03

Mason woke up the next morning acting as if last night's fight was already behind us.

He was in the kitchen frying eggs. As he cooked, he asked if I wanted to have dinner at the restaurant where we'd had our first date.

"Let's go out for dinner," he said. "We need to work this out eventually."

I sat at the dining table filling out paperwork for London. I didn't look up.

"Deal with what?"

"The blizzard, Tessa, and whatever's going on with you right now."

"What's going on with me?"

Mason turned off the burner and leaned against the counter.

"Tessa thinks you've been under too much pressure lately. She says you keep turning everything into an argument."

My hands froze over the keyboard.

"That's what Tessa said?"

"I just asked her a few things." He spoke as if there was nothing strange about it. "She's known you forever. I thought she might know why you've been so wound up lately."

We'd been together for six years, and now Mason needed Tessa to explain me to him.

That night, he tried to pull me into his arms after his shower. My body stiffened, but I didn't push him away at first.

Maybe it was six years of habit.

Or maybe I still wanted to see how much further he'd cross the line.

Mason kissed my forehead and murmured, "Stop thinking about work and London. Tessa says you're too used to being in control. Maybe you'd feel better if you learned to relax."

I put my hand up to stop him.

"You talked about our sex life with her?"

Mason froze.

"It's not what you think."

"Then what is it?"

"I just asked her why you keep turning me down lately." He frowned. "She's your friend. I thought she could help me understand you."

"What else did you tell her?"

"Just normal, everyday stuff."

"Like what?"

His patience ran out fast.

"Ellie, I just talked to a friend. People ask their friends for advice all the time. Don't treat everything like some kind of betrayal."

I looked at him.

"You can ask your friends for advice. But you don't get to share my private life with someone who's already trying to come between us."

Mason's face darkened.

"She hasn't moved in yet."

That sentence made me stop for a few seconds.

"What does that mean?"

He seemed to realize he'd said too much and looked away.

"Nothing."

"Mason, you shared my private business with her, and now you're planning to let her stay here?"

"She flew back to Chicago last night too. Her rental fell through, and I told her your guest room might be available." His tone became calm and practical, the same way he spoke when solving a problem at work. "You're leaving soon anyway. The guest room's empty."

"This is my home."

"I've stayed here plenty of times."

"So you think that gives you the right to make that decision?"

Mason was quiet for a moment. Then he said, "Tessa's not some stranger."

The bedroom went silent.

I nodded slowly.

"Got it."

I told him to sleep in the living room.

Mason stood by the bed for a long time, staring at me as if he couldn't believe what he'd heard.

"I flew here from Colorado to fix things."

"You flew here because you want me to drop it."

"That's not what I meant."

"But that's all you've tried to do from the start. You just want this problem to disappear."

He stared at me for a long moment. Then he grabbed his pillow and slammed the door behind him.

The next morning at six, the doorbell woke me.

The building's front desk called to say that a Ms. Tessa Morgan had used a one-time visitor code to enter the elevator, but there was no confirmation from me in the system.

I used the wall for support as I made my way into the living room. The door was already being pushed open.

Tessa stood outside with a silver suitcase, looking as comfortable as if she were arriving somewhere she'd been expected.

"Morning." She took off her hat and smiled at me. "I took the last flight back last night, and my Airbnb got canceled. Don't worry, it's just two nights. Mason said you have a guest room."

I looked at Mason.

He sat up from the couch.

"Most of the hotels nearby are booked," he said. "Let her stay for now. We can talk about the rest later."

"You gave her the access code?"

"Yeah. One-time use."

"Did you ask me about this?"

"I sent you a message last night. You didn't reply."

"What time?"

Mason didn't answer right away.

I pulled out my phone and opened the building's visitor system.

The access code had been created at 11:47 p.m., after I'd already told him to sleep in the living room.

I revoked her access right there in front of both of them. I left a note in the system: from now on, all visitors require my personal confirmation to enter the building.

The elevator access was deactivated immediately.

Tessa's smile stiffened.

"Ellie, it's fine if it's not convenient." She gripped her suitcase handle. "But did you really have to embarrass me in front of the front desk?"

"I didn't invite you."

"Mason said it was fine."

"This is my apartment, not his."

Tessa bit her lip.

"I'm just staying two nights. Hotels around here cost $300 a night."

"Take it up with Mason."

"Do you really have to be like this?"

"You showed up at my home with an access code he gave you." I looked at her. "Don't turn this around and call me petty."

Mason stood up.

"She has nowhere to go right now. Let her in first. We'll sort out the access code later."

"I already did."

Just then, Mason's coffee delivery arrived. He'd ordered it the night before.

He handed Tessa an oat milk cinnamon latte. Her name was written on the cup, along with her order: one less pump of syrup, double cinnamon.

Then he pushed the other cup toward me.

A hazelnut latte.

I stared at the lid without touching it.

Mason asked, "What now?"

"The smell of hazelnut flavoring gives me migraines."

He blinked.

But Tessa answered without thinking. "Right. When she gets a migraine, she can't stand the light. Then she starts saying she can't do anything right."

The room went silent.

I'd only ever said that to Mason. It was three years ago, during the worst migraine I'd ever had. I'd never told Tessa any of it.

She realized she'd slipped and immediately looked away.

I turned to Mason.

"Was that just casual conversation too?"

"She was worried about you."

"I don't need you deciding which parts of my life you get to share."

I turned to Tessa.

"We're done here."

She froze.

"What?"

"Stop using our friendship as an excuse to push your way into my life."

Tessa's eyes reddened instantly.

"Just because I asked to stay over?"

"It's not just about today.

"When I was stranded in the snow, you were in his car posting Instagram Stories.

"He shared my private life with you, and you let him.

"Now you've shown up at my home with the access code he gave you.

"Every time, you knew it made me uncomfortable, and you went ahead anyway."

Tessa's tears spilled over.

"Fine, I'll go. You hate everything I do anyway."

Mason immediately stepped in front of her.

"If she goes, I go."

He said it, then looked at me.

He was waiting for me to do what I always did: give in, smooth things over, and make sure no one walked away upset.

I opened the visitor system and deleted his permanent access too.

"Okay."

Mason's expression went blank for a split second.

"What did you say?"

"Both of you. Out."

After the door closed, my inbox pinged. My flight had been confirmed: Chicago to London, noon the next day.

I shut the door and permanently deleted both of their access privileges.