Chapter 12

The mixing of scents was intoxicating. Almost 600 different scents mingling along with the pheromones exuded when we were nervous, excited, or feeling attracted to someone. It was one of the best parts of social gatherings.

Pausing for a moment, I could tune in and out, experience them as a glorious whole like a symphony, or conversely, I could hone my senses to focus on a single scent in the crowd. I focused on my olfactory system, searching, exploring ...

No vetiver.

He hadn't come.

Not that I thought he would, but I couldn't help feeling sorry for Cathy and some of those whose reason for attending the reunion was to see him.

I, however, was relieved. I didn't know what I was going to tell people about our work relationship, and facing 598 people I never thought I'd have to see again was hard enough.

The exception was Cathy, who looked radiant in her wine-colored dress. She was obviously having the time of her life, Charles or no Charles.

She'd found a table with two chairs and was gesturing me over. Having her lily fragrance next to me always made me feel comforted in the crowd.

"Sit next to me!" She held a hand out. "Don't you look stunning in that sequin dress!"

Knowing she felt obligated to babysit me the entire night made me anxious. I would definitely stifle her evening, and I didn't want that. But she wouldn't leave my side, and I was torn between being overwhelmed by her loyalty and annoyed that she thought I couldn't take care of myself.

"Seriously," I objected as I sat next to her. "I'm okay. Please keep socializing."

"Oh, don't worry. I will. I just want my bestie here with me at the same time. Look, here comes Bethany and Xavier. Hey!" she waved at them and they pulled up chairs. "How are you! You look wonderful!"

I smiled and tried to look engaged. After a moment, Bethany noticed me. "Oh!" she said. "I'm sorry, do we know each other? I'm Bethany."

"I was in your Chemistry class, and your Bio class, too, I think." I hoped my voice didn't sound as annoyed as I felt. "I'm Elena."

She nodded and I could tell I still didn't register. "So good to see you again," she said politely and Xavier also nodded.

"We had PE, right? I remember after running a few miles in old gym clothes we all stank to high heaven but you never had any odor."

I smiled. "That's me."

They turned back to Cathy who was asking about their two children.

This conversation repeated almost a half dozen times before I stood to give someone who barely registered my presence my seat next to Cathy. I was feeling a little bruised and in need of some punch.

It wasn't fun to be reminded of one's insignificance both in the past and in current times.

I sidled my way through the laughing crowd, my senses on overload with the fragrance and the loud music, until I reached the drinks. I ladled myself some of the red liquid and inhaled. It was heavily spiked.

I took a sip and felt it rush to my head. At this point, it can't hurt, I thought, and took another sip.

I felt myself thinking of Charles again and was annoyed with myself. What was with my brain's obsession with the guy? It was like I was in high school all over again.

Not only was I annoyed with myself, I was starting to get annoyed with him.

How dare he build up people's hopes and then so causally disappoint them! I was starting to think he wasn't the nice person I assumed he was.

I went back to my experience with him in high school. Was he always this careless with other people's feelings?

Honestly, I hadn't noticed. I'd been so enthralled. Even thinking about him was causing my mind to do weird things as I swore I could smell his vetiver.

Wait, I thought, looking down at the punch. I really can smell him. Is the punch that strong?

There was a sudden lull in noise on one side of the room that made me look up. I hadn't been hallucinating. Charles had arrived, his vetiver scent announcing itself to me and the room before I'd seen him.

He stood tall, his dark head and shoulders standing out above the others, his blue eyes focusing intently on the group that immediately surrounded him. The crowd, all eyes on him, went back to talking, but now it was about one thing and one thing only. Charles.

He was moving this way, smiling, and shaking hands. I could hear bits of his conversation.

"Sorry I'm late... Business overseas... times zones, you know..."

I frowned into my drink and went quickly back to the table where the seat next to Cathy was just vacated.

"Charles made it," I said as casually as possible, sipping my drink.

"Seriously?" Her eyes turned toward the refreshment table and she squealed, bouncing up and down in excitement.

I attempted to focus on my beverage. It was overly sweet to compensate for the taste of alcohol, and it was going to give me a headache if I wasn't careful.

All around I could hear people saying "Come sit!" or "Join us" and Charles declining. I looked up and was startled to see him looking directly across the room at me.

We locked eyes, and a shiver went down my spine.

He began to move toward our table, held up every few steps by someone approaching to comment or shake his hand. I felt small, vulnerable, and nervous like a rabbit frozen by his intense gaze.

Surely, he couldn't be coming over to us.

"Oh yikes," I said aloud. "He's coming this way."

Evidently, I wasn't the only person unnerved by his approach. Cathy was sitting at the furthest end of the chair, perched, and watching him come closer with nervous eyes. She looked sideways and her gaze relaxed. "Oh, he's heading toward Jennifer. Not here."

The table between us and the stage held the most beautiful people in the room, aside from Charles. They were, of course, mostly part of his old crew with a few equally beautiful new spouses thrown in. Jennifer was a tall brunette who was all legs and chest, her silky hair hanging to her waist.

"Did they date in high school?" Cathy asked more to herself then the table. "I think they were both an A+ for each other."

"Wow," I said, trying not to sound envious. "They're both so beautiful, that makes sense." A+ was unusual, and a sign of a good pairing.

Cathy looked at me funny.

"What?" I said.

"Did you just make a joke?"

"What? No!"

"Did you say, 'that makes scents' instead of 'that makes sense'. Because if you did, it's the worst pun ever.'"

We looked at each other, and then our nerves and the night and the spiked punch got the best of us and we burst out laughing.

I grabbed her warm hand, giving it a squeeze. What would I do with this friend who infused me with confidence and lightening the awkward situations of my life?

"What's so funny, ladies?" His voice froze us both mid-laugh and we looked up.

Charles was looming over our table, smiling down at us.

Cathy's eyes were wide and she looked panicked. "Oh, hi there. We were just... Elena made this joke and..."

"Oh, did she? That's one of the things I like about Elena. She's full of surprises."

Cathy's eyes got even bigger and she looked at me.

"I'll just squeeze in here next to Elena, if you don't mind Cathy." Charles was pulling an empty chair over to wedge into the space between us.

"Oh. Sure. I guess," Cathy said, but she hadn't moved.

She was still looking at me in amazement. And as the roaring of my blood in my ears began to fade and Charles turned his entire body to focus on me, I suddenly realized something else.

Cathy wasn't the only one looking at me. The entire room had gone as quiet as was possible with the party music, and everyone was staring.