Page 21 of March

“They don’t understand what you do,” Sean replied. “But, Bry, you have to move on.”

“So you’ve said. And I will. I’m trying. This is part of it.” Bryce pointed at her phone. “Writing it down helped. I probably should’ve done that from the beginning sinceyouhaven’t exactly been supportive.”

“How wouldyoufeel if your ex-girlfriend, whom you had a life with for two years, started talking about how she’s never felt this way before? Two years, Bry… I know it was whatever in the end, but in the beginning, there was real love there, wasn’t there?”

Bryce didn’t want to hurt the woman because therehadbeen real love between them. She just wasn’t sure she’d ever really beeninlove with Sean how she was with her.

“Sean, yes, we loved each other. I’m sorry; I don’t mean to hurt you with this. But it’s been over for three years. We were both bound to move on and find someone one day.”

“But you haven’tfoundanyone, Bry. You’ve had a hot make-out session in a bar, and you’re pretending like you’ve met the love of your life. You even say that in this blog: how could youpossibly know that? But even still, it didn’t work out. She’s there. You’re here.”

“I thought about going back,” Bryce said.

“What?”

“To New Orleans. I’ve bought a ticket five times this year. Once, I canceled the flight right after I bought it. Twice, I waited until two days before the flight was scheduled to leave. The fourth time, I actually checked in, but I didn’t go to the airport. And the fifth time, I went all the way there and left before I got through security with my carry-on bag.”

“What? Why?”

“Why did I do it, or why did I not go?”

“Both, I guess.”

“Because every time, I’ve just talked myself out of it. Initially, I would tell myself that I didn’t even know where she was or how to find her, so I shouldn’t bother. Then, I’d tell myself that she’s not still thinking about me, so it would be awkward if wedidsee each other somehow. At the airport, I marched out of my Uber, through the glass doors, and straight to the security line where the TSA agent asked me for my boarding pass, and I just stood there, frozen.” Bryce shook her head. “That was two months ago. I turned around after I realized she was probably with someone else, and I’d just be getting in the way. Again, that’s assuming I could find her at all. I’d planned on camping out at that bar day and night after I found it until my flight back home. I thought if I just do that, and she never comes in, then that would be it, and I could actually move on, but I chickened out.”

“Bry…” Sean said softly.

“I have a date!” Megan flopped down into the booth beside Sean.

“What?” Bryce asked.

“I have a date, an actual date with a beautiful woman, and I am excited about it.”

“That’s great, Megs,” Sean said as she looked at Bryce with confusion.

While Megan had confirmed her feelings for Kelsey to Bryce, Bryce knew that Sean had long suspected that Megan at least liked Kelsey as more than just a friend.

“She’s really nice, too. We talked on the phone, and she asked me out.”

“You talked on the phone?” Bryce asked.

“Remember that dating profile Sean made for me last year? It’s just been sitting there since, and I haven’t checked the messages in months, but I was bored last night, so I finally opened the app and saw a woman had messaged me about a month ago and was interested in talking. The others were mostly interested in something else, so I decided to be brave and message her back. She was online, and we messaged for hours before she texted me, and we did that until midnight. Then, I called her, and we talked until four in the morning. She’s amazing,” Megan shared. “She asked me out before we both finally went to sleep, and I said yes.”

“That’s great, Megs.” Bryce smiled at her friend. “When are you going out with her?”

“Tonight. I need help getting ready. It’s been forever since I’ve gone on a date – a real date where I’m actually excited. Nights watching movies with Kels and falling asleep on the sofa together don’t count.”

Bryce’s eyes went wide at that. Sean’s did, too, though, so she wasn’t alone in hearing that very important piece of information for the first time.

“Sorry. What?” Sean said for the both of them.

“Yeah… I’m a glutton for punishment, huh?” Megan said. “Well, Bryce already knows, so you might as well know, too. Butplease don’t say anything to her. I don’t want things to be weird with us.”

“You’d have to actually tell me first, Megan,” Sean said.

“I’m in love with Kelsey. Have been forever,” Megan said with an acquired nonchalance in her tone and a shoulder shrug. “And she’s straight and uninterested. It’s been awful, honestly, but a few months ago, we started hanging out alone for the first time in a long time, and it was nice, being with her. As much as it hurt to not have them be actual dates, I hate it when I’m not with her, so I needed them, too. It’s hard to explain, but she invited me over to watch a movie, and we ordered in, and it was like, yes, this is what I want.”

“Kels likes guys, Megs,” Sean reminded.

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