Chapter 2

If her fingers don't tremble so much, she would certainly be better able to help her friend with the preparations for the celebration of her 21st birthday. But her heart beats faster every second and her knees tremble unceasingly.

In less than an hour she will see him again. He will come to the party of his sister holding his fiancé by his hand and they will greet each other insecurely, only because she is too late.

She had so much time to tell him that she has feelings for him but she chose a time when he has already found the right woman for himself. Aria feels terribly. She had seen in his eyes how much her words have shaken him up.

She had so much time to tell him but she had to tell him yesterday. And now she has not only to live with the knowledge that she is too late, but also that she was unfair to him. He has gotten over her and she sits in front of him and tells him that she is still in love with him. How could she do that without thinking about the consequences?

"I'm really glad that you could make it", she suddenly hears Spencer saying next to her. Spencer, her friend for years and his sister. Oh God, what will she say when she knows what happened between Aria and her brother? She loves him, absolutely. There is no doubt.

Aria looks nervously. "I'm also happy to be here. I'm sorry I've called so rarely lately", Aria replies with an apologetic smile.

"It's ok", Spencer assures her friend. "We've both been busy. I understand that. Now you're here and that means a lot to me", she says, smiling and hugging her friend warmly.

Her nervousness hasn't decreased a bit when she sees him enter the garden only a short time later. He looks so incredible handsome. He is wearing a simple, dark jeans and a light shirt. But she, next to him, is just as breathtakingly beautiful.

It must be her. His fiancé. Immediately Aria can feel the burden of her guilty conscience. She would have kissed him, as if the past few year don't exist. The years when they haven't spoken a word.

The years in which he got over her because she didn't pay any attention to him. Seemingly.

The years in which he seems to have found true love now personified walking so graciously beside him that Aria feels as if she is only the stupid little girl from the neighborhood who has a crush on his best friend's brother while he would never notice her.

When Jason's fiancé greets Spencer and hands her the gift, she is so distracted for a moment that she doesn't notice the little smile that Jason gives Aria when he sees her standing under the big apple tree.

Immediately as he entered the garden, he knew where she was standing and he could feel her eyes on him and Lauren. As if he is magically attracted to her. But he had forced himself not to look at her. He knew that his gaze would betray too much feelings for that woman.

All night he lied awake beside his fiancé and thought of another woman. He thought of Aria's words, her confession and her attempt to kiss him.

He'd spent countless hours asking himself, whether he regrets not having kissed her. He knows it would have been wrong, because of Lauren. But if Lauren wasn't there, would he have wanted to kiss her?

And as much as he wants to deny, he knows the answer.

Yes.

He would have kissed her.

Without hesitation.

Minutes. Forever. Until they were both breathless.

While he eats, he tries to sit as far as possible from her but his gaze still seeks her. He can't get out of her way. There is no other way than to talk about it.

"Can I talk to you?" Jason asks her when he suddenly stands next to her after everyone stood up after dinner and started to make small talk. Lauren is distracted by his mother and is out of their sight.

Aria hesitates. Perhaps she shouldn't talk to him. Perhaps it would confuse him even more. But she can't take back her words. "Ok", she finally says softly and monosyllable. Jason and Aria sit together on a lonely standing wooden bench under an apple tree.

"Lauren seems very nice", Aria says. "Yes, she is. She's really special", Jason says smiling. "I'm happy when you're happy", Aria says quickly.

"What happened to him?" Jason asks, not responding to these words. He doesn't need to mention his name. Aria knows because of the way his face looked while he asked this question, that he means Ezra.

"He's in New York, waiting for me to come home. He couldn't come", she says softly, while she looks to the ground. Of course, she is ashamed that she wanted to cheat on Ezra. But when she wanted to kiss Jason, she hadn't thought of Ezra for a second.

Jason looks at her wide-eyed. "You're still together?" He asks in amazement. "Aria, you were trying to kiss me", he notes confused. "I know", she says softly. "Apparently, I'm not as happy with him as everyone else thinks I am", she says sighing.

For a while Jason stares at her without saying a word. "Aria, what you've said yesterday", Jason doesn't manage to complete the sentence because he is interrupted by Aria. "I shouldn't have said that, Jason. I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have come back and tell you all this. You have lived your life and what you've confessed to me is long ago."

"Yes, maybe you shouldn't have told me so easily. But you did." Jason hesitates. Does he really want to ask the next question? Shouldn't he tell her that all this doesn't change anything? That he will love and marry Lauren? Just asking the question will make her realize that the answer does matter to him.

"Is it really what you feel? Did you mean all that seriously?" He asks finally because he knows that he can only make a decision with this answer. "Jason, you're engaged. It doesn't matter if I meant it that way. I missed my chance." With these words, Aria gets up and leaves. Therefore, she can't hear the words that Jason quietly murmurs to himself.

"Unfortunately, I do care."

I am back! :D And so sorry it took me so long...

So Aria is kind of a cheater but I just did not want Jason be the second choice. So she is with Ezra but still starts to think Jason is the one for her. What do you think about this chapter and what do you think should happen next?