CASSIE
Ten minutes earlier
“Thanks for coming to meet me, Cassie. I know it was probably not something you wanted to do.”
I shrugged, my heart beating fast as I stared across the table at Jason. I couldn’t believe I was there, sitting in front of him, drinking coffee as if nothing had passed between us.
“No problem.”
Jason looked the same, better even. It was really annoying how men aged well, getting better and better with time. He’d grown out his brown hair a bit, and it was almost long enough to be tied up into a ponytail.
Tres chic.
He was dressed nice too, although it was meant to look casual. Tight white T-shirt, black jeans, and a jacket hanging over the back of his chair. I would have had to have been dead to not see how the muscles pushed against the tightness of the fabric. When I’d first met him, his looks had made my breath catch, and my skin tingle and warm.
Just like his father now.
I flushed at the thought. It was true. Now, I could see Jason was handsome, and his eyes were the same cobalt blue of his father’s, but they were different for me now. I didn’t want him any longer. It was a good feeling, to be so freed from the past in that way. And yet the hurt remained.
“So why did you want to see me, Jason?”
He looked down, choosing his words carefully, no doubt.
“I wanted to apologize for the past. For just ghosting you like I did. I was foolish, young, and too full of myself.”
I swallowed, listening to the words, not believing they were real. An apology? Really? From the man who’d hurt me bad enough to make me spurn men for the rest of my days? Relationship-wise, that is.
He continued. “And I hoped we could be friends. Over the years, I’d regretted it, and now that my mom is sick, it’s making me look at life a bit differently. I don’t want to waste time with anger and hurt.”
I bit my lip, and I could feel tears behind my eyes.
Do not dare cry.
“I’m sorry about your mom,” I said, trying to think of the right thing to say back.
“Thanks. So, what do you say?” He smiled at me, and my heart remembered the old feelings even if they had gone away now.
“Well, I thank you for your apology. It’s accepted. And thank you for the friendship. I’m glad we can move past it all. It’s not many who can say they’ve gotten an apology from an ex.” I grinned at him, and he laughed.
“You’re right. I’m glad you’ve forgiven me, Cassie. That means a lot. Really.” His eyes flashed with something, and I knew he had more to say.
But he held back as we finished our coffee, talking about nothing much. When we stood to leave, he pulled me into a hug.
“I’m really glad we talked, Cassie,” he whispered in my ear.
I pulled back, discomfited by the familiar smell which hit my nose. It pulled me back to the past, the past I was now ready to put behind me.
“Me too,” I managed to get out, but I was glad when his arms dropped from my shoulders.
He paid, and we walked outside together. I was ready to leave, to turn away, and forget the meeting had ever happened, but Jason stopped me. He looked uncomfortable, and I knew the moment had come when he’d wanted to say the rest of his piece. I held my breath, waiting for it and trying not to wince.
“I know I said friendship, Cassie, but I do also have the hope that maybe in the future you’d consider me again as something more.”
I opened my mouth, surprised, even though I had had a feeling this was what he’d been about to say. I couldn’t form words, though.
Oh, God, am I in some sick, incestuous circle? Sleeping with the father and now being asked about a future with the son?
“You don’t have to say anything now,” Jason said, touching my arm again. “Just think about it. I know there’s a lot we’d have to work through. And maybe you’re seeing someone else, anyway,” he said with a self-deprecating chuckle.