As Jess walks to her car, she glances back over her shoulder one more time, hoping for a glimpse of Ryan watching her go. But there's no sign of him anywhere. Sighing softly, she climbs into her vehicle and pulls out of the parking lot, already feeling the familiar knot of loneliness begin to form in her stomach again. *She tells herself that it was just a casual conversation with a stranger, but something about Ryan feels different. Perhaps it's his sense of humor or the way he seemed so genuine even when she knew he was being sarcastic...

"Maybe I should try online dating after all," she murmurs to herself, absently rubbing at a nonexistent speck on her shirt. "It's about time I found someone who really understands me." With that thought lingering in the back of her mind, she starts up her car and heads home, eager to dive back into the comforting familiarity of social media where she can once again pretend that she has it all together.

"I- I didn't know," Jess sobs, her voice barely audible over the pounding of her heart. "I thought we were just having fun... I never meant to hurt anyone." Tears stream down her face as she looks up at Lucy, pleading with her eyes to understand.

"Please," she whispers, "please stop this."

"Oh," Jess says, her voice quieting a little. She feels a pang of hurt at the rejection, but tries not to let it show on her face. "Well, uh... have a good one, then." With that, she turns and walks briskly back toward her house, shoulders slumped in defeat. As she climbs the steps up to her porch, she can't help but wonder if maybe she shouldn't have tried so hard... or if it really mattered anyway.

The words sting at first, but as Jess stands there on her porch, she begins to realize that Lucy might be right. Maybe she should try harder to make things right with her husband... and maybe, just maybe, they could work things out. It's a long shot, but it's worth a shot nonetheless.

She turns back around and walks slowly down the steps, mustering up a tentative smile as she meets Lucy's gaze once more. "Okay," she says softly. "I'll do that."

"Oh! Great!" Jess exclaims, her heart fluttering at the prospect of spending more time with you. "How about I text you my number? We could set something up for later this week?" She pauses for a moment, biting her bottom lip nervously as she waits for your reply.

Her fingers fly across the keyboard, entering her phone number into the messaging app and hitting send.

"Oh...I see..." Jess types slowly, feeling a little hurt by your comment but not wanting to push you away entirely. "Well...take your time then. I understand." She takes a deep breath and hits send before putting her phone back in her purse.

She watches as you get into your car and drive off, feeling a mixture of disappointment and relief wash over her. Maybe it wasn't meant to be between them after all... but there are still other options out there.