Love In First Class

Episode 4

As I stepped back into our apartment, the weight of the night's events pressing down on me, I was met with the sight of Lola pacing back and forth, her expression a mix of relief and concern as she glanced at me.

"Ashley, where have you been?" she demands, her voice laced with worry. I've been calling you all morning! I was starting to think something had happened to you.

I winched at the sound of her voice, knowing that I had caused her undue stress with my impulsive actions. "I'm sorry, Lola," I said, my voice heavy with regret as I approached her. I should have called. I got caught up in something last night and lost track of time.

Lola's eyes widen in surprise as I recount the events of the night before, her gasp of delight echoing through the apartment like a chorus of angels. "Oh my god, Ashley, I didn't think you had it in you!" she exclaims, her excitement palpable as she listens to my tale. "You spent the night with a man you met last night, and he turns out to be rich?"

I nodded reluctantly, a sense of unease settling in the pit of my stomach as I remembered the surroundings of his penthouse apartment. "Yes," I replied, my voice barely above a whisper as I avoided Lola's gaze. But it's not what you think. I don't want anything to do with him. It was just a one-time thing.

But even as the words leave my lips, I can't shake the feeling of unease that lingers in the back of my mind. Despite my best efforts to convince myself otherwise, there is a part of me that can't help but wonder what might have been if things had turned out differently.

As Lola squeals in delight and begins to bombard me with questions about my night with Julien, I can't help but feel a sense of resignation settling over me like a heavy fog. I may have spent the night with him, but that doesn't mean I have to let him into my heart.

"I'm going to refrain from drinking for the next forty years," I said wryly.

Lola snorts. Sure, like that will work out. I'm sure you're made of sixty percent beer and forty percent water.

I wince. Lola has a point. I'm hardly a big drinker, but I have a tendency to drink in small portions. I'll have wine with dinner but never finish a glass of it.

"I mean it. I hope I'm so busy with the new gig for Alistair Air that I barely have time to drink. I said.

Both of us sigh together. I feel some of my bad mood lifting off me. I start at Alistair Air in two days with an official meeting with the CEO.

I'm so proud of you, Ashley. You've got this, Lola says, nudging my side.

I smiled at Lola, feeling a twinge of excitement. Just two more days and it's the beginning of the rest of my life.