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The ride home is quiet. Cat slips in her AirPods, and soon, she’s asleep in the back seat.
Tyler lets me play DJ, and I pick a relaxing playlist, a dull throb still lingering in my head.
When he takes my hand in his, my heart picks up speed, and my breath catches in my throat. The love I’ve had for him, the love I still have for him—it was always there. I’d just buried it so far down I didn’t know if it would ever resurface.
But now here it is.
Bubbling over.
And I’m helpless to stop it.
We’re still in the same mess we always were. I’m leaving; he’s staying.
But this time, it feels different.
Do I want to ask him to come with me to California?
Would he even say yes?
Is it fair to ask him? His dad is here, his job is here, hislifeis here. How selfish of me to ask him to give that all up.
But he’s not going to ask me to stay. He knows how happy I am in Sierra Cove.
What other options are there? We’re past being friends, and it doesn’t work. Neither do long-distance relationships.
But when I look at him, I feel it in my heart and soul that he’s the one for me.
Why does it all have to be so complicated?
Tyler turns down the radio, and the silence pulls me from my thoughts.
“I guess we’re a little more than friends now, huh?” he asks in a joking tone, but I can tell he’s serious.
“I guess we are. Where do we go from here?” I throw the question out there despite being afraid of the answer.
“How about we just go? And see where we end up?”
I shake my head, and my shoulders fall as a wave of sadness rushes through me. It can’t work like that. We tried it already.
“No. It didn’t work last summer. And it won’t work this time. We need to commit to this and make it work.”
Tyler glances at me, and I see the surprise on his face. “You mean that?”
“Yes. Move to California with me, Ty. Start a life with me there.”
He says nothing, and my stomach twists into knots. When he blows out a breath, I brace myself for the pain. He’s going to say no.
“I want to, Goody. More than anything. But my dad and my job…”
“I know. I thought about all of that. It’s selfish of me to ask. I’m sorry.”
“No, don’t apologize. It’s not selfish. You asking me means the world to me. And dammit, every part of me screams yes. So let me figure some shit out. Or rather, letusfigure some shit out.”
A surge of excitement rushes through me.
Could we actually do this? Could we move our relationship to the next level, and could Tyler actually uproot his whole life for me?
