Counting Down with You(98)

“I wanted to talk to you about something.” He’s biting his bottom lip and he looks almost...nervous?

“Okay,” I say, turning toward him fully. “What’s up?”

“Remember how I said I was going to apply to NYU but if I didn’t get in, I’d pursue astronomy elsewhere?”

“Yeah,” I say, my brows drawing together. “Did you change your plan?”

“No.” He looses an uneven breath. “I’ve just been looking around a lot, and if I get a high enough score on my SAT, Columbia...”

My eyes widen. I don’t know where he’s going with this, but my heart is already racing. “Columbia...?”

He looks down. “Columbia has a really good astronomy program.”

“And you’re thinking of...applying?”

“Yeah.” His fingers tap against the table, the metal of his rings clinking and echoing through the shop. “If I get an A in all my classes this year, my GPA should be high enough, especially with my music extracurriculars. English is my weak point, but I think it’ll be okay.” He glances up briefly, offering me a mild smile, and my heart stutters. “It’s one option of many. NYU is still my top choice, but it’s only half an hour away from Columbia and...” He cuts himself off. “I don’t know.”

I can hardly breathe. “Only half an hour?”

He nods and finally meets my gaze. “Fifteen minutes if we meet in the middle. I know there’s no guarantee you’ll still want to be together by then. But I thought, maybe...yeah.”

He’s thinking about our future together. He wants a future together, after all these studying sessions, after junior year, after prom, after college applications, and even after that.

He wants this. He wants us.

Something settles in my heart. If I do somehow miraculously win in the end, it won’t be alone. We’re partners in this.

I peer through wet lashes to see Ace gazing at me hopefully. “What do you think?”

“I think that’s wonderful,” I murmur. The smile spreading across my face is too wide but I’m helpless to stop it. “I think it’s really, really wonderful.”

Ace’s responding smile is like gazing directly into the sun. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” I say, unable to contain a soft laugh. “You know, I was thinking of applying to NYU, too. Either way, fifteen minutes doesn’t seem like that bad of a trek.”

“Not that bad at all.” Ace’s eyes are bright as he holds out a pinky. “Fifteen minutes in either direction?”

“Fifteen minutes in either direction,” I promise, linking our pinkies together.

Ace kisses my palm softly. “We have so much future in front of us.”

“I know,” I say, squeezing his fingers. “It’s a little terrifying.”

“It used to be,” he says, his lips skimming along the underside of my hand. “But it’s starting to look a lot brighter.”



45


T-MINUS 3 DAYS

English class is different now. Fewer people stare at Ace and me, which is always a good thing. Even better is that Nandini and Cora sit in front of us and don’t gape or watch us discreetly from the corners of their eyes the entire time. Instead, everything is as ordinary as any other day, except for the fact that Ace is sitting next to me. We’re creating the new normal. I love it.

Nandini gives Ace a dark look when she sees me nudge him to pay attention, but otherwise, everything is fine.

“I like your friends,” Ace says in a whisper, lips brushing my hair. “They look out for you, even if that means glaring at me.”

“Yeah,” I say, glancing at them. I don’t see much other than the back of their heads—Cora’s platinum blond hair is plaited into a french braid, and Nandini’s short black curls are held back with a speckled headband. “They do.”

“Stop whispering,” Nandini hisses, startling us.

“Or at least whisper louder,” Cora grumbles.

“I take it back,” Ace says. “I don’t like them.”

I snort and shove his shoulder halfheartedly. “Don’t start.”

Class passes in a breeze, and Nandini and Cora leave for lunch first, but not without promising to save us seats. I’m still packing my stuff away when Miss Cannon approaches. “Karina, Alistair.”

“Miss Cannon.” I wave with my free hand. “What’s up?”

“I wanted to check in and see how the tutoring is going,” she says, sitting on the edge of a desk. “Good, I hope?”

Ace offers me a mischievous grin. “You could say that.”

“Shut up,” I say, swatting him. Honestly, he has no shame.

Miss Cannon raises her eyebrows, looking between us. “I see you two have grown a lot closer. That explains all the whispering I hear back here.”

My cheeks grow impossibly warm, anxiety rushing through me like a waterfall. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to disrespect—”

“It’s because she’s explaining things to me that I don’t understand,” Ace cuts me off, resting his hand on top of mine. The motion is grounding. “It’s my fault.”

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one. I take an uneven breath before nodding. “Yeah.”