Wanderlust Read Online Free PDF Page B

and I didn’t want to take up too much time.
    The barista handed me my change and told me my coffee would be ready in a moment. I turned to get out of the way of the customer behind me, then I saw her face and froze. It had been seven years since I’d caught a glimpse of her at graduation, but I would have known her anywhere, even bundled up as she was against the harsh wind and snow.
    “Monica.”
    Those big brown eyes turned to me, blinked, then widened in surprise. “Jason!” For a split second, I wondered if she’d just turn around and walk out, but to my relief she said, “Wow! How are you?”
    I couldn’t look away from those beautiful eyes. Still the same deep brown, bright and clear and fringed with thick, dark lashes that stood out against her creamy skin, now flushed and rosy from the cold. A wisp of chestnut brown hair had escaped from beneath her wooly winter hat, but I couldn’t tell if it was still as long as it had been in college. I found myself hoping that she hadn’t cut it short. It had been so long and beautiful in college.
    “You look great!” I said. Not terribly original, but definitely true. We managed an awkward little hug before I remembered my manners. “Here, let me buy you something. What are you having?”
    “Oh, small mocha,” she said to the impatient barista, “but please don’t worry about it,” she said to me, groping in the pocket of her backpack for her money.
    “No, no, please let me.” I fished a twenty out of my wallet and handed it to the barista before Monica could extract her cash. “Wow! You look great! It’s so nice to see you!” I knew I was grinning like a total dork. Even with a pink nose and flushed cheeks, she looked beautiful. Her top half was encased in a down parka, but she wore skinny jeans, and I could see that her legs were as long and shapely as ever. She smiled bashfully.
    “Do you have time to sit down and catch up for a bit?” I asked. Now I’d be really late to work, but now I cared even less.
    “Oh, actually, I’m meeting a client here in a few minutes …”
    If it was a hint, I didn’t take it. “Well, just a few minutes, then,” I said, barely looking as the barista handed me my change. “It’ll be a few minutes before the coffee’s ready, anyway. This place is pretty slow,” I added in a whisper.
    We sat at a table and smiled at each other for a long moment. I thought she was happy to see me, but apparently neither of us knew what to say. Then we both started to speak at once.
    “Go on, you first,” she said with a light laugh.
    “So how are your parents?” I blurted, not knowing where else to start.
    “They’re fine,” she said. “Thanks for asking. Still in Minnesota. My sister’s expecting a baby.”
    “Lauren? The pesky fourteen-year-old?”
    She laughed. “No, my older sister, Charlotte. But Lauren’s engaged. Hardly pesky at all anymore.”
    I shook my head, thinking of the freckle-faced kid who’d followed us around during my visit to Minnesota, teasing Monica about me and spying on us when we tried to make out. She’d be in her twenties now. “Hard to believe,” I said, smiling.
    “So what are you doing these days?” she asked.
    “I’m an accounts manager for a PR firm up the street.” I didn’t add that I expected to be fired any minute, and that the chances of that happening were improving every moment I sat there talking to her. “How about you?” I was genuinely curious, and I wanted to deflect the conversation away from my job. “When you say you’re meeting a client—?”
    “Your coffee’s ready!” announced the barista from behind the bar.
    “Faster than usual today,” I mumbled, for once wishing that the barista had been her normal, inefficient self. I jumped up to retrieve the cups and placed Monica’s mocha in front of her.
    “Thanks,” she murmured. She unzipped her coat, took off her hat and began peeling off her gloves. Her hair wasn’t quite as long as it had been in