[Night after dinner]
The rooftop was quieter now.
The music was off, the grill was cooling, and the city hummed below like it always did, distant traffic and late-night sirens blending into something almost peaceful.
The girls were busy decorating and rearranging their things.
Ray stepped out onto the roof with a beer in one hand and his phone in the other. He closed the door behind him and moved to one of the long lounge chairs, sat down, and stretched his legs out in front of him.
He popped the bottle open and took a slow sip. "Haaa... What a day..."
For the first time all day, no one needed anything from him.
He unlocked his phone and saw the notification.
A text from Emma Stone.
He stared at the name longer than he meant to.
He opened the message: [Hey, Ray. I finally cleared my schedule. If you are free sometime, I would really like to catch up. Maybe we can have that pending coffee. Give me a call when you can.]
Ray closed the phone and took another sip of beer before looking at the sky. He stayed still for a few minutes, remembering the past. Emma's shy smile, their long library conversations, and the prom dance. Those were some happy memories. For a moment, he wondered if Emma still loved him. Maybe this was her way to rekindle the old flame again. Or, it could be just a friendly meet.
'Haha... I got three girlfriends and yet, here I'm... thinking about whether Emma still has feelings for me or not. Humm... Or, is it me who still loves her?' Ray thought.
...
[Emma's new penthouse]
Emma stepped out of the bathroom with damp hair clinging to her shoulders, wrapped in a pink robe that smelled faintly of lavender soap. Her skin was still warm from the bath, loose and relaxed, but her mind refused to follow.
She dried her hair halfway, gave up, and climbed onto the bed instead.
The mattress dipped under her weight as she stretched out on her stomach, legs bent at the knees, phone resting just within reach near the pillow. She did not pick it up right away. She stared at it, willing it to light up, as if concentration alone might summon his name onto the screen.
Nothing happened.
Emma sighed and rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling. "He's busy," she said out loud. "He's a cop. Of course, he's busy. You knew that when you sent the text."
She reached for the phone anyway and unlocked it even though she already knew there was no reply.
She set it back down with a little huff and pressed her hands to her face.
"I am not doing this," she muttered. "I am not pacing around like a teenager waiting for her crush to text back."
The words did not convince her.
Ray had slipped back into her thoughts far too easily, like he had never really left, like the years between them were thin paper instead of lived lives. She had tried to be casual with the message, had reread it three times before sending it to make sure it did not sound desperate or loaded, but now that the silence stretched on, every possible meaning replayed in her head.
Maybe he was surprised. Maybe he was hesitant. Maybe he was reading it over and over the same way she had.
Or maybe it was nothing at all.
Emma turned onto her side and hugged a pillow to her chest, her gaze drifting toward the darkened window. She still remembers those old days. Ray smiling at her stupid jokes, Ray leaning too close when he explained something, Ray holding her hand like it was the most natural thing in the world. The awkward kisses that grew into something deeper before life pulled them in opposite directions.
She swallowed and squeezed the pillow tighter.
"So many years have passed," she told herself gently. "Does he still like me? I mean, I still like him, and he has become taller and rugged and... hot!"
But the thought lingered anyway, stubborn and warm.
What if they could start again, not as who they were back then, but as who they are now? Wiser, more careful, maybe a little bruised, but still familiar in ways that mattered. What if the space between them had not erased the connection, only stretched it thin enough to tremble when touched?
Emma groaned softly and rolled onto her stomach again, burying her face in the pillow for a moment before lifting her head.
"This is ridiculous," she said, though there was no real heat behind it.
She reached for the phone once more, not to message him again, but simply to hold it, thumb brushing the edge of the screen. Her heart gave a small, traitorous flutter at the idea that it might light up any second.
Just then her phone rang.
She froze for half a second. The name on the screen made her chest tighten.
Ray.
She inhaled slowly, counted to three like she was about to walk onstage, and answered.
"Hi," she said, a little too quickly, then winced at herself. 'Shit! That was too loud.'
"Hi," Ray replied. His voice was warm but careful, like he was testing the temperature of the moment. "I got your message."
"Oh. Okay. I mean, obviously," Emma said, then immediately closed her eyes. "Sorry. That sounded stupid."
Ray let out a little chuckle. "No. It did not."
