Page 99 of If We Meet Again

“I was just going to ask her when the moment felt right. Maybe before we leave, on our own. I don’t think she’ll be surprised. We are practically a couple anyway.”

“I disagree,” Jasonchallenged.

Emily agreed, “Me too.”

“What do you mean?”

“Madison has been waiting for you to make it official for six months, Ash! That’s along time.”

“She agreed we should take it slow though. It’s not just her that’s been waiting for me.”

“Is it not? Why isn’t she asking you then?” Jason made avalid point.

“Okay, that’s fair. Has she said something to you?” The question was directed at both of them.

“Nothing you won’t already know,”Jason said.

“Like what?”

“She loves you and she would have asked you within weeks to be her girlfriend. I think she thought you were still hung up on theother girl.”

Ashley knew immediately who Jason was referring to, but playing dumb seemed the safer option.

“Theother girl?”

The corner of Jason’s lip curled into a mischievous grin. “Megan. The one you almost kissed theother week?”

“Shhhhh,” Ashley frantically waved her hands at Jason, “don’t let Mads hear you say that.”

He held his hands up apologetically. “Sorry.”

“Anyway, why would she think that? She’s never said that to me. Megan was someone I went on one date with two years ago! I barely even speak to her now. We are friends and Madison has nothing to worry about.”

“Do you think that’s friendship? I think Megan disagrees.” Jason made a kissing face at Ashley. Emily played along.

“It’s probably not a traditional friendship, no.”

“You’re in denial if you think it’s a friendship. If it was, you’d talk often about random things with no flirtatious intent. Like we do, or youand Emily.”

“You guys are my best friends. Megan is just a friend. One that happens to live thousands of miles away. There’s adifference.”

“Ifyou say so.”

“Now you’re both annoying me.”

“That tends to happen when you’re in denial,” Jason prodded.

“I know you like to wind me up, but genuinely, is that what you think? That I am somehow disingenuous towards Madison because I want somebody else?”

They looked at each other, debating who should answer first. “Okay, I’ll take this one.” Emily propped herself up on her elbows. “I think subconsciously it’s maybe holding you back. Just from things you’ve said to me in the past and the way you talk about Megan.”

“I barely speak to Megan or see her. I don’t understand how that can translate to ‘she’s holding me back’.” Ashley tilted her headquizzically.

“That’s just my observation. Do you not talk to her because you don’t want to? Or because you feel that’s the best way to keep things platonic?” Emily’s point resonated with Ashley.Was that the reason why theydidn’t talk?

“I don’t know. I don’t really think about it.”

“You don’t think about talking to her?” Jasonquestioned.