Avery sat across from the client, nodding at the right moments, pen poised above her notebook. But her brain wasn't here. Not really.
Every time she tried to focus on numbers and proposals, an image would break through... Kara leaning across the table, laughing at her steak disaster. The way her black hair fell forward when she teased her. The way her voice dropped when she'd said, "Now you have to prove it."
Her chest tightened. She pushed the memory away, scribbling a few notes she'd probably have to rewrite later.
Beside her, Oakley noticed. Always noticed. He leaned in under the guise of looking at her notes and whispered, "Your brain is not here."
Avery stiffened. "It is."
"Uh huh." Archie's voice chimed from the other side. He didn't even bother whispering. "Your brain is still at that lunch table, drooling over Summer. Or should I say, Kara."
Heat rushed up Avery's neck. She ducked her head, pretending to be too focused on her notes. "It was just lunch."
"Sure," Oakley murmured, smirking. "Just lunch that has you smiling like a teenager right now in a meeting with the driest client in Bali."
Avery bit the inside of her cheek, fighting the grin that tugged at her lips. "Shut up."
The meeting dragged, though Avery couldn't tell if it was long or short. Time felt strange. When it finally ended, she collapsed into her chair back at the office, exhaling like she'd just finished a marathon.
Her phone buzzed.
Kara:Thanks again for lunch. Told you next time it's on me 😉
Avery's lips curved before she could stop them. She typed back quickly, her fingers lighter than they'd been in weeks.
Avery:You better keep that promise. I don't let people escape that easily.
Her phone buzzed again almost immediately.
Kara:Who says I'm trying to escape?
The reply made Avery's pulse kick. She pressed the phone to her lap, staring out the office window, hiding the blush creeping up her face.
***
Kara spotted the small minimarket across the street, Carmen's familiar figure leaning against her car with a cigarette between her fingers. The sight tugged Kara's nerves back into place.
Carmen flicked the cigarette away as soon as Kara approached. "So? How was your lunch?"
Kara kept her voice casual. "Good."
But Carmen had known her for years, since high school. She noticed the way Kara's lips tilted just a little higher than usual, the way her eyes had a faraway gleam. "Good," Carmen repeated, tone laced with suspicion.
Kara shrugged, opening the car door. "It was just lunch."
Carmen hummed softly but didn't press. They drove back in silence, the tension a little heavier than before. Kara caught Carmen sneaking glances at her, as if trying to read something she wasn't saying.
Back at her guesthouse, Kara dropped her bag on the bed, sat cross-legged, and lit a cigarette. The smoke curled in the dim light, but it didn't calm her like it usually did. Not tonight.
She thought of Willow, of their last phone call, of promises that had already unraveled. Her chest squeezed, but the memory felt further away than it had in weeks.
Because right now, all she could think of was Avery's laugh, Avery's scars, Avery's way of turning awkward moments into something warm.
Kara stubbed out the cigarette, grabbed her phone, and without hesitation, typed.
Kara:So… do you think it's officially our first date?
She stared at the screen, a grin slowly tugging her lips. For the first time in a long time, the future didn't feel so heavy.
It felt… possible.
***
Her phone buzzed against the nightstand, the glow pulling Avery from the edge of sleep. She reached blindly for it, expecting another work email or maybe a late meme from Archie.
But no.
Phoebe:I miss you.
The words were simple, but they hit like a knife slipping between old wounds. Avery sat up, breath catching in her throat. She stared at the message, her pulse racing, the memory of Phoebe's laugh, her perfume, the way she used to call her "Ave" like it was theirs alone.
Her thumb hovered over the keyboard. She didn't reply. Not right away.
Avery typed three words back: I miss you too.She stared at them, heart hammering, her chest tight with conflict. It felt wrong, but her hand wouldn't stop trembling. She thought of the years, the nights, the way Phoebe's voice used to soothe her storms.
Instead, her mind drifted to Kara. To the way Kara had smiled across the table at lunch, her clumsy salad order, her voice low and teasing when she asked if it was their first date.
That had felt good. Real. Alive.
But now, guilt tangled with the warmth. Was she betraying Phoebe? Even though Phoebe was the one who had left, even though they had burned down to ashes long ago, Avery's heart still flickered in familiar pain.
Avery closed her eyes, deleted the words. She let her phone fall to her lap.
"I can't go back," she whispered, voice breaking.
She locked her phone, pressed it to her chest, and whispered to the empty dark, "Why now?"
