There she is. Looking beautiful as ever in jeans and a hoodie.Myhoodie, I realize. It’s my old band sweatshirt, which she must’ve taken with her from Tahoe. I hadn’t even noticed it was missing.
Her hair is in a braid, strands falling into her eyes, and she pushes them behind her ear before casting a smile in my direction. The smile that stops my world.
For a moment, I don’t move. Eyes locked on her. Afraid that if I blink, she might vanish.
Then she says, “Hi,” and the dam of emotion breaks.
I reach her in three long strides and wrap my arms around her. She hugs me back, crushing herself against me, clinging to me.
When she peers up at me, I see the sincerity shining in her eyes. “I meant everything I said. I love you, Wyatt. And I’m so sorry. After the hospital, I just… I think I lost my mind a little.”
“I’m not angry, baby. I told you I was going to wait.”
And I did wait, because I always knew she would come back to me. That what we had this summer wasn’t just a fantasy or a beautiful dream. It was real. I felt it, and so did she.
“I’m afraid,” Blake admits.
“Of what?”
“Of how much I love you. How much I want to be with you.” Her voice shakes. “I’m afraid that there’s someone else who can make you happier than I can.”
“Jesus, freckles. That’s impossible. Nobody else makes me feel the way you make me feel.” I stroke her cheek. “Do you remember the night on the roof? The boathouse? You said you wanted to be someone’s obsession. Their undoing. Well, you’re mine, Blake Josephine Logan. You want obsession? I think about you every goddamn day. When we’re in the same room together, I have to force myself not to look at you too long because I know I’ll never look away.”
Her eyes well up, and I run my thumbs along the bottom of them, catching the tears before they fall.
“I love you.” My voice grows hoarse, and I have to stop to clear my throat. “I need you to tell me you believe me.”
“I believe you—”
I crash my lips over hers before she can finish, kissing her the way I’ve wanted to kiss her since we left Tahoe. She rises on her tiptoes and kisses me back, hungry and desperate, as if she’s missed this as much as I have, and we stand there kissing in the lobby of a radio station in Boston, the rest of the world forgotten.
My breathing is ragged by the time I pull back. “You being here…” I swallow to moisten my arid throat. “Does that mean you’re coming with me on tour?” I hastily add, “It’s okay if the answer is no—”
“Yes,” she interrupts, her eyes shining. “The answer is obviously yes, Wyatt.”
“What about school?”
“I’m graduating early.”
“And the podcast?”
“We’re recording it over video call until I get back.”
My heartbeat refuses to regulate, hammering wildly against my ribs. “You’re really doing this? You’re coming with me?”
“Yes.” Her eyes, those gorgeous blue eyes, gleam with reassurance. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
Epilogue
DEAN’S FRIENDS
ALLIE HAYES
Sorry to create yet another group chat, but I’m getting worried and I think we need a parents’ meeting.
ALLIE HAYES
The boys still aren’t speaking.
