“No,” Zack blurted. “I mean yes. I mean, do I know you?” It couldn’t possibly be that John, could it?

“Well,” John said, “in a sense, yes, but we haven’t officially met. Hence my introduction.”

“Right,” Zack said. He shook his head and then held out his hand. “Sorry, that was rude of me.”

John smiled again. He took Zack’s hand and gave it a firm shake. “It’s crazy running into you here. It wasn’t until I heard you talk to the bartender that I recognized you. I’d know your voice anywhere.”

Zack’s heart couldn’t decide if it wanted to stop or race. He clutched the bar top for support. “Jesus, it’s really you.”

John laughed. “I was beginning to think you’d never figure it out. I’d be offended, but hey, it’s not like we’re old friends or something. I’ll let it slide. This time.” He winked.

Zack’s blood buzzed in his ears. He took a slow, steady breath, willing himself to calm down even as his pulse throbbed in the tips of his fingers. He needed to hear John say it. “So, just to clarify, where do I know you from?”

John glanced at Alexa and Lee, who were subtly eavesdropping nearby. “Should I give you three guesses? Might be more fun that way. Though you should only need one.”

Zack stared hard at John’s face. He should be jumping for joy right now. The star of his fantasies for the past two weeks was standing in front of him, and the man was attractive. It didn’t seem possible. This wasn’t his life; this was the plot of a rom-com. A bad one. And yet here John was, sexy and real and finally within Zack’s reach. He’d never admitted to himself before how much he wanted that. In fact, he’d refused to even entertain it. And now that he had it, it was terrifying . . . and elating.

“So, what have you been up to since I last saw you?”

Zack jumped. “What?”

“You keep spacing out. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Zack cleared his throat. “Yeah, of course. What did you say?”

“How have you been since I last saw you?”

“You mean since the last time we spoke? Earlier today?”

John gave him a bewildered look. “Uh, no, we’ve never spoken before. The last time I saw you was in that class we had together freshman year.”

Zack choked on a reply and then managed to parrot, “Class we had together?”

John pouted. “I guess you don’t recognize me after all. Yeah, we took sociology together back at LACC. At least, until you disappeared. What happened, by the way?”

“I took a semester off,” Zack answered automatically. “How the hell did you recognize me?”