Before You Knew Me (ONC 2025)

Jim never expected to see Rebecca again-especially not here, in a Denver hotel bar, twenty-some-odd years after high school.

Back then, she was the queen bee of his nightmares, a golden girl who made life miserable for awkward, closeted kids like him. But she doesn't recognize him now... not as the man he's become.

A few drinks, some harmless conversation, and suddenly, the past doesn't feel so sharp. They're just two professionals on separate work trips-Rebecca, a high-flying pharmaceutical sales rep, and Jim, a corporate trainer starting fresh...

What happens over the next few days is a mistake. He knows it the moment their lips brush against each other. He should tell her who he is. He should walk away.

Instead, he lets the lie linger.

Because for one short work trip, he isn't that kid from high school. And she isn't the girl who made him feel small.

But the truth has a way of surfacing. And when it does, neither of them will leave this hotel the same.

Prompt 34: Your new job requires an out-of-town overnight orientation, but when you check in, you run into someone from your past you never thought you'd see again.