Page 40 of April

“What?”

“Linden and I just danced. It doesn’t mean anything. When we kissed the other night, that didn’t mean anything, either. It was just a kiss.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“I think you know why,” Jill replied.

“What’s going on?” Sophie asked, looking up from her phone for once.

“How was that lunch date?” Asher ignored her, asking Jill a question instead.

“It was just lunch,” Jill said. “And we’re friends. I don’t want to date Linden. I want a relationship. Linden wants to date around. Nothing’s going on.”

“At the office, you said you were going to do it again when you got back.”

“Lunch, yes,” Jill said with a soft smile. “Or, just hang out. But notgoout. I’ll admit, I did ask her tonight if she wanted tomake out, but that was just me being lonely and her being a good kisser. Nothing actually happened, though.”

“Why are we talking about this?” Sophie asked.

“Because Asher here likes Linden,” Jill replied. “Don’t you?”

“She’s my best friend. I don’t want her to get hurt.”

“It’s more than that,” Jill argued. “You’re just now figuring it all out, though, aren’t you?”

“You like Linden?” Sophie asked Asher. “As more than a friend?”

Asher looked up, spotting Linden and the woman on the dance floor. The woman had her arms casually draped over Linden’s shoulders, with her head pressed to Linden. It looked like she might have been resting her head there or even whispering something into Linden’s ear, but then again, she could also be kissing Linden’s neck. Asher looked away quickly.

“She’s probably going to go home with her,” she said.

“That rando?” Jill asked and looked back at the dance floor. “I doubt it. She’s here with a group. I think they’re just dancing.”

“So… Youdolike Linden?” Sophie asked.

“I don’t know,” she said, knowing that she didn’t sound at all believable.

“Yes, you do,” Jill suggested. “I’m sorry, Ash. I didn’t know. If I had, I wouldn’t have pulled her out on the dance floor or kissed her.”

“I didn’t know.”

“Didn’t know I kissed her?”

“No, trust me, I knewthat.” Asher closed her eyes for a second. “I didn’t know I felt that way about her.”

“So, youdo?” Jill asked.

“It makes no sense. I’ve known her for ten years, and I’ve never thought of her like this before. When she started coming out and really becoming who she was meant to be, it made me realize that I was missing something, too. I wasn’t all myself.That’s how I’d describe it. I started thinking about women in a new way, but it wasn’therthat I was thinking about until recently. Then, I saw you two kiss, and for some reason, it just clicked and about killed me at the same time.” Asher paused. “I’m way too old to be crushing on my best friend.”

“For starters, you just said it about killed you to watch her kiss me. That’s not a crush, Asher. That’swaymore than a crush.”

“Yeah. And it doesn’t work like that. You can’t control who you fall for or when you realize it,” Sophie added. “I’d know. I spent a year feeling like I’d lost my chance at being with the love of my life. I tried so hard to push Bryce out of my mind, and I couldn’t.”

“Bryce wasn’t your best friend when you met,” Asher argued.

“No, but you still can’t help it, Asher. Why haven’t you told her?” Jill asked.

“Tell Linden that I think I like her? Are you crazy?”

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