“What are you doing out here on your own?”
“It’s an incredible view. I’m just trying to appreciate it before I headback home.”
“To the Big Apple. I missthat place.”
“Do you plan to stop by onyour trip?”
“I already did, two weeks ago.” Ashley’s heart dropped. “Only for one night, just to see Julie and my gran.”
The disappointment was made obvious by the deep-seated frown. “Oh, I thought you might have called.”
“We hadn’t spoken in six months. I thought it might be a little weird. Plus, Candice was with me and to be honest, I don’t really know how I would categorise our relationship.”
“I thought we were friends?”
“We are.”
“Then why didn’t you call?” Ashley probed.
“I suppose after I found out you and Georgina were an item, I didn’t think we could be.”
“What does me being with Georgina have to do with us being friends?”
“It just wouldn’t have been fair to her, she knew about us. I didn’t want to put you in that position.” It seemed even Megan wasn’t entirely convinced by her speech, but she wasn’t willing to admit the truth.
“Tell me this, do friends call each other in the middle of the night just to say hi? Or get jealous when the other person is with someone else? Do they slow dance to Brian McKnight? I’m not so sure.”
Ashley looked back towardsthe valley.
“Are you trying to say I was jealous of you and Georgina?”
“You weren’t?”
“Were you jealousof Candice?”
Ashley scoffed, “As if.”
“You’re a terrible liar,” Meganchallenged.
“Touché.”
Then came the silence. The sound of the crickets chirping around them brought a calming atmosphere. The faint sound of the DJ could be heard announcing his set finished in five minutes’ time. The night was drawing to a close, a night full of unpredictability.
“Why did Candice leave early, anyway?”
“She didn’t feel great last night. She couldn’t shake it, so she went to get an early night.”
“Where are you staying?”
“At a motel about twenty minutes out.”
“Where are you heading tomorrow?”
“The plan is to drive through Arizona, then on to Kansas, Iowa and finish in Chicago. I have a flight home from Chicago to England in two weeks’ time.”
“That sounds exciting. I’m happy for you.”
Megan linked her arm through Ashley’s and leaned her head upon her shoulder. There was so much unsaid, so many words that could have changed the dynamic. The urge to express her deepest thoughts didn’t rise to the surface. She kept at bay anything that might jeopardise whatever they had worth saving. If they were to one day truly be friends, Ashley’s feelings, however disconnected and uncertain they may be, had to stay under the surface. That was the one thing she knew with certainty.
