Golden Boys (Golden Boys, #1)(80)

We head into a nearby park and take a long, strolling walk around the dirt path. Matt’s hand is clasped to mine, so tightly I think we might never pull apart. Tiffany and Art run to one of the outdoor gym areas for an impromptu pull-up competition (that Tiffany will absolutely crush Art in, but bless them for trying), so Matt and I savor the alone time.

“What did you mean back there, that we have more than a few days left? Are we running away together? Something cinematic like that?”

“Ha, I wish.” He smirks. “Unfortunately we’ve got one more year of school before we can do any running away. But in the meantime, I’ve been thinking about how we can make this work.”

“You have?” I ask, and a smile tugs at my cheek.

“You haven’t? Geez.”

“Shut up,” I say. “I’ve been in denial about leaving here, so no.”

He nods. “Fair enough. Let’s think about it, though: I visit my family in Indiana twice a year, for a week at a time. Gracemont is a seven-hour drive from where I live in Jersey. We could handle that, right?”

“We could,” I say. “I’d miss kissing you, but you’re right, we could.”

“And college, we do have a lot of overlap on the schools we want to apply to. I mean, I don’t think we should really make this decision based on each other, but if we can do long distance for a year, maybe it’s a conversation.”

“It’s a long shot,” I say. “But it really feels doable, doesn’t it? Like, we can really make this work.”

“I want to try. But if you have hesitations, or if you want to fall back into … how things were for you before I was in the picture, I don’t want to stop you. We both deserve the best senior years of all time. We shouldn’t be adding more stress to it unless we’re completely sure.”

I look into his eyes and melt at how sincere and eager he is. I kiss him again, just to give my mind some more time to think about the perfect response. Something poetic and charming and perfect that we’ll remember forever.

But sometimes these life-changing moments aren’t poetic or perfect. Sometimes they’re memorable just because they literally change your life. I want to remember this: the hope in his expression, the reflection of the lamppost in his eyes, the laughter of Art and Tiffany in the background.

“Let’s make it work, then.”

And we kiss, and we kiss, and we kiss like we’ve got no time left. But really, we have all the time in the world.





CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN

REESE

The Riley Design school sent out one last email to our class, including some early shots of Philip’s dress in production. There’s a rush of jealousy that hits me, even though I know it’s a little immature when I am genuinely happy for the guy.

I can’t believe it’s finally happening! Philip says to me in a text. We’ve had a message chain going back and forth lazily, but that’s not unexpected. We’re not seeing each other every day, so it’s hard to keep in touch. Especially as my parents just took me on one hell of a trip to London. But I want him to know I’m happy for him, so I respond with a quick, It’s looking great so far! Your gran would be proud.

His “typing” dots appear, then disappear, then appear again, and when I think this text might never come through, it finally does.

Thanks, that means a lot. But I wasn’t talking about me, mate. You fly off to Orlando in a couple of hours, right? To profess your love, cinema shit like that?

I laugh, then tell him how nervous I am, and remind him that he shouldn’t be thinking of my personal drama right now, not when one of his most exciting career dreams is coming true.

“We’re in boarding group two,” Mom says. “I can’t believe you’re actually going to do this.”

“I can’t believe he picked Florida over Spain,” Mamma cuts in sarcastically.

“Don’t be like that. It’s sweet—he’s choosing love over a week in the Spanish countryside. You’d have done the same, back when we first started dating.”

Mamma pauses, then deflates a bit. “You’re not wrong,” she says.

“Please stop talking about my love life,” I say. “It’s really starting to freak me out.”

“When you rob your poor old mothers of a Spanish vacation, this is what you get.”

We all laugh at that, but shortly after, it’s time to board. Diana promised me that Heath’s going to be so excited to see me and not to worry at all, and he and I have had some really sweet moments in our calls, FaceTimes, and messages lately. That said, I still worry about what he’ll say once he learns the “friends” Diana is meeting up with at Disney World is actually just me.

My mind spirals as I walk down the plane aisles and find my seat. Will he be happy to see me? Will I be able to tell him that I love him? Can we actually have it all? A perfect friendship and a perfect love?

I don’t know the answers to any of these questions, but one thing’s for sure … I’ll be learning them soon.

HEATH

“Heath,” Diana says as she reluctantly takes the last leftover cabbage roll from the fridge, “the next time we make cabbage rolls, can we make fewer than two hundred? They were great to start, but after eating these for a week, I’ve got to stop.”