Page 14 of What Should Have Been Ours

“WHAT?! GABRIELLE, WHAT?!”

I wince at her sheer volume and over-excitement. “Geez, Kins. Are you trying to make me deaf?”

“I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU JUST CASUALLY DROPPED THAT LIKE YOU TOLD ME YOU RAN INTO A COWORKER AT TARGET! YOU SAW CAM!”

“It’s not that big of a deal, and please, lower your voice, girl,” I mutter, suddenly regretting this conversation entirely.

Kinsley gapes at me. “Not that big of a deal?! Gabrielle, are you serious? I’ve heard you talk about this man for YEARS. Literal YEARS. And you expect me to just—be calm?” She flails dramatically, nearly knocking over whatever is on her countertop.

I place my fingers on the bridge of my nose. “Kins, please—”

“No, no, you don’t get to beg for peace now. You’ve spent years comparing every guy you’ve dated to Cameron Freaking Hayes, and now the universe has handed you a second chance on a silver platter, and you’re—what? Ignoring it? You said it’s been a whole week since you ran into him?”

I let out a slow breath, “I’m not ignoring it. I just…haven’t called him yet.”

Kinsley groans dramatically. “Anddd…why not?”

I hesitate before answering her, gripping my blanket a little tighter. “Because I don’t know if I can go through it again, Kins.”

Her expression softens. “Through what?”

“Through losing him all over again.” The words feel heavier than I expect them to. “I spent years trying to get over him, Kins. I had convinced myself that I had moved on. And now, all of a sudden, he’s back in my life, and I just…I don’t know if I can do it again.”

Kinsley tilts her head a bit, studying me. “You think he’s going to leave again?”

I let out a bitter laugh. “He didn’t leave on purpose last time, but it still shattered me. What if I let him back in, and it happens all over again?”

She’s quiet for a moment before sighing. “Okay. I get it. But also…you’re thinking way too far ahead. No one is saying you have to fall back in love and start planning your wedding tomorrow. Just…talk to him.”

I frown. “Talk to him?”

How do I just talk to someone I was at one point so in love with?

“Yes. You don’t even have to call. Just text him. Less pressure, no real-time reactions, and if you regret it, you can always delete his number and ghost him afterward.”

I give her a flat look. “So your solution is…just text him?”

“Yes. A casual, low-stakes text. You don’t have to pour your heart out. Just…start somewhere.”

I chew my lip, staring at my phone. “And say what?”

Kinsley thinks for a moment, then grins. “Something light. Flirty. Playful. Like, maybe something funny that has to do with your weird obsession with hot chocolate because of him.”

I blink. “That’s…actually not terrible.”

She gasps. “Did you just compliment me? I need this recorded—”

I roll my eyes and, before I can overthink it, type out the message.

Gabrielle: So…what’s the best hot chocolate you’ve had since being back in the city? Trying to find new recommendations.

I hit send before I can talk myself out of it.

Then immediately panic.

“Oh my gosh, I just sent it.”

Kinsley cheers like she just won the lottery. “Hell yeah, you did!”