It Had to Be You

Two Years Ago

Nina Stone finally understood what people meant when they said "time stood still." She had been minding her own business on a Friday evening at her family's summer house when she brushed her fingers against his. She had been helping her brother-in-law put a heavy tray of food in the center of the table. She felt her grip wobble ever so slightly. It was heavier than she had anticipated. As she righted the dish, she felt his hand reach out under hers. Their thumbs barely brushed one another but for Nina, everything stood still. It could not have been more than a millisecond of contact but she felt her world go quiet. Everyone at the boisterous dinner table disappeared from her awareness and suddenly it was just and him. Him being her brother-in-law's best friend. Him being Walker Andrews, the man she'd been in love with for nearly a decade. Him, the man looking at her quizzically at this exact moment.

"Nina, I've got it. You can put it down." He guided the dish down onto the table, his thumb lingering on the back her hand for the briefest moment more. She hadn't realized she was still holding onto the plate for dear life.

She quickly let go and pulled her hand out from his. She ignored the rush of electricity rising up her spine that sent waves of attraction through her with ease. She was used to this by now. She had long ago stopped counting every micro moment that sent her heart aflutter. But this one she couldn't shake. There was something more being said in the undercurrents of their interactions this weekend. She had noticed it the moment he arrived but she could never bring it up. Alexa would never forgive her. Nor would Henry. Her brother-in-law was congenial. He was peaceful. They had always had a healthy friendly relationship. But dating his best friend was out of the question. Alexa had made that abundantly clear.

Nina had first met Walker when her sister, Alexa celebrated her twenty-fifth birthday in the basement of a bar in the Lower East Side. Alexa's then-boyfriend, soon to be fiancé, Henry had gathered all of her friends into one room to yell surprise! In the half hour before Alexa's arrival, Nina found herself happily sipping a vodka tonic with her cousin Iris.

"Who are all these people?" Iris took a sip of her vodka cranberry surveying the room. Nina followed her gaze. The majority of people she didn't recognize. All of them seemed to be tall, attractive, classically handsome men milling about with equally classically gorgeous women. The entire room seeped to be filled with beautiful people which at once both excited and intimidated Nina.

"I'm not sure. They must be Henry's friends." Henry had become a fixture in their life to the degree that Nina had gotten used to his presence but never actually invested in getting to know him. This had more to do with Nina than it did with Henry. She struggled to warm up to people regardless of who they were. Trust didn't come easily and she certainly didn't make it easy for others to get to know her. At numerous points in her life she had been labeled difficult, standoffish and even once or twice called a bitch directly to her face. But all of these labels were a far stretch from who she really was. With people like Iris who had known her since birth, Nina was sharp, funny and warm. She expressed love easily and was always around for a quick phone call or a cup of coffee. She loved to laugh, sing and most of all dance especially to ABBA. This true version of Nina rarely if ever got seen by strangers so it was unlikely this room full of strangers would get to meet that side of her.

"I think I see Alexa's friends from grammar school over there." Nina pointed to the far corner of the room where she recognized a few familiar faces. "I'll go say hi in a bit." Iris nodded in agreement.

"Let's get another round first. I haven't been out in ages." Nina followed Iris's lead a chugged the rest of her drink before heading for the bar. She wove her way through the crowd of what seemed like insanely tall individuals. Then again, she was only five foot four on a good day. So perhaps, everyone just seemed tall because she herself was short.