. "None taken." Finally a girl who was not seduced by the charms of the snake, he thought. The rest of the girls’ team had made their way to the other side of the pool and Ashley really needed to get going. Antonio saw her glance away and decided he would have to make his move, now or never. "I was wondering if…well, would you like to go to a movie Saturday?" Ashley felt her heart pound wildly as she took a deep breath. "I would love to," she replied with a smile. "Call me tonight," she said as she ran off towards her annoyed coach. "Maria has my number." Antonio watched as she ran around to the other side of the pool. This girl was smart, funny and beautiful; he wondered when he would wake up from what was obviously a dream and be smacked in the face with his dull reality. A strong nudge in the shoulder startled him as the coach nodded him to the pool for his tryout. Antonio saw Ashley glance in his direction with a shy grin. He stood tall at the side of the pool waiting for the whistle to signal his turn. Wanting to impress the lovely girl whose eyes watched him from across the way, he swam the 200-meter in the fastest time ever recorded at the school winning him the lead position on the team. It was one of the best days of his life. Ashley fidgeted nervously with her pearls. "It’s been a long time, Antonio," she said softly as she bit her bottom lip. Antonio took a deep breath as he raised his eyes to meet hers. "Yes, it has." They gazed at each other intently as the buzzing conversations of the Java Web faded into the background. Ashley felt her heart pounding in her chest as Antonio’s deep, dark eyes searched her beautiful face. She knew the questions were there…questions she wasn’t prepared to answer. Knowing instinctively what he was thinking, Ashley diverted the conversation. "So, Antonio, what have you been up to?" Antonio’s mind raced with a million responses to the question: Well, let’s see, after I cried my heart out for a week and thought I would never be able to drag my ass out of bed again, I burned all your pictures, effectively shredded the collector’s edition of Catcher in the Rye you gave me for my birthday, lined up all the cassette tapes of our favorite songs on the pavement and ran over them repeatedly with my car, I sank myself into a deep depression in which my family thought I would surely decide to kill myself or end up living in a white padded cell being passed food through a slot for the rest of my pathetic life. What have you been up to? Antonio determined he would not be swayed by her obvious attempt to avoid the burning issue. He had waited too long for answers and he would have them once and for all. "More importantly, Ashley, I need to know…why did you just leave like that?" The smile faded from her soft lips as she glanced into her lap. Antonio had always been direct with her; he obviously hadn’t changed much. When she didn’t answer, Antonio reached across the table and gently touched her arm. The simple gesture sent a wave of awareness through her body as she remembered how good it felt to have his strong hands on her, even for a second. Raising her eyes to his, Ashley saw the seriousness in his eyes and knew he deserved at least half the truth. "I think you owe me an answer." "I know, Antonio. I’m so sorry," Ashley slipped her fingers over his hand rising the same wave of feeling in Antonio that she had just experienced. "It was so hard…it was so important to me to go to the Sorbonne." "It was more important…than being with me?" Antonio hadn’t meant to ask the question, but seeing her again brought back the heartache as if it were yesterday and even after six years, he still needed some resolution. "We were so young, Antonio. There was so much I wanted to see and do…I really wanted to go away to college." Ashley dropped her eyes as the tears she had ceased to shed so long ago rose to the surface once more. "My father worked so hard to send me to school, you know that. The Sorbonne was the opportunity of a lifetime." Antonio did know how hard her father had worked and how much Ashley wanted to go away to school, but in the end, she had told Antonio she loved him too much and didn’t want to leave him. They decided instead to get married and make a life in Sunset Beach. Antonio had made arrangements with her father to become an intern at his company; he wasn’t pleased to have to accept a favor, but they both knew he would prove himself a worthy employee in no time. Antonio and Ashley would both attend classes at UCLA in the fall while Antonio worked part time for her father. Her father promised to help them out by allowing them to live with him until they graduated from college; he gave his blessing to the union as long as they both finished their education. Antonio had never been so excited in his life; it almost seemed too good to be true. He knew their future would be challenging and at times difficult, but they loved each other and that would keep them happy no matter what obstacles life threw their way. Ashley’s father was being very gracious since he knew how much his daughter loved her young man and his