“Yeah,” she answered finally. “It would be nice. Maybe… maybe sometime soon.”

“Uh huh. Well, I think I should get back to sleep. Lots of work to do tomorrow, you know?”

“Gotcha. It was great talking to you again.”

“Yeah, you too,” I replied.

“So, um… tomorrow… looks pretty busy for me…” she began.

“Oh,” I responded despondently.

“But the day after, maybe?”

“Yeah, definitely!” Crap, I sounded way too enthusiastic for my own good.

“Awesome. Well, I don’t know what times are good for you but my schedule’s pretty flexible. How about you call me when you can?”

“Sure.”

“Alright, cool. Talk to you soon.”

“Bye, Ash.” I had to say it. I just did. God, I didn’t even know what to think. That was the best conversation I’ve had with anyone in quite some time. And it was totally awkward, too. So many thoughts and emotions were running through my head simultaneously, that I couldn’t keep up. It was then when I looked over at the clock and realized it was almost 1:30 in the morning. Tomorrow was going to be a long day… and not just because of work.

–

The next day, Aiden and I had a meeting with the man they were suing and his lawyer, to discuss terms for an out-of-court settlement. The other pair had basically denied us, which was absurd because they didn’t stand a chance in court. It was about noon when the meeting was over, and Aiden and I were out for lunch.

“His lawyer… has got to be one of the most irrational people I’ve ever met,” I declared, through mouthfuls of Greek salad.

“Yeah, he seems like a real asshole,” Aiden replied. “So, uh… you and Ashley… did you talk again yet?”

“You really have a one-track mind, don’t you?”

“Sometimes,” he admitted with a grin.

“You better watch that; I don’t think your boss would be happy if he found out you were incurring ridiculous hourly costs for personal conversations,” I smirked.

“Yeah, yeah. My boss doesn’t give a shit; he has too much money for his own good,” he said. “Anyways… anything?”

“Well, yeah. We talked last night. But the look on your face tells me you already knew; Michelle told you, I guess?”

“Yup.”

“What did she say?”

“She wouldn’t tell me anything else, except that things were good. She wants to talk to you, though,” he told me. I couldn’t deny the fact that I wanted to talk to her, too. “Do you want to come over for dinner tonight?”

“Are you sure, Aiden? Isn’t Michelle leaving in a few days?”

“Yeah, but trust me, it’s okay.”

“How are things with you two?” I asked.

“Great, actually. It just sucks so bad that I’m all the way over here, you know?”

“Yeah,” I told him. I knew first hand what distance did to a relationship. “How long have you been together?”

“A year and a half,” he replied.

“Is marriage in the future?”

“Maybe…” he smirked. “But anyways… are you gonna come?”

“Um… yeah, sure. Can we make it a late dinner? Like… 8?”

“Perfect. So, remember that time…”

Aiden and I reminisced about high school for awhile longer, talking about classes we’d shared, people we knew, and teachers we’d despised. He brought up Ashley a few times and I didn’t tense up at all. I could talk about her with ease, now that I was talking to her. And every time her name was mentioned, I would remember how I was going to talk to her the next day. I couldn’t ignore the butterflies that formed in the pit of my stomach upon thinking of that.