Things are not going according to plan for Shay. They have learned that Cece is not in New York anymore. Archer told them that Cece's dad assigned her to their branch in Prague that just opened a month ago. So Shay's hope of clearing things with Cece and possibly enlisting her help to talk to Sasha is now down the drain. Luckily Archer did not ask why they were looking for Cece, clearly Sasha did not tell him about what happened and Shay is thankful for that. Shay is deep in thought when she was brought back by the sound of Ashley's voice.
"Now that operation Cece is a no go, we need to proceed to operation Sasha," Ashley was explaining to the group. Ashley is sometimes over excited when it comes to planning. She would come up with code words that she could only understand.
"What is operation Sasha?" Troian curiously asked.
"It involves getting Sasha here, by all means necessary," Ashley said matter of factly.
"How are we going to do that. She hasn't contacted any of us," Lucy said.Just as Ashley was about to say something, Shay's phone rang.
"It's Sasha," Shay said looking at the girls.
"What are you waiting for? The new year? Answer that!" Ashley exclaimed.
Shay was shocked, she didn't expect Sasha to call her after two weeks of radio silence. Not that, she's not happy about it, but it's because she doesn't know what to say. Shay's hand was shaking as she answered the call.
"Hey, Sash."
"Hey. Can we meet?"
"Suure. Sure. When? Where?"
"Ahmmm. I was hoping 7 PM tonight? There is this diner at the corner of the street. See you there," Sasha said briefly.
"Okay. See yah."
As soon as Shay ended the call, the girls gave her a questioning look.
"Are you going to meet with Sasha?!" The three girls exclaimed.
"Yeah. Later tonight, at this diner just down the block," Shay answered.
"That's great news! You better not screw this up," Ashley said.
"Just remember be honest with her. Tell her everything," Troian said.
"Maybe you should give her flowers too? You know, as a sorry?" Lucy added.
"Do you think she's ready to get back with me? Give us another shot?" Shay asked.
"Let's hope so. But no matter what her decision is, you have to accept it," Troian said.
"Yes. I know," Shay simply said.
"What are we waiting for? We have to get you ready!" Ashley said her voice full of excitement.
"It's only 1 PM, Ash. It's too early," Lucy said laughing.
"I don't care. Shay needs to look fabulous for her date," Ashley said clearly determined to make her friend look good for tonight.
"Do you think that's necessary? They're just going to talk. Simplicity is still the best," Lucy said.
"Yeah, Ash. Lucy's right. Shay needs to focus on what she needs to tell Sasha, and not on looking fabulous," Troian added.
"Okay. Okay. 2 against 1, you guys win," Ashley said defeated.
Shay is silent the whole time her friends are arguing about what's the appropriate look for her tonight. Her mind is racing. Her thoughts are filled with images of one particular blonde. She wants Sasha to forgive her, give her a chance to make things right between them. She wants everything to get back to how they used to be, and she is willing to do everything and anything to win Sasha back.
"Are you sure you're ready?" Janel asked her friend who looks like a nervous wreck.
"Yeah. I have to do this now. I can't prolong it any longer. If I don't do this now, it's gonna be unfair for the both of us."
"Okay. If you're absolutely sure. Who am I to stop you? Just remember, everything will be okay."
"Thanks Jan. I don't know what I'd do without you. You've been my support since all of these happened and I know you've put your life on hold for me. Thank you."
"Stop saying thank you Sash. You're my friend. Of course I'll be here for you."
"I guess, I better go now. It's almost 7."
"Be safe. If you need me, I'm just a text away."
Sasha smiled and nodded towards her friend. This is it, she thought. She grabbed her purse, walked towards the door and out of their room. She made her way out of the apartment building and is now walking towards the diner. She's not sure of how things will pan out, but she knows that this is the right thing to do. As she was nearing her destination, she can already see sitting by the window a very familiar figure. She can't help but feel her heart skip a beat. She still loves Shay, that is not a question, but she also knows that they can't be together if she can't trust Shay enough with her heart. She noticed a bouquet of flowers resting on top of the table. Oh god! Why did she bring flowers? Sasha thought. She started panicking, so instead of going to the diner she stopped on her tracks and decided to call Janel. Luckily Janel answered on one ring.
