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“You already have. It’s why we’re all talking about it now,” Bridgette replied.

Sophie laughed, but as the waiter arrived at their table to take their drink order, all she could think about was how she would be talking to Bryce tonight. Her heart thundered inside her chest all throughout dinner: she was going to hear Bryce’s voice again soon.

CHAPTER 16

Ihaven’t posted in a couple of days for a few reasons. For one, I wasn’t sure I’d keep posting about this because nothing was really happening. I needed an outlet for what I was feeling, and I never thought anything would come of it. Then, people began asking me for updates and to tell them more about the story. There’s another reason, though. Well, there are a couple of them, but I’ll stick to the main one for now.

Because of you. Because someone who had read this blog shared it and someone else had shared it again and again, one of Sophie’s friends found my blog and found Sophie. You all helped me find her. For the past couple of days, I’ve been messaging with Sophie, and I’m going to visit her. I cannot tell you how nervous and excited I am. I feel like I’m more tense than I’ve ever been in my entire life, and for a while there, my favorite TV show was The Walking Dead. So, thank you! Thank you to everyone who saw this, read it, and took the time to share it because now, I get to see her again. I get to be in the same space with her and find out if this is as real as we both thought it was.

And before you say anything, I have Sophie’s permission to post this. I won’t tell you everything because at least part of our story is for us alone, but we’ve been messaging, and I feel it; whatever the IT is that people feel when they really connectwith someone, it’s there with us. She’s sweet and funny, and she makes me want to open up just by being on the other end of an email or text message.

I don’t know what’s going to happen. We might connect in this way, but when I get there, things could be totally different. It could be gone, whatever was between us. So, no one should be getting their hopes up that this is going to be a happily ever after, and that goes for me, too. Still, I can’t believe I’ll be talking to her tonight on the phone for the first time. She’s at dinner with her friends right now, and I didn’t want to be rude, so I had to stop texting her while she’s with them. I guess I want them to like me. It’s hard, though… I want to message her constantly. I want to hear her voice. I feel like I need to.

One of my friends, let’s call her K to preserve her privacy, was asking me earlier why I don’t ask for a picture or to FaceTime with Sophie. I suppose you all might be wondering the same. It’s been over a year. Am I even sure that it’s really her? Yes, I’m sure. The things we’ve shared tell me that it’s really her. And I thought about the picture as proof. I’ve definitely thought about a chat over video, but I was able to arrange a trip to see her sooner than I expected I’d be able to, so now, I want to see her in person for the first time again. I want to be able to hug her, hold her when I see her face for the first time in over a year, and to breathe in the grapefruit scent of her shampoo. Soph, I hope you haven’t changed your shampoo because I’m kind of counting on you here. It’s going to happen, and it’s happening because of all of you, so thank you. Thank you so much!

Because I’m sure I’ll get asked – yes, I’ll give you an update. I just don’t know when, though. I want to be with her. I want to spend every moment I can with her to find out what this thing is between us. I’ll share something when I can, but please allow us this space to just be. Thank you again.

Bryce had posted the next blog about an hour ago when Sophie had gone silent at her dinner. She’d planned on waiting, but she’d been bored, staring at her phone for well over five minutes after Sophie’s last message, so she’d given up, realizing she needed to leave the woman alone to have fun with her friends. She also hadn’t planned on asking her for a call tonight, but just thinking about hearing Sophie’s voice again had her wishing she could do that sooner than when she landed in New Orleans. Bryce felt like she’d waited long enough, so she’d put that message out into the ether, hoping Sophie would be feeling that same need.

When her phone rang, she expected it to be Sophie, but she’d been surprised and a little disappointed, if she was being honest, to see that it was Kelsey.

“Hey,” she said, answering the call.

“Hi,” Kelsey replied, sounding defeated or upset, at least.

“What’s wrong?”

“You know how I got kind of crazy when I was at your place earlier and told you about Megs and what I might be feeling?”

“Yes,” Bryce said, leaning back against the sofa.

“Well, it’s real, Bry,” Kelsey told her.

“What?”

“The feelings; they’re real. Megs sent me a picture of her with her date for the night, and well, my reaction wasn’t how a best friend should react to her being happy.”

“Kels, what did you do?”

“Nothing. It’s just the feeling that came over me when I saw it. She’s got taste. The woman who was kissing her on the cheek was beautiful, from what I could see.”

“I’m sorry, Kels.”

“Why did it take me this long to realize it? She’s been single forever. Hell, she’s wantedmeforever.”

“Kels, you realize that your feelings might only have to do with the fact that Megan has someone now, right?”

“They’re not together. It’s been, like, two dates. I don’t even know if they’ve had a real kiss yet. And it’s Megs, so she hasn’t slept with her.”

“But you get what I’m saying, don’t you?”

“I do. And I know it’s bad that I’m only really figuring it out when she’s dating someone, but I told you earlier that it’s been longer than this. I’ve felt it for longer. I think I’ve beenfeelingit since New Orleans.”

“Wait… What?”

“Well, not New Orleans, exactly, but that night, when you were with Sophie and I was hanging out with Jill, these guys were flirting, and I danced with one of them. I mainly did it because Jill was flirting. I didn’t want to be rude to her and assume that shewasand make her feel bad, so when he asked, I went out and danced with him, but the whole time, I kept thinking about Megan back at the hotel with Sean. I thought about how you and Sean couldn’t share a bed, so I had to sleep next to Sean, and you slept next to Megan because my guess is that she didn’t want to sleep next to me, for obvious reasons, but I started thinking aboutwhyI was thinking about that in the first place. Sean sleeps like a log. She’s out and doesn’t move. She’s a dream person to share a queen bed with.”

“I remember,” Bryce replied.

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