I know he means it, and it makes the occasion so much sweeter.

We both take a seat in front of the table again. Joe ordered us burgers and fries. My Forever Food. That’s the crazy thing about us. I don’t have to tell him what I like. He knows, because we love the same things. The same music, the same food, the same books. Maybe it makes sense that we keep finding our way toward one another. We’re practically the same person.

“Have you decided whether you’re going to stay here or come back to Salem?” He takes a juicy bite of his burger.

“No.” I shift in my seat uncomfortably. “But the more I think about it, the more I realize maybe it’s best if I stay here. I don’t really have much going on there, and even if I move back to Massachusetts, it would be to go to college, which won’t be in Salem.”

“You have Nora,” Joe points out, stabbing his french fry in an ocean of ketchup and mayo. “And you have me.”

I smile sadly. “No offense, but I’m not moving across the country to hear about your random hookups and your day loading and unloading crates at the docks.”

“Don’t act like you can stay away from all those dock stories. And I’ll keep my hookups to myself,” he retorts, offering me a naughty smile. “I’ll behave.”

“Behaving is not in your nature—you said so yourself.” I shake my head. “Besides, that would only make me feel more pathetic.”

“Pathetic?” He frowns. “Why?”

Because I’m in love with you, but I’m too scared to be with you. Too scared to even tell you. This is the same thing as when I was eighteen all over again. Only now I’ve lost so much; I can’t even begin to imagine what it would feel like to lose you too.

I push my food aside. I shouldn’t be here. This understanding slams into me all at once. I shouldn’t be keeping in touch with Joe. I’m in love with him, and we can’t be together.

I stand up. “This was a mistake.”

“What?” He pushes up to his feet, knocking his chair down behind him. “What are you talking about?”