Page 60 of Love, Morgan

“It’s really not a big deal,” I said, moving along the buffet.

“Uh, excuse me. It’s an absolutely huge deal. You admitted you had a crush on the woman you clearly have a massive crush on. Plus, you haven’t stopped smiling, so I know it went well.”

“I didn’t admit that. I admitted you sent her a mango becauseyouthink it’s true.”

“Pfft. Irrelevant. That’s just you, being you. Ms. Franklin knows you well enough, I’m sure, to know that’s just you veiling what you’re saying.”

Something warm bubbled up inside of me. Before this trip, I’d have only really listed my dad amongst people who knew me well enough they saw through me like that. Almost every other person in my life knew me as The Pretty Gift. They only really saw the things I wanted to show.

But now, here I was, with Morgan and Thalia knowingme.Not all of me, maybe, but enough. And they cared for and liked that person.

Maybe my dad was right. I’d been shutting myself away, burying myself in work for too long now, and for no real reason at all. Just fear and habit.

“So,” Thalia prompted. “What happened?”

I grinned to myself, ducking my chin to keep it hidden, but I was sure she saw through it. “She, ah. Um. She… said she liked me too.”

“I knew it! I really am such a genius.”

I laughed. “You’re very similar in some ways, you know?”

“I’m going to assume that’s a compliment.”

“It is.” I led the way to my usual table. It was odd how familiar this new place felt after less than two weeks. Odd how familiar this new version of myself felt.

“So, now you’re going to date, get married, come back here for your honeymoon, and just live together forever, happily in love?” Thalia asked, sitting across from me and immediately stealing pineapple.

And there it was. The thing I was ignoring so long as everything kept moving around me. The roiling in my stomach felt like the world was coming to a standstill, reality knocking at the door.

Talking about it had felt so nice. Now, I felt lost. It didn’t really make sense. The whole time we’d been talking, I knew the situation. But maybe it was just easier when I got to pretend everything was good. Things were different when reality came around. People wanted to hear a cute love story, they didn’t want the reality of two people with two very separate lives making the difficult decision to enjoy the time they had and then going off to those lives with no contact anymore.

I didn’t even know if there would be no contact. Would Morgan still watch my videos? Would she comment? Would we talk? Would we exchange numbers and be friends? Or would all of that be too hard?

I wished I knew.

“Iona?” Thalia asked, concerned.

“Sorry,” I said, embarrassed. “I just… We’re, uh, not going to, you know, be anything, really, after we both leave here.”

She stared at me, her hand freezing halfway to her mouth, a piece of pineapple lingering. “What? Why?”

I shrugged, no longer feeling hungry. “We live on opposite sides of the country. She has all of her friends, her life, her home, and it’s important to her. I get it, you know? And I’d never ask her to give any of that up. It’s… really important that she doesn’t.”

“Okay…” She watched me, knowing there was more I wasn’t saying but knowing it wasn’t her place to pry. She was a good friend. “And what about you? You don’t think you’d like it over there with her?”

My heart broke a little. Honestly, I thought I’d love it, but nothing was ever that simple.

I sighed. “I live near my dad, we’re really close. I built everything I have there. I couldn’t leave him. And, you know, it’s convenient for work, it’s my home, I don’t really know any other place.”

She pursed her lips, nodding. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Even just moving to the next island over was kind of a lot for me at first. But… the two of you…”

“Yeah,” I said sadly.

“Maybe—”

I shook my head. “It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.”

Thalia watched me doubtfully, obviously debating whether to say what was on her mind or not. “You really think you’re going to be okay leaving behind something that makes you this happy? I mean, I don’t know Ms. Franklin, but I can see how much you like her, how well you fit together. Hell, how often do you find someone willing to start an investigation into amangofor you? That’s pretty special.”

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