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Skylar was angry for letting herself think that, even for a moment, there could still be something between them. Elena had made it very clear nine years ago that she didn’t want to be in a relationship with Skylar. At least not a public one. And nothing seemed to be different now. Elena was still all business, and Skylar tried not to let the dejected feeling show on her face.

More than her own sad feelings, Skylar hated to see Elena sad. She always had. Her heart always ached when Elena’s heart did. It was no different now. And Skylar knew just what she had to do to make Elena happy again.

“I’ll do it.”

“What?”

“I’ll do the tour.”

“Really?” Elena’s sadness melted away. Anyone who didn’t know her might assume she had been lying about her emotions. But Skylar knew her better. “Are you sure?”

“Did you not see that crowd tonight?” Skylar laughed, trying to make the conversation lighthearted. “They loved us. It would be an injustice to deprive the world of that.”

Elena chuckled. “Yeah, you have a point there.”

A comfortable silence settled between them as they stared into each other’s eyes. Skylar resisted the urge to run her hands through Elena’s brown hair. It was shorter than the last time Skylar had seen her.

“You cut your hair.”

“I did.” Elena twirled a piece of hair around her finger. “Do you like it?”

“I do.”

“Thanks.”

It was clear to Skylar they would try to make as much small talk as they could so they didn’t have to say goodbye. And, once again, Skylar didn’t let herself think about why they were doing that.

“I should probably get home. I need to let Atlas out.”

“You mean your horse?”

“My… horse?” Skylar laughed. “He’s not a horse.”

“He’s as big as a horse.”

“Well, you’re not wrong there.”

“I know I’m not.”

“Maybe you two will get along.” Skylar stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jeans to prevent them from reaching back out to Elena. “How long are you in town?”

“I was only going to stay until I had an answer from you.”

“Well, you got that.”

“Yeah,” Elena sighed. She shrugged her shoulders, and Skylar noticed the sadness fall back over her face. “I guess I’ll head back home.”

“I’m sure Leo misses you.”

Skylar knew that saying Elena’s cat’s name would let her know she had indeed been keeping up with her social media. But she didn’t care. After nine years of having her guard up in regard to Elena, it was nice to actually put them down for once.

“I know he does.”

They were still stalling. If Skylar didn’t force herself to leave, she knew they would stay there until the sun came up.

“Well, if you’re still in town tomorrow, you should stop by the store. We could grab lunch.” She shrugged as if she didn’t care if Elena showed up or not. “You can tell me about the tour. If you want.”

“That sounds nice.” Elena’s smile could light up the darkest nights. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”