But the truth she couldn't deny: the happiest she had felt in months wasn't from Phoebe's ghost. It was from a girl named Kara who ordered ginger salad by accident and called her scar beautiful without hesitation.
Moments later, her phone buzzed again.
Summer:Still awake? I can't stop laughing about the salad.
Avery's lips curved into a smile she hadn't expected. She typed fast, without hesitation this time.
Neither can I. Guess I owe you another chance to order properly 😉
Her chest still ached, but the heaviness lightened.. like maybe she was choosing, even if she didn't fully realize it yet.
***
The night in Jimbaran was warm, cicadas buzzing faintly outside her window. Kara sat cross-legged on her bed, scrolling through TikTok to drown her thoughts when her phone lit up.
Willow:I miss you.
Her chest tightened instantly. Her thumb hovered over the glowing screen.
She hadn't seen that name on her screen in weeks. And just like that, the memories surged the smell of vanilla perfume in her car, Willow's hand gripping her wrist, the bracelets they promised to wear like anchors.
Kara's throat went dry. She wanted to throw her phone across the room, but she couldn't stop reading those three words over and over.
Did Willow mean it? Or was it just guilt, nostalgia, loneliness?
She should ignore it. She should throw the phone across the room and never look back. But her fingers betrayed her.
Miss you too. She hit send before her brain could catch up.
Her chest clenched the second it delivered. Guilt surged like fire through her veins. She wasn't supposed to feel this way anymore. Not after everything. Not after the betrayal.
And yet… it was Willow. The girl who still haunted her playlists, her cigarettes, the perfume on her pillow.
Kara groaned, running a hand through her hair. "God, what am I doing?"
Because Kara had been trying to move on. She remembered the way Avery had looked at her at lunch, the spark in her eyes when they laughed over raw steak and ginger salad. The way Avery had said "Anytime, can't wait for that next time," with no hesitation, no games.
Something inside Kara lit up when she thought of it. Something she hadn't felt in so long.
But now, guilt gnawed at the edges. How could she smile at a new girl's texts when her chest still ached for someone else?
Kara flopped backward onto the bed, one arm covering her face. "Damn it," she muttered.
Her phone buzzed again. Not Willow this time.
Avery: Neither can I. Guess I owe you another chance to order properly 😉
And just like that, Kara smiled. Wide. Helpless.
Kara laughed, really laughed alone in her room. The contrast was brutal, dizzying: Willow dragging her back into old wounds, Avery pulling her forward into something uncertain but strangely light.
She typed back quickly:
Careful. I might just hold you to that. Second date pending.
Her heart still hurt, but her smile lingered. And for tonight, she let herself hold both truths at once: the ache of what she couldn't let go, and the spark of what she might be brave enough to chase.
***
By mid-morning, after clearing two contracts and chasing down a proposal, Avery finally worked up the courage to tell Kara. Her thumbs hovered before she pressed send:
Avery:Hey, just so you know… this Friday is my last day working for this mall.
The reply came quick.
Kara:Wait… your last day?
Another ping, just a breath later.
Kara:I thought… I finally found someone who wouldn't just leave.
Avery froze. The words hit her harder than she expected. She hadn't thought how it might sound—not just a job change, but like she was walking away too.
She typed back quickly.
Avery:Hey, I'm not leaving you. It's just work. I'll still be here, just 30 minutes away. Different mall, same me.
Her chest ached, but she forced her thumbs to keep moving.
Avery:I'm still going to make time for you. Especially for our second date.
She hit send and held her breath, She couldn't believe what she'd just typed to Kara. "I'll still make time for you. Especially for our second date."The words glowed on her screen, both terrifying and exhilarating.
Her heart had been heavy that morning, still knotted from Phoebe's unexpected "I miss you" the night before. But now? Half of that heaviness had lifted, replaced with something startlingly light.
Hope.
Avery tried to hide her grin, but Oakley caught it first."Who's got you smiling like a lovesick teenager?" they teased, leaning against her desk.
Archie joined in, smirking. "Yeah, you've been staring at your phone for the last ten minutes like it's a window to heaven. Spill."
Avery rolled her eyes, cheeks heating. "Mind your own business."But the truth was written all over her face, and her friends knew it.
***
The morning sunlight slanted hard through Kara's thin curtains, stabbing at her temples. Her head pounded... though she hadn't touched alcohol last night, she felt hungover from too many emotions, too many thoughts swirling in her head.
