The dimple in his cheek winks at me, which I find makes it somehow harder to focus on making good decisions. “I bet you’ve never broken the rules here in your life,” he says.

He’s right. The pressure of these four walls somehow makes me feel like a hardworking kid again, terrified to break a rule, lest Dimitri see me.

“Okay, let’s get out of here,” I agree, pushing open the building’s front door, not bothering to even grab my coat.

I bounce down the steps to the parking lot. The gym is on a mostly isolated stretch of road, neighbored by a nondescript office building on one side and thickets of pine trees on all others. Even if we wanted to walk into the town center, it would take longer than the journey would be worth. Ryan catches up to me, jangling his car keys.

“I didn’t think you’d actually say yes,” he says.

“I can break a rule or two,” I insist.

“Reliving your LA wild-child days?” he teases.

Ryan unlocks his car, and I get inside.

“Where to?” he asks, flipping on my seat heater, then turning the radio to his favorite classic rock station.

“Um…”

Greenwood is small and boring. Growing up here, if I wasn’t at school or in the gym, my only real hobby was trawling CVS for Bonne Bell Lip Smackers and issues of Seventeen.

“Come on, you grew up here, you must know somewhere,” he prods.

“Let’s go to Lolly’s,” I decide.

“I don’t know it,” he says.

“You don’t know Lolly’s? Best chai latte in the world?”

He shakes his head. “In the world? I mean, that’s a pretty high bar. I don’t know if you want to set my expectations there—”

“Oh, shut up.”

I give him directions, and ten minutes later, we’re inside the tiny café. I haven’t been here in a decade, but the peeling floral wallpaper, chintzy armchairs by the brick fireplace, chalkboard menu, and gently piped-in soft rock songs from the easy-listening station are exactly how I remember them. Lolly herself is still behind the counter, though her once-dark hair is now mostly streaked with gray. She’s wearing a floral apron and does a double take when she sees me.

“Avery, is that you?” she yelps, coming around the counter to give me a hug.

“Hi!” I greet her, suddenly feeling squeezed by the surprising strength of her embrace.

“I haven’t seen you in, gosh, what, a million years? Where’s Jasmine?” she asks.

Ryan cocks his head.

“This used to be my spot with Jasmine on cheat days,” I explain. “We’d ask for extra whipped cream on the chai lattes and sit here for hours in front of the fireplace.”

“The best kids hogged the best seats in the house,” Lolly tells Ryan. “Not that I minded, of course.”