I tried to take a deep breath, but this time my lungs felt weird.I needed to calm down. I counted down slowly from ten again and again. The lastthing I needed was for Poppy to witness me having a panic attack. She’d thinkI’d be easy to control in whatever game she was playing. But it would have beeneasier if she’d chosen a different fucking restaurant.
I took a deep breath, keeping my eyes trained on the sidewalkinstead of letting my gaze wander to all the places that would remind me ofBrooklyn. But I kept looking up. Like I was expecting to see Brooklyn’s smilingface on the path up ahead.
My feet froze on the little bridge I’d come to a milliontimes. The corner of my mouth rose as I remembered getting down on one knee. Brooklynhad thought I was going to propose. I’d been able to tell by the expression onher face. She’d stared at me like she was excited but also like she thought I’dlost my mind. And I was pretty sure it was in that moment that I realized Iwanted to marry her. That I couldn’t imagine my life without her.
And she’d laughed as I pulled a hotdog out from behind my backinstead of a ring. That sealed the deal. The fact that she’d seemed just asdelighted with a cheap hotdog as she would have with a ring. I stared out overthe water.
And that’s when I saw her. I squinted at the woman with redhair coming out of the nearby restaurant. She was alone and looked upset. Mostlikely she had just set some other poor asshole on fire and was making a quickexit.
“Ash?” I called. It was definitely her. Although, she wasbetter dressed than when we’d had our date.
She looked up and her eyes grew so round. A few people walkedin front of her, blocking my view. I walked across the bridge and…she was gone.“Ash?” I turned in a circle. It was weird. When Kennedy had shown up, I had thisgut feeling that she was supposed to be some kind of sign from Brooklyn. Butwhat if I was wrong? What if Ash was the sign? Because she’d just shown up whenI was thinking about Brooklyn.
I looked around once more. Or had Ash shown up? Because she’dliterally disappeared. Had I just imagined that? Was I fucking losing my mindnow? Probably. I had thought Jefferson’s mom was stalking me...
But then I heard a splash.
I looked at the water and sure enough…Ash’s head was bobbingon top of the surface.
“What the hell are you doing?” I hurried over to help her outof the water.
“Go away! Pretend you didn’t see me!” she yelled, flailingher arms in the water. “Imagine this isn’t happening right now! Please, I’mbegging you.”
I couldn’t tell if she was drowning or just really upset. ButI wasn’t going to walk away in case it was the prior. “Did you just throwyourself in the lake to avoid me?”
“No.” Her teeth chattered. “That would be crazy.”
Her point? “Let me help you.” I put my hand out.
“Please, Matt, just let me drown in my misery.”
“I’m not going anywhere until you’re out of that water.”
“I’m not actually drowning! I’m just swimming recreationally.”She continued to tread water. “See.”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to swim in there.”
“I know that.” She looked up at the sky like she was hoping alightning bolt would come down and just end everything.
“Then what are you doing?” I asked.
“Fine! I admit it! I was trying to avoid you. So please walkaway before either of us gets hurt.”
I laughed. “Let me help you out.”
She stared at me like she couldn’t believe I was stillstanding there. “You’re not going to do the gentlemanly thing and walk awaybecause I asked you to?”
“No. I’m not.”
“Men.” She sighed so loudly that she scared a duck swimmingby. It squawked angrily. “Fine. But only because I’m a little scared of birds. Onlyslightly. It’s not on my list or anything.” Ash swam over to me, avoiding theangry duck, and took my hand.
I pulled her out and her body collided against mine. She waswet from head to toe. She’d clearly dove headfirst in the lake just to avoidwalking past me. And she was shivering.
But instead of letting me run my hands up and down her arms,she pulled back. “I am so so beyond sorry, Matt.”
“My dick is fine.”
“Yeah, that. But also…” she waved her hand in front of me.
I looked down. She’d gotten the front of my hoody all wetand…a little slimy. “It’s fine,” I said. “Seriously, why did you throw yourselfinto the lake to avoid me?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “Maybebecause I was half an hour late for our date, flashed you in the bathroom, and thenset your dick on fire!”
People had been already staring at us as soon as I found herin the water. Now they weren’t even trying to pretend they weren’t staring.
“So that wasn’t a normal date for you?” I couldn’t help butlaugh.
“God, you were supposed to just keep walking. Not find me andpull me out of the lake. Why would you even look in there? It was such a goodhiding spot. I have to go.” She turned around.
I grabbed her hand. “It’s okay, Ash. Bad dates happen.”
“It wasn’t a bad date. It was mortifying.” She pulled herhand out of mine. “And in this huge city what are the odds that I’d run intoyou again? One in a million? Don’t answer that. And if you ever do see me againand then you suddenly don’t…just keep walking. Because it means I’m
