Barron shut off his computer and stood, stretching his arms up over his head; groaning as he bent backwards a little. He had been working himself to the bone lately. Summer was their busiest season with schools on summer break as well as the influx of tourists trickling through their town for day and weekend visits. He was constantly maintaining their food and beverage inventory in between balancing their accounting books. He also needed to hire a few more seasonal staff members to help out with the extra workload.

He was burning both ends and knew, deep down, the reason why he tried to stay busy. He just refused to stop for a moment to dwell on it.

He turned as a noise outside his door caught his attention. Tracey and Anthony, two of his bar staff, strode past deep in conversation. Tracey peered discreetly into his office and gave him a quick sultry smile filled with promise before continuing on to the main floor. The busty blonde had been working with them for just over a year now and had been a casual bed partner of his at the start. He wouldn't have gone there if he had known that she would stay in town this long. She was initially hired as a seasonal worker, however, when the busy period extended further than they originally expected, Ian had hired her as a permanent staff member when she had decided to make New Haven her home. He had a feeling that she had been tempted to stay on with the intention of starting something more exclusive with him. Little did she know that that was a sure fire way to put a screeching halt on what was only an itch to scratch for him. Still, she tried constantly to sway him between the sheets again to no avail.

Until today.

She had blinked in shock when he had pulled her into his office and asked her whether she was free tonight. There was no pretense on what he wanted and she eagerly accepted. He didn't know why today of all days he had taken Tracey up on something that she had willingly offered to him regularly. He just knew that ever since he had woken up that morning he had felt ansty. Anxious. He had a lot of pent up nervous energy that he needed release. And then his Mom had called him and he felt even more restless. Setting up plans with Tracey was a spur of the moment reaction which he was seriously doubting now. But he didn't want to give her whiplash. Plus, even though he wasn't feeling it much anymore now, it didn't mean that sex wouldn't provide him relief from this....whatever this feeling was.

The shrill of his phone brought him out of his deep thoughts. He glanced down at the screen and frowned at the number. He didn't recognize it but he usually answered all calls if he was able to. As a business owner, it could be something important related to The Good Home.

"Hello, Barron speaking." He leaned back on his desk, legs crossed at the ankles as he waited for the anonymous caller to announce themselves.

There was a slight pause before a soft, husky voice came through the line. A voice that had haunted his dreams for years.

"Barron? It's me." Pause. "Eden."

He shot up straight, heart pounding quickly as a jolt of awareness pulsed in his chest. Fuck, Eden. He tried to contain his breathing as a slew of emotions coursed through him.

"Eden." he croaked. He cleared his throat before trying again. "Uh, hey. Eden." Okay, pull it together, man.

He ran his hand through his hair and paced his small office. "This is a surprise." he finally said.

"Yeah." she stopped.

Silence.

And more silence.

Shit, this was awkward.

He always thought that when he had the chance to talk to Eden. Properly talk to her. He would be concise, confident and suave. He had a speech planned on what he would say. An apology. An offer of friendship. A witty remark that would make her smile. A joke that would cause her to laugh. A caress that would get her weak. A stroke that would turn her body on fire.

But for now he would settle for a simple non-stilted conversation.

"How are you?" he asked, hand gripping his phone tightly.

"Tired but happy to be home." He could hear the smile in her voice, he could picture it clearly in his head, too.

"Good." Another awkward throat clearing. "Good." He repeated.

"I asked your Mom for your number. I hope you don't mind."

Since that wasn't phrased as a question, she carried on. "I know this is out of the blue," she drawled.

Understatement of the year. A feather could knock him over right now.

"But your Mom mentioned to me today that she's hosting her annual summer barbeque tomorrow."

"Ah, yeah," he stopped pacing and ran more fingers through his hair. "She told me this morning that she was going to invite you. I'm cool with you coming. I would love it if you could. But no big deal if you can't. I get it. It's cool." Shut up, Barron.

"Well that's why I'm calling." she sighed. It wasn't a sound of annoyance. More like tiredness... weariness. "I'm planning on coming."

