The tryst of the one who got away part one

(In an attempt to detect exactly which paragraph the AI is misnaming a URL, I’ll be publishing a paragraph at a time)

He hadn’t known exactly how it had gotten to this point as he drove to the airport. There was the friend request accepted after a 20 year absence. Catching up via texts. Gradual disclosure which revealed he thought of her as more than a friend but never got an idea that she was interested in that way. She revealed she had the same feelings and even attempted to hatch a plan during college to take things further, but she fell asleep at his place while they watched a movie. He took it as boredom, accepted she was too cool for him. And now to find out all these years later, they had missed their chance. They were both married. They each had two kids. They missed their window. Also they missed that old fire, and now the fire had been rekindled. It blazed out and took over their regular lives. Two willing people, wanting a second chance. It was crazy, it was inconvenient, it was unethical. They each loved their partners.

But….they weren’t getting what they needed. To feel desired. To feel sexy. To feel present. Appreciated. Admired. He had a business meeting out of town. She had a convention in that same town, so she was flying in. Her convention was a cover story. These two hadn’t seen each other in 20 years and now he was driving to pick her up at the airport. He decided internally he wouldn’t press things. It’s one thing to say stuff online, but real life might feel different. He would leave space in case she decided she couldn’t go through with it when they saw each other. Her last text said she would probably hold his hand all the way to the hotel.