Page 96 of Ashley & the A-Listers

“We don’tneedto write it over, to ignore it! We need to address it! I want an explanation. Why did you leave, Dylan?” she asked, voice rising with the height of her emotion. “I’ve spent all day pretending every moment with you isn’t reminding me of that night. And you’re just acting like everything’snormal.Casual! Like the best night of my life wasn’t followed by ten years of your absence while I presented as an alpha and dealt with my mom’s death without my best friend.” She groaned, and ran her hands down her face. “Just— what happened? Why leave on mybirthday?”

Dylan sucked in an audible breath, steeling himself. Ashley met his gaze, daring him to answer her. “That night, I realized… I was an alpha. With you. And my dad was an alpha, and I was afraid of turning out like him.”

That same night? The memory was a little hazy from the amount of times she’d taken it out of its box and replayed it. But the one thing she remembered so clearly was how weird Dylan was at the end of the night.

It had to be the kiss. That’s what changed things.

“Do you regret kissing me?” she asked, even though his actions—planning this birthday, this present— didn’t match.“Do you just want to be friends? What does your dad have to do with any of this?”

“Because—because I'm in love with you, okay?” Dylan snapped, dropping his hand from his hair. A pair of gasps sounded behind them, but Ashley couldn’t even be bothered to care about an audience as his words hit.

A dark tuft of his hair stood up and wobbled in the breeze and it was a beautiful day for a revelation as long overdue as this.

Everything slotted into place, and her anger began to fade as understanding took its place.

“I had been feeling… weird, in the weeks leading up to your birthday?—”

“How weird?” Ashley asked. She wanted to hear the words.

The heat in his cheeks as he struggled to name the emotions was worth it. “I felt… possessive, I guess. Protective, especially in the crowd, and then when we kissed, I—it clicked then, why I’d been feeling like that. Like an alpha. Because Iwasan alpha. And suddenly I had these grand ideas of making you mine and I was just— scared. That it was the pheromones making me imagine things. Of what that would mean. Of you saying no—or worse, you saying yes, and then us turning out like my parents.”

Thatonepiece of information was like finding the last piece of a puzzle. Suddenly the whole image made sense.

He left. And it still didn’t excuse it, but she… understood now. And that changed everything.

“And maybe I started out just trying to make things right, just trying to make amends, but… those feelings never fade, and being part of your life even in such a small way feelssoright.” He released a breath, standing up. “I love you. And I’m sorry for leaving the first time. I won’t do it again.”

He didn’t look scared now. He looked relieved, if anything.

Mirroring how Ashley felt, that relief. Finally, after all these years, he’d given her an answer, an explanation.

What teenager wouldn’t run after realizing they were in love with their best friend?

He’s in love with me.

That’s why he was so eager for things to go back to normal—just like Ashley was.

Because she loved him, too.

Part of her wanted to shout her declaration, to celebrate the fact that finally, she was on the same page as him.

Instead, she grinned, a bit feral in her excitement, and patted him on his chest. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it? Imagine how easy our lives could have been had you admitted that on my doorstep ten years ago.”

Ashley stuffed the tickets into her bag and carefully stowed it away, leaving Dylan stumped.

“I’m starved. How about that picnic?” she asked, and reached for the plastic containers—fancier than any she’d ever owned, so they must be Cameron’s—stuffed with crackers and cheeses that were still cool to the touch, thanks to the cooler bag.

Dylan deserved to suffer for just a bit longer.

He intercepted her, grabbing her wrist gently. But his skin against hers was warm, and all Ashley could think about were other ways his skin could rest next to hers.

And in his gaze in that moment, Ashley knew he’d seen right through her. His eyes darkened and Ashley cleared her throat, pushing to her feet. “Fine, fine, I won’t help. I’ll go… be over there,” she said.

“You do that,” Dylan remarked, and she wanted to wipe that smirk off his face.

Except it was very nice to look at and, well, it was her birthday.

And he was in love with her.

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