Not predatory. Not threatening. Just... curious.
Then he whistles, low and appreciative.
"Wow." His voice is warm, teasing. "You grew up nicely, MaeMae."
MaeMae.
No one has called me that since...
I blink at him, trying to place the face. The voice. The nickname that only a handful of people ever used.
"Do I... know you?"
His hand flies to his chest in mock offense.
"Damn. I'm that easy to forget? I'm appalled. Wounded. My ego may never recover."
Sage rolls her eyes so hard I'm surprised they don't get stuck.
"Hell yeah you are. Because you were a shy fucker who didn't talk to anyone, remember? You'd just lurk in the corner like some kind of social vampire, watching everyone else have conversations while you picked at your lunch."
"I wasobserving," he protests. "There's a difference."
"There really isn't."
"You're just jealous because I had an air of mystery and you had an air of 'please notice me, I'm desperate for attention.'"
Sage gasps, outraged.
"I was NOT desperate for attention! I was enthusiastic! There's a massive difference!"
"Sure. Keep telling yourself that."
They're bickering now, trading insults like tennis players trading volleys, and something about it tugs at the edges of my memory.
I know this dynamic. I know this banter… so why can’t I remember the face?
"Wait." The pieces click into place with an almost audible snap. "Jace? Jace Nakamura?"
The guy's face lights up like I just handed him a trophy.
"She remembers!" He spreads his arms wide. "The prodigal MaeMae recognizes me at last. My faith in our childhood friendship is restored."
"Don't be dramatic," Sage mutters. "She probably just recognized your ego. It's hard to miss."
"Jealousy doesn't look good on you, Holloway."
"Neither does that hairstyle, but you don't see me pointing it out every five seconds."
Jace Nakamura.
The quiet kid who used to sit in the back of our elementary school classroom, always scribbling in a notebook. The boy who barely said two words to anyone but would share his snacks with anyone who asked. He was so shy back then. Closed off. Iremember trying to include him in our games, but he'd always drift to the edges, watching instead of participating.
He's certainly not shy anymore. That's for damn sure.
"You two know each other?" I gesture between them, still trying to recalibrate my mental image of the quiet kid I remember with the confident Alpha standing in front of me.
"Unfortunately." Sage sighs with theatrical despair. "Our parents are business partners. I've been stuck with him since birth, basically. It's a curse I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy."
