But the world doesn’t work that way.
Sure, it’s about drive and perseverance, but it’s also aboutluck and connections and setting yourself up for success by being realistic.
Still, he’s not upset with me, and that’s more than I could have asked for tonight. And moving forward, I can be supportive of his dream-chasing regardless of what I think about it.
“You can speak now,” he says with a dimpled grin, sliding his hands into his hoodie pocket.
“Okay. Well, who knows, maybe youwillprove me wrong. You do bake a killer cookie.”
He laughs and shakes his head. “Thank you.”
“I’m still really sorry,” I tell him.
“I know. And I forgive you.”
“Thank you. So, is that why you walked here? To tell me you’re not upset with me?”
“No, actually,” he says. “I’ve come to take you to the next event.”
I draw my eyebrows together. “What do you mean? There’s no other event on the fridge calendar.”
His lips tilt upward into a mischievous smile. “This is an unsanctioned annual event. You won’t find it on your aunt’s Bramble Falls calendar.”
“Oh.”
“So, are you in?” he asks, his eager eyes lighting up and drawing me in.
Taylor Swift’s voice rides the breeze from the direction of the bonfire two blocks away.
And I never saw you coming….
I exhale. Me neither, Taylor. Me neither.
“Okay,” I say. “But I have to go change my clothes.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Unless we’re going to hang out in a dumpster, yes I do.”
His smile widens, turning my insides to mush. Then he grabs my hand in his, and I forget to breathe as my skin tingles against his. Suddenly, I don’t care what I’m wearing.
“You look perfect. Now let’s go.” He pulls me down the sidewalk, back toward town.
And even though I’m following without a fight, he doesn’t let go.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Why are we here?” I ask Cooper as we climb out of his car at Bramble Falls High.
“You’ll see.” He leads me around the side of the school, where colorful lights move about in the distance and laughter floats along the cold breeze. As we step into the dark woods behind the school, I cling to Cooper’s forearm, my grip on him tightening as the trees grow thicker and the woods grow darker. I’m not generally afraid of the dark, but it’s creepy out here.
Then we enter a clearing, where a swarm of seniors wearing glow sticks around their necks and wrists are hanging out.
“Uh, what is this?” I ask.
“Just a friendly game of glow-stick Ghost in the Graveyard,” Cooper says. “The senior class does it every year after the bonfire. It’s tradition.”
I shake my head.Thisis what Jake meant when he asked if I was coming tonight.
