Zelda had found the spot where she liked to study in the library as an undergrad unchanged. Probably because it was on the top floor behind the rows of dusty periodicals that no one ever used. It was a wooden cubby hole that had a desk and two wooden chairs, and there were many names carved into the wood from the decades of students who had used it. Zelda often wondered who they all were and what had become of them.

With a sigh, she turned and looked out the window at the rain that was once again falling as a cold front moved through. Zelda felt that she should be shocked at the sudden knowledge that she was still in love with Boone, but she wasn't. Deep down, she had always known she still was and always would be.

Zelda couldn't help but wonder what had made him hideaway for the past eight years. What would cause a man such as him to pull away from everyone and everything? And why did he suddenly feel the need to rejoin society?

"I knew I would find you here, you have always been a creature of habit," Boone said in a hushed tone as he sat in the chair next to her, invading her space.

She jumped at the unexpectedness of his voice then quickly looked around to see if anyone would be able to hear their conversation.  "I thought you and Dr. Fanning were having lunch?" Once she was sure they were alone, she turned to look at him, and his face was only inches from hers. She couldn't help herself as she let her gaze wander over his features.

Boone did the same, and they silently regarded each other for a minute, each lost in their thoughts. It was an intense moment, unlike any she had ever experienced, time stood still and everything around them faded away.

"Your lunch?" she asked again after a minute.

"I canceled, I had a misunderstanding with a friend to work through," he settled back into his chair. "I had to make sure that I'm forgiven for my lapse in good judgment."

"Sure, Boone, you're forgiven," Zelda agreed before turning to look out the window. He gave her a minute, patiently waiting while she gathered her thoughts. "I still don't understand why you didn't just tell me?"

"I told you, I didn't want to make it-"

"Awkward," she finished for him, "so you said, but I hate to be the one to break this to you, our relationship has always been awkward."

Boone's eyes widened at her assessment. "Do you think so?"

"Yes, at least for my part it has." Zelda nodded.

"Why do you think that is?" he asked, leaning forward, watching her with a serious expression. There was no sign of the hardass that had been present in the classroom less than an hour ago.

"I-I couldn't say," she stuttered. She knew why, it was because she was in love with him, but she wasn't going to tell him that.

"Hmmm," he said, "I can hazard a guess, but at the risk of making things more awkward, I'll keep my thoughts on the matter to myself."

They sat silently regarding each other once more.

"You know," Boone broke the silence, "I can think of one time when things weren't awkward between us, for other people yes, but not for us."

"When was that?" Zelda asked, doing her best to dig deep for such a moment in their shared history.

"It was at a Christmas party about eight years ago," he reminded her gently, and she had to admit that his answer shocked her. She was surprised that he even remembered the kiss. She had always thought that, for him at least, it had hardly registered.

"What are you talking about?" Zelda needed to hear him say it, to know that they were talking about the same thing and that her mind wasn't playing tricks on her.

"We shared a kiss under the mistletoe," Boone confirmed in a soft voice.

She would agree that during the kiss there was nothing awkward between them, it had been a near-perfect moment, but after the kiss, it was humiliating and devastating.

"I'm surprised that you remember that kiss, or that it even registered with you." She voiced her earlier thoughts, then embarrassed, she turned to look at the window.

"I remember the kiss Zelda, and I am..." he paused, obviously editing what he really wanted to say, "guessing that you remember it too," he finished.

Zelda turned to look at him, although he was being honest, Boone's gaze was still guarded and offered her no encouragement, and her nerves failed her. She wanted to ask him why he was bringing up the kiss now, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"That kiss should have never happened," she whispered, knowing that it was the catalyst for life-changing events. Her eyes met his and she found it impossible at that moment to hide her sadness.

"I'm sorry you think so." He wasn't happy with what she said, and Zelda could see his jaw working as he clenched it. His face was still a mask, and his jaw clenching was the only giveaway that he was upset. "May I ask why?" he reached for her hand, but she pulled it away.

"It's better if you don't. It might make it-"

"Awkward?" Boone finished for her with a sad smile. "I think that our lives, lived so separate from one another have nevertheless followed a path that has intersected many times over the years."

"I don't understand?" Zelda looked at him with total confusion. She found his suddenly serious tone just as disturbing as his statement.

"I have a feeling, Zelda, that our secrets are linked, and if either one of us ever gathers enough courage to share some of their secrets, they will all spill out, and it will be life-altering for both of us. These fragile houses of cards that we have built around ourselves will tumble down."

"You can't possibly know that," Zelda insisted, looking at Boone with eyes full of fear. He would recognize her for the failure that she was if he ever learned her secrets, and she couldn't let that happen. She didn't want to see pity for her on his face.

"No, I can't know for sure, perhaps that's why I'm also hesitant to share my own secrets." His hand reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "I'm glad you're back in my life Zelda. I don't know where our friendship will go from here, but I know that I was happy to see you in that coffee shop. It was a wonderful surprise." Boone leaned forward and pressed his lips gently against hers. It was a whisper of a kiss that was over almost as soon as it started.

"See, not awkward." He squeezed her hand then stood and left without another word.

After a moment, when Zelda regained her senses, she shook her head.

What in the world had just happened? Who was the man that had just been sitting here with her?

It wasn't the Boone Norris that she had grown up with that was for sure, nor was it the hardass professor that had just commanded the classroom. It left Zelda with the thought that if he had changed so much, had she changed also? Some days she felt so very different from who she used to be and others she felt just as she had ten years ago.

Taking a deep breath, she stood. It was time to go pick-up Eden from school, and that was one thing that had changed. Her time was not her own.