His heart picked up speed once more and his pacing started up again. "Great," he told her, hoping she could hear the sincerity in his voice over his tension. "It would be great to see you."

"Yeah."

He noticed that she neglected to return the sentiment.

"So," she carried on, "I was calling because I didn't want our first proper conversation to be tomorrow in front of everyone."

That made sense. If she had shown up tomorrow without him knowing he would feel the eyes of everyone on them. Wondering if they would talk, soaking up their body language.

"Seeing your parents today, I've missed them a lot." Guilt stabbed him at her words. His fault. It was all his fault that she had lost two people that she loved dearly, and vice versa.

"I don't want your Mom feeling any awkwardness between us and I told her that I would like to put the past behind us."

"I think that's a great idea."

"But," she interrupted. "In saying that, I don't want you to think that we're going to be close friends again or anything."

His heart sank at her words. "I know. I wasn't expecting that." He wasn't but it didn't mean that it didn't hurt to hear her say it.

"I just want us to co-exist, be cordial to each other when we see one another. I'm going to be here pretty much all Summer and with me working closely with your Mom, we're probably bound to run into each other more."

"Yeah, that makes sense."

"I know you've given me space all these years." He heard her draw a deep breath. "So that's why I thought I would call you to break the ice so to speak. I know you wouldn't reach out to me-"

"I didn't think you'd want to hear from me," he interrupted.

"I didn't, you're right." She bluntly said. "But it's been, what, over six years? Our Moms are still friends and I don't want them tip-toeing around us anymore, you know?"

He swallowed down the lump in his throat. "I get it. I don't either."

"So," she tentatively said, "We'll greet each other when we cross paths, I'll be cordial and you'll respect my space."

She wasn't leaving any room for arguments. Honestly, it was more than he was expecting. More than he deserved. If that's all she wanted, then that's what he'd take. He'd take anything."Yeah, Eden. I hear ya. When we see each other tomorrow, we'll be cordial."

"Great."

More silence.

"So I'll see you tomorrow?" He said, head bowed in frustration.

"Yeah. See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Eden."

Silence met his words.

He stared at his phone and saw his home screen. She had hung up on him.

Well.

A knock had him turning to his open door. Tracey was leaning against the side jamb, a flirty smile on her face. She had shed her work uniform and was clothed in a tight tank top, low cut to show off her big breasts and tiny shorts that he knew grazed the bottom of her ass cheeks..

"Hey, handsome," she cooed. "Ready to go?"

Eden walked up the front steps of the Carter residence, her arms laden with a pasta salad and a boysenberry white chocolate no bake cheesecake that she had prepared earlier that morning. She was a little late arriving as she had a Zoom call with her agent regarding the upcoming New York Fashion week. She also decided to FaceTime with her friends who were getting ready to leave for Croatia in a few days. Okay, she probably didn't need to talk to them right that second but she was procrastinating.

She realized when she woke up this morning that she hadn't been to the Carter residence since that day. And she never thought she would step foot in there again.

She was nervous. She had no reason to be. Her Mom and Mike were going to be there along with Sofia, Ryan and Mama Rosa. She knew most of Kelly and Gavin's friends and family members, too, that were invited. No worries there.

She huffed in annoyance. So much for calling Barron to clear the air. She thought it would get rid of her uneasiness about being in close proximity to him again. But she might as well have turned up blind. Once she saw him, waved, smiled, maybe even a quick hello; then she wouldn't have to interact with him again. People just needed to see that they were cool with each other and then they would grow bored with the "will they scream at each other" prediction and move onto more interesting things.

Kelly had told her this morning to let herself in when she arrived as she may be too busy and the atmosphere too loud for her to hear the front door. It was a good thing they lived in a relatively safe neighborhood where the biggest crime had been Mrs Hatfield's roses being dug up. Couldn't say the same for New York. She had once attended a party at a fancy brownstone townhouse. She didn't even know the person who had hosted it. One of those "bring your friends" kind of parties; the more the merrier. Well, people took that a little too literally. By the end of the night, the host of the party was missing a very expensive painting, camera and some Louboutins. Since there were so many unknown people there, the culprit was hard to pin down. Not to mention the NYPD probably had more pressing crimes to solve than a rich person who had opened their doors to a free for all.

