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“I’m…on a date,” he said slowly. “This is Bianca.”
“Hi—” Bianca started to say, waving her fingers pleasantly.
“Seriously? A date?” She took a breath, nodding her head slowly. “Okay.” Turning away from him as tears formed in her eyes, she walked out of the restaurant in a hurry. She couldn’t let him see her cry. Granted, they’d only been seeing each other for a few weeks, but it hurt nonetheless. She’d truly grown to like him.
“Blythe, wait,” he called, grabbing her arm as she exited the restaurant.
She spun around to face him. “What, Asher?”
“What are you doing here?” he asked. “Are you mad?”
“Am I mad? Of course, I’m mad! You’re cheating on me!” she squealed.
“Cheating on you?” He furrowed his brow, putting a hand to his chest. “Wait a second, Blythe, I’m not…I’m notcheatingon you. We aren’t exclusive.” He said the words slowly, surprising her with how blunt he was being.
“We aren’t?” she asked, staring into her drink. How could she have been so stupid? She felt like a child who’d been scolded.
“I mean, we never had that talk. I just assumed we were on the same page. Look, I like you a lot and I want to keep seeing you. But I can’t commit to anything serious right now. I’m sorry if you misunderstood. That wasn’t my intention.” He used his thumb to brush away a stray tear from her cheek, leaning down to look at her. “I’m really sorry, Blythe.”
She nodded. “I’m sorry, too. I guess I should’ve known. I just…I don’t know. I really like you.”
“I really like you, too,” he said, stroking her cheek. “I do. I’d like to see you again. But only if you’re okay with this.”
“This? As in you seeing other people?”
“As in both of us seeing other people,” he corrected. “You’re new to the city. You need to explore and try new things. I’m nowhere near ready to settle down yet, and you shouldn’t be either. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you, it just means I’m not sure I want to be with anyone just yet. I mean, I’m twenty-seven years old.” He shrugged, keeping his voice light.
She wanted desperately to accept what he was saying, but she wasn’t sure she could. She felt tricked, even though realistically she knew that wasn’t the case. She’d believed Asher wanted to be with her and only her, but that belief was formulated only in her mind rather than being based on anything he’d actually told her. In Darlington, twenty-seven typically meant you were settled down, married, and raising two children. But New York was different. People settled down later here. She’d seen that. She knew that. And yet somehow, in her heart, she still hoped for what she’d always known. She wanted to love and to be loved. Exclusively.
“I don’t know if I can do that,” she admitted, biting her lip.
His gaze fell to the ground and he removed his hand from her cheek. “Okay,” he said. “I can respect that.” He leaned forward, kissing her forehead. “If you change your mind, you know how to find me.”
She nodded, not meeting his gaze.
“It was really nice getting to know you, Blythe,” he said. With that, he disappeared back into the restaurant, and she was left alone with her racing thoughts.
She wandered the streets, sipping her coffee and trying to determine her next move. If she went home still upset, her aunt would surely have things to say about herlifestyle. She wasn’t in a place to handle that.
As she took the last drink from her cup, noticing the sky had grown dark as she wandered around for nearly two hours, she tossed the paper cup into a nearby trashcan and stepped out onto the curb to wave down a cab. When she looked up, she gasped, surprised to find the building in front of her was a familiar one.
Without thinking too much about it, she hurried into the building and up the stairs. This was crazy. What she was doing was certifiably insane, and yet, with every step, she felt a bit more safe. A bit less heartbroken. As she reached his floor, she approached his door with her fist raised.
Knock, knock, knock.Why hadn’t she come here sooner? Why had she stayed away from the one person who’d protected her when she’d stepped into the city for the first time? She regretted it now, and she wondered what he would say to her. Would he blame her for waiting so long? Would he even remember her? Surely he’d met loads of people since then.
As the door swung open, she smiled at the surprised face awaiting her. He looked the same, his scraggly brown hair hanging down past his ears, dark brown eyes staring into hers. He was shirtless with a pair of unbuttoned jeans around his waist.
“Bly—”
“Fin—”
They greeted each other at the same time, a small laugh escaping her throat. He remembered her. “Can I come in?” she asked boldly, expecting him to open the door wider.
“Who is it?” a voice called from just behind him. A woman’s voice. He opened the door a bit more, leaning his head against the wood, and Blythe stared at a young, red-headed woman with a blue T-shirt and no bottoms on. She was dressed in Finn’s clothes.
“Oh,” Blythe said, because no words seemed to fit.
“What are you doing here?” Finn asked, and she stared at him blankly because the truth was, she had no idea.