"Hey! Everything okay? What happened? Why are you calling?" Janel rambled on.
"I'm still walking. I don't think I can do this Jan. I just saw a glimpse of Shay, she's got flowers."
"Hey now. What difference does it make if she got you flowers? Sash, you said it yourself, you have to do it now, or it will be unfair for the both of you. Do this for yourself," Janel said trying to encourage the blonde.
"You're right. It's now or never. I'm being silly. Thank you."
"Anytime babe. Now, go in there and talk to her."
"I will. See you when I get back."
"I'll be here."
With that, Sasha ended the call and continued walking. She reached the diner and immediately saw Shay smiling at her. She smiled back. It's going to be okay..it's going to be okay. Sasha repeated inside her head.
"Hi. You look beautiful," Shay said as she handed Sasha the flowers.
"Thank you. You too. You look great," Sasha said smiling as she reached for the flowers and sat on the vacant seat.
"How have you been?"
"I'm good. How about you?"
"Better than expected."
Sasha smiled at that answer. She knows Shay is trying to calm herself. She knows the brunette too well and she can tell that the other girl is as nervous as she is.
"Shall we order something?" Sasha asked.
"Of course! Have you been here before? This is actually my first time here. I'm not sure what's good."
"Janel and I have been here a few times," Sasha answered. She then realized that Shay didn't know where she's been staying and she did not intend her to find out about it this way.
"It's okay. I know, you've been staying with her."
"You do?" Sasha asked, confused. The girls couldn't possibly told her, they promised.
"Don't blame the girls. They didn't tell me. I overheard them talking about it once.
"So you knew all these time?"
"Yes. But I don't know where exactly. I just heard them say that you're staying with her. I wanted to find out, cause I wanted to talk to you and see you. But they made me realize that I need to give you the time you needed. And I meant what I said, I'll wait for you."
"Thank you, for doing that. I really needed time to think about everything. What you did really hurt me. And now, I am ready to talk about it."
Just as Shay was about to say something, a server holding a pen and paper approached them.
"Ready to make your orders?" She said glancing at the two girls.
"Yes. I'll have the bacon burger plus fries on the side, and a strawberry milkshake," Sasha said.
"I'll have the same," Shay said. She didn't want to take much time on thinking about what to have, so she just decided to have whatever Sasha's having.
"I'll be back with your orders in 15 minutes."
"Thank you," both girls said in reply.
Once the server left them, an awkward silence fell between the two. After a few minutes of just staring at each other, Sasha decided to speak first.
"I wanted to tell you, I've forgiven you. I know it was not your intention to have sex with her, but it happened. It took me a while to come to terms with it, but I know that dwelling on it will not do us any good."
Shay was not expecting this, but it is a good start. Sasha has forgiven her, and now all she needs to do is convince the blonde that they should be together. She needs to tell her about what happened in the yacht too, and that is the most difficult part of this conversation.
"Thank you for saying that. I know what I did was wrong and nothing can take back what happened, but I want us to start over and I want to do it by being completely honest with you."
Sasha just looked at Shay. Is there still something that she needs to know? What is Shay talking about?
"Something happened when we were at the yacht. Cece wanted to talk to me the whole time, and I kept avoiding her because I didn't want you to think that something was going on between us," Shay started. She has to get this truth out of her system.
Sasha remained silent. She thought that everything she needed to know, she already heard that day, but she was wrong.
"She followed me to the lower part of the yacht, begging me to talk. I had no choice, so I just agreed. But instead of talking, she suddenly kissed me. I don't know why she did that, until now I don't have any clue. Luckily Ashley showed up and nothing more happened. Believe me, I did not kiss her back. I don't feel anything towards her. It's only you I want."
