This wasn't her husband.This was a boy learning to become a man, carrying wounds she was only beginning to understand.And for the first time, she hugged him for who he was, not who he would be.
The bell tolled across campus, and they broke apart.Cole looked at her with awe and confusion, and she tried to reply to his silent questions with a reassuring smile.
"I have to-" he gestured vaguely toward the gathering crowd of black robes.
"I know."She tried to smile."Congratulations, Cole."
He hesitated, like there was more he wanted to say.Then his name was called from somewhere in the crowd of graduates, and the moment shattered.
As she watched him walk away, Ashley caught Dale's eye across the lawn.He nodded once, a gesture that somehow managed to convey both understanding and forgiveness.Her heart twisted - she didn't deserve it either.
Ashley watched the graduates disperse into the crowd of waiting families.Before she could think better of it, she made her way to where Dale stood, slightly removed from his parents' attention.
"Dale," she called softly.When he turned, his expression was carefully neutral."Can we talk?"
He nodded, stepping away from the crowd.They found a quiet spot beneath one of the ancient oaks, its shadows dappling the grass between them.
"I wanted to thank you," she began, fingers twisting together."For that night.For listening.For always being..."She gestured vaguely, searching for words."Just there.When I needed someone."
"You don't have to-"
"I do."She met his eyes, determined to do this right."We're going to be working together all summer.And you're Cole's brother.His twin.I don't want things to be weird between us."
Something soft passed across his face."Come up to my place tonight."
Heat flooded her cheeks immediately."Oh, I don't think-"
"No!"His eyes widened as he realized how it sounded.A faint blush colored his own face."God, no, I meant- Some people are coming over.Eddie - you know, Sarah's TA?And a few others who'll be in the lab this summer.Sarah's invited too.Just a small thing, getting to know the research team."
The tension broke as they both laughed, slightly embarrassed but genuine.
"That would be nice," Ashley said, meaning it."A fresh start."
Dale's smile was warm."Exactly.Plus, someone needs to explain to Sarah what she's gotten herself into with quantum mechanics."
Looking at him now, Ashley felt something settle in her chest.She could do this - be friends with Dale Westwood.Not because he was Cole's brother, not because of who he reminded her of, but because of who he was: kind, brilliant, and worth knowing in his own right.
* * *
Ashley heardhis voice before she saw him.She'd barely raised her hand to knock on Dale's door when it drifted through - that low, familiar tone that still made her heart skip.She froze, fingers hovering inches from the wood.Cole.Here.Now.
She hadn't prepared for this.Had spent the whole walk over rehearsing casual conversation topics with Dale, planning how to navigate their new friendship after the other night's confessions and her new resolve.But Cole's presence changed everything.
Should she leave?But Sarah was already on her way up the stairs behind her, and Dale was expecting them.God, what was the protocol here?Should she acknowledge Cole?Ignore him?Pretend their almost-moment outside graduation hadn't happened?
The door swung open before she could decide, revealing Dale's warm smile."You made it!"
And there was Cole, sprawled in an armchair as if he owned it, beer bottle dangling from his fingers.His eyes met hers for a fraction of a second before sliding away, deliberately casual as if they hadn't held each other this morning.As if she couldn't still feel the phantom press of his graduation robe against her cheek.
Dale's apartment was exactly what she'd expected - warm lighting, overstuffed bookshelves, and a comfortable, lived-in feel.But Cole's presence made everything feel charged and uncertain.She'd been so ready for this fresh start, this new page in her relationship with Dale.Now, the very air felt complicated.
Eddie was already there, his lanky frame folded into a corner of the couch, engaged in animated discussion with a petite Asian girl Ashley recognized from the physics department.She thought she'd heard Dale call her Lisa once.The way Eddie's eyes kept drifting to her as she spoke suggested this summer's research team might harbor more than purely academic interests.
Two other grad students occupied the floor near the coffee table - James, who she'd seen around campus wearing the same NASA t-shirt he had on now, and Mike, whose Australian accent carried across the room as he argued about quantum theory.They all had that slightly disheveled look of people who'd just finished finals, relief making them looser, more animated.
It should have been comfortable, this gathering of intelligent, interesting people.It was the kind of evening that promised good conversation and new friendships.Instead, Ashley felt every one of Cole's movements like ripples in still water, hyperaware of his presence even as she tried to focus on Dale pouring drinks in the kitchen.
When Dale fumbled with two drinks and a stack of pizza boxes, she found herself rising automatically."Need help?"