Her phone buzzed. Again. And again.
She squinted at the screen: Alec.
Groaning, Kara answered, voice rough. "What?"
"Good morning to you too," Alec chirped. "First of all, Mom and Dad said if you don't reply to their texts soon, they're flying to Bali themselves."
Kara pressed her palm to her forehead. "Ugh."
"I told them you're just busy being mysterious, hanging out with new friends." Alec's tone sharpened. "By the way, are you gonna tell me who you were texting till midnight? You never smile at your phone like that unless it's serious."
Kara rolled onto her side, staring at the unread text from Avery she hadn't yet answered: I'm still going to make time for you. Especially for our second date
Her lips curled despite the dull ache in her chest. "It's… no one. Just… someone who makes me laugh."
"Uh-huh." Alec's voice dripped suspicion. "Fine. Just don't forget Mom and Dad exist. Text them. And maybe eat actual food today, not cigarettes for breakfast."
Kara snorted and hung up before he could add more.
By midmorning, she forced herself out, heading for the café where Ivan worked. She slipped into her usual seat near the mezzanine railing, ordered her Americano, and pulled out her phone.
A new text lit the screen.
Avery:Being knee-deep in handover reports. Friday's coming too fast.Kara:Which means our second date's coming even faster 😉
Her own cheek warmed as she hit send. For a moment, the guilt eased, replaced by that fizzy feeling Avery seemed to draw out of her.
The cup clinked down in front of her. Ivan leaned on the table, eyebrow arched. "So… who's making you grin like you're in a rom-com? Don't tell me it's the salad girl again." he tousled her hair affectionately
Kara narrowed her eyes. "Salad girl?" moving her head, She is kinda get a vibe that Ivan having a crush on her
Ivan smirked. "You've been ordering the same Americano for weeks, then suddenly you're blushing at your phone. I'm not blind, Kara."
She rolled her eyes, stirring her drink to hide the smile tugging at her lips. "It's not what you think."
"Mm." Ivan tapped the table, grinning. "So, not a crush. Just someone who makes you smile at midnight and blush at 10 a.m. Got it."
Kara shoved at his arm playfully. "Go back to work."
But as Ivan walked away, her grin lingered. Even with Willow's voice echoing faintly in the back of her mind, Avery's name on her screen made everything feel lighter, sharper, alive.
Kara lifted her phone, thumb hovering, then typed.
Kara:By the way, what's your favorite place to eat near your new office? Asking for our future dates.
She hit send before she could overthink it, sipping her coffee as the warmth spread, not just from the drink, but from the thought that maybe, just maybe, Avery was becoming her reason to stay steady in Bali.
***
By noon, right before she signed out of the office for a meeting, Avery's phone buzzed again. The name lit up the screen, freezing her in place.
Phoebe.
Her stomach dropped. For a second, she thought about letting it ring out. But then her thumb betrayed her. She answered.
"Hello?" Her voice shook.
"Avery," Phoebe breathed, raw and desperate. "Why didn't you reply? I... I'm sorry, okay? I just… I miss you. I shouldn't have left like that."
Avery gripped her pen so hard it dug into her skin. Don't cry at work. Don't.
"I don't know what you want me to say," she whispered. The words scraped her throat. Her chest screamed to say it back, to admit how much she missed Phoebe too. But her mind betrayed her, filling instead with Kara, her teasing grin, the way her texts made Avery laugh before bed, the warmth of her hand across the lunch table.
Later, in the pantry, Oakley found her leaning on the counter, staring into her untouched coffee.
"You're doing that thing," Oakley said softly.
"What thing?" Avery muttered, not looking up.
"The thing where you drown in your head." They moved closer, their voice dropping. "Is this about… her?"
Avery sighed, her eyes stinging. "She texted. She called. I didn't reply, Oak. And now I feel guilty. But I'm also..." She stopped, fumbling for words. Then, almost against her will, a nervous smile tugged at her lips. "I'm also kind of happy. And that makes me feel even guiltier."
Oakley's gaze softened. They rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder."If she couldn't love you with everything you carry, your scars, your chipped tooth, all of it, then she didn't deserve you. But maybe…" Oakley's lips curved into a knowing grin. "Maybe someone new does."
Avery laughed weakly, wiping at her eyes. The ache in her chest didn't vanish, but something warmer took its place, faint but steady.
For the first time in a long while, she allowed herself to believe it.