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“Hey, Dad,” I answered. “Yeah? What is it? From Yale?”
Matt locked eyes with me as he mouthed ‘What is it?’ with a shrug. When I didn’t answer Matt, Leandro began whispering. I could hear them as my dad kept explaining. It was my letter from Yale, whether I’d been accepted or not. It was my future, the one thing I’d wanted since freshman year of high school.
As I spaced out at my dad’s excitement—which wasn’t because he’d read the letter, only that he was thrilled it came—I barely noticed Leandro touching my arm. I slid the phone down off my ear and listened to him speak.
“If you need to go, it’s okay,” he whispered.
My initial reaction was to say no. I didn’t want to go anywhere. I wanted to stay right there with him and Matt and have our breakfast together. I wanted to keep doing that day after day. It was strange to want something other than what I was always used to wanting. I didn’t know what to make of my new feelings. Matt and Leandro had never been just an opportunity to make a buck. They had become friends, almost like a second family.
“Um, Dad?”
I looked down at the food for a beat.
“Just go ahead and open the letter.”
My dad asked me at least four times if that was what I truly wanted. He kept saying it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and that I should be the one to read the letter. It was weird, though, how it didn’t feel as epic as I once imagined. Yes, it meant the world to me to even have applied to Yale, and I was still wanting to attend in the fall if I could, but in that moment, I was perfectly happy where I was.
“Yes, Dad, please. Just read it.”
We all waited patiently at the table as I listened to my dad mumble along the first few words of the letter.
“Dear Miss Applewood, on behalf of Yale University, I am pleased to congratulate you on your acceptance to our establishment. We invite you to attend this coming fall semester to begin your academic career.” My dad paused for a second with a sniffle. “Oh, Beetle! I’m so proud of you!”
I could only mutter sounds as my eyes filled with tears. My fingers tingled, and I nearly dropped the phone on the table. Matt jolted to catch the thing, but I held on tighter.
“Thanks so much, Dad,” I said, then we hung up after a brief goodbye. “I can’t believe it.”
“I can,” Matt said as he came over and hugged me. “You deserve it.”
Leandro hugged me too. “I can’t wait until you get that degree.”
We all laughed together.
After sitting back down, Leandro and Matt looked at each other for a pause. Then Matt asked me, “When do you leave?”
I took a long and deep breath. “Sometime in early August, I suppose. I’ll have to look over the website for more info. I bet there’s a log in for me in the letter.”
“August,” Leandro said as he nodded along. “That’s not too long from now.”
“No, I guess not.”
I had mixed feelings then. I was excited to start the next chapter of my life at Yale, but that also meant I’d be leaving Matt and Leandro behind.
“We’ll still have our beach vacation in two weeks,” Matt said.
Leandro and I both spoke at the same time. “Yeah.”
The rest of breakfast was a little melancholic. They kept telling me how great I’d do, and how awesome college life would be, but we were all a little sad. My acceptance meant our time together would come to an end. We finished eating, then I got my things together to go over to the Inn and see the letter for myself.
“You sure you don’t want to come with me to the spa today?” Matt asked as I headed to the door.
“It sounds lovely, really it does,” I said with a smile.
“We can celebrate with some bubbly.”
Leandro came and held the door for me. “Or we can order steak and lobster down at the pier. They have a beautiful beer garden with fairy lights and a view to die for.”
I gave both of them a smile. “You guys are so sweet, but I’m going to spend the day with my dad. Besides, I still have to give him some money for the repairs to the roof. And I’ll need to help him set up the workers before he tries to climb up there himself.”
Leandro leaned over and kissed my forehead. “If you insist.”
“I do.” I gave him a hug, then I hugged Matt as he leaned in. We kissed on the lips for a pause, then I headed out the door.
Driving over to the inn almost felt like I was already saying goodbye to Matt and Leandro. Being a sugar baby was supposed to be a simple way to make money over the summer—and a way that I initially wasn’t sure I’d want to try. But there I was feeling the tears come on all over again as I drove away from the mansion. I hoped Matt and Leandro would want to still be friends after everything, but if I was being really honest, I wanted to keep seeing them even after the summer. I couldn’t help it anymore, I had to accept that I had fallen for them both.