Eden breathed a sigh of relief when she opened the Carter's front door and was greeted with a blast of air conditioning. Summer in New Haven was no joke and she welcomed the cooler temperature.

She could hear soft music blasting through the house. Gavin had installed speakers outside and they regularly took advantage of the feature whenever they hosted outdoor parties. She used to love coming over to the Carter's place. Their house was so grand thanks to Gavin's job as an investment banker and a small inheritance that he had gotten from Barron's grandparents.

As she entered the kitchen she caught sight of her Mom, who had arrived earlier to help Kelly out with the set up. She was chatting to Mama Rosa, Gail, Kelly's sister, and her husband, Ray. There were a few other people milling about that she recognized but she wanted to set her food down before she put her social face on.

"Sweetheart!" Her Mom cried, as if they hadn't just seen each other a few hours prior.

Everyone turned to stare at her, which she was used to. She often had people either do double takes and gawk at her, no doubt trying to place who she was or, her favorite, they would follow her and discreetly take a photo or video. She did have a few people approach her for selfies which she obliged, even if she was clearly in the middle of a conversation or out to eat. It was the perils of having a high profile job and living in the age of social media likes and influencers. She often at times was representing a brand, whether it be make up or perfume; so she made an effort to be a decent person when greeted by fans. If she forgot to smile or say please and thank you, someone could create a TikTok voting her personality a zero out of ten in a "celebrities I served at lunch" viral video.

The difference here was that these were people that she knew, had grown up with, yet some of them had started treating her like she was the Queen coming for a visit. Most of them got over it and realized that she wasn't Lady Muck deeming them good enough for a hello. She was still the same goofy, friendly, introverted Eden Jamison that they all knew and loved. But still, there were a couple who treated her with a distant politeness, like she was going to demand they serve her only red M&M's in a silver bowl.

"Mom, where should I put this stuff? It needs the fridge." She glanced around. "Where's Kelly?"

Her Mom grabbed her bowl of pasta and plate of cheesecake before making her way to the huge double door fridge.

"She's upstairs changing her shirt. She spilled red wine all over it." her Mom's muffled voice replied as she bent down to place the food away.

"Ah, starting without me," she joked. The group of people in the corner laughed and she took that as her cue to greet them.

"Hey Mama Rosa, Sofia here yet?" She kissed the small woman on the cheek before hugging her.

"Si, she and Ryan are outside. You should go join them, querida."

She glanced through the open french doors to the outdoor area. She could smell wafts of barbequed meat in the air that made her stomach grumble. There were about thirty or so people milling about and she knew by the sounds coming from the pool that the children were making good use of the cold water in this heat.

The pool. Barron. Lissa. Wet bodies entwined. The look of shock and horror on Barron's face. Lissa's smug smile.

With a heavy stomach, she quickly glanced away and spotted Sofia and Ryan sharing a sun lounger and chatting animatedly. She recognized a few of her old highschool friends who she knew had reconnected with Barron. She had no issues with that as long as they didn't try and push a kumbaya moment with the two of them. Sofia and Ryan were the only two of their old friend group to stay aloof with Barron. Camaraderie and all that.

She spotted Gavin and Mike by the grill, beers in their hands. A few other men were gathered around the BBQ, all appearing to be in the throes of male bonding. In the midst of the group was Simon, Gail and Ray's son - the infamous cousin who had led Barron astray; according to some of her friends that had befriended Barron. Again.

She had rolled her eyes at that. Led Barron astray? Cry me a frickin river.

Just then, a tall solidly built man approached Simon, clasping him on the back in jest. A tall solid man with dirty blonde hair and an all too familiar smile. She had lived for that smile back in the day.

Seeing him brought back the butterflies in her stomach and she suddenly lost her appetite.

