Taylor threw a look back over her shoulder at Jayden as she left the room, and grinned. What was it about him that made her face light up whenever he was in the room? He was cute, but she'd seen far more attractive guys. Maybe it was his sense of humor. He did have one, though it took most people time to figure that out. It wasn't obvious on the surface. It was a subtle sense of humor that not everyone understood. He preferred to take people by surprise, when they least expected that he would be trying to play a joke on them.
She'd known who he was for years, but until this last year, she'd never had too many opportunities to engage him in lengthy conversation. She'd always liked him, though, and when circumstances made it so they talked nearly every day, they'd gotten to know each other quickly. He tried to act tough, and he most definitely had it in him to be tough, but his bark was far worse than his bite, and she soon saw past his prickly exterior, or at least the one he sometimes tried to portray to others. To her he was simply Jayden, fun-loving and ruggedly handsome.
She'd never met anyone who knew her so well. It was almost as though he could read her mind, and she his. She felt like no one else could understand her as well as he did, and thought she could understand him better than anyone. They even liked the same kind of music. They didn't agree on certain political or spiritual issues, making her wonder if indeed they would get along as a couple...yet there were so many other things they did agree on, and there were so many things they had in common. He made her feel special, as if she were a better person for having met him. He supported her in so many ways, and she him. He put her needs above her own. He would sometimes surprise her with little gifts. They had an inexplicable connection. She wondered if he felt it, too. Sometimes he said little things that made her think he did. Other times she wasn't sure. They could relate on so many different levels, yet there was always a little bit of uncertainty with their relationship.
She knew it wasn't possible for them to be in a romantic relationship together. Although they had been separated for years, her husband would never permit her to be free. No matter how much she begged for him to let her go, he stalwartly refused to sign the divorce papers. And Jayden had a steady girlfriend. She'd just recently become his fiancée, in fact. He talked about her all the time. He adored her. Still, Taylor couldn't help wishing that she could be with Jayden. She wasn't sure exactly why he'd come into her life, but she was grateful for his friendship. She missed him immensely when they weren't together, and she knew they belonged together. She just couldn't see how it would ever happen.
