Dinan almost spit out his coffee when Tara announced with her wide smile, “Mr. Ganin and I are getting engaged.”
It had been almost three months since Tara finished her internship when the cheerful girl suddenly sent Dinan a text and invited him to meet her on Sunday morning.
Girls’ talk.
Dinan had known Tara since she was still wearing a blue-and-white school uniform. She hadn’t even hit puberty yet back then! So it felt strange for Dinan to hear that Tara was suddenly planning to get engaged soon.
To him, Tara was still a little ball of energy who ate far too much sugar. Impossible to control.
“How come you never told me you went to the same high school as Mr. Ganin, Dinan?”
This time, Dinan really did choke.
An awkward laugh escaped Dinan’s lips. “Mr. Ganin apparently told you a lot.”
Tara set down her cup and looked at Dinan curiously. “Ganin didn’t tell me much. He hardly ever tells me anything. Aidan was the one who told me.”
Ahhh… How had Dinan not thought of that possibility? Of course it was Aidan.
Dinan stared out the window. His own mind had betrayed him again. The memories he had locked away so tightly always found a way to make him remember them.
Back then, Ganin and Aidan had belonged to the same basketball club, even though they went to different schools.
Dinan had often deliberately walked past the basketball court where Ganin practiced with his club, and that was what had caught Aidan’s attention.
Dinan didn’t even really know how he and Aidan had ended up dating.
“I think it’s weird that you and Ganin both act like you don’t know each other, Dinan.”
Tara’s words pulled Dinan back from his memories. He turned to her and smiled. “Because we really don’t know each other, Tara.”
Tara narrowed her eyes. She still didn’t know Ganin very well, and there was a lot she didn’t know about him. Including the fact that Ganin and Dinan had gone to the same school. Tara had found out by accident when she sent a photo of herself and Ganin to her older cousin, Aidan.
Their meeting ended as the afternoon approached. Dinan decided to spend the rest of his afternoon walking to a bookstore.
Meeting Tara had really made it impossible for Dinan to stop thinking about Ganin.
He laughed as he remembered what had happened in the elevator that night. Dinan had thought there wasn’t much difference between them now and the way they had been seven years ago.
The truth was, there was a lot Dinan had missed. He never really knew what had happened in Ganin’s life after they graduated from high school. Dinan knew that Ganin had gone to Australia on a college scholarship. Since then, he had kept everything carefully tucked away in a corner of his heart.
His phone vibrated. Aidan was calling. Dinan answered reluctantly. For some reason, his mood had fallen apart.
“Hmm?”
“Do you not like answering my calls?”
Dinan let out an annoyed snort. “What is it?”
“Why didn’t you tell me Ganin works at your office?”
Oh my God… Could Dinan not go even a moment without hearing Ganin’s name being brought up?
“Because it isn’t important.”
There was a fairly long pause before Aidan spoke again. “Everything about you is important to me.”
“Aidan, don’t start!”
“You know that better than anyone, Dinan.”
Of course Dinan knew.
But right now, Dinan simply didn’t want to think about anything. He only wanted to enjoy the rest of the day without involving Ganin in it.
“We can talk about something else, unless you want me to hang up.”
Aidan gave up. He stopped pressing Dinan to tell him more about Ganin’s presence in his life. Instead, Aidan chose to talk about his return, which was only a few days away.
“Remember, come pick me up!”
“I’ll think about it,” Dinan replied obnoxiously.