Present Day

“Oh, my God!”  Hara stood, then shrieked again.  “Oh, my God.  Look at you.”

Jessica’s gaze was pulled from her book, following Hara’s movements.  Oh, my God, indeed.  Yuri strode toward them, her bikini covered with a sheer white swim shirt, hiding nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  She was tanned a golden brown, evidence of her days on the beach.  Her legs were as long as Jessica remembered, the muscles tight, defined.  Runner’s legs.

“What?  Too old for a bikini?”  Yuri asked as the two women stared at her.

“You look fabulous.”  Hara turned to Jessica and pointed.  “And here I thought Jessica would be the only one to pull off wearing a bikini.”

Jessica felt her face blush as Yuri’s eyes moves over her.  There was nothing casual about her gaze and Jessica was conscious of Yuri’s prolonged stare at her s.

“You’re as beautiful as ever,” Yuri said, her voice low.

Jessica smiled.  “Thank you.  You look stunning.”  She was pleased at the quick blush that covered Yuri’s face.

“Take my chair,”  Hara said.  “I need to help TaeYang get started.”  She walked away, then paused, looking back at them.  “Look at you.  I can’t believe you’re both single.  We’ve got to fix that,” she said as she left them.

“Single?  She doesn’t know about Faith?”

Jessica looked away.  “I was suppose not.”  No, no one knew about Faith.  Faith didn’t even know about Faith.  Of course, how silly would that make her look?  Then she’s have to confess as to why she made her up in the first place.

“Why didn’t you bring her?”

Yes, why, Jessica?  She forced a smile to her face.  “She’s never been here,” she said truthfully.

“It would be boring.”

“Have you ever brought any of your lovers home to meet your parents?”

Jessica shook her head.  “No.  I don’t make it back here all that often.  Holidays and such.”

“Oh?  Hara made it sound like you come five or six times a year.”

As usual, Hara talks too damn much.  “What about you?”

“My first time back, believe it or not.  You remember my parents moved to San Antonio shortly after we started college.”

“That’s right.  And your dad died suddenly.  I’m sorry.”

“We had grown so apart, especially after they divorced.”

“Was it bitter? She laughed.  “Well, you know what I mean.  I don’t suppose any divorce is a cakewalk.”

“It wasn’t really bitter because it’s what they both wanted.  I didn’t realize how miserable they were, I guess.  But they went their separate ways and I was kinda left in the middle.”  She shrugged.  “Totally blew them away when I came out to them.”

“Yeah, mine too.  But they recovered quickly.”

“And your mom never suspected us?  Even after you came out?”

“No.  Not that she’s ever mentioned, anyway.  Yours?”

“Oh, yeah.  First thing.”  Yuri laughed.  “My mom blamed you, because you know, good Catholic girls like me wouldn’t ever cross that line.”

“If she only knew how many lines you crossed,: Jessica said.

“Yuri sighed.  “Yeah, I did.  Too many.”

She suddenly has a sad look on her face and Jessica wondered what she was thinking of.  She also wondered if Yuri was ever going to want to talk about their breakup.  Because she had questions and needed answers.  Maybe if she had some sort of closure to the nagging question she’d had all these years, well, then maybe she could go on with her life.  Maybe she could finally let go of the past.  Of course, that would be admitting that her life – her love life, at least – had been on hold.  Not something she wanted to admit…or acknowledge.  At least not to Yuri.  Because after all, there was Faith to think about.  But to herself, she could readily accept the fact that no one ever touched her the way Yuri had.  Touched her physically nor emotionally.  Even now, with twenty years behind them, she could still feel that spark, still feel the power between them.  She wondered if Yuri felt it too.

“Why did you break up with me?  Jessica whispered.

Yuri turned, her eyes filled with reflection and sadness.  “I wanted to give you your freedom.”

“Why?  Because you wanted yours?”

“No.  I never wanted anyone but you.”

Jessica turned away, embarrassed by the jealousy she still felt.  “Yet you slept with countless girls, night after night?”

“I was trying to forget you.  I was trying to get you out of my heart, out of my head.  It was the only way I could cope.  I’m sorry.”

“Yuri, I never wanted my freedom.  I never understood why you did that.”

“I didn’t want you to have to sneak around, Jessica.  You didn’t deserve that.  If I wasn’t the one, then – “

“What the hell are you talking about?  That’s the third or fourth time you’ve alluded to that.  Did you think there was someone else?”

“I saw you with her, Jessica.  It was twenty years ago, so there’s no need to pretend any longer.”

As much as she wanted to discuss this, to know…Jessica was too furious to continue the conversation in a rational tone.  “You’re driving me ing insane with these insinuations.  Let’s just get it out and quit talking in goddamn circles,” she said, her voice rising.

Yuri grinned.  “Wow, you did develop a potty mouth, didn’t you?”  She stood and ripped off her swim shirt, leaving her standing there practically .  “I don’t want to talk about it right now.”

She strode the few feet to the pool and dove in, making barely a splash.

Jessica stared, her eyes glued to the sleek figure as she glided under the surface.  It wasn’t fair.  Not after twenty years.  She should be over it by now.  But damn if she didn’t feel that old attraction rearing its ugly head.  She sighed.  And who was this mystery girl Yuri kept alluding to?

Yuri was surprised by the sudden splashing around her as she surfaced.  Apparently, all it had taken was for her to get in the pool to get the others to follow.  She looked around, seeing somewhat familiar faces but not a single name would come to her.  And while she was friendly enough in high school, she realized that Jessica was really the only true friend she had.

The others were just classmates, faces in the crowd, kids she saw every single day, yet knew hardly anything about them.  Jessica’s friends