I turned, tossing my hair over one shoulder. “Or what, you’ll carry me?”
He leveled me with a look. “If I need to.”
There was a moment’s pause where I considered defying him, but the edgy look in his eye told me not to push it. Besides, it would be better to go ahead and rip the Band-Aid off so I could deal with the fact that the person I loved most in this world would be halfway across the country for the foreseeable future. Even though I didn’t like it, I knew he was right. Whatever he chose, I’d figure out how to deal with it. We’d been just friends before, we could do it again.
“Fine,” I said and flounced away, only to realize, too late, that the only piece of furniture we had left in the apartment was his bed. Unwilling to admit defeat, I stomped to his room and plopped down on the bed. If we were going to have this conversation, I’d rather be annoyed than vulnerable. I would be just as unruffled as he was. We were adults with an adult friendship. I could do this.
Except the second I turned to face him and took a steadying breath, my eyes filled with tears. I groaned at my own childishness. This was silly. Even if he did have to move away it wouldn’t be forever.
“Aw, sweetheart, don’t cry.” He pulled me into a hug and pushed my hair away from my face. “This isn’t a bad thing.”
I sniffled. “I’m not crying. Ignore me.”
He wiped away a tear and then settled in to tell me about the new place he was moving to in August. I listened to his voice rumble through his chest and tried to commit it to memory while still paying attention to the actual words. His words tumbled over themselves as he spoke. It sounded like a dream come true. A great city with the best university. Tourist attractions. Nearby beaches. It was everything he’d been hoping for and more because he’d get to do what he loved, finally, with his father’s support. I was happy for him, really, I was, but all I wanted to do was cry.
“The best part about it is I won’t have to go far away.”
“That’s good, I’m hap—” I looked up at him, blinking owlishly. “Wait, what?”
His smile was blinding and a little smug. “I decided to enroll at UF instead of taking out loans for California. They offered me a scholarship I couldn’t refuse. I know it’s not close, but it beats being a continent away.”
“You’ll be staying in Florida? What? Why?” Maybe I was dreaming.
“You’re not dreaming.” I must have spoken aloud again. He cupped my cheek with a hand and I closed my eyes, leaning into his touch. Needing it to keep from spinning out of control. “I love it here. I want to be near my family. Near you. It’ll allow me to have the best of both worlds.”
“But what about the program in California. You were so looking forward to it, I know you were. If this is because of me, then I forbid you from doing it.”
He smiled. “You should know by now I do what I want the way I want it. Dad says it’s a family trait. I’m sorry, you’re stuck with me. If you’ll have me.”
I didn’t know whether I should screech for joy or convince him what a bad idea it was. “Are you sure about this?”
He lifted me to my feet with two hands at my waist, then tipped my chin up to stare deeply into my eyes. “Completely. Tell me I didn’t screw things up. Tell me we can work this out over the next couple years. I want to be with you, Charlie. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
I kissed him, unable to hold back any longer. “You’ve already got me.”
Epilogue
Charlie
The house was barely biggerthan the duplex we shared for those few short months nearly three years ago. It sat on the corner of a heavily shaded road and was flanked by similar homes—though they were in much better repair. When Liam finished school and moved back to Tallahassee to work and I was on my second year as a full-time nurse at the hospital, we’d fallen in love with it, even though it was the first one we’d toured.
“I don’t know what you see in this,” April said. “There’s so much you have to do!”
She wasn’t kidding. The crumbling brick structure would need to be repaired, but thankfully, most of the exterior damages were purely cosmetic. Overgrown ivy and bushes blocked most of the view and destroyed whatever curb appeal may be underneath. Inside, we’d need oceans of paint and patience to remove and refinish the walls underneath the acres of faded wallpaper. Underneath a film of dust and neglect lay wide-planked wood floors that I hoped would be as good as new after some refinishing.
Liam wrapped an arm around my waist, his shirt already off and his hair drenched with sweat. “That’s what we love about it. It’ll be ours.”
April flitted in and out of rooms, her voice echoing off the empty walls and bare floors. “It’s so cool!”
Mr. and Mrs. Walsh returned from the back where they’d been scrutinizing the overgrown gardens in the backyard. The scent of damp soil trailed in behind them. The ground was still wet from a violent storm from the day before.
“You’re gonna have a hell of a time clearing all that out,” Mr. Walsh said with a gleam in his eye.
Liam and I shared a look.
“Actually, I was hoping you’d give us a hand with that,” Liam said.
The Walsh’s had moved to a smaller house once his sisters had graduated school and moved off to attend college. They kept themselves busy after they retired, but it wasn’t a secret that his dad was driving Mrs. Walsh crazy when he was without busywork.
