I turned around and saw Neil looking at me with such intensity that I smiled. And before I could think about the huge mess that was going to cause I quickly texted him back and winked. The second he looked down at his phone I turned around and walked back over to where Patrick and Derrick were sitting on beach towels smiling and laughing.

Ashlynn – Pick me up at 8?

I was just about to sit down on my beach towel and soak in the sun for a little while longer when I got another text that said:

Neil – I’ll be there!

Sitting down I texted him my address and just as I was about to put my phone away the beep went off signaling that I had another text. I got giddy because I thought it was Neil. However, when I opened my phone I felt like I was going to have a panic attack because it said:

Jason – Can we talk?

Unbelievable! Just as I’m about to let go of Jason he comes back into my life and my world is turned upside down and I’m not sure what the right thing to do is.

After reading his text, Derrick nudged me and asked, “Sweetie?”

With just that one word the tears come pouring down my face and within seconds Derrick and Patrick were on either side of me trying to calm me down and comfort me.

By the time I managed to tell them what had happened I got two more messages; one from Neil and the other from Jason.

Neil – I can’t wait for tonight.

Jason – Please Ash, I’m so sorry.

Taking my phone Derrick asked, “What do you want to do Ash?”

Looking down at the sand between my toes and taking a few deep breaths I said, “I’m not sure.”

Derrick just smiled and kissed me on the cheek. Moving away and looking into my eyes he said, “I’m just going to give you my opinion on this. I know you still really like Jason but I think you should go on this date with Neil. From what you told me he seems like a really nice guy. Maybe it’ll go somewhere, maybe it won’t, but honey you have to get out there and stop hiding behind your books.”

Through a tearful smile I said, “Thanks Derrick. I love you.”

Smiling Derrick then kissed me on the forehead and said, “Always babe. Now hop to it.”

Once I wiped the tears from my eyes I took a deep breath and sent out my replies.

Neil – I can’t wait either

Jason - … no we can’t. I’m attempting to move on, you should too.

As soon as my phone read, Message Sent, to Jason I felt somewhat relieved but I wasn’t exactly sure what I was relieved about to tell you the truth. Relieved because I said no to him or relieved because I knew that this wasn’t over between him and I and that Jason would fight for us?


I decided on a pale blue sundress for my date with Neil along with some brown wedges. He said that he was taking me to a seafood restaurant that is out of this world spectacular. I was just about to close the door to my bedroom when the doorbell rang. I looked over to the clock and it read 7:50 and I became a little bundle of nerves.

I grabbed my purse from the couch and walked over to the door. Taking a deep breath to try and calm myself I opened the door and Neil was standing there looking downright fuckable. He had on these tan cargo shorts with a bright blue t-shirt on that matched the color of his eyes. I looked up into his eyes and he looked like he was going to devour me. I bit my lower lip and then noticed he had an eyebrow ring.

Without thinking I placed my finger to his eyebrow ring and said, “I didn’t notice this earlier.”

I looked into his eyes and he smiled and grabbed that exact hand and said, “That would be because I didn’t have it in earlier. You ready to go?”

I smiled and after locking the door I turned to see Neil still staring at me. My stomach started doing somersaults and I had begun to laugh. “What?”

He just shook his head and said, “You look beautiful, Ashlynn.”

I could feel my cheeks beginning to blush and looked down at the pavement. “Thank you.”

I felt a hand under my chin and before I knew it I was looking at Neil and he smiled and said, “You shouldn’t be embarrassed of that.” It seemed like all I could do around Neil was smile. Taking my hand in his we walked to his car and he opened the door for me which I thought was really sweet. After closing the door he walked over to the driver’s side and got in and started the car up. On our way to the restaurant we talked about the simple things. Our favorite shows we like to watch. Movies. Music we listen to.

Before I knew it Neil was parking the car and we were walking in. He held the door open for me and after the hostess took us to our table and got our drink order the conversation started all up again. Neil told me about Jacquelyn and Tommy and how important they were to him. He told me that he had to move back home because of some family problems. I could tell he didn’t want to get into it so I didn’t ask any questions. I loved that he felt comfortable with me, but in all honesty I felt like what Neil and I had would turn into a great friendship and nothing more.

Once our food arrived there were a few minutes of silence while we dug into the delicious seafood. Cracking open the lobster and slathering it with butter, while taking sips of ice cold beer to bring it all together.

I was just about to take a bite of the buttered lobster when I heard my cell phone beep, notifying me that I had a text message. I ignored it because it’s rude to check messages on a date, but Neil must have noticed it too because he said, “You can answer it Ash. I don’t mind.”

I quickly apologized and unzipped my purse. Opening my phone my heart stopped when I read the text.

Jason – I’ll never move on Ashlynn.

I didn’t think I shut my phone that loudly but Neil commented and said, “Are you ok?”

I looked up at him and he seemed really sincere. I attempted to nod my head but Neil said, “What’s his name?”

I didn’t think it was okay to talk to Neil about this while we were on a date together but Neil said, “Look Ashlynn it’s okay. I just wanted to get to know you and I’ve had a lot of fun tonight but I can tell from the way you were reading that message that you’re taken. I’d still like to be friends at least.”

I smiled and nodded my head in approval. “I’m so sorry Neil and I’ve had a great time tonight too.”

He gave a small smile and took a sip of his beer. After swallowing, he pointed to my phone and said, “Alright, let’s hear the story.”

Setting down my phone I looked up at him and said, “It’s a long story.” At that exact moment the waitress came over with our bill.

Before I could grab the bill Neil had it in his hands and was pulling out his wallet to get his card. I wanted to protest but he looked up at me and said, “I got this. If you’re up for it how about you buy a case of beer and we can talk about it at my place? My roommate will probably be there so you can get two guys’ perspectives.”

Just as Neil put the card in the holder and set it back on the table I put my hand on top of his and smiled. “Do you know how amazing you are Neil?”

He chuckled and said, “It’s by choice.”

Once the waitress came back with our receipt we left the restaurant. Picking up a case of beer Neil started the drive to his apartment. I noticed that we were in the same apartment complex as Jason and I started to get really nervous. Grabbing the beer from the back Neil said, “Follow me.”

I followed Neil and stopped and saw that his apartment read 3B and my heart stopped.

I started to walk into the apartment and then I saw the back of his roommate’s head and heard him say, “Back so soon Neil?”