Chapter Thirteen

Lance

It was movie night at the resort, so the big screen was set up in front of the water, lounge chairs were brought over from the pool area to the beach, and dozens upon dozens of blankets and towels were laid out. There were already a good amount of guests sitting down, waiting for the movie to start.

I looked around, but didn't see Gemma anywhere in sight. Granted, there were a lot of people here, but I knew I'd be able to spot her anywhere. Or at least I was pretty sure I could.

I raked a hand through my hair. "Where are you, Gemma?" I asked, knowing I wasn't going to get an answer as I searched the crowd one last time before pulling out my phone and continuing to walk around the beach. Corey was hanging out with Mason over at the kids' movie night on the other end of the resort, at the pool, so that I could go to the adult one and try to see Gemma again. It sounded a lot less pathetic in theory.

The Hurricanes

Corey: Note this: you're missing out BIG time.

Me: Glad you and Mason are having fun watching Wreck-It-Ralph.

Hunter: Not again! He can recite all the words to that one.

Tyler: I've seen that movie way too many times for a grown man. I still can't believe you dorks actually went.

Corey: I went for Mason. Lance went for his lonely buddy.

Hunter: Is that what we're calling it now?

Me: All right, I call a timeout. First of all, lonely buddy, really? And I'm here because Gemma said she'd be here and I don't know what it'd hurt to run into her again.

Tyler: Only it's not accidental this time. It's just weird.

Corey: I'm cutting out. We're getting to the good part and Mason's hogging the popcorn.

Me: Don't let him eat too much of that. Or the s'mores. He'll be up all night.

Corey: Aye, aye.

Tyler: Isn't Gemma leaving again?

Me: Yeah, but we were given another chance. What are the odds you come across one of your hookups again? This time I'm not letting her go so easily.

Tyler: I haven't yet, thank the heavens. But good for you for finally deciding a girl is worth your time and wanting more than a casual fling.

Me: Yeah, something you'll never do. But when you meet the girl that changes all of that for you, I'm warning you, you're screwed.

Hunter: Just go find your girl and stop talking to us.

Tyler: H is right. Jada just got here so I'm out. Talk to you clowns tomorrow.

Hunter: You got this, man. Just bump into her. Doesn't seem like rocket science.

Me: Gee, thanks for the pep talk. All right, I think I finally see her. I'm going in.

I shoved my phone back in my pocket and walked over to where Gemma was standing in line for popcorn at the beachside cafe. She was wearing a white shirt that read "That Girl" across her chest in pink letters and grey sweats with white sandals. Her hair was swept up in some sort of up-do and held together with a cluster of clips, or so it seemed. She was wearing makeup now and that shimmery stuff on her lips.

I poked her from behind and she turned around, raising a hand to her chest. "Lance, you scared me," she exclaimed. She was like a vision, even doing the most mundane of things, like taking her popcorn from the attendant. "Thank you," she said to the gentleman and started walking away, her eyes darting to me as I kept pace with her. "What are you doing here?"

I followed her. "Honestly? I should be over at the kids' movie night with Mason, but I wanted to see you again."

She glanced up at me, clearly taken aback by my candor. "I'm flattered you'd ditch your son to see me."

I looked down at her and snagged a piece of popcorn from the bucket before crunching on it. There was so much I could say, but at the same time, it felt too soon for most of it. "I don't want to lie to you, Gemma."

"You never did before," she noted.

She was right, I had never lied to her before and I wasn't going to start now. No matter how weird it made me look that I came here to see her. I only wished I knew what to say, but thankfully she saved me as she continued, "I have to say, though, I didn't think you'd come. When I told you the girls and I would be here tonight, I mean."

I nodded and put my hands in my pockets, fighting the urge to reach out and touch her again. Gemma possessed this magnetism that seemed to just draw me in. She was mature, beautiful, smart, the list went on and on. "I didn't know I'd come," I said earnestly, "but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I couldn't stay away."

