Page 81 of Ashley & the A-Listers

“Already plugged in,” he said, stepping back to make room for her.

Ashley locked the door and jostled the knob a few times before she was happy, and stashed her key in a small pocket in her bag before following Dylan to the car.

Cam was grinning at her from the sunroof once more. “You can have shotgun!” he called.

Ashley slid into the front seat and stashed her bag on the floorboard before leaning around to eye Cam and River, who were cozy in the spacious backseat. “What, I’m not allowed in the cool kids’ club?”

River snickered, but Cam was the one who said, “Trust me, I’d love nothing more than to be all squished up with you back here, but we figured you might be able to help Dylan with navigation more from there.”

“I have a GPS,” Dylan muttered softly, though a smile twitched at his lips.

“Listen, I get it,” Ashley teased, turning back around in her seat. “The map can be confusing. All those lanes,” she tsked, shaking her head.

Dylan groaned softly and it just… it was weird, right? Being so normal, so casual? On herbirthday. Again? After the last time, when he’d disappeared?

But I missed him,she thought, and pushed her thoughts away.

Once they were all buckled and promised to be on their best behavior—paired with a muffled laugh from River—Dylan put the car in reverse and backed out of her driveway.

He did thatthing,the one where he kept his left hand on the steering wheel and placed his right hand on her headrest in order to look out the rear windshield.

She was struck a bit silly for a moment, because Dylan was so goddamned attractive.

It wasn’t fair.

How was she supposed to move on and getover himwhen he consistently made her… want him?

Is that what I want? To get over him?

Once the front tires bumped off the driveway and onto the asphalt, he turned back around, and they were off.

“You know, as passenger princess, you’re in charge of the music as well,” River said.

Dylan picked up his phone and unlocked it, typing numbers in a pattern that seemed… familiar. “Have at it,” he said.

Ashley scrolled through his music as if she was trying to unravel some grand mystery, and in a way, she was.

What did these songs say about Dylan? When had he added them to the list? How did they correspond with his life? Once upon a time, she would’ve known the answers to her own questions. The lack thereof hit a nerve in her, something that made her stomach flip. She didn’t know Dylan well enough anymore to read him through his music.

She hit shuffle to distract herself. Maybe he was a completely different person now?—

“Oh my god,” she said, because a song by the band they’d seen together on her eighteenth birthday began playing.

“You’re kidding,” Dylan said, and glanced at her. She didn’t know a singular word to describe the look they shared. Bewilderment from her, but something… sadder on his face.

“What is it?” Cam asked, leaning forward between them, and breaking her gaze.

“Uh, just haven’t heard this song in a while, is all,” Dylan said.

Ashley read the message loud and clear: he still hadn’t told Cam about their past.

“It’s so… angsty sounding,” Cam said.

“We used to listen to it all the time,” she told them with a chuckle. “You should’ve seen our style that went with it.”

River’s mouth dropped open and he leaned forward conspiratorially.

“Oh shit, were you goth kids?”

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