Mia drifted past the dance floor at her twentieth college reunion. A boy band anthem from the 90s had everyone jumping and shouting like it was still senior year. She was almost at the edge of the crowd when a hand closed firmly around her arm.

She turned.

“Vic,” she breathed.

His face was sharper but those intense brown eyes are exactly as she remembers them. They met as sophomores and became inseparable for the next three years. After graduation, her path took her to a graduate program in New York; his led to a job in California. They were certain they could bridge the miles, but distance, time difference and things left unsaid over the phone all wore them down. Seventeen years had passed since the last time she’d looked into those eyes.

She felt the pressure of his fingers.

“I didn’t know you’d be here,” she had combed through the reunion list—his name absent.

“I moved to Singapore a few years ago.” He released her slowly.

“That’s a long flight for mediocre alcohol,” she said, forcing a smile.

“I wanted to be here, Mia.” His gaze didn’t waver.

“Oh yea, everyone said the 20th reunion is the one to come to.” She tried to keep it light, aware they were in the middle of a crowd.

“Not that,” he shook his head, “I knew you’d be here and it’s your birthday tomorrow.”

Her chest tightened. An echo of the life they’d almost had poured over and she was transported back to a pocket of time she had never left behind.