Once Friends — Z.L. Arkadie

I never thought I'd see Jay West outside my TV screen ever again. We first met when he was eleven and I was ten. Our older sisters forced us to play together while they ran upstairs to make unsolicited phone calls to cute boys. Finally, Jay asked me what was the name of the puppet I was holding in my hands. I hung my head, embarrassed by what my sister called my state of perpetual geekdom and said, “Skinny Pig.” He said, “cool!” And from that moment on we became best friends forever -- or at least I thought. Years later I developed boobs and he became a teenage heartthrob. Then came that night. Something happened between us -- something unexpected and confusing. That was fifteen years ago. We hadn't spoken since then. Now here I am, staring into his deep blue eyes. He's no longer a boy and I'm not a girl. I'm a woman and he's a sexy man, who's just offered me the position of a lifetime. Should I take it? If I say no, my mundane life will go on is. If I say yes, I'll have to trust Jay West won't eventually leave me high and dry like he'd done so many years ago.