The Road to....Somewhere???

We Would Be Friends

Logan's p.o.v.

How things have changed. Overnight.

Yesterday was almost a blur. Getting my few possessions over to Ashley's house. Settling in, and trying to wrap my head around all that had happened since Friday night. Going from the thought of splitting, seeing Ashley with her ex, to moving in with the only person I want to be with. All I can say is wow.

Last night, sleeping here as my home, instead of just a sleepover, had my head going crazy. I didn't sleep much. Not that I wasn't comfortable, or didn't feel safe. It was just really to good to be true. If I went to sleep, I knew that when the morning came, it would all have just been a dream. Fear dominated my mind with these thoughts. I didn't want things to go back to how they were. My love of this woman doubled over the last couple of days. 

No one had ever taken it upon themselves to try and take care of me like her. I was always the one trying to do for everyone else. If I thought it about it to hard, sometimes, I would begin to get scared. The question of what she wanted from me would arise. If I didn't let myself go to that dark place, I knew that she wanted nothing but me. She had no ulterior motives, no hidden plans. It was just about me. 

Today is Sunday, and we are meeting Cassie and Erin for lunch. After a conversation we had about her friends, and the lack of contact she had had with them, it was decided we needed to incorporate ourselves into others lives, and not just stay wrapped up in our own. Ashley called and set it up. She didn't mention the fact that I was now living with her, deciding it would be better to tell them in person, together. Ashley had told me about the conversation she had with Cassie at the bar, and Cassie's thoughts on this whole situation. She is scared of her friends reaction. It hurt for a moment, but I was soon reassured that in the end, it didn't matter what her friends thought. It wasn't about them. It was about us.

"Babe, you ready?" I asked as I finished up my makeup. She came in the bathroom, wrapping her arms around my waist, looking at our faces reflected in the mirror, side by side.

"Yes, love. Are you?" I knew that she was implying more than being presentable. She knew I was nervous. I leaned back into her, my head resting in the crook of her neck. Inhaling deeply, the smell of her caused my nerves to settle a bit. Everything about her exuded comfort and calm. She was my safe place. 

"Yep. Ready whenever you are." Untangling myself, I pull away from her. "How do I look? Am I ok?" I wanted to make a good impressions, seeing as how this would be the first time we really spent any time with her friends, aside from the first night we had all met. We had all been inebriated, and I hadn't been the reason for Ashley's exile from their group. Today had to go well. It just had to.

"You are beautiful. Everything is going to be fine. I know my friends. Erin already loves you, because you make me happy. Cassie will, when she realizes you aren't out to hurt me. She saw what I went through, since high school, and she is just worried about me. It is all going to be ok. Trust me." She leaned in, and pecked my lips, keeping my makeup in tact. 

"I do. Completely." Meaning more than just with the situation at hand. "Now, let's get out of here. I don't want us to be late."

We arrived at the restaurant a little early, but Cassie and Erin were already there. Walking up to the table, the two stood, and hugs were shared all around. I could feel the tension in Cassie's brief embrace. I remained calm about it, and tried to remember Ashley's explanation of Cassie's attitude. 

Small talked ensued while waiting for the waitress. After drinks were delivered, and food was ordered, the air at the table seemed to visibly change. The time had come for pleasantries to be left behind, and more serious topics of conversation to begin.

"So, what exactly is up with the two of you?" Cassie's lack of tact has me a little pissed. I try to remain calm, not knowing exactly how to answer this question. Actually, knowing exactly how to answer it, but not knowing what Ashley would want me to say. I don't have to worry about this very long, because Ashley answer's for us.

"Really? That was pretty rude Cassie. Since the question is out there, though, I guess it should be answered. I love her Cassie. I am so deeply in love with this woman it is unreal." She takes my hand in hers, and looks deep in my eyes. "I'm pretty sure she feels the same way." The smile breaks across my face, and my eyes have to look away from the intensity pulsing from Ashley's. 

"Of course I do. You know that." I feel my face burning red. Our feelings had yet to be shared in front of others, and these people were so important to Ashley. I was scared of their reaction. It shouldn't matter, but deep down, I know it does. Ashley resumes, as I try to read the reaction of the two women sitting across from us. Erin has a genuine smile on her face, while Cassie almost looks like she's grimacing.

"She moved in with me this weekend." Ashley bluntly put it out there. I saw Cassie's face grow even darker.

"What?!? Y'all met, what, like a month ago? You're already living together? How well do y'all even know each other?" I knew what she was implying. She must know about Ashley's past, and was wondering if I knew. 

"I know everything." This is all I could think to say, just in case she had meant something else.

Cassie's jaw dropped. Apparently, she hadn't expected that. Like maybe Ash and I hadn't had sex yet, or that she hadn't showed me her body if we had. I don't know what she was thinking. Maybe she just hadn't been thinking.

"I told her, Cas. Showed her, then told her. She knows everything. Like I said, I am in love with her. It's not like it was with Sarah. This is something totally different. As cliche as it sounds, I have never felt this way before. Ever."

Cassie looks at me, surprise, and something I can't quite place showing in her face.

"You'r ok with it all? Just like that?" Respect, maybe. That was the look on her face.

"Of course. It doesn't matter. Ashley is beautiful. She is the most amazing person I have ever met. We all have a past. That doesn't mean it should define our future. Her past only shaped who she is today, and I love who she is today. Her past is important, but it isn't who she is."

Cassie's features soften as I make my small but heated speach. The concern for her friend was sweet, but it was pissing me off that I was thought of in the same context as Ashley's ex. I was not that kind of person. 

"If you get to know me, you may realize that I'm not that bad of a person. I am not like the people in Ash's past. I would never treat her like she has been treated before."

"I, for one, think you seem to be a lovely person. I can't wait to get to know you better. We should get together sometime." Erin had remained quiet through this whole exchange, but her words now meant more to me than just about anything else that had been said at this table. Her acceptance of me and Ashley was extraordinary. I knew right then that we would be great, if not best, friends.

The waitress chooses this time to bring our food. The tension in the air seems to lessen, and we go back to simply talking, and getting to know each other better. I could see the skepticism still being held by Cassie, but something had changed. She didn't seem as angry with me, and I'm thinking that we can get past this whole thing, and become friends.

Though her concern for her friends well being would never completely go away, we woule eventually be ok.

We would be friends.