"This name is vaguely familiar," thought Torrey. "Panoff. Panoff. Panoff? No clue."
Anne Panoff added you as a friend on Facebook. We need to confirm that you know Anne in order for you to be friends on Facebook.
"No time for this."
Torrey flipped back over to his work but the name kept bouncing into his head like a sticky song lyric. Even after a few emails, a phone call and a meeting, the name kept bobbing up and down in his memory.
Anne? Anne? Anne!
He finally had a moment to click on the link. As soon as he saw Anne's smile on her facebook picture, he froze and his heart felt like it stopped beating. "My god, it's Anne Gold."
Torrey's memories flashed by like a slideshow on fast forward.
Anne Gold.
Beautiful, happy, sexy Anne Gold. High school crush. High school "coulda been, shoulda been" girlfriend. Cheerleader. Those eyes. That body. That smile. Her hair. Her skin...
Then, that date. The date. Monument Point. Anne curled up in the passenger seat of his Mustang. Parking and looking at the skyline. Their bodies moving closer, silently. Hands brushing. Turning to her. Kissing her. Those lips. My god.
Unbuttoning her blouse. Her breasts held by the most beautiful bra he'd ever seen. Oh and those breasts. They seemed to want to burst from her skin. Kissing Anne and holding her breasts. Not rushing. Savoring. My dear, sweet god.
Driving home thinking about the two of them together. What could have been? Cheerleader Anne. Running back Torrey. Her smile. He could drown in her eyes and happiness.
But then. Kris. His steady. Manipulative. Sexy. First lover. Played guilt strings like an Itzhak Perlman played the violin. Threats. Tears. Screaming. Make-up sex. Finally, no more dates with Anne. No more talking with Anne. No explanations, no closure. No more sweet kisses.
Anne's confusion. Then silence. Then cold shoulder.
"I was an ass," Torrey said out loud. "And a fool."
After all these years, Torrey had given hardly any thoughts to Kris, his literal high school sweetheart. But his torch burned bright for Anne. He could never forget her.
And now she was here on Facebook. Torrey sunk back in his leather chair. Anne Gold. Wow.
Torrey replied with his consent. And then the phone rang and he turned to back to his work. In an hour he was on his way to the airport for a business trip. In another hour he was sprawled in first class with his laptop open in front of him with the different files splayed on his screen.
Work was piled up. Artisan Property proposal, a six figure marketing project. Theodore Tech, a big advertising program. Wilson, a huge website redesign. DBQ Fine Foods new product launch. These projects would pay the bills for a long time and could spring Torrey's company to a new level. Yet...
Anne Gold. Anne Gold. Anne Gold.
I have to write her a note. Does she remember? Does she remember Monument Point? Does she know what really happened?
Torrey took the two hour flight to write and rewrite an email to Anne.
Hi Anne...wonderful surprise...been such a long time...glad you reached out...it's been 30 years...I graduated Yale and then worked in Manhattan...lucky in my career...married...three kids...working hard...divorced...
And then:
I remember our date at Monument Point. Sigh. You probably forgot.
Torrey deleted and undeleted this line until it was time to "turn off all electronic devices and return seat backs and tray tables to their upright and locked position." When he arrived at his hotel, he kept the Monument Point reference and sent it.
At the hotel bar, Torrey thought hard about Anne and his memories. Now he allowed himself the luxury of full blown reminiscence. Anne was a different kind of girl from those he dated in high school, college and as a single man on the fast track. She was confident. Secure. Not needy. Witty. Safe in her own skin. With the benefit of 30 years wisdom, Torrey knew that he had looked for girls that needed him. Back then, he'd not had enough self-confidence to rely on a girl just liking him. He needed their dependence to feel safe. Anne's independence was exhilarating but a little scary at the time.
And of course Torrey remembered Anne's beauty. She was petite, with an incredibly sexy body. She was fit, strong and vibrant. Her breasts were extraordinary and her skin was exquisitely soft. Her chocolate hair adorned her beautiful face like a lion's mane. Her eyes were wonderfully sexy and green, alternately flashing with laughter or smoldering with desire. Anne was sparkling.
Sweet Anne. Sweet, sweet Anne.
Torrey thought about their night making out at Monument Point. Anne was so in the moment with him. He remembered how responsive she was, how electric her skin felt to his touch. He could have kissed her wondrous breasts for hours. Torrey remembered how he held her face in his hands, kissing her lips gently before darting his tongue in her mouth. He remembered that she liked it when he bit her lower lip. Most of all Torrey remembered how he felt instantly that he and Anne could have been torrid lovers.
********************
Anne could not believe that she'd had the gumption to Facebook Torrey right out of the blue like that. How could she do that?
Anne had been quite successful herself, raising two children and then starting her own company. Her firm took off, grossing in the seven figures immediately. Eventually, she sold out to her partners and now she ran a team of people in the financial industry and was moving up through the ranks quickly. While this came at the expense of her marriage, Anne had felt that she was ready for the next stage of her life. Her smarts, perseverance, and enthusiasm were a perfect combination in the world of business and she confidently tackled any new challenge.
While she had the wonderful combination of a pretty face and that extraordinary body, she carried herself well. She was very comfortable in her own skin, so to speak, and she was neither embarrassed nor overly proud of her beauty. Her ease with herself made her somewhat intimidating to simpler men who thought they could win her over with just a few compliments, some humor or their own good looks.
She was not sure why she had reached out to Torrey, but she was glad nonetheless. He had pursued her, won a date with her and then stopped. He was attached to that crazy bitch Kris, but even still the abruptness of their ending was a bit strange.
********************
Through the course of several emails and phone calls, Torrey and Anne brought each other up to date with their lives, their loves, and their careers. The chemistry that they felt was undeniable, and the desire that developed through their correspondence was palpable.