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He closed his eyes, touched his cheek to Ash’s, and whispered, “I love you, too.”
Grant (Friday, June 16, 2023 – 10:08 p.m.): whew first week over for me, this internship is no joke
Grant (10:08 p.m.): but they’re doing good things here. I’m kinda excited to be part of it
Grant (10:09 p.m.): Sunday at Mei’s new apartment, you have the address? swimming, pizza, and party! 12pm, don’t be late!
Chapter Fifty-Three
Ash
“Spwash! Spwash!” Bri giggled and slapped her hands against the top of the water, sending drops flying every direction. Ash laughed, too, and then lifted her up out of the water and spun her around before dipping her back in.
“Ready to swim again?” he asked her, and she nodded.
“Yes, yes! I swim! I swim to . . .” She paused and looked around, her face scrunching up in concentration. Then she squealed and pointed over Ash’s shoulder. “I swim to Mei! Mei! I swim! I coming! Ready?”
Grinning, Ash turned them around in the water to face Grant’s girlfriend, Mei, and the rest of their small group of friends. Next to Mei, Grant and Enzo sat on the edge of the pool, talking about how their internships were going, and Jules, who hadn’t grown much since they were in maybe eighth grade, had climbed up on Aden’s shoulders and was threatening to splash Grant if he kept ignoring her. They’d been goofing around like old times, which had been both cathartic and depressing, since “old times” had always included Ashlynn.
Still, Ash found himself grateful for their shenanigans, glad for the distraction. He’d needed it ever since Thursday.
Bri squealed again, pulling him out of his head before he could spiral too deep.
“Mei! I coming!”
Mei nodded and smiled broadly, setting her drink down on the side of the pool. “Okay, okay, Bri, I’m ready! Come on, you can do it!”
Before Ash could even let her go, Bri started kicking both legs and paddling fiercely with both arms.
He chuckled. “Okay, don’t forget to take a breath first. And then go!”
She did as she’d practiced with him many times now, holding her breath and dropping just under the surface of the water as she moved her arms and legs not quite in sync. She worked her way slowly across the pool, and he stayed with her, keeping one hand under her and making sure she came up for air when she needed to. The last few feet, he stopped and let her swim on her own.
When she reached Mei, she giggled with delight. Then, the whole group passed her around for a bit, taking turns swimming her across the pool or shuttling her around on a mini boogie board one of them had brought. Mei took her first, then Grant. Then, Ezno, Jules, and Aden also each spent some time with Bri.
Ash watched from his perch on the edge of the pool, hiding his anxiety behind a distracted smile, as he’d been doing much of the day. No one questioned him about it, so he figured he must have gotten pretty good at faking it by now.
An hour passed, and then another. There was more pizza, a few friendly games of pool volleyball, and one or two quick dashes into the clubhouse when Bri loudly declared “I need go potty!,” something that had only started being a thing on Friday night. Finally, just after three, the party began to wind down.
Which was good.
Bri needed a nap, and Ash needed to crash.
He’d been worrying, growing more and more anxious as the weekend went on. The funny thing was, he wasn’t even sure exactly what was wrong. He just knew it was something.
Cass had been distant—Ash thought maybe that was the right word to describe it. Slow to respond to texts, reluctant to talk long on the phone, always ready with a reason he needed to hang up early, or at least what seemed like early given how long they usually stayed up talking every night.
He said “I love you, too” every time Ash offered up the “I love you” first—there was no hesitation, not even once. But there was a sadness in his tone when he said it, and to Ash, it was unmistakable and clear.
Late last night, when he’d finally gotten Cass on the phone after calling multiple times, he’d tried again to ask Cass what was bothering him, like he had that first night back in California. He’d admitted he was worried and felt something was wrong, and he’d told Cass he really wanted to talk about it. Cass had gone silent for several seconds before insisting everything would be fine and there was nothing Ash needed to worry about.
That hadn’t helped ease his concern at all.
Now, he hadn’t heard from his boyfriend all day, even though he’d been periodically checking his phone, occasionally sending short texts, pictures of Bri being cute, memes—all the things he would normally be sending Cass.
“Un-ca Ash!”
He looked up when Bri called his name from over near the patio table. She was resting on Mei’s hip, her sun hat on and a big cupcake in her hands. Blue frosting covered her lips and mouth, and a dot of it colored the very tip of her nose.
