“Wherever you end up.”
My breath catches in my throat. Suspecting that he would follow me to whatever college I attend and actually hearing him say it are two vastly different things. I lean back in my seat. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I’m dead serious.”
“But you want to go to UF.”
“I do, and part of me is hoping you’ll want to go there, too, since all your favorite people are going.” A corner of his mouth lifts in a lopsided grin. “But I can get a business degree almost anywhere. I want to be with you, Ella. If that’s in Gainesville or North Carolina or Alaska.”
“Alaska?”
He grimaces. “Please don’t choose Alaska.”
I laugh loudly, drawing the attention of some people sitting at a nearby table. “I didn't apply to any schools in Alaska.”
“I know, and neither did I. But I want you to know it doesn’t matter to me because…” he takes a deep breath. “I love you, Ella Adams. And I don’t want to be apart from each other if we can help it.”
Tears well in my eyes and, of course, that’s when the waiter comes with our food. He sets steamy plates of pastain front of us, takes one look at me, and hurries away without another word.
I snort at the absurdity of it all, but then I circle back to the last thing Connor said: I love you.Those three words have been bouncing around in my mind for a while now. I’ve been too scared to admit my feelings for him—to him or myself. Meanwhile, he’s professing his love and telling me he’d follow me to Alaska. If he can say those things to me with such confidence, then surely I can admit that I feel the same, right?
“The laugh is making me a little nervous,” he says.
“Oh, no.” I shake my head frantically. “No, I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at the waiter. I, uh…” I take a deep breath and slow down. I don’t want this to come out rushed or awkward. “I love you, too. I can’t believe we ended up together, but I’m so glad that we did.”
“Me, too.”
Connor is looking at me with such adoration that all my fears and insecurities melt away. Everything finally clicks into place, and I can’t believe that it took me so long to figure it out. Sure, I could go to a school in another state, but why would I want to? Connor is right: all of my favorite people will be in one place. It doesn't make sense to start over in a strange place—not anymore.
“I want to go to UF,” I blurt.
“You aren’t just saying that because I said I love you and I took you to Antonio’s, are you?”
I lean in close to my pasta and take an exaggerated sniff. “Maybe. This does smell really good.”
He narrows his eyes at me.
I giggle. “No, that’s not why. I think it’s the best choice for a lot of reasons.”
“Ella.” Connor’s face is serious. “As much as I want to celebrate, I want to make sure you’re choosing UF for you and not for me. What if we break up? I don’t want you resenting me for ruining college.”
“What if we don’t break up? I don’t want to miss out on any time with you.” I smile at him. “Besides, UF is a big school. If we break up, I’m sure I can find ways not to bump into you.”
“If we break up, I’ll be going out of my way to bump into you and win you back.”
I swoon a little at the conviction in his voice. Knowing Connor, he’d get the UF band to play my favorite song at one of the football games to win me back. “Okay, so we’re both going to UF in the fall no matter what happens with Citrus Scholar.”
“Looks like it.” Connor smiles at me. “I’m really glad you changed your mind about going far away for college.”
I am too.
22
MOST LIKELY TO UPSET EVERYONE
“Doyou know why they’re calling this assembly?” Hardy asks as we walk across the Yard toward the auditorium.
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
