Summary: A series. At the ten year suite-mate reunion with all of your Hartfeld friends, Chris honors a pact that you made during senior year. This is for anyone out there like me whose MC dated James and missed her chance with Chris due to his emotional unavailability in Book 1 (or anyone who just loves Chris Powell, really).
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters originally introduced in The Freshman. This series takes place mostly during a time jump. This series will be based on my own perceptions of the characters, and not all recollections of their history together will be cannon to each reader.
In your bedroom, you notice your phone lighting up as you switch off the blow dryer and unplug it from the outlet. Two missed calls and five unread messages have come in within the last half hour, and just as you’re about to reply, it rings with another incoming call. You answer it,
“Please tell me you’re not calling to ask my opinion on denim or khakis”.
“Nah, don’t worry, I packed both!” Zack replies, “I was calling to see how close you are to being ready because I might actually arrive on time for once”.
You smile against the phone as you apply the last few touch ups to your makeup and then zip up your suitcase. “Hang on, I have a few texts from the others I haven’t had the chance to read yet”. You put the call on speaker phone and quickly read through your missed messages from Kaitlyn and Tyler. “Kaitlyn’s running ten minutes late due to a baby diaper crisis and Tyler checked in to say that the rooms are all set up. Nobody has shown up yet as of fifteen minutes ago”.
Zack exclaims, “No way! Well, maybe if I swing by and pick you up, I can still be fashionably late”.
You graciously accept Zack’s offer to carpool and then hang up the phone. Like clockwork, you hear a car horn sounding from outside just as you send your last text to the group chat. You pick up your bags and your sunhat and you are on your way.
Stepping into the driveway, you greet Zack with a cheeky grin as you load your suitcase into the back of his car. “So… ten year reunion! Are you excited?” You ask him.
“Hell yes!” he replies, “Now that Tyler and Abbie have a beach house, we can finally have an epic weekend without any stuffy hotel rooms”.
“It really was so great of them to host us for the weekend like this,” You say, beginning to feel extra excited, “It will be just like old times”.
“The original gang plus Leighann”, he adds.
“And Chris’s girl, probably”.
Zack cocks his head a bit, “Chris’s girl?”
“Yeah, I saw him in a few photos with her recently on Facebook. Danielle, I think?”
“Well”, Zack starts, “I just spoke to him last weekend and he told me he isn’t seeing anybody, but I’m glad to see you’re honing in on your social media stalking skills”. He smirks, eyeing you.
You blush a little, “Not stalking! Just… noticing, that’s all”.
Zack chuckles and shoots you a teasing look. After a few moments pass, you turn your gaze away from the window and change the subject,
“So, how are you doing with this whole ‘break’ thing with Sam?” Zack takes a beat and sighs, gathering his thoughts. You frown, adding, “I know you were really excited to bring him on this trip”.
“Yeah, I was…” he says, eyes on the road, “but that was before things started getting weird. I’ve never been on a ‘break’ from a relationship before, so I was kind of weary about it, but things moved so fast between us that I just got kind of… scared, I guess”.
“So this break was your idea?”
“I started the conversation, and Sam basically gave me the ultimatum. He knew something was off between us. So, we take some time apart and see if anything changes”. He shrugs.
“And if nothing changes?” You ask carefully.
Zack thinks a moment, “Then I won’t waste any more of his time”. He pulls into a long driveway and begins to slow down.
“Don’t say that, Zack, I know how you feel about Sam. No matter what happens, the time you’ve spent together will not have been a waste. Just use this weekend as an outlet to clear your mind and focus on yourself. The answer will be clear to you sooner than you think”.
As he shifts the car to park, Zack looks over at you with a slight smile.
“What?” You ask.
He shakes his head slightly, “It really is just like old times”.
Your smile grows larger and you reach your arm out to rub comforting circles on his back. “Now, let’s get out there and take a deep breath of that ocean air!”
Zack follows close behind as you climb the front steps of Tyler and Abbie’s beautiful beach house. The sun is beginning to lower in the sky, reflecting an orange hue in the windows. Seeing that the door is cracked open a bit, you peek your head inside to announce yourself.
“Guys? Abbie? We’re here!” You call. Not a second later, you hear a faint voice getting closer,
“Hi! Come in, come in!”
In the moment it takes you to glance over your shoulder, exchange a shrug with Zack and turn back, Abbie is standing in front of you, flustered, with her arms open to embrace you both. You jump slightly.
“Hey!”, she grins excitedly, pulling you in for a hug, “Oh, you’ll have to forgive me. I’ve been running around like a lunatic all day trying to clean and get things in order”.
“The place looks amazing,” You assure her, “Honestly, Abbie, you don’t know how grateful we are that you’re doing this”.
