Falling in Love...Again chapter 1

 Falling in Love...Again

Chapter 1
2024

The story you are about to read is my story. I'm Miles, forty-four, a bit grayer than I'd like to admit, and currently trying to convince myself that a drive through my old hometown doesn't make me some sort of sentimental fool. I don't come back often, it's not that I've left my roots behind, but more like I'd settled into a rhythm away from here. Still, today, something drew me back to these familiar streets.

I hadn't planned to swing by the old high school, but something about taking the familiar route pulled me in. Maybe it was curiosity, or maybe just a tug of nostalgia I couldn't shake. I passed the buildings and just as I was about to turn left, I noticed someone standing near the school's front steps on the sidewalk, she caught my eye and jolted me to a stop.

Could that really be Avery?

The woman was leaning on a pair of crutches, her left leg wrapped in a black cast that stopped about 2 inches below her knee. For a second, I just stared, piecing together the wild Avery I remembered from years ago with the lovely woman in front of me. She'd always had that fierce, untamed energy.

Seeing her after all this time was like stepping into a time warp. Avery had been my first and possibly only real love. She was the heartbeat of a small, scrappy all girls punk band back in the day. She was fierce, unapologetic, and could command a room from behind her microphone like no one else. She had spent countless nights practising in garages and playing in dingy bars, with her voice ringing out over guitars and drums.

And now, there she was again, tall, older and in full view. I pulled over, feeling the rush of old memories filling the car as I watched her walk casually and in control of her crutches. She swung the cast between them and then stopped, adjusting the strap of that battered leather bag she always carried like a backpack.. The same old bag.

OMG she hadn't changed and yet looked so different, so mature and attractive.

"Avery!" I called out, after rolling down my window, feeling my own grin spreading wider as she turned, catching my eye, her knee was bent and her broken limb inches from the sidewalk.

She paused for a second, squinting my way as if to make sure it was really me, and then her lips curved into a slow, knowing smile that told me she remembered, too. With a playful glint in her eye, she swung her hip slightly, the motion shifting her weight onto her good leg as she lifted a crutch to give me a lighthearted salute. The shift in her stance made her hips sway with an easy confidence, crutches and all, like she knew exactly how to keep my attention, how attractive she still was..

"Oh My God, is that really you Miles?" she said, her voice carrying the same tone I remembered so well.

Without thinking, I got out, crossing over to her. Even with her leg in a cast, she looked like herself: unbreakable, with that same boldness in her deep green eyes. As we started talking, the years that had stacked up between us seemed to melt away. She still had the same long black wavy hair, that spark, that defiant energy, even if the setting had changed.

"So," I said, glancing down at her cast, "what's the story here? Thought you retired from your daredevil phase."

Avery laughed, rolling her eyes. "Old habits die hard," she shrugged, like it was the most natural thing in the world. "Fell off my horse when she was spooked, if you can believe it. Not very punk rock of me."

As we talked, it felt like we were back in high school, just two restless horny souls with nowhere to be and too much to say. It amazed me how some things never changed, especially Avery, tall, sexy, beautiful and standing there with that unyielding grin, black cast, crutches and all.

I watched her for a moment, debating whether or not to ask. But some things are too simple to overthink.

"Hey, what do you say to grabbing a coffee? There was a café around the corner that was very decent back then."

Avery tilted her head, her cast propped gently on top of her good foot. My gaze dropped, and I couldn't stop looking at the cozy sock covering the foot portion of her cast, a simple touch, but one that somehow made her look even more charming. The way the sock snugly hid her toes made me smile; I'd always had a weakness for that subtle hint of mystery, those perfectly hidden toes just out of sight. She caught me looking and raised an eyebrow, clearly amused.

"What?" she teased, giving her cast and toes a little wiggle. "Didn't think I'd leave my toes out in the open, did you?"

I laughed, shrugging as I met her gaze. "What can I say? You've always had a way of keeping things interesting."

"Why not? Let's get a coffee" she replied, flashing that same perfect smile and those sensual full lips I remembered kissing all those years ago.

I walked over to her, glancing down at her crutches. "Here, let me help." Without waiting for her to protest, I took the crutches carefully from her hands and leaned them against the side of my car. Avery's brow lifted slightly, but she didn't say a word, just gave a small, knowing smile as I opened the passenger door.

She leaned her hand on my shoulder as she slid into the seat, moving so smoothly that it was like she'd done this a hundred's of times before. I admired the ease with which she navigated this broken leg, cast, crutches, and all. Once she was settled, I handed her the crutches, then closed the door and got into the driver's seat.

At the café, we found a quiet corner by the window, a warm glow from the afternoon sun filling the small space. She propped her crutches against the wall, and as we sat down, I noticed how naturally she'd adjusted to having her leg in a cast again, as if it were just another part of her... like an accessory.

Over coffee, we slipped into conversation effortlessly, picking up threads of the past and weaving in new stories from our separate lives. She told me about her job in the school as a theatre teacher and how she'd recently started painting again, a part of her I never knew about. She laughed about some of her old, reckless antics with the girls of the band, making me realize just how much I'd missed that infectious energy of hers.

It didn't take long to admit to myself that I'd never truly let her go. Sure, years had passed and life had gone in different directions, but something about Avery had always lingered in my mind, stubbornly unforgettable. Sitting here now, listening to her voice and watching the subtle gestures she made as she talked, felt like picking up a book I'd loved and rereading the best parts.

My eyes drifted to her cast and those perfectly protected little toes as she spoke. The black cast looked recent and wrapped securely around her injured leg, contrasting with her faded jeans and worn leather jacket. Earlier I found myself studying the way she leaned comfortably on her crutches or kept her cast off the floor without a second thought, her movements unbothered and unhurried.

She was in total control...Again...

She almost seemed happy with the whole thing, I know that sounds crazy to most but it was like it was just another quirk of hers, another part of the way she moved through life, breaking her leg every so many years.

It was... unusual, I'll admit. But also oddly alluring.

I'd seen people struggle with things like crutches or casts before, but Avery handled it all with such a nonchalance that it only added to her charm. She'd always had this fearless way about her, but this was something different. It was like she'd found a new way to be herself, and I couldn't help but be drawn to it.

Maybe in a previous life she was ...never-mind...

"You seem pretty comfortable with that cast," I said, nodding at her leg. "Doesn't slow you down at all, huh?"

She smirked, taking a sip of her coffee. "Not really," she replied, shrugging. "Guess I just rolled with the breaks all my life. Life's too short to let a few broken bones get in the way."

And as I watched her talk, my curiosity only deepened, my mind swirling with all the things I'd forgotten about her, about us, and the new things I was only just beginning to learn about her.

God I wanted to kiss those lips...

Falling in Love...Again
Chapter 2 to come
K