The One Who Got Away is Back

Present 16 ♡ Waking Up From The Dream

That weekend was like a dream I feared waking up from.

We did all the things that couples normally did, from holding hands in the streets to making moony faces at each other. And yes, definitely also to making love. It had been mind-blowing before but now, with our hearts open to each other, every caress and every glance was much more charged, poignant and lasting. I never wanted that feeling to end.

But Sunday night rolled in and we finally drove down to Miami in our cars, chatting on the phone with each other the whole way. Tomorrow I was officially starting as the head designer at Tropicana, and Miguel was coming back to work after what turned out to be only a weeklong vacation. We knew there would be some talk about us and Miguel and I decided to quench people's thirst for gossip directly.

Monday morning rolled in and he called in for a team lunch offsite, that he and Angela were going to use to announce my new tenure officially, and that he and I were going to also employ as a Q&A. Our hope was to put the rumors to rest once and for all and move on with our lives.

Speaking of Angela, she received me as soon as I walked in with my shiny new badge. Her eyes twinkled as she embraced me.

"I knew you could do it."

It was Monday morning and I hadn't had enough coffee after a long, physically active weekend. It took me a minute to catch on. When I did, I shook my head and told her, "You made me think Miguel was leaving for good on purpose, didn't you?"

She shrugged a delicate shoulder. "I've always had a weakness for a good romance story."

Marisol was the first one to congratulate me after that. She give me a bear hug that almost left me with a permanent hourglass shape and squealed.

"I knew it! You and Miguel are perfect for each other." She clapped her hands. "And also you should've been head designer years ago, not that petty shithead."

"Things do work out sometimes," I said, still in a daze.

There was a hush as Miguel walked in, carrying his suitcase and a travel mug I knew to be full with a protein shake instead of coffee. I'd made it for my Crossfit weirdo after his early morning session. He paused at the entrance as more than one employee took turns glancing between him and I.

"Good morning," he said. "I hope to see you all at lunch."

And with that he locked himself in his office. I had to endure a whole morning of people grilling me for information on what had happened in the past couple of weeks, rather than on what my direction for the open projects was going to be. Eventually I did find my stride and picked back up where I'd left off with the app, as though there hadn't been a hiatus. When lunchtime came, it caught me by surprise. I struggled with tearing myself away from my work bench, but I had a commitment to attend.

Miguel's chosen venue was a Venezuelan restaurant nearby. He booked the whole place on a short notice on Sunday morning through the power of his charm alone. The owner worried that she'd lose revenue by booking such a large party, rather than having a continuous stream of incoming and outbound customers. But with a cutesy compliment here and there, all delivered in his mother tongue, he had convinced the lady that he would become her biggest fan.

"Should I be jealous?" I had joked when I heard him say that, but after hanging up from the call he covered me in little kisses that had me giggling.

Now he sat at the head of the table. Angela was on his right and I was on his left. It was she who stood up once everybody was settled in and said, "As our Tropicana family is aware, we have brought Addy back as our lead designer. For years she has been the backbone of our creative efforts, and we finally recognize that she has the vision to take us to the next level." She looked at me with a smile. "Let's give it up for Addy!"