In Another Life

98

"Justin" I exclaimed, when I opened the door to see him standing there. My friends and I kept bumping into him and his friends everywhere, after seeing him at the mall that time, so we just started hanging out. They were all pretty cool, and it was fun to have guys to hang out with. I knew Justin liked me, because he had already asked me out, but I told him that I was in love with someone else. If it weren't for Colby, Justin would be the perfect guy for me. Dark hair, light green eyes, dimples that warmed my heart. He looked a lot like Colby honestly, but he was also one of the sweetest guys that I had ever known. Old school sweet, like making sure he walked on the side of the sidewalk closest to the road, opening all doors for me, car and otherwise, pulling my chair out for me to sit down, helping me step over or climb anything when we would go exploring. It was really sweet...sometimes too sweet. I had snapped at him one day, when we were out exploring an old abandoned church with all the friends. I was climbing over a small a stack of pews that were blocking one of the doors, and he tried to help lift me over them by my waist. I was already annoyed, because that time of the month and I didn't really feel like being out here, but my friends had begged me. So I snapped on him. "I can fucking do it myself Justin, Christ! Just cuz I'm a girl, doesn't mean that I need  your help for every little thing." He had backed up a little with his hands up, a shocked expression on his face. "Okay, I'm sorry, my bad," he said, his eyes getting a hurt look to them. I didn't like to hurt people's feelings at all, so I felt really bad about that. Later, we had a conversation about being a gentleman and just being annoying, and he had laid off a little since then. He had become a really good friend to me, and it helped keep Colby off my mind. Plus, it was just nice to have male companionship. I slung my arms around his neck, happy to see him. "I know I'm late, I'm sorry. I got held up at work. I'm here now though. You guys ready to go?" I let him go and stepped back, nodding with a smile. He glanced to the side of him, and only then did I see the tall, dark haired man, with the blue eyes that made my heart leap into my throat. When I caught his gaze, he just slightly raised his hand, and gave me the smallest of smiles, like he was unsure how I would react to him being there. I let out a choked gasp and my hand flew to my throat. Was I hallucinating? How was he standing in my apartment building, in Georgia, in my freaking doorway? He was LA only a couple of hours ago...or I assumed he was. "Col-Colby?" I asked, still in shock. He ran his hand through his hair, then fixed it a little, giving me that big smile that lit up his entire face. "Yeah baby girl, it's me," he said, softly, his eyes glancing to Justin, before meeting mine again. "Wh-what are you doing here?!" I still couldn't believe it. It was like life was playing some kind  of cruel game with me. I had missed Colby, desperately, the first month. I was in a full blown depression I think, sleeping with his hoodie, hardly ever going out, staying in my room just waiting on his call or text. Even after I went to the mall with Denise, I still came home and fell back into that routine. She eventually got Sarah and Kenzie, and they ganged up on me, forcing me to come to terms with the fact that Colby and I weren't together. That we probably never would be. He was merely a friend that I spoke too, just like Sarah thought of Brennen. I admitted it, no matter how hard it was, that THAT was all it would ever be...but with him standing here in front of me. AGAIN. I could reach out and touch him, I could kiss him, snuggle in his chest, just BE with him in person, but I knew it wouldn't last. The universe couldn't possibly be so cruel as to give it to me again, then snatch it away again, could it? "Um, I was in the area...are you going to tell me hey, or should I go...?" I had been staring at him, letting my eyes roam over every inch of my body, burning it into my memory. My eyes snapped back to his. "What? NO! Colby! I'm just so...shocked...but Oh My God!" I literally threw myself past Justin, into Colby who opened his arms to receive me. I buried my face in his neck and tangled my fingers in his hair, as my arms went around his neck. It just felt like home. Like I had been gone on a long trip, and now I was home. I inhaled his scent, wanting to replace the old memory with a new one, and let my lips gently graze his skin. His arms tightened around me as he swung me so that my feet weren't on the ground anymore. "I missed you so much Terra. You have no idea," he murmured, his face buried my own neck. He set me down on feet after a few minutes of us just holding each other, but kept his hands on my hips. "Colby, what- how?" I still couldn't form complete sentences, my mind just going crazy at the moment. He smiled at me, and moved one of his hands the side of my face, pushing my hair behind my ear. Oh, how I had missed that. He kept his hand there, holding my face, as he looked at me. "Our next series is in Savannah. Thought I would drop by and surprise you." "Surprise me?" I asked, like I couldn't quite comprehend the words he was saying. "But, how did you know where I live? And Savannah is two hours away! You didn't say a word to me. I'm-" I shook my head, and actually looked for a place to sit down, then realized we were still standing in the hallway. I twisted in his arms, and reached down to take his hand.