"I know the feeling," she whispered, her doe eyes looking up at me with so much emotion, as if she too felt what was between us.

Not ready to ruin the moment, we fell silent as we crossed the beach to where her sister and friends were sitting. Reaching their blankets in the sand, Gemma tapped one of them on the shoulder. "Extra butter," she told the woman, who turned around and beamed with excitement.

"Thanks, G, that's the only way to eat it," she said, reaching for it with a smile plastered on her face. "Who's the hunk?" she asked and I noticed how Gemma's cheeks flushed next to me.

I extended a hand. "I assume you mean me," I answered, amused by the term. "I'm Lance."

The woman eyed me and then grinned. "You're Lance?"

I cocked a brow at Gemma and pulled my hand back to my side because whoever this girl was, she had no interest in shaking it. "In the flesh. And you are?"

"Soph," Gemma answered, pointing. "This is Sophie, my sister." She turned and gestured to the other girls who were not fully paying attention to us. "Coco and Daphne. This is Lance."

Still nothing, aside from her sister.

"I can't believe you're Lance!" Sophie practically shouted, pushing the woman's shoulder beside her. "Can you believe this is Gemma's boy?" she asked the other girls, making a miserable attempt at whispering because I could still hear her.

I stifled a laugh and looked at Gemma, who was growing more uncomfortable by the moment. One of the women must have finally decided this was worth her attention, so she jumped up and placed her hands over her mouth. Coco, I think Gemma said. "Shut up! You're him?" She waved her hands in the air and began gaining her composure again. "I'm Soph's best friend and soon-to-be sister, Coco." Got it right—Coco.

"That's right, Gemma said it's your bachelorette party?" I turned back to Sophie.

"Yes, it is," Coco answered for her, smiling like the Cheshire cat. "She's marrying my brother. I'm both happy about it and totally disgusted by it." She shrugged her shoulders, but then went back to freaking out. "Daphne," she raised her voice and poked the woman that was sitting on the other side of her, more interested in her phone than our conversation it seemed. "It's Gemma's Lance."

The woman turned around and her eyes practically bugged out of her head. "And you said the most adventurous thing that ever happened to you was in college. Girl," she drew the word out, "you were holding out on us! This man is fine."

I cleared my throat and watched Gemma take a seat on the blanket since the movie was about to get started.

"He's not a piece of meat," Gemma remarked, patting the seat next to her. "Come sit," she said, "before they decide what sauce you would taste best with."

I chuckled and took a seat as Sophie and the other two girls started talking amongst themselves. "I didn't mean to intrude on your night. I could leave if you want me to. I wasn't really planning on crashing the party. Just wanted to see you." I still wasn't sure why or what I hoped to get from this, but I had to come here nonetheless.

"No," she quickly let out, finding my hand in my lap and placing hers over mine. "It's fine. You should stay if you're son's okay." She looked up into my eyes and gave me a smile.

"He's okay," I assured her. "He's with my friend."

She nodded her understanding. "Then I'm glad you came and found me. You should definitely stay."

"Okay, then," I said, knowing it was settled. I wasn't going anywhere. Not yet anyway.

She smiled. "Plus, now you can meet the only man that will ever truly have my heart."

I eyed her and teased, "Now, is that a fact?" I didn't know many women who still had a thing for Tom Hanks.

She nodded and batted her lashes, placing a hand over her forehead and swooning for further effect. "Sure, he's one of the most handsome men in Hollywood."

"One of?"

"Well, it's a long list, but I can tell you this, George Clooney will always be at the top of the list."

I smiled, enjoying this side of her. "So you like older men, huh? How do you explain me?" I ventured, curious about one of the few things we never discussed before.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Easy, you make me feel young."

I brushed loose strands of hair behind her ear. "I'm not handsome?" I teased.

"Oh, I didn't say that." She turned to look at me head-on and winked. "The movie's about to begin," she said, her voice falling to a whisper.

