"What the –"
Paisley cursed mentally as she stared at her phone screen in horror and panic, ready to end the call before it even connected to the receiver. Just then, a woman interrupted her, "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"
Despite the loud music and noise around them, Paisley recognized the woman's voice. It was sweet and apologetic, sending shivers down her body and awakening feelings she had forgotten about. It electrocuted her hormones that had been sleeping for years. Paisley knew that voice. Despite the loud music that was blasting in her ears and the cheers and chattering noises of the people around her, there was no way she wouldn't recognize the owner of that voice. There's no way she would ever forget how her voice sounds. She didn't want to look up and see the woman's gray eyes that she missed so much, afraid that she would break down and beg her to come back into her life. But she couldn't resist and lifted her chin to meet her gaze anyway.
There have been many changes in the appearance of a woman with gray eyes, including her silver hair. Aspen, who used to have long hair like hers, now has an attractive long bob cut with silver hair, making her look taller, cooler, and hotter than before. In contrast, Paisley has only grown a few inches taller than when they were in college, while Aspen appears to have grown a couple of inches, which makes Paisley look up to her.
"Aspen," Paisley breathlessly uttered. She had never taken her eyes off Aspen, at least for a second. Heck, she couldn't even afford to blink her eyes. Paisley was mesmerized and couldn't help but be drowned by those gray eyes.
Contrary to how fast Paisley recognized her, it took Aspen a couple of seconds to remember her. She had to squint her eyes and look closely at Paisley for a few seconds before realizing who she was.
In an unsure tone, Aspen asked, "Paisley?"
Paisley managed to hide the disappointment in her face. She was so disappointed with the fact that Aspen didn't recognize her despite having little to no changes at all. It made her bitter because that made her realize that Aspen had forgotten about her already. She put on a fake smile, trying to conceal her distress. Before she could say anything, they were interrupted by a loud ringing sound from Aspen's phone. Both of them looked down to see who was calling. In that brief moment, Paisley saw her name flash on the screen with the words "is calling...".
Her eyes went wide, almost gauging out of their sockets, as she looked at her hand. She remembered that she accidentally dialed Aspen's number. She quickly ended the call, feeling embarrassed as she forced a gulp down her throat.
"You were calling?" Aspen asked, unsure despite seeing the brunette's name on the screen. The uncertainty in her voice wasn't because she doubted it was Paisley who was calling, but she was unsure why Paisley would give her a call after seven years of no communication. For seven whole years, she had never received a call or a text message from Paisley, so doubting the first ever call that she received after seven years wasn't out of the question.
Paisley's cheeks turned bright red in embarrassment, but thanks to the dim lighting inside the bar, Aspen wasn't aware of it.
Paisley blinked her eyes rapidly and averted her eyes from Aspen. She instead glanced at the phone in her hand, trying to come up with the best possible explanation.
"I-I didn't mean to. I-I was supposed to call someone else but when we bumped into each other, I accidentally clicked your name and the call button."
Aspen nodded her head slowly, offering a small smile that Paisley wasn't sure how to interpret. She thought she saw disappointment in Aspen's eyes for a brief second, but she knew it was impossible, so she dismissed the thought. She had chosen to believe that her mind was just playing tricks on her again.
As they stood in silence, Paisley struggled to find the words to say. She had a lot on her mind but lacked the courage to express herself. Her throat felt constricted, making it difficult to speak. The loud music that was filling the whole bar was deafening but the beats of Paisley's heart were louder than it for some reason.
Paisley cleared her throat as she glanced at Aspen, only to find the silver-headed beauty looking at her as well. The brunette clenched her jaw as she took a deep breath and finally opened her mouth to speak.
"Ahm. H-How are you doing?" Paisley held her breath for no reason. She blinked her eyes even faster than usual. The butterflies in her stomach only became wilder when their eyes met again. Her hands only became even more sweaty and the beats of her heart only became louder and quicker. The situation reminded her of her teenage years when she had secretly crushed on Aspen.
Aspen held Paisley's stare because she had no reason to look away. She returned the warm stare of the brunette as she nodded her head a little bit.
"I'm doing fine. How about you?" Aspen raised her eyebrows in anticipation of what Paisley would answer. Unlike Paisley, who seemed agitated, Aspen was able to remain calm even though she had just seen her first love – her greatest love – after six long years. She felt a mix of excitement and nervousness. Excited that their paths had finally crossed again, but nervous because she didn't know how to act around Paisley.
"I'm not okay. I've missed you a lot." Paisley wanted to answer Aspen's question with those words, but she didn't. She can't say that or act like a loser and admit that. She was afraid that Aspen would laugh at her and blame her. Instead, she slowly nodded her head, trying to convince both Aspen and herself, "I'm fine as well."
Paisley was not concerned about her appearance or how convincing her statement was. She was thinking of a way- a reason that she could use to make this moment last. What should she say so Aspen wouldn't bid her goodbye? What should she do so Aspen wouldn't excuse herself and be gone without any assurance of seeing her again? She doesn't know. She couldn't come up with anything due to her nervousness. She was drowning for the nth time with Aspen's gray eyes, and she wasn't complaining about that.
