“Oh, I’m sorry,” Ashley said, “I didn’t realize how hungry I was.”

“Ash…”

“What?”

“Please talk to me. You left me solo up there tonight and I want to know why.”

“I just…how can I explain this?” Ashley said, pressing herself back against the booth, “I don’t know. I can’t, I guess. I fucked up.”

“You fucked up?”

“This is me fucking up right now…being here with you.”

“How? Why?”

“This is why I didn’t want friends in the house, Spencer. I don’t want to mix business and…friendship.”

“So why can’t we be friends with profitable benefits?” I ask with a smile.

“Profitable benefits, huh?”

She smiled—finally—and it melted my heart just a little bit.

“Yeah. Why not? I mean, if you’re scared of me then say you’re scared of me.”

“Why would I be scare of you?” she asked, still smiling.

“Because you’re scared that you might like me.”

A weird moment passed between us before I realized my mistake.

“I meant…as a friend. As a person,” I stumbled.

“I know what you mean. Maybe you’re right.”

“What?”

“I said maybe you’re right. I don’t really let myself get close to anyone anymore.”

“You can trust me, Ashley. Seriously.”

“How long have we known each other?”

“I know. I know, but there’s something…I feel like I know you already. Maybe I just feel like I want to know you but either way one thing I know for sure is that you can trust me.”

“Like I said, we’ll see, Spencer.”

“That’s what you say, but for some reason I feel like your ‘we’ll see’ is someone else’s ‘drop it.’”

She laughs, but she looks tired of all of a sudden, “Can I tell you something?”

“Definitely.”

“I have a daughter.”

All I could do was nod. Her admission had obliterated my comprehensive vocabulary.

“And right now she’s living with her father in San Diego.”

“Do you see her?”

“No, um…my ex, her father won’t let me see her.”