TWO YEARS LATER

I opened the car door, and Alice stepped out, a brisk wind upsetting her hair. She looked beautiful that day, as she did every day.

Sometimes, when I looked at her body, I got the strange feeling I was viewing a captivating landscape from above. It was not far from the truth; I had walked miles across her arms, ankles, breasts and neck; I literally knew the back of my girlfriend's hand better than my own. How many guys could say that?

The past two years saw a lot of changes in our lives. Alice found work as a receptionist at a nearby medical center, while I continued to work at the game company. One of the projects I worked on ended up being very successful. It was a mobile game, which was a relatively new thing at the time. The game generated some fame for our company, which ensured us steady business. What began as a risky venture turned into a solid company in a niche market. The difference between my new job and my old one was dramatic. I loved my work, and we were well off financially. We continued to live within our means; we still lived in the same apartment and I was paying off my student debt and saving money.

That day the sky was overcast, but my world was lit by the girl standing next to me – my own ray of sunlight. She wore a dark green knitted wool sweater with large black buttons, blue jeans, and a pair of low cut leather boots with buckles.

"I'm so excited," she said, giddy, as she took my hand.

Today she would be meeting my good friend Annie.

It was a small college campus in hilly upstate New York. Our feet found the stone path, which slithered through a sea of well-tended grass as it dodged old brick buildings. Small planted trees lined our way, twiggy things with bare branches. It was a Friday afternoon, and the campus was quiet. A few students were ambling to or from their last class before the weekend. A cool wind was pressing on us. Alice huddled up against me.

Suddenly before us was the library, where Annie said she'd meet us. There was a brown-haired girl standing there, wearing a light blue hooded sweatshirt and yellow flip-flops.

"Hi Annie!" I called out.

She waved when she saw us. We climbed up the short flight of steps to meet her. She walked up to me and gave me a warm hug.

"I missed you, Will!"

It felt good to hug her again. Good and... different. Strange, I thought.

"Annie, you've... grown!"
"Oh...” She shook her head. "Just a late growth spurt. Completely natural."

She gave me a wry smile that I found hard to read. I introduced her to Alice. Annie wasn't shy about giving her a hug as well.

"It's great to finally meet you," Alice said. "Will's told me so much about you."

Annie lingered in her hug for a moment, before stepping back to look at her.

“You're very pretty, Alice.”

For a moment they just looked at each other. I tried to imagine what was going through their minds then.

"Come on, guys! Let's go back to my dorm. This way."

The sky was just beginning to darken as we followed Annie. She had definitely changed since I had seen her last. She was eighteen now. She was no longer quite as petite as when I had met her two years ago. As we walked, and listened to her talk about college life, I couldn't help but notice a change in her personality as well. She seemed a bit more serious than the playful girl I had known. She's just growing up, I told myself. Still, I couldn't help feeling disappointed. I wanted Alice to meet the unpredictable, carefree Annie that I remembered.

A change of scenery brought me out of my ruminations. We had entered Annie's dorm room. I stepped inside, and barely had time to register my surroundings before I saw a creepy grin appear on Annie's face. In a flash, she was ten times her size and plodding towards me. For a moment, it seemed I was hovering in midair like Wile E. Coyote, before Annie's chest collided with me and her arms engulfed me in an affectionate if forceful embrace. The soft blue fabric of her sweatshirt was imbued with a clean linen scent, and the residual coolness of the autumn air. I probably would have found it quite comfortable had she not been hugging me so tightly.

"Oh Will! I missed you so much!" she sang, twirling about, oblivious as I struggled for air in a vice of shirt fabric.

There's the Annie I remember.

My towering friend made her way to the bed, and let me slip from her arms onto the soft mattress, before clambering up herself. She sat with her feet on the bed, and her arms resting on top of her knees. The legs of her jeans were a deep, mottled blue, and seemed a little too long, like heavy curtains draped over her feet. She looked down at me with peaceful eyes, orbs of living glass painted with fall twilight. Her skin was smooth; her cheeks, jaw and neck were sheets of peach snow. A set of ten chubby digits was lined up before me, poking out from under her jeans, and resting on yellow foam-rubber platforms. A faint odor hung in the air, musky but inoffensive. I noticed her toenails were unpainted. A task she had saved for me? I looked up and saw that familiar smile of hers, enigmatic and benign.

Next to her bed, I noticed a large desk. Alice had taken a seat there, and was admiring some of Annie's artwork which had been hung on a cork-board. The drawings depicted various superheroes and heroines of her own design. I had seen some of her drawings before, and I noticed a marked improvement in her style.

I turned my attention back to Annie, who was still staring at me. Something about her smile made me uncomfortable.

I jumped.

Something had lunged toward me. Regaining my composure, I realized it had only been Annie's foot, which she had unconsciously shifted a few centimeters. Annie's smile widened at my reaction, and she let out a giggle, but continued not to speak. I swallowed, and laughed nervously. I turned to look at Alice, who had apparently found the scene amusing as well. Then something flashed in her eyes, and she gave me a different smile. The one with narrow eyes. That smile? She only gave me that smile when she was going to –

Whomp.

Well... I had asked for it. I had turned away from Annie and given her a target. I found myself sandwiched between the bedspread and the dirty flip-flop sole. All right, Annie. You had your fun. I tried pushing on her sole. I got it to lift a little. There was something almost affectionate in the way she brought it down even harder in response.

Ugh!

I let my body relax. I sometimes found myself in situations where all I could do was think. What I had been thinking about that day was whether Annie and Alice would get along. Both of them were dear to me; I knew they were eager to meet each other, but something inside of me was worried that... I don't know, that they would get jealous over me or something. I had been unsure of what to expect that day, but the girls' muffled laughter told me they were going to get along just fine. I gathered what air I could through the fabric of the bedspread, and breathed a sigh of relief.