Page 71 of An Adventure For Aster

“I’m being put in my place,” he said.

“You are. I’m not sure why you think this is funny,” she said. It was defusing her anger some with the grin still on his face.

“I like that you’re letting go too. Maybe this was a good thing. You know I’m opening up and I know you aren’t this ray of sunshine all the time.”

She shook her head. “No,” she said. “I’m not. Maybe we are past the honeymoon phase where we don’t want to be perfect all the time.”

“I’m far from perfect,” he said. “You know that.”

“I’m not either. You’re right. We can let it go and say and be who we are. I’m not mad. I understand you were just doing what I asked of you.”

“If you’re mad, I don’t want you to hold it in. I didn’t mean to insult you. I’m trying to understand.”

“Then I’m sorry. I told you what happened with Colton. You can ask me more if you want. I was hurt. I was heartbroken. Yes, I had these plans and they fell apart. But I learned that is what life is about and pivoted. Just like you did,” she said. “Maybe I had this worry when your parents said you had itchy feet, but you explained why you left and I never questioned it again, did I?”

“No,” he said, reaching his hand across the table for her to put hers in it. “You didn’t.”

“Because I trusted what you said to me and I’m asking you to trust what I’m saying to you.”

He nodded. “I will. I guess you put me in my place.”

“I did,” she said smiling. “Yay me.”

He rolled his eyes playfully and she realized he had opened up and listened more than anyone else she’d ever dated.

It wasn’t about winning but compromising and Aster knew how to do that.

23

CRAZY SAPPY LOOK

Afew weeks later, Raine looked up when there was a knock on her classroom doorway.

There was Emily, the school secretary with a huge vase of flowers in her hand.

Not just roses but everything bright and colorful imaginable.

“Someone is getting flowers,” Emily said. “And these are just stunning. They are so big I had to look around them to see where I was going.”

Her heart was racing and the kids were all oohing and ahhhing. Someone shouted, “Ms. Scarsdale has a boyfriend.”

“Is that true?” Emily whispered. “You lucky girl if he’s sending you this many flowers on today of all days.”

“Yes, I do,” she said.

Raine hadn’t told anyone at work she was dating Aster. Kind of stupid, really, when it’d been almost four months.

She realized part of it had to do with the fear if it didn’t work out and having to explain that to everyone.

Like when she and Colton broke up and she returned home all alone. For months classmates she’d run into would be either sympathetic or say he wasn’t good enough for her. That he was a dick.

She didn’t want anyone to comment at all and the best way to do that was to keep her dating life quiet.

Didn’t look like she could do that now.

“You’ll have to fill me in,” Emily said and handed over the massive vase.

It was covering half of her body.

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