There was a pause, not uncomfortable exactly, but weighted. Both of them were aware of it, the space filled with everything they were not saying.
"So," Ray said. "How have you been?"
Emma smiled despite herself and shifted on the bed, tucking one leg under her. "Good. Busy actually. A little chaotic with all the press events and promotions, but good. I just moved into a new place actually, after that whole blackmail incident."
"Yeah?" he said. "That sounds… nice."
"It is," she replied, then hesitated. "Big. A little too quiet at night, honestly."
Another pause slipped in, softer this time.
"I was thinking," Ray began, then stopped. "About that coffee we never had."
Emma's heart gave a small jump. She did not let him finish.
"Well," she said, trying to sound casual and only partly succeeding, "you could come over instead."
Ray went quiet.
She rushed on before doubt could catch her. "I mean, only if you want to. I just got settled in, and I have a ridiculous view, and I am terrible at being alone with my thoughts. It does not have to be anything complicated. Just… us catching up."
There it was, hanging between them.
Ray exhaled slowly on the other end of the line. "Your place," he repeated, thoughtful rather than hesitant.
"Yes," Emma said softly.
"I would like that," he said after a beat. "When?"
"Tomorrow is fine," she said. "Anytime is good."
Ray let out a low laugh. "Anytime is a dangerous word."
"Oh?" she asked, amused.
"What if I ring your doorbell at five in the morning?" he asked.
Emma did not even pretend to think about it. "That's fine."
Ray blinked on his end, caught off guard. "That was not the reaction I expected."
She laughed, rolling onto her side and propping herself up on one elbow. "I usually get up around five or five thirty anyway for jogging."
There was a brief pause before he spoke. "You jog. Of course you do."
She smiled at the ceiling. "You sound surprised."
"I am recalibrating," he said. "So… hypothetically, if I did show up that early, you would not throw something at me?"
"No," Emma replied. "I would probably hand you a bottle of water and drag you outside."
"A jog together," he said. "That actually sounds nice."
"It does," she agreed, feeling the warmth spread through her chest.
"Alright, send me your address, I'll be there exactly at 5:30."
"You serious?" She asked as she quickly sat up.
"Yeah, why not? People usually meet over lunch or dinner. We'll do something unique... Jogging," Ray said casually.
"See you in the morning," Emma replied.
There was another pause, comfortable this time, not heavy. The kind that felt like standing on familiar ground after a long walk.
"I am glad you texted me," Ray said quietly.
Emma's fingers tightened around the phone. "I am glad you called."
They talked a bit more and said goodnight, neither of them rushing to hang up, and when the call finally ended, Emma stared at the dark screen for a second before setting the phone down on her chest.
She smiled to herself. "Well, he hasn't changed a bit. Let's go to bed early today. I can't be late for our date... I mean, jogging."
---
[Back to Ray]
After Ray put his phone in his pocket, the door opened and the girls walked out on the roof. They were wearing their night pajamas. Rosa was wearing red, Amy was wearing pink and Gina was wearing a polka dot white.
Ray put the beer bottle on the floor and looked toward them.
"You know, you could've just asked instead of sneaking around," He said, shaking his head. "By the way, never use a jasmine or a lily bodywash if you are planning on sneaking on someone."
"Sorry about that," Amy apologized. "It looked like you were doing some catching up, so..."
"Well, c'mon, sit," Ray nodded toward the empty chairs. "I know everyone is curious, so I'll not lie. Emma Stone and I used to date back in my school days, but we never got to confess due to certain circumstances. I also dated Emma Watson, like six years ago, but things got complicated and I had to go to the frontlines. And from what I can guess, I think both of them are still into me."
"Yes. He's right. I've seen how Emma Watson looked at him back at the hospital. She's jealous of me and definitely plotting something, but I never knew about Stone," Rosa said with her usual deadpan expression.
"OMG!" Gina said with an excited grin. "You dated two most popular celebrities that people would kill to date. You really are a pro. Now, spill all the juicy details about them and who else you have dated? Tell us all."
"Yeah, I want to know too," Amy said, looking very curious.
Rosa simply glared at Ray.
Ray sighed, "Fine. But since we are spilling all the beans, it's only fair for you all to share your secrets."
The girls agreed...
Thus, began the night of a very long conversation...
---
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