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Sarah let out a loud gasp. “Never!”

“Anyway…” Bree let out an annoyed snort. “On to the next item in Sarah’s conversation outline.”

I rolled my eyes just thinking about the next topic. “Oliver was at the art building today being his usual un-charming self.” Bree and Sarah went completely quiet as I spoke. I looked down at the carpet before looking back to them and dropping the bomb. “He wants me to model for him again.”

“Did you spit in his face and kick him in the nuts?” Bree made no attempt to keep the anger out of her voice. “Because I’m not interested in hearing anything less than that.”

“Please tell me you said ‘no.’” Sarah’s expression had changed to one of complete concern. “Stay far away from him, Anna.”

“Of course I said ‘no.’” Bree and Sarah both let out an audible sigh of relief.

“Good. I don’t want to talk about scummy Oliver anymore, so new subject,” Bree announced with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Liam. Tell us about Liam.”

“We’re going to coffee after class on Friday,” I said softly. It seemed like so much had happened since the coffee invitation, I hadn’t really thought about it until that moment.

“Nice!” Bree said with a smile. “This has been a long time coming. I’m glad he finally made a move.”

“Yeah, he’s nice.” I tried to muster up some enthusiasm but it was difficult. I was too distracted by my phone, where the screen remained dark.

“I sense some hesitation there,” Sarah said, her expression still one of concern.

I twirled a piece of hair around my fingers as I contemplated my answer. “There…there just isn’t any spark with Liam. He’s cute and nice, but there’s no butterflies-in-your-stomach feeling. On the other hand, Oliver was all spark and passion but no substance and he was a total asshole. Isn’t there something that combines both of those? Someone cute and nice with substance, spark, and passion?”

Bree snorted. “I think you’ve just described what, literally, every human being is looking for in a partner—passion and spark with someone who has substance and cares. Good luck, sister.”

“People like that are out there,” Sarah said defensively.

Bree rolled her eyes. “Real life, Sarah. We’re talking about real life, not romance novels.” Sarah stuck her tongue out at Bree and threw a napkin in her direction.

Sarah turned away from Bree and back toward me. “So, what are you going to do, Anna?”

I leaned my head back on the sofa and closed my eyes. It was all too much and the conversation was leaving me even more confused. “I don’t know.” I finally opened my eyes and answered honestly. “Why is it I go for months of nothing and then all of a sudden everything hits in one day?”

Bree let out a little snort noise. “I’m so sorry you have three men interested in you at the same time. You poor, poor thing.”

I knew I wasn’t the only one who heard the thick sarcasm in Bree’s voice when Sarah’s eyebrows shot up and she quickly said, “Don’t be a brat, Bree!”

The two of them stared at each other in some kind of intense showdown I wanted no part of. A wave of exhaustion hit me and I decided I was done with both the conversation and the day. I stood up from the sofa and gave myself a full body stretch which led to a yawn. “I’m wiped out. I think I’m going to head to bed. It’s been a long day.”

Bree broke away from her stare down with Sarah. “Sweet dreams, Ms. Anna!”

“Good night, beautiful lady!” Sarah shouted after me as I started walking down the hallway.

I couldn’t help but laugh at the two of them and how quickly their momentary snippiness disappeared. “Good night, my besties! I’ll see you in the morning!” I paused in the doorway to my bedroom and shouted over my shoulder, “Don’t you dare finish the show without me!” I could hear Bree and Sarah laughing as I walked into my room.

I shut the door and climbed into bed. I knew even though I was exhausted, I couldn’t sleep with everything weighing on my mind. I lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling. I didn’t know how long I’d been laying there when I finally realized my heart knew what it wanted to do even though my head told me a million reasons not to. For once I decided to listen to my heart.

I grabbed my phone from the bedside table and quickly typed out a message before I lost my nerve. “Are you there?”

His reply was almost immediate. “Yes. Glad to hear from you. Was starting to think I wasn’t going to.”

I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth as my fingers flew across the screen. “About that. I think I owe you an apology for freaking out earlier.”

“It has to involve a cat or puppy meme, otherwise it doesn’t count.”

I let out a sigh of relief before a smile took over my face and a soft laugh escaped. I quickly started searching on my phone for a stupid cat meme. I finally found the perfect one and sent it to Mason. It was of an overly adorable kitten with big brown eyes and it said, “I’M SORRY! Does the cute cat help?”

“LOL! Perfect! You’re now forgiven.” My heart felt lighter as relief washed through me. The feeling made me realize how much I hadn’t wanted it to be the end of talking to Mason. I liked whatever it was we had.

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