Page 78 of Fall Into Me

It was a good idea. And Ash really did want to see Cass, too. Maybe . . . maybe even go on their first date, like Cass had asked. Only, all he could feel when he thought of the holiday was that awful loneliness and sadness—so deep that he couldn’t imagine feeling anything good around the same time.

And that wouldn’t make for a great first date, now, would it?

But he did want to see Cass. He remembered just a little over a week ago, how good it had felt to have Cass there. How good Cass had made him feel. The way his body and mind had calmed when he’d allowed himself—for just that little while—to lean on Cass’s shoulder at the pier at Portage Bay.

He wanted more of that.

He wanted more than that, too.

The thought set his heart off again, and it did that annoying thing where it seemed to slow or pause or hold out, before beating hard and rough in his chest. He blew out a breath, closed his eyes for a long second, and then opened them and stared back up at the ceiling, following the path of the stripes of light. Back and forth.

“Yes, actually,” he said after another moment. “Yes. Let me just, um—I have to see if I can afford the difference in cost. I—”

“Wait, you mean, yes, you’ll come?” Cass asked, an unmistakable note of hope and eagerness in his voice.

Ash nodded. “Yeah. Just let me talk to Joanna and Henry. They—they were going to pay for my plane ticket and Bri’s. I’ll have to see what the cost difference would be. I can’t ask them to pay the extra amount, you know?”

“Of course, yeah.”

“I’ll call them tomorrow.”

“Okay. Great. Great. Um, and—and just to check, if you do come, I can take you out? On a date?”

Ash’s heart leapt up into his throat. “I mean, I’ll have Bri with me, but—”

“My parents could watch her,” Cass proposed. “If you’re comfortable with that.”

“Yeah. I mean, maybe? I would have to meet them first.”

“Of course, of course.” Cass laughed softly and then said, “Ahh, I can’t wait.”

Ash let out a short breath, trying to steady his racing heart. He ran a hand through his hair, and a tiny, uncertain smile—one that he had absolutely no control of whatsoever—began to spread across his face. “Yeah,” he said, “me neither.”

Ash (Sunday, October 2, 2022 – 3:15 p.m.): She’s already back to her usual energetic self and insisting we go outside to play

Cass (3:22 p.m.): Awww poor baby

Ash (3:22 p.m.): Yeah. Thankfully, she gave up after a few minutes and is content to sit here and let me read her books