Spencer laughed, “Exactly, but I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“I’ll be here.”

Spencer gave Ashley a loose hug before walking to the front door. “Goodnight,” she said with a tight-lipped smile before closing the door behind her.

“She hates me, Aiden. I can tell.”

“Whoa, calm down. Who hates you?”

It was 2 o’clock in the morning and Ashley couldn’t sleep, though her body was running on empty. Ever since Spencer had left, the worried brunette had been convincing herself that her girlfriend harbored some repressed hatred towards her that she was saving for a rainy day.

“Spencer, of course! You should have seen how she left my apartment!” Ashley yelled into her cell phone.

“What, did she yell, throw things, hit you?”

“No, worse. She just hugged me and said ‘goodnight.’”

Aiden paused a moment before answering, “I must be missing something.”

“You don’t understand. It’s the way she said it.”

“Don’t you think you might be reading into this a little too much?”

“No!”

“Fine, but tell me one thing, Ash.”

“What?”

“Why would she hate you?”

“That’s easy. She resents me for not wanting to marry her. What do you think?”

“So, you don’t want to marry her?”

“I don’t know.”

“I thought it was the kid thing that freaked you out.”

“It is!”

“So you do want to marry her?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’m confused,” Aiden said.

“Me too,” Ashley admitted.

“Ash, I know you. What’s really going on here?”

Ashley sighed, “I don’t know, Aiden. All this time I’ve been waiting, you know? Waiting for Spencer to decide that I’m the one she wants to be with. It’s been that way for so long that I never had to think about what I wanted. Now here she is and she’s ready to make this huge commitment and now she’s waiting on me.”

“Spencer had plenty of time to decide what she wanted. You deserve that time too. And if you need it, don’t be afraid to take it.”

Ashley nodded. She would’ve hugged Aiden if she could have.

“But…”

“But what?” Ashley asked, tensing up again.

“I guess I just don’t understand what you’re waiting for.”

“Aiden! You just told me that if I needed time…”

“I know, and I meant it. Having kids is a really big deal. It’s the kind of commitment you should only make if you’re completely ready.”

“Then what are saying?”

“You and I both know that she’s the one. And what scares you the most is that she’s finally not running away. She’s right there telling you she’s ready to be with you and you’re freaked out because this time she really means it. And that means that you have to make some decisions of your own. Are you ready to settle down?”

“I don’t know. Yes…maybe…no, I don’t know! I don’t know.”

“Then what do you know?”

“I know that I’m fooling myself if I think there’s someone out there that’s more perfect for me than Spencer Carlin. Whatever it is between us that keeps us coming back over and over is telling me that I need to do this…that I want to do this. The part that kept us apart all these years is telling me to that I shouldn’t commit to her just to keep her from leaving me again. I don’t want to be one of those couples that gets married because of fear. I want to get married because I want to show everyone that I love her enough to promise myself to her and her only…for as long as we both shall live.”

“Looks like you’re already reciting your vows.”

“God…everything happens so fast.”

“Really? Does it really? Because in reality you and Spencer have been doing this for a decade.”

“You’re right.”

“Of course I am. Now get some sleep, you sound exhausted.”

“I am. Thanks, Aiden.”

“Anytime…”

Ashley hung up the phone, knowing exactly what she had to do.