“And more importantly, we are just so happy to see you!”, Zack adds, touching Abbie’s arm gently.
“Where’s Tyler?” you inquire, looking around a bit as Abbie gestures for you to follow her.
“He’s in the back, entertaining the guests who have arrived thus far. Here, why don’t you put your bags down in this room for now so you can come and say ‘Hi’!”
While you and Zack are following Abbie through the first floor and out to the backyard, you pass a gorgeous kitchen, a bathroom and a guest room. Seeing where you’ll be spending your time and hearing some music blare from speakers in the yard, you can’t help but feel the increasing excitement in your chest as you step foot out the back door.
“Look who’s here!” Abbie announces loudly to the others.
“Ladies and gentlemen, the party has arrived!”, exclaims Zack, lifting both arms in the air. You laugh as everyone cheers and ‘whoop’s with drinks in their hands. A grin forms on your face and you run over to Tyler, who is playing bartender and host.
“Tyler, who would have thought you would be the one of us to invest in an outdoor bar?” you tease him playfully, hugging him tight.
Tyler laughs, “If you would have told me I’d be here when we were in college, I wouldn’t have believed it myself. I’m truly blessed”.
“The house is beautiful. Now, speaking of blessings, I would be forever grateful if you poured me a drink!” You reply charmingly.
“Coming right up,” Tyler obliges with a smile, pouring a brightly colored beverage into a fancy glass.
You lift the glass to your lips to taste the sweet and tangy goodness. When you look up, your eyes fall upon a group of people standing in a loose circle, chatting. One set of eyes in particular happens to be looking your way, however. Bright and blue, those eyes belong to Chris Powell. He curls one corner of his lips when you notice him.
You smile back at Chris, noticing that he is mingling near the fire pit with Zack, Abbie, Zig, Kaitlyn and her wife, Leighann. You start to head over.
Walking up to Chris, you raise your glass to clink against his. “Cheers to suitemate reunion number seven and to ten years after graduation!” You offer with a smile, hardly believing it yourself.
“Mm-,” he swallows a sip of his drink, “-and to all of the liquor stores in the tri-state area who kindly donated to the cause”. You practically snort at this, wiping some dribble off your lip. Chris eyes his glass and mock-coughs for effect.
“Well I don’t know about you,” you start, “but after the week I’ve had, I’d drink out of the bottle if you let me”.
He hums in agreement. “Oh there’s no denying I’m enjoying it”.
That’s what I like to hear,” you grin, nudging at his elbow.
Chris’s gaze lingers on your eyes for a moment before he leans forward to plant a kiss on your cheek. He pulls back and sighs. “It’s good to see you again”.
Simply, you reply, “You, too, Chris”.
Chris is about to open his mouth again to say something when you notice that Zig is standing quietly close by. You reach out to tap his arm and swing him around to face you both.
“Zig, I’m so happy you could make it!”, you exclaim, going in for a single-armed hug, “How are you?”
“Thanks,” Zig replies, smiling sweetly, “I’m good. And I know I’m not technically a ‘suitemate’-”
Interjecting, you stop him. “-Hush! You’ve been one of us ever since you punched somebody in the face for me”. You wink.
Zig pretends to scratch his head modestly. “Huh. Did I do that?”
You hear Kaitlyn chiming into the conversation when she yells, “Depends, are you talking about the first time or the second time?” Everyone laughs. You and Kaitlyn catch each other’s eye and she smirks, visibly trying to contain her excitement. You bite your bottom lip playfully before barreling through the circle toward her. Without another word, she embraces you tightly.
You giggle uncontrollably, rocking your bodies back and forth in a happy dance. “It’s so great to see everyone again! I can’t believe it!” When Kaitlyn finally releases you, you reach out to hug Leighann just as tightly.
Zack points his cocktail wielding hand in your direction, “You two act as if you don’t talk on the phone every day”.
You and your best friend exchange a playful look. Kaitlyn scrunches her nose, “Not… every day…”
“Tell me, how is little Allie Cat?” You ask, swooning. “Has she learned to say my name yet?”
“Almost,” says Leighann, “As soon as we can get her to take her toes out of her mouth, I’m sure she’ll get it”.
Kaitlyn takes her phone out of her pocket so she can show you a video they recorded of their daughter, Allison, as she was waving goodbye to them today. Everyone ‘ooh’s and ‘ahh’s.
The night rolls on and you all have drinks and eat some frozen pizzas. Before you know it, it’s about 2:00 am and you start to feel drowsy. You decide to call it a night and you settle into a guest room that Abbie and Tyler have set up for you. The others aren’t too far behind. As you snuggle up underneath the sheets, hearing the hum of the air conditioning and smelling the aroma of fresh laundry under your nose, you think about what the rest of the weekend will bring.