Before Sasha can respond to what Shay just confessed, the server returned with their orders.
"Here you go. Two bacon burgers with fries on the side and two strawberry milkshake. If you need anything else, just give me a wave. Enjoy your evening ladies," the server said smiling at them.
They both nodded in acknowledgement. To her surprise, Sasha is not bursting into anger or tears. She was able to calm her thoughts and gave Shay a very straight answer.
"It happened, whether or not you kissed her back, it's in the past. I'm glad you told me. Thank you for being honest."
Shay again, did not expect this answer from Sasha. She is not sure if she's to be happy about it, or worried that probably Sasha didn't care about their relationship anymore. Before she could respond to that, Sasha spoke again.
"Shay? I really think we should break up. I have thought about this for a long time, and I think this is what we should do. Please don't think I don't love you anymore, I still do. You pretty much hold a huge piece of my heart, but right now, I want us to focus on ourselves. I want us to fix whatever it is that we need to fix. We've become too dependent on each other. I've become too dependent on you. I depended my happiness on this relationship and that's why when I learned about what happened between you and Cece, my happiness just died too. The past few weeks, I have learned to be happy again, to think about myself and what I want. And I want you to do the same. If time will let us be together again, I promise you, I am all yours."
This is what Shay is afraid of, Sasha, wanting to end everything. She did not know how to respond to what Sasha said. She wanted to be with the blonde again. She wanted Sasha to be just hers. What Sasha is asking from her is too much, she's not sure if she can give it to her.
"Please give me another chance Sash. I can fix us. I will be better. I will make things right."
"Shay? I know you want us to be together again, but to be honest, I am scared of getting hurt again. You've hurt me when you broke up with me about Archer. You've hurt me when you had sex with Cece. I don't think I can take anymore. Trust me, we need to do this for the both of us. I want us to be friends Shay. I don't want us to be the type of couple that breaks up and will say hurtful words towards each other. We have the same group of friends and I don't want things to get awkward for everyone. I still want to be your friend, and I hope you feel the same."
Shay is losing Sasha all over again and she doesn't know if she can handle this, but she knows Sasha is right. She had hurt the girl by her rushed actions, and she does not want to cause her any more pain. She decided that maybe being friends with Sasha is not bad at all. They started as friends, even though she's always fancied the blonde, their relationship started with their friendship. If that is all she gets right now, she'll take it. As long as she will not lose Sasha in her life.
"Are you sure this is what you want?" Shay asked.
"Yes. I want us to be friends."
"If that is what you really want. But I want you to know, that I will forever love you."
"Thank you."
The two continued talking as they ate. They did not think it will be this easy to be comfortable with each other. Sasha told Shay about her plans on going to BHU, though the brunette was shocked, she wished the blonde luck in pursuing her dreams. She on the other hand, is not sure if she'll still pursue Hollis, now that Sasha is not going. She needs to weigh her options and think of what's best for her too, just like what Sasha said. The time they spent went by smoothly, when all the awkwardness was thrown out the window they just enjoyed each other's company. When it's time to go, they walked quietly back to the apartment building.
The elevator ride was silent, both girls are thinking of what's going to happen next after tonight. They then reached the 8th floor and before Shay got out, she gave Sasha a warm hug and a kiss on the cheek, Sasha returned the hug and smiled, before she waved goodbye.
*********************************
Hi everyone! I am sorry it took me months to update. I have been occupied with a lot of things and I had to rest due to my health. I just got out of the hospital last week, and I am just glad to be writing again. I am also very sorry for this break up, but don't worry more exciting things will come.
Thank you for all those who are still reading Meant to Be, and for the new readers, I hope you enjoy. If you like my story, please vote, comment or anything. Thanks again! Stay safe and healthy.
-Fephzie <3