To her relief, Kylie suddenly appeared behind her and seemed to follow her due to worry.
"Hey Paisley-'' Kylie's feet were put to a halt as her statement hung when her eyes met the eyes of the woman who was standing before her best friend. Her eyes widened when she recognized the person. Her feet automatically moved and threw herself at Aspen, who opened her arms to welcome her.
Meanwhile, Paisley couldn't help but frown. She had also wanted to hug Aspen when she first saw her. But she isn't allowed to do that, right? There are no ex-lovers who hug each other when they meet again after years. That was a ridiculous thing. No matter how much she had missed Aspen, there was nothing she could do but stare at Aspen's beautiful face. However, what made her feel even more insecure was the fact that Aspen immediately recognized Kylie, while it took her a few seconds to do the same to her.
Paisley sighed silently and looked away for a moment. She knew she couldn't blame Aspen for not recognizing her immediately. Kylie and Aspen had been close friends before she even met Aspen. She had only become close to Aspen through Kylie, who helped the gray-eyed beauty to be close to her. So, of course, she would remember Kylie more than me.
"Is that you, Aspen?" Kylie exclaimed, grabbing the silver-haired woman's shoulders and shaking her a bit too vigorously.
Aspen managed a smile and nodded her head, feeling slightly dizzy from the unexpected greeting.
"It's been years since we've seen each other. I thought I'd never get the chance to see you again," Kylie said with a pout. Aspen and Kylie never cut off their communication, not even after Aspen and Paisley broke up. However, Aspen had never shown her face to her college friends again. The last time Kylie had seen her was six years ago before Aspen had finally given up on Paisley and decided to move on. No matter how many times she tried to convince the silver-headed beauty to meet her, Aspen would always insist that she didn't want to. She would come up with different excuses until Kylie just gave up.
"Yeah. I apologize for that." Aspen shyly said while scratching her cheek and offering Kylie a small apologetic smile.
Kylie's lips stretched into a smile and flicked the gray-eyed woman's forehead.
"That's fine. Anyway, how are you? You looked –" Kylie cut her statement as she eyed Aspen from head to toe while grinning widely.
"-good as usual."
Good wasn't the right word to say. Kylie knew that the said adjective was an understatement to describe how Aspen looked that night. Despite wearing just a simple loose long-sleeve vertical striped button-up shirt that was tucked inside her pants, she still looked gorgeous and cool. However, Kylie didn't want to over-compliment Aspen because that wasn't her thing.
Aspen ignored the compliment and just responded flatly, "I'm good. How about you?"
Kylie's lips stretched into an even wider smile when she remembered something about Aspen's question. Feeling giddy and excited, she impatiently searched for her phone in her pockets.
"I have a girlfriend now," Kylie stated, which was soon followed by a low squeal while showing a picture of her and a woman on her phone.
Aspen's eyes twinkled in excitement and amusement as she stared at the picture.
"Isn't she the cutest human being in this world?" Kylie asked, feeling extremely proud while staring at her lovely girlfriend.
However, Aspen's demeanor changed when she remembered something that she didn't want to recall but still ended up clearly remembering the scene.
"Indeed."
The gloomy tone of Aspen reminded Kylie of the same thing that Aspen had recalled. Kylie uttered, "Roughly 10 years ago, you were the one who was acting all giddy and uttering the same set of words. You were even picking a fight with me every time I argued with you and said that Paisley isn't the cutest, loveliest, and most adorable human being in this world."
Aspen caught her breath in her throat as she glanced at Paisley, checking if she heard that which she immediately confirmed by the brunette's barely visible blushing cheeks. The three were enveloped by an awkward silence because of that, but Kylie didn't regret uttering those words. Kylie rolled her eyes from time to time while silently watching the two.
Breaking the silence, Kylie cleared her throat and asked, "Right. What are you doing here, Aspen? Did you come here alone?"
Harrison turned her head towards her friend and agreed with her suggestion by nodding.
"Yeah."
Kylie slowly nodded her head as an idea came to her mind.
"Really? Then you should come and join us. Emma, Camilla, and Lauren are also here. We are here to celebrate Lauren's birthday."
Panic suddenly struck Aspen's system. She loves to see the three. She used to be close to them as well, but being in the same place as Paisley and sharing the same table with her ex-girlfriend – she wasn't sure if it was okay. She wasn't sure if she would be okay.
"B-But, i-is it going to be all right? I mean, I don't want to disturb you guys."
Kylie smirked, knowing the reason behind Aspen's panic.
"Come on, don't worry. Trust me, everyone will love it. Right, Paisley?"
Kylie and Aspen turned their gaze to Paisley, who was taken aback by their sudden attention. Paisley was aware that Kylie was doing this on purpose. She wasn't sure if Kylie was on her side, but she was hoping.
"Ahm. Y-Yeah. I guess."
Kylie didn't seem pleased with Paisley's response and gave her a disapproving look before rolling her eyes.
"Come on, Aspen. It will be fun."
Without waiting for Aspen to object further, Kylie started dragging the silver-haired woman back to their table. Although Aspen knew this wasn't a good idea, she followed Kylie's lead, partly because she secretly wanted to join in.