Andrew breaks the silence. “What’re you doing up at this hour?”
I turn onto my side and find myself face to face with him, his nose inches from mine.How long was he lying there like that?
I regain my focus and respond, “I’m getting anxious about leaving for college. You know how much I hate change and then there’s the fact that I have to meet new people. I hate those orientation-type things, you know, small talk. I want to skip ahead to the part where I know who my people are. Then there’s cross country. I am excited to compete, but I’m so nervous. This is a whole new level of competition. I’ll be racing with elite athletes.” I inspect his face, expecting to find overwhelm in his eyes. “Clearly, my mind is racing.”
He nods his head with understanding. “I get it. It’s hard to adjust to change. I’m nervous too.” Grabbing a hold of my hand, he adds, “But I know you’re going to be more than fine in college. You’ll have a built-in support system right away with the team. Remember you couldn’t stop talking about how great the girls were when you came home from your official visit? You’ve worked your ass off this summer, so you’re going to absolutely crush everyone. Don’t forget thatyou’reone of the elite athletes that will be out there competing,” he encourages.
A weak smile crosses my face, and I can tell he knows I’m not feeling any better. “Em, you’re the most dedicated, hard-working person I know. When you put your mind to something, you make it happen. If you want to make friends, you’ll do it. If you want to make it to nationals for cross country, you’ll do that too. You’re just that incredible. I’m honestly jealous of all the people who will go to college with you and get to experience your journey in person.”
I squeeze his hand. “Thank you, Andrew. I’m going to miss you. I know it isn’t all that different from the last nine years being apart during school, but—” I trail off. I don’t know how to tell him it feels different saying goodbye now. We’ve been through so much, and each day it feels like we’ve only been getting closer and closer.
“I’m going to miss you too,” Andrewmurmurs. “We don’t have to talk about college anymore though. We are still at the lake together right now, so let’s enjoy it.”
He lies back down to stare up at the stars, and I follow suit. After a moment, Andrew asks, “If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?”
I don’t hesitate. “Italy. The food alone is an obvious draw. I mean, imagine getting to eat fresh bread, pasta, pizza, and gelato every day! Oh my gosh, I’m drooling just thinking about it! I read this book a while ago where the main character spent a summer in Italy, and it made me want to go so badly. I want to see all the famous architecture and the rolling hills of Naples.”
He chuckles. “That is the most fitting answer I could’ve imagined for you.”
“What about you?”
“I don’t know if I have an answer,” he pauses and I wait for him to continue, comfortable in the silence. “I’ve always wanted to go to Greece because of the gorgeous turquoise waters and those simple white cottages along the coast. They’re like something out of a painting. I also think it’d be really neat to travel to Thailand though. The water there looks beautiful, and I’ve heard they have a beach where you can ride elephants. Plus, think of all the cool food you could try there. I heard everything is cheap in Thailand, so you could have all kinds of cool experiences on a budget.”
“Well, minus the fact that it costs a thousand dollars for a round-trip plane ticket.”
“Minor details.”
I snicker. “You’ve traveled with your family, haven’t you? Where have you gone?
“Yeah, we’ve gone on a few work trips with my dad. We went to Japan once and Paris. Japan was super cool!”
“Did you not like Paris?”
“Oh, Paris was incredible, but you know, it’s the city of love. I swear everything is designed for couples. There’s the lockbridge and the Eiffel Tower. Even the delicacies, like cheese and bread, have this erotic energy, like they’re meant to be fed to your lover. I think I’d want to go back someday with someone special. I’m sure the whole city would be a different experience if I could share it with someone I love.”
I nod, fighting the urge to imagine traveling to Paris with Andrew someday. Too late. I’m already picturing us eating dinner at the top of the Eiffel Tower, feeding each other cheese and chocolate croissants, and kissing under the streetlights. I sigh a little at the thought and then mentally slap myself.I need to get back to reality.
“If you could have any superpower, what would it be?” I start us off again.
“Super strength, duh.”
I laugh at the simplicity of his answer. “Okay, why?”
“I feel like I couldn’t do much by myself without supernatural strength but think of all the people I could save if I had the strength to just throw the bad guys through a wall or stop a moving train with a single finger. What about you?”
“I think I’d want invisibility. I’m not sure it’d be as useful as super strength, but I’d like to be able to disappear every now and then.”
Excitement fills his voice. “You could be a spy and do all these super cool top-secret missions for the FBI or the CIA!”
A puff of air comes out of my nose as I hold back a laugh. “You’re right. That’d be pretty cool.”
“Tell me a story about you when you were little,” he pries. Our sides are completely pressed against one another now. I can’t move. I can’t breathe. I’m afraid that any movement will wake me up from a dream or make Andrew realize how close he is.
“What kind of story?”
“Anything you want. It could be a favorite memory or something embarrassing that happened to you. I justlike to hear about your life. I’m only with you for twenty-five percent of the year. I want to hear about the rest of it.”
“I’ll tell you a story if you’ll give me one in exchange.”