only wish was for her to be happy. Things looked promising for the young lovers until the night they were going to a movie and Ashley was more than an hour late. She had never been late for a date with Antonio before and he worried something had happened to her on the way. Pacing the room nervously, he was almost ready to go out and look for her when her car pulled into the driveway. Antonio stepped onto the porch, relieved she had finally arrived until he saw the tear-stained face on the girl he loved as she approached him slowly. He rushed down the stairs and pulled her into his arms fearing what might have kept her from him for so long. Ashley wrapped her arms around his waist and slowly breathed in his cologne for the last time. "Ash, where have you been? I was so worried, are you alright?" Antonio held her back gently and lovingly pushed her silky hair behind her ear. His eyes blazed with love and concern and it was all she could do not to blurt the truth out to him right there. With tears in her eyes, Ashley managed to speak quietly, "I’m leaving tomorrow, Antonio." "What?" He was sure he must have misunderstood her. "What do you mean, leaving?" "I’m leaving…for Paris. Tomorrow morning." Ashley pulled herself from his arms and turned away from him. "I’m going to the Sorbonne." Antonio reached out to her with an overwhelming feeling of confusion. "I thought we decided…" Antonio felt tears sting his eyes as she shrugged off his touch from her shoulder. Ashley had never resisted his caress before. "I can’t stay, Antonio," she replied coolly. "I’m sorry." "I don’t understand," he pleaded as he fought to turn her around to face him. "We have plans, Ashley. We’re getting married." Ashley refused to meet his gaze. "Isn’t that what you want…don’t you love me?" Oh, Antonio, she thought. I love you more than you know. "I have to go, Antonio." Her shining blue eyes finally yielded to his. "I will always love you, but I have to go." Ashley tilted her head as her lips pressed softly against Antonio’s. He enveloped her with a searing kiss believing that the somehow the warmth of his kiss would surely change her mind. Ashley gently twisted her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck as she allowed the feel of his lips to burn into her soul before she abruptly broke the kiss and pulled herself away. Before he could say a word, she bolted for her car; Antonio could hear her sobbing all the way. She revved the engine and drove like a wild woman away from his house leaving him standing alone and confused in the dark. Antonio never heard from her again. "Well," Antonio cleared his throat. "That was a long time ago, wasn’t it?" Ashley could see the hurt was still evident deep in his eyes. "Was it all that you hoped it would be?" "It’s been wonderful," she relinquished solemnly. "I’ve been very lucky." "You look great, Ashley. Paris obviously agrees with you." Ashley recognized Antonio’s desire to change the topic, which she was more than willing to accommodate at the moment. Antonio listened intently as Ashley told him about her studies, how she graduated at the top of her class, and how the top designers sought her out after graduation to hire her as an international buyer. Antonio couldn’t help but feel proud of her accomplishments. She had become so worldly; she had always been sophisticated, but now there was a certain air about her. What struck him most was the attraction that he felt to this woman who had so deeply wounded his heart so long ago. The way her mouth moved when she spoke, the sparkle in her eyes as she recounted story after story…the genuine happiness she had found in life. Ashley noticed the way he was staring at her and she felt a flush of embarrassment. "Am I boring you, Antonio?" Her eyes smiled as she playfully tilted her head in question. "I swear sometimes I can just go on and on." God, she was beautiful, Antonio thought. "No, not at all." He smiled as she took a sip of her coffee. "I’d love to hear more." Antonio sat back and settled into the conversation. Their exchange was natural and relaxed and made Antonio feel happier than he had in a long while. They talked at length catching up on the many years that had passed. They laughed and joked; the years obviously had healed Antonio more than he realized. Antonio told her about his family and his current job, but conveniently forgot to mention the position he had taken soon after she left. He decided he wasn’t ready to share that with her, not yet. He was enjoying her company and as the hour grew quite late, he decided he wanted to see her again. "Would you like to have dinner with me tomorrow?" The speed with which he blurted out the question took Ashley by surprise. She laughed softly as Antonio blushed like he had the first time they met. "I’d love that, Antonio." Ashley’s eyes sparkled as Antonio smiled deeply at her. They both had a wonderful time that evening and somewhere inside, both were wondering if perhaps fate had somehow managed to bring them together again for some bigger reason. Only time would tell.
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