‘I don’t want to talk about it.’ I gulp down my beer.
‘So something else. Let me guess. You got scared and pushed her away?’
‘I’m not scared. What the hell would I be scared of?’
‘Getting closer to her. Falling for her even more than you already have.’
I take another drink of my beer, annoyed that he knows me so well.
‘What are you going to do about it?’ Nick asks.
‘I don’t know. I’m going there Friday night. We’re taking her parents to dinner and then Saturday is her graduation.’
‘And she’s not planning to come back with you after that?’
‘She hasn’t decided.’ I sigh. ‘I fucked up. I got angry at her before she left. And this was after barely talking to her for the two days before that. I’m not surprised she left.’
‘And you haven’t talked to her since?’
‘Only about the graduation. I don’t know what to do. Part of me wants her to live with me, but the other part is telling me to stay away from her. Being with her is just going to make it that much harder when she leaves.’
‘What do you want more? To be with her this summer or to protect yourself from feeling like shit when she leaves?’
I pause a moment. ‘To be with her. I miss her. I can’t stop thinking about her. But that’s what worries me. If I miss her this much now, think how bad it’s going to be when she leaves in a few months.’
‘You can’t worry about that. If you do, you’re going to get scared again and push her away. If you decide you want to live with her this summer, you need to stop this back and forth shit. And you both need to decide what this is—if you’re just going to live together as friends or if it’s something else.’
‘We’ve tried being friends, but it keeps turning into something else.’
‘Then you have to be okay with that. And so does she. You’re basically dating for the summer.’
‘Which is stupid. Why would I do that?’
‘Because you’re not ready to lose her.’ He takes a drink of his beer. ‘There’s nothing wrong with dating her as long as you both know what you’re getting into.’
‘What would you do?’
‘I can’t tell you that. Besides, it doesn’t matter. You and I aren’t the same.’
‘You’d move with her. You’d move to Boston.’
‘It’s different for me. I lived in New York all those years, so yeah, leaving Haydon Falls wouldn’t be as big a deal for me as it is for you.’ He turns to me. ‘I’m not saying you should go. I’m saying do what feels right today. Don’t worry about three months from now. You’ve been crazy about this girl since the night you met her. What if she’s it? What if you were meant to meet her that night? Do you want to go the rest of your life wondering what might’ve happened if you’d spent the summer with her?’
I look at him. ‘So how do I get her back?’
‘You go there this weekend and tell her you fucked up and want another chance.’
‘Chance for what? I don’t even know what I’m asking for.’
‘You’ve got two days to figure it out.’ He finishes his beer, then gets up.
‘You’re leaving?’
‘Yeah, I need to get up early tomorrow.’
‘Did you just come here to get me to do something about Mia?’
He cracks a smile. ‘I’m taking over for Dad. He said talking to you is like talking to a brick wall. He needed a break.’
