“I don’t know yet.”
“New York City?” Haru asks, raising his brow at me. “I saw it written down in your notebook.”
“You went through my stuff?”
“I needed paper to make your gift.”
I laugh a little. “It’s only a thought,” I say, staring out at the water again. “I’m not sure that’s in the cards anymore. It becomes a lot harder to get in when you take a year off for no reason.”
“But there was a reason,” Haru says.
“I still wish I hadn’t,” I admit to him. I think back to last spring, when everyone started receiving their college acceptance letters. “Daniel and I were supposed to go together, you know? I didn’t like the thought of going without him. I never even opened the acceptance letter. He would probably be disappointed if he knew.”
“I’m sure he’d understand.”
“Can I tell you something else?” I look at Haru. “I neverwanted to go to the University of Indiana. They don’t even have a real film program.”
Haru blinks at me. “Then why apply?”
“Because Daniel was going. I didn’t really care about anything else.”
Haru leans back in thought. A breeze ruffles his hair as he nods at me. “I don’t blame you,” he says.
“You don’t think it was stupid of me?”
“That would just make me a hypocrite.”
“How so?”
“Because I came all the way here for you,” he says, looking at me. “I had no idea if you would remember me. All I knew was I wanted to see you again.”
“Of course I remembered. I wanted to see you, too.”
Haru places his hand on my knee. “I wish I had gone looking sooner.”
“That’s okay,” I say, feeling the warmth of his skin. “It just makes this moment more special.”
We both smile.
As we continue along the river, Haru suddenly leans forward, making me go still. When his hand softly grazes my cheek, I close my eyes for a moment. That’s when I feel the first sprinkle of rain. Haru must have felt it, too, because he leans back again, staring at the sky. I probably should have checked the weather tonight. Because the next thing we know, it’s pouring.
I grab the other paddle, helping us get back faster. We’re completely drenched when we finally reach the dock. Haruclimbs out first and holds out his hand for me. Then we run under a bridge for cover, hands over our heads. Rain pours down in sheets, walling us in from the outside. We’ll have to wait it out for a while. It’s not so bad, though, feeling separated from the rest of the world. I’m secretly happy that we’re stuck here together.
But I get a strange feeling Haru might disappear again. I put my arms around him, holding him close to me. “Don’t leave yet, okay? I don’t want to be alone.”
“Who said I was leaving?”
“Just promise me.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he says. “Otherwise, I couldn’t do this.”
Haru lifts my chin with his hand, taking me by surprise. Then he leans in and says, “In case I disappear…”
The next thing I know, his lips press against mine. I feel a warmth moving between us like electricity. I close my eyes, ignoring the vibrations of passing cars from the bridge overhead. The rain continues to pour around us. But all I can hear is the sound of my heart beating in my chest. For a moment, there’s no one else in the world except us.You and I are the only thing that’s real.
The rain has calmed by thetime we get home. I grab some clothes from the closet and toss them to Haru. I insisted that he stay the night again. As I’m changing out of my shirt, Haru glances at my desk, noticing the paper things he’s left me. He doesn’t say anything about them. He just smiles to himself ashe walks around the room. There’s a little Bluetooth speaker on my dresser. Haru picks it up and asks, “Is this for your music?”
“Yeah, it’s my—”
