Chapter 15

Stepping out of Starbucks, clutching her steaming hot latte, Dusty strode confidently down the sidewalk, heading to the building where she worked, when she caught a glimpse of her reflection in a shop window, and she had to pause to do a double take.

She no longer recognized the professional, confident young woman looking back at her. Gone were the jeans and hooded sweaters of Princeton. Dusty was wearing a black pencil skirt she'd bought in a sale, coupled with a grey sweater beneath which was a bright pink shirt to offer a shock of color to her outfit. On her feet she had black ballet pumps, a practical but attractive choice. Her coat was currently open as she'd warmed up during her commute. It was a long black coat, another sale purchase.

Her blonde hair was held up atop her head in a neat bun. She looked professional and well put together. Watching herself, she realized how she now blended in with all the other immaculate commuters. Dusty no longer looked like an outsider. She resembled a young professional who belonged in the city. It was unnerving to see the change in herself. But she liked it. She looked like the person she was trying to be: someone smart and successful.

She almost laughed aloud at the absurdity of it all. That a year ago she'd been in her Princeton

sweater, wearing sweat pants and poring over books, but now she was in New York, living her dream. But Kyera would be unimpressed. The thought soured her good mood, and she looked away from the window and continued to walk along the street, but her pace had slowed.

Kyera would look at her new, smart appearance and scoff. She'd tell her that she was just another monkey in a suit, dancing to the beat of someone else's drum. Thinking about her made her body feel heavy with guilt. She'd not heard from her for so long, she had cast her out for good. She hoped she was doing well, that she was better, but each time she reached for her phone with the intention of calling her, she thought better of it, or rather, she chickened out. She knew that she needed to move on with her life, particularly her love life.

"I can't believe a beauty like you hasn't been snapped up." Jeff would regularly comment whenever he asked Dusty for an update about her love life. There had been offers. Some people at the office had asked her out for drinks, so had a young woman she'd locked eyes with on her commute, but she always refused. Something was holding her back from meeting them, from going on dates.

She thought it was Kyera but realized it wasn't. It was the other woman in her past, the one she kept trying to run from but couldn't. It was Valentine. Whenever Dusty thought of Valentine she grew angry with herself. She was convinced that they had no future, despite what her letter may have said.

She lived in West, the town Dusty had fought so hard to leave. What kind of future awaited them if they did rekindle their relationship? She was hardly going to give up her dream job in the city to return to her tiny hometown. And long distance rarely ever worked out.

Ashley was currently feeling the sting of a long-distance relationship. She spoke to Ricardo regularly, but she felt it wasn't enough. "I just want to hold him." She'd sigh to Dusty during their nightly call. "I can see him, he's right there on the screen, but we can't kiss or anything. It's like a weird form of torture."

"Isn't he coming over soon?"

"Once he's saved up enough money for air fare. He won't let me pay for him, he's too proud. I keep insisting that I'll fly him over, but he won't have it."

"It's noble that he wants to do it himself," Dusty complimented.

"Noble isn't kissing me, noble isn't holding me close." Ashley pouted in dismay. Then she sighed and shook her head, smiling to herself. "He's a good guy, Dusty, I see that, one of the few. He wants to do things by his own efforts, and I totally respect that."

Dusty smiled, understanding how Ashley felt. Respect was such a key ingredient in any relationship. If you didn't respect the one you were with, how could you ever stay with them long term? "You met anyone cute in the city yet?" Ashley asked mischievously, deflecting the topic of conversation back onto her friend.

"Nope." Dusty would shake her head and pretend to look disappointed.

"Dusty, you're ruining my fantasies about New York!" Ashley would declare, visibly dismayed. "I wanted to imagine you constantly running into someone mystery who want to take you on dates to swanky bars and new restaurants."

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm always working."

"You're lame," Ashley joked.

"I know."