A tense reunion

You arrived with Katie at Brian’s front door. Your heart started beating faster. You had wanted to avoid having to see or interact with Brian again, and yet now you were standing here at his door, and with your wife dressed in a cute swimsuit. How did things end up this way? You were close to silent panic when Katie broke you out of your anxious reverie by knocking on the door.

A few moments later you could hear footsteps on the other side, the door unlocking, and then swinging open. Brian’s eyes fell on Katie immediately. “Hey there! Here to take me up on that pool offer?” He asked with enthusiasm, his eyes straying down her body briefly. She smiled despite his wandering eye. “That’s right! Me and my husband wanted to take you up on your offer.” She said, seeming to emphasize the word husband as if gently scolding Brian for ogling her figure so overtly. He seemed to get the implicit message and so his eyes fell on you.

He cocked his head to one side as if off put for a moment, and then he said “Hey, wait- am I crazy or have we met somewhere before?” He asked you. You nodded in tentative agreement. “I think- maybe some work event a while back?” You lied, hoping to throw him off the scent. “What’s your last name?” He asked, and when you reluctantly responded “Smith” a lightbulb seemed to go off in his head. “Dylan Smith? Ohhhh, yeah, dude- we went to high school together! Wow!” He said, seeming lost in memories for a moment. He grinned widely at whatever he was remembering and then looked at Katie with an expression of fresh surprise. “Damn man, I can’t believe you ended up landing such a hot wife.” He told you, which caused Katie’s mouth to momentarily gape open in total surprise at his bold comment.

Then Brian turned to her “This guy was- well, kind of one of the nerds in high school. But I guess he ended up doing alright.” He said, explaining what he’d said. You just grinned, choosing to take the compliment. “Thanks, yeah, I think I did.” You said, putting an arm on Katie’s shoulder. With this she seemed to regain her composure, and exchanged a brief smile with you as she absorbed the shared history between the two of you. “Wow, well, I guess you two will have a lot of catching up to do. Should we come in, or go around back to the pool?” She asked. Brian considered this, then said “You guys can go around, let me just grab a couple towels and sunscreen and stuff.” He said, and then paused and asked “Should I bring out a few beers?” He asked with a smirk. You shrugged. If you had to spend time with an old enemy, it would be preferable to have a nice buzz. “Sure, we’ll see you in a minute” you told him, walking around the house with Katie. She turned to you with eyebrows raised. “Wow. Quite a character, isn’t he?” She said. You sighed and nodded “Well, he is that. For sure. I get the sense he probably hasn’t changed much.” You said. But you didn’t complain about him any further- you figured Katie would be able to see the type of man he was herself.