She turned back to Rosa, ignoring the telling smile on her face. "I just want to say hi to Kelly first then I'll join the crew." She was procrastinating, she knew, but anything to put off the inevitable.

Rosa patted her arm before Gail and Ray approached to greet her. She had interacted with the couple a little bit when she and Barron had been together. Kelly was close with her sister and they only lived an hour and a bit away so it was normal for them to join the family for the odd Christmas and Thanksgiving. Simon was a year older than Barron but she knew how close they were and how much Barron had looked up to the older boy as kids.

Led astray. Hmph. What a cop out.

The thing that had made her sad about the whole thing was that she had liked Simon. He was nice to her and she always made an effort to chat with him. Was he a bit arrogant and braggy? Sure. What handsome and popular teen boy wasn't. But the difference between Simon and Barron was that Barron hadn't let his good looks and social status at school get to his head. Until he did. All it took was an absent girlfriend, some peer pressure from his cousin and a pretty girl to turn his head. Even though she was salty at Simon, who knew that Barron had a girlfriend - a girlfriend he had spent many a nights playing Playstation with might she add - it was ultimately Barron who had made that fateful decision.

Whatever, she wasn't gonna dwell on it anymore.

So she greeted Simon's parents enthusiastically and made small talk with them for a few minutes. All was going well until the other woman reached out and clasped her hand quickly, giving it a gentle squeeze before releasing it.

"I was sorry to hear that you and Barron had split up." she said. Rather loudly, she thought.

Ray, to his credit, shifted uncomfortably and gave a nervous chuckle. "That was years ago, honey." he told her.

"Oh I know, dear, but you were such a lovely couple." she pressed on.

Yes, tell that to your precious Simon, she thought snidely.

Instead, she gave Gail a small smile and indulged her a bit. She knew that she was fishing for a reaction which was quite rude since she barely knew the woman but she was used to subtle snipes from people disguised as good will. You couldn't survive in her world without a little sass.

"The bar was too high between yourselves, Kelly and Gavin," she quipped. "Now there's a relationship for the ages. Tell me how long have you two been married now?"

Worked like a charm. Gail preened under the compliment and wrapped her hand around Ray's arm in glee before launching into their dating history which unfortunately started from their first meeting in highschool.

She was saved from hearing about the night Ray proposed when Kelly, looking fresh as a daisy in a sleeveless yellow blouse, rushed over to hug her.

"Oh, I'm so glad you came!" she told her, clasping both her hands and holding her body out in front of her. "Oh, you look so beautiful."

"Well she is a top model. Kinda hard to look ugly, sis." Gail interjected, rolling her eyes.

"You should see me coming off a twenty hour flight!" she joked. Kill 'em with grace and kindness.

She may have taken extra care with her appearance today, though. She only wore a cherry lip balm and a little mascara. Because her job required her to wear make-up, she often let her skin breathe. If she didn't need to wear it, she wouldn't.

Same with her hair. She had run a brush through it and put it up in a high ponytail to avoid it sticking to her neck in the heat. She left her hair in its natural wavy state. Again, since she had countless hot irons stroked through her hair when she was working, any opportunity not to do anything to it, she didn't.

However, she decided to dress a little sexy casual with a floral, square-necked slip dress that ended just above the knee. She teamed it with white sliders to show off the pedicure she had gotten. She had black round Ray-Bans on top of her head to protect her eyes from the harsh sun once she stepped outside.

"Thank you so much for inviting me," she told Kelly. "I've missed your infamous barbeques."

Kelly gave a sad smile and nodded at her remark. They both turned to stare outside, both overcome by memories of happier times. Fighting with Barron on who would be in charge of the music, Gavin sneaking her a barbequed sausage fresh off the grill, playing a very competitive game of volleyball in the pool, curling her arms around Barron's neck whilst swimming; using the covering of water to hide what he was doing to her below the surface, risky blowjobs in the bathroom when the adults were tipsy and lazing by the pool. Feeling like she could bottle the emotion of love she had felt for Barron in that moment and carrying it with her forever.