When the fear of isolation pulls Ashton and Ria together, nothing can prepare them for the collision. An anomaly shatters the repetitive fabric of their lives, sending them on a journey of discovering themselves and one another.
Beneath Ashton's gen...
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"WE REALLY CAN'T contact you for two weeks?" Jared pushes dark glasses up his nose to distract from his eyes darting towards Sophia and Dea — who are giggling like two school girls per usual with their innocent flirting. "Who am I supposed to hang out with?"
Ria smiles and rubs his tense arm. "You'll be fine. Go out and have some adventures."
"It's not that easy," he mumbles. "You guys are like my only friends."
"Hang out with Daniel?" Ria suggests. Though she hasn't talked to him much since that night he helped her with Ashton, he's been pleasant enough and keeps to himself. He even got her a gift for her birthday.
He glances over to Daniel who's talking to Ashton near the airport's gateway. "But I don't know him well enough. I think we've talked like twice?"
"Well, make it thrice," she chirps. "Or find new friends. Go explore New York. Start searching for your own apartment."
His shoulders slump and he pulls at the strings to his hoodie. "Can't I just move into your apartment?"
Ria chuckles. "I might not be living in it much longer."
This grabs his attention. "Why?"
She shrugs and glances at her promise ring. We could be moving to California in a few months. "Nothing," she ends up sighing. "You just never know what's going to happen."
Grey eyes linger on her ring and he shakes his head. "I can't believe he bought you a diamond ring. The guy acts like you two are married but refuses to think he loves you."
"Jared-"
"I'm just saying." He holds his hands up and shrugs. "I think he's emotionally scarred. Guys don't do things like this if it doesn't come from a place of love."
This creates a smile across her face. She extends her fingers for a better look at the jewel. It glistens as if she wields her own cluster of stardust. "I think so too. That's why I'm going to make him realize it. While we're gone, I'm going to figure out his past. Hopefully, I can open him up enough to believe in love."
Jared grins. "That's what I'm talking about."
"And in two weeks you have to meet at least one girl."
His smile drops. "No."
"Please?"
"Ria, I suck at women."
"Jared, just try." She grabs his wrist as he tries to stalk away like a dejected shadow and stands before him. "Just talk to one girl. If you do, you can move into my apartment until you find your own."
Reddish lips press into a firm line as he narrows his stormy eyes. She smirks at the gradual weakening in his gaze. Take the offer. You know you want to.
