I mean, not the small-town ideas. Or having to sneak around with Kingston instead of being able to make out here, out in the open, like some other couples are doing. Not that I would, but still, it’s nice to have the option.

It all feels so easy when it’s just him and me in my bedroom, locked behind the door. But then we go to school, and I want to reach out for his hand or kiss him up against the lockers, and I can’t.

That’s when it hits home how little I truly fit in here. I look up at the stars, shining bright in the black sky, and my heart squeezes tightly in my chest because I know I can’t stay.

He hasn’t even asked me to since we started fooling around. It’s almost like a parting gift. Like every time he gives me so much pleasure, and it actually feels like I might black out, he’s saying goodbye.

“You can always visit.” She reads my thoughts easily.

“I don’t know if I’ll come back after I leave.”

She lays her head on my shoulder. It’s still cool out, though spring is finally here. “I know.” She sighs softly. “He can always visit you.”

I smile sadly because it always comes back to Kingston for me, and she knows it.

Speaking of him, where the hell did he go? Last time I saw him, he was sitting with Oakley, but he’s disappeared. “I’ll be back in a little bit,” I say as I jump off the tailgate, and she holds onto the whiskey.

“Watch out for Kennedy. She’s dressed up for man-hunting tonight.”

I hope she’s kidding, but her face tells me she’s not. “That’s just great.”

She cackles, and I head off into the woods to search for Kingston, hoping I don’t find him with Kennedy. Not that I would care. I mean, I know he said he’s done with her, and I believe him, but LeAnn isn’t wrong when she says Kennedy has a hold on him.

But when I find him, he’s all alone, looking out over the barbed wire fence attached to a wooden fence post. “Hey, what are you doing?”

He turns, but he doesn’t seem startled, like he knew it would be me. “Just thinking. Can’t believe this is one of the last parties in school.”

I walk closer to him, looking out at the empty field on the other side of the fence. “There’ll still be plenty of parties.”

He looks sad, though, not smiling and bright like I’m used to as he shrugs his large shoulders. “Yeah. I know. But it won’t be the same.”