Leaning over, I whispered in her ear, "I've always had a thing for nineties Meg Ryan myself. But then again I always did have a thing for older women."

She didn't flinch, but the scowl that washed across her face told me everything I needed to know.

Now we were even.

When I finally caught her regarding me out of the corner of her eye, I knew I got to her. Exactly like I wanted to. I pointed to the screen and teased, "Wouldn't want to miss the the opening of Sleepless in Seattle ."

Gemma scoffed. "Of course."

"So is this your favorite movie or something?" I whispered in her ear again, totally disregarding the movie because it was just too much fun to talk to her, to tease her.

"Of all time. I can watch this movie over and over again. It's just so romantic."

"Seems a little silly to me," I confessed. "She fell in love with the idea of some man. That doesn't sound romantic, that seems concocted from some hopeless romantic that doesn't know the first thing about how love actually works."

"You're missing the point, but movie aside, I liked the idea of you before we actually met."

"How so?"

She nodded, then stood up and gestured for me to follow her.

I did and excused myself from stepping on multiple blankets as we walked away from the movie.

"Your sister and her friends won't mind you just leaving?"

She shook her head as we walked away from everyone. "Nah," she insisted. "They love this movie almost as much as I do. In fact, the first time my mom played this movie for my sister and I, Soph went on and on about finding a man who looked at her the way Sam looked at Annie in the movie. They won't even notice I'm gone until after the movie is over."

Shoving my hands in my pockets so I wouldn't do something stupid, I asked the question that'd been on my mind since she dropped that little nugget. "Good, so what's this about you knowing of me before we met? What do you mean by that?"

She exhaled and then looked over at me as we walked along the beach, the sun setting in the distance. "Do you remember the day we met? Before that, I was going to see Felicity in her office and you and Mason were in there actually."

"You were her next meeting?" I asked, surprised to hear how things worked out. It was something else that she and I could've actually bumped into each other sooner, and with my son, no less. "Wait, I didn't see you or anyone that day. At least, I don't think so."

"Some woman bumped into me as I was stepping back. I didn't want you to see me, I was embarrassed for being there."

Suddenly, the day came back to me with even more clarity than it first had. I snapped my fingers and nodded. "Mason was looking for a valentine for me. You heard that?"

She looked ashamed, shrugging her shoulders. "The door was ajar. It wasn't that hard to hear. Sorry, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop, but it couldn't have been helped. For what it's worth, I thought it was sweet, the things Mason was saying about you. It made me want to see you, this man who this little boy was going on and on about, like he was Superman or something."

"And you did? See me, I mean." I wasn't sure why, but I had to know.

Stopping, she came to a halt more than a few yards from where the movie was setup. "In the midst of getting bumped into, yes, I made sure to turn and see you. I had to."

"Man," I ran my hand along my jawline, "it's funny how things happen. So when we met, you knew about Mason?"

She nodded, kicking dry sand up with her toes. "From the beginning."

"But you didn't say anything?"

She shook her head. "You brought him up eventually, I figured you didn't need to know. It was just a fling, remember?"

"I always thought it could've been more," I said earnestly, hoping I wouldn't scare her off, but also knowing I had to speak my truth.

"Do you ever believe two people are so meant to be that fate keeps throwing them together?" she asked suddenly. "Like no matter what they do, they'll see each other again, run into each other again?" Then she shook her head and waved her hand in the air. "It's silly, really. Don't even listen to me. I don't know what I'm saying."

I took her hand in mine and kissed the top of it. "I don't think it's silly at all." Then I chuckled. "Probably because I can see that's exactly what's happening with us. Maybe if someone else were to tell me, I'd think they were off their rocker, but there is definitely something going on here. Fate or whatever."

"I believe in fate," she confessed.

She believed in fate? Why did that not surprise me?

I smiled. "That's all I need to know then."

"For what?"

"To believe in it myself."