It is now.
Pause.
Then:
Mason:
They asked for you too.
Rowan didn’t reply immediately.
Because that was the first time since NYC that the distance between them didn’t feel like space.
It felt like it had been reopened.
Intentionally.
Her screen lit again.
Mason:
I didn’t say yes yet.
Then:
Mason:
I wanted to know if you did.
Rowan stared at that longer than she meant to.
Because it wasn’t a question about logistics.
It was a question about whether something still existed between them that was strong enough to be reopened.
She finally typed:
Rowan:
I didn’t say no.
Silence followed.
Not the old kind.
Not the ending kind.
The waiting kind.
Mason leaned back outside the gym, phone still in his hand.
Luca looked at him.
“What is it?” Luca asked.
Mason didn’t answer immediately.
Then:
