The phone remained vibrating in my hands for a few seconds before I asked Nabila, "Should I answer it?"

"Um...I think you should do what you want-"

"Well I don't know what to do, so help me out!"

"Answer it!"

Taking a deep breath, I answered the call. "Hey."

I shivered as Dylans's deep voice reverberated through my ear. "Hey, Aimee."

"Hey."

I winced when Nabila mouthed: 'You already said that!'

Dylan said, "Uh...how have you been?"

"Good. You?"

"Same." After a moment of silence, he added, "So...are you in college?"

"Yeah. You?"

"No, I'm doing my own thing at the moment."

"Cool."

Silence fell between us once again.

After a moment, I sighed. "I highly doubt you called me just to check up, so cut to the chase: what do you want?"

"Nothing! I mean, it's nothing worth stressing over..."

"But it's still something, so..."

"Well...are you in private?"

I looked at Nabila. "Yes."

"Okay," He sighed. "Might as well get this over with. So um...I've been thinking about what we had between us-"

I rolled my eyes. You have got to be kidding me!

Nabila mouthed. What did he say?

I held a finger to my lips as Dylan continued:

"-and I feel shitty for how things ended between us. I don't think I've ever really apologized for what I did-"

"You mean your cheating?"

I could practically hear him wince as he replied, "Yes."

"Well I don't know why you think I would still be thinking about that, but apology accepted. Anything else?"

"No, I just wanted to apologize. Um...take care."

"Yeah, you too." I hung up.

Nabila leaned forward. "He wanted to apologize for cheating?"

I groaned. "Right, like what the fuck?"

. . .

Shortly after I got back to my room though, my thoughts were singing a different song. On impulse, I pulled out my phone and called Dylan.

After it rang several times with no reply, my chest tightened. Wait, what if he thinks I want him back? Maybe this isn't the best-

All reservations zoomed out of my head once Dylan answered: "Hello?"

Clearing my throat, I said, "Hey. So I've been thinking, and I realize that I was a bit cold with you earlier. I'm sorry. I appreciate your apology, by the way."

"Oh it's fine, don't mention-"

"Mhmm. So anyway, do you happen to be in town at the moment?"

"Town? Which are you referring to?"

"Brerin."

"Oh. Yeah, I work there."

I fist-pumped the air, grinning. "What a coincidence, I school here. Do you by any chance wanna meet up?"

"Meet up?"

"Yeah, just to catch up." There was a moment of silence, so I added, "I don't know, I just thought it'd help us move past the whole breakup mess. But maybe I'm being too forw-"

"No, it's fine! I'm down to meet. When would be fine with you?"

I could barely sit still as I replied, "Does tomorrow work for you?"

"Sure. Where do you wanna meet?"

"I'll send you the location."

"Alright. It'll be nice seeing you again."

"You too. Byeeeee!"

After I hung up, I threw my phone onto my bed and danced around my room, laughing as I soared above the clouds.

When I settled, I smirked at myself in my mirror but saw Angelo's pissed expression instead. "Oh, you don't like that I went to see Dylan? Aww, well I don't give a fuck!"

. . .

I arranged with Dylan to meet at a cafe that wasn't too far away from my dorms. Although it didn't have the nostalgic value that The Eatery back home did, it was cozy enough that I went there from time to time.

Dylan was already seated at one of the tables outside when I arrived. He looked different: his once straight hair was done in a perm, his build was bulkier, and his fair skin had tanned. The most notable features of his that had remained the same were his light brown eyes.

Plastering a smile on my face, I walked over to him. "Hey!"

"Aimee!" He scrambled up, extending his hand to me. "It's uh- nice to see you again."

I shook his hand, sitting down. "Likewise."

After a moment of silence, he stuttered, "Y-you look good."

"Thanks, you too." I forced a chuckle. "Looks like you slept in the gym all summer."

"Thanks."

"No problem." My face warmed. Oh god, this is even more awkward than I thought it would be!

I turned my attention to the cafe's menu, using it as a shield to protect myself from the expectation of more conversation. The sound of conversations from other tables and the hustle-and-bustle from the street rushed in to fill the silence between us.

Too soon, Dylan cleared his throat. "So regarding what I said on the phone...I, uh, meant it."

Without looking at him, I replied, "And I meant it when I said apology accepted."

Oh shit, did that sound too harsh?

He said, "Great. Um...thanks."

I hummed in reply.

Despite my seeming occupation of trying to decide what to order, I was whirling the situation mentally, trying to dissect it and make it more favorable for myself.

A while passed, and the silence held between us. Then, I broke it, finally looking back at Dylan: "Just to be sure, you're not hoping to get back together, right?"

He furrowed his brow and shook his head. "No. I'm seeing someone at the moment."

My brows rose. "Oh! Good for you."

"Thanks, I guess."

Wait, what?

Tilting my head, I asked, "Are you both official."

"Yes. Going strong for the past few months."

"Does she know that you're meeting with me?"

"No."

I groaned. Lord, why do I keep getting involved with these types of men?

He frowned. "Is there a problem?"

I took a breath, then replied, "Oh I don't know: is there a problem with going to meet your ex in secret?"

"It's not in secret-"

"Hmm, why don't you call your girlfriend and ask her what she thinks about it? I'm sure she'll be thrilled."

He thought for a bit, then replied, "Oh, I didn't think about it that way. I'll tell her about this the next time we meet."

"Good, you do that."

Silence fell between us again, its departure ushering in awkwardness.

When I could no longer standing going over the items on the menu, I sighed. "Honestly, I feel weird about catching up now."

He nodded. "I'm sorry: I wasn't planning on doing anything inappropriate with you, so I didn't think about the implications of meeting up with you."

His words pricked my pride. He wasn't thinking about doing anything with me?

I shoved it down. "It's alright."

He stood up, extending his hand to mine. "It was nice seeing you again though."

I smiled, shaking his hand. "Likewise."

"Oh yeah, how's Angelo?"

"He's-" My smile faltered, but I quickly adjusted it. "He's good. By the way, can we take a quick selfie together?"

"Sure."

"Great." My hands were already unlocking my phone and entering my camera app. Holding the phone above us, I got Dylan to smile, then took several pics of us.

I waved him off after, although I was more preoccupied with picking out the most flattering pic I had taken.

When I settled on one, I posted it on my snap story, captioning: 'Look who I ran into :)'.

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