Lost and Found

“What?” Nichole whispered.
“Issac.” Desiree breathed again as they gazed at each other.

Issac Lopez was a summer crush from Desiree’s past. She had met him during a summer ROTC camp and like every other girl there, had instantly fallen for him. They had been in the same company and he was dating a girl there, on and off. Curtis hadn’t been anywhere in the picture at the time and she was only with Jeffery, boyfriend number two out of the four that she guys had dated. She thought Issac didn’t even know she was alive but the next year she went to camp he instantly recognized her and they hit it off.

Although they were in different companies, and Desiree was on Edward, boyfriend number three, they still found time to spend together. He would sneak to the girl’s barracks during her night shift and they would sit on the back porch and talk. They exchanged phone numbers after the summer and talked every once in a while. She even ran into him again at a city wide ROTC challenge competition. They hugged like more than friends, much to the dismay of her boyfriend.

The last time she spoke to him, he had just broken up with his girlfriend and the relationship she had with Edward was on the rocks and ready to end. They were explaining in what ways they liked each other when Desiree’s phone lost juice and went dead. She tried calling him the next day but he was out. When he tried calling her she missed the call and they played phone tag until they both gave up. Now here he was, standing in front of her, in all his glory.

He was devastatingly handsome with dark brown eyes, caramel skin, and a serious face. His eyes pierced hers and he couldn’t seem to bring himself to move. He finally tore his gaze from her’s and began doing what they had all done when they first moved in. He gave his name, room number, year, and major.

Then the RA went around the room so everyone could give the same information. Desiree’s voice was shaking when they reached her and once again Issac’s eyes were locked with hers and this time he didn’t look away until the meeting was over. Desiree and Nichole were making their way back to their room, Des still in shock, when a deep, slightly accented voice called her name.

“Desiree...” she stopped in her tracks and turned to face the boy she hadn’t spoken to in almost 3 years. He walked over to her from the lounge and smiled. “Hi.” he said. His dimples shown in his cheeks and Desiree smiled back, instantly wooed by him all over again.

“Long time no see, Lieutenant Williams.” he said, using her former ranking.
“Same goes for you Captain Lopez.” she responded huskily, getting swept away in his presence. Nichole looked back and forth from one to the next as they stared at each other. She had heard plenty of stories about the Latino heartthrob that her friend still held a torch for. And no matter how much she liked Curtis, she had to admit, this guy in front of her was hot. ‘I can see that and I’m gay for Crist sake.’ she thought as he opened his mouth to speak again.

“You look...” he paused, looking Desiree up and down for a minute, “good” he finally said, settling on her face.
“You do too.” she beamed. ‘Okay, girl. Time to snap out of it. Time to get serious.’ she mentally pumped herself up. Little did anyone know, she was a hopeless romantic and quite a charmer. Even though she found herself average or “pretty” she was often told how beautiful she was by males and females. She really couldn’t see it though, but she settled for the compliments.

“So you got 418, huh?” she started, finding something neutral that didn’t bring up the past or her feelings.
“Yeah. And you’re in 434?” he asked. She nodded and he continued. “I’ll have to remember that. I’d love to catch up with you sometime.”
She blushed at the last part of his statement as his tone went from playful to serious.

“Of course” was all she could manage, avoiding his stare.

He was still able to make her weak in the knees. What she didn’t know was that she was having the same effect on him. He looked at her longingly, wanting nothing more than to pick up where their budding relationship had left off. The thought occurred to him that she might have a boyfriend now, but he didn’t want her to get away again.

Her cell phone began ringing and it startled the two from their thoughts. “Shit.” Desiree swore when she saw Curtis’ name flashing on her phone. “Hello?” she answered briskly and turned away from Nichole and Issac.

Nichole took it upon herself to do a little match making the same way she had seen Desiree do it many times before. The fact that her friend still liked this guy and he obviously liked her was going to make it even easier.

“So, will you be coming by our room tomorrow evening?” Nichole asked innocently enough. Issac snapped his vison from Desiree and focused on Nichole with a smirk.
“Sure” he replied. “If that’s what Des wants.”
“Oh, believe me. Nothing would make her happier.” Nichole said, a grin spreading across her lips.

Issac nodded, looking back at the girl on the phone. He heard her whisper “I love you, too.” into her phone and instantly knew that had to be her boyfriend. ‘I have to find out what could have been between us.’ he thought and looked back at Nichole who was still smiling.

“She gets off from work at 4:30 and she’ll be back here around 4:40.” Nichole voluntarily offered up the information. Issac smiled at the girl and nodded his head again.
“I guess I’ll see you two then.” And with that he turned and walked around the corner.

When Desiree hung up the phone Issac was gone. “Wha?” she stared at the spot he had been standing in, dissapointmant on her face. “Don’t worry, you’ll see him tomorrow.” Nichole said as she began pushing Desiree toward their room. “But . . . ” Des began. “Tomorrow!” Nick yelled over her shoulder, hoping Issac heard her. He did, and he was already looking forward to the next day.