Shay opens the restaurants heavy doors and is stood eye to eye with her.
Her.

Never had Shay felt more relieved than in that very second: She finally saw her again. It had been too long.

She nervously runs a hand through her long, dark locks in an attempt to push them back. Ashley used to tell her she found it adorable. Now Shay's blushing.

'Wow.. Shay, it's been ages.'

Shay nods.

'I missed you.' Ashley confesses.

The girls gaze at one another for a few seconds.

'I missed you, too.' Shay continues. 'A lot.'

The two hug and it makes Shay feel all warm inside. She quickly shakes off the feeling, pulling away from the embrace.

'Uhm, let's get a table.' Ashley suggests, quite awkwardly, hoping to lighten the mood. After all, this was their first time seeing one another in forever.

'Right.' Shay nods, sucking in her lightly glossed lips for a second. She'd completely forgotten to apply any make-up besides lipgloss and mascara. Suddenly, she feels selfconscious as her heart starts to pound even faster than when she first saw her old best friend again just minutes ago.

'So you look really nice.' Ashley says as they're brought to their table.

'Thanks.' The corners of Shay's mouth turn upwards slightly. 'You look...'

They sit down and after a silence Shay chuckles nervously. 'You look beautiful, Ashley.'

'Don't I always, Shannon.' Ashley jokes and as they laugh it's just like it used to be for a second. The younger girl starts focusing on the menu. 'Let's just share two things.' She suggests.

'Yeah, good idea, Ash.' Shay responds, opening her own menu.

After a while of looking through the endless amount of options they both look up from under their menus straight into each other's eyes before they both start laughing. 'You know I really missed you, Shay.'

The girl's words make Shay smile like an idiot. 'I know. You said that earlier.'

'I know but I just really did. That's why I felt repetition was in order.'

'I see.' Shay nods, still smiling like an idiot.

Ashley reacts to her smile by grinning goofily, showing her flawless teeth and adorable dimples.

'So, I say we get the pizza with pesto and salami and the pasta with broccoli and ham.' She then suggests just as a waiter approaches their table.

'Sounds perfect.' Shay agrees.

The waiter lights the candle in between them and takes out his notebook. 'What would the beautiful ladies like to eat tonight?'

'We'll have the Pizza Pepperoni-Salame and the pasta with broccoli, ham and cream.'

'Anything to drink with that?'

'Your finest white wine along with une carafe d'eau, please.'

'Yes, miss.' The waiter says before taking their menus and walking off.

'French, huh?'

'Oh yeah, I spent a few months in Paris. Their bottled water was pretty expensive so the term stuck.' Ashley explains.

'I've never been to Paris before.' Shay pouts.

'I'll take you sometime.'

'Really?'

'Yes really. It'll be fun. We need the time to catch up.'

'We do, don't we?'

They wait for their food in silence until Shay starts talking again: 'Why did we stop talking, Ash? What happened? Why now?'

Ashley bites her lip as she looks down. 'You'll get upset if I tell you.'

'No, you need to tell me. I'd die if I never found out why you suddenly stopped walking into my apartment randomly for a sleepover or shopping spree and why you stopped texting every day and why you started ignoring my texts and calls altogether. I need to know what happened. What did I do wrong?'

'It wasn't you, okay.' Ashley suddenly sounds upset. 'Ryan forced me. He said if I kept seeing you all the time he'd break up with me.'

'What why? Why does he care?' Shay replies in disbelief and anger.

'Because he's not an idiot, Shay.'

'What do you mean he's not an idiot? He threatened to break up with you if you kept seeing your best friend!'

'We were the idiots. I spent more time at your apartment than at the one he and I shared. He knew, Shay. He knew before I knew.'

'What's there to know?' Shay's voice cracks mid-sentence, the mixture of nerves and anger boiling inside her making her feel miserable.

'Remember that one night, New Year's Eve?'

Shay nods. 'Vaguely. We were drunk off our asses.'

'I remember that night, Shay. I remember everything. Right after that night Ryan forced me to break off contact.'

'What are you talking about?' Shay stutters, her eyes watering slightly.

'I remembered immediately the morning after so why can't you, Shay? We kissed. We kissed a lot. And we enjoyed it. Or at least I did. I knew I would. Somehow I knew. I made a conscious decision that night despite the fact that I was drunk. And Ryan knew too so we decided I should stop seeing you.'

Ashley's words leave Shay speechless. She stares at the teary-eyes blonde for a long time, lips parted in disbelief.

'Please, say something.' Ashley mutters through her tears. She puts her hand on top of Shay's, looking up her pleadingly.

Their hands rest on the table for a while before Shay takes Ashley's, her thumb stroking the back of it.

Ashley looks down and chuckles. 'I am so in love with you, Shay. I have been for so damn long.' She wipes away a few stray tears and fixes her make-up with her free hand. 'I'm serious. I've been in love with you for years. Oh my god, I feel so much better now. This is such a relief.' She smiles to herself, hiding her face with her hair.

'Wow...' Shay grins from ear to ear for the first time in months. 'I never thought you would feel the same.'

Hello lovely Reader,
Thanks for reading. I'd love if you comment and tell me how you think this would continue! You should also leave feedback if you'd like. (:
xo