“Wait, have you never worn it before?”

“Do you know how many people have worn that mask? The last girl who wore it was a little sketchy.”

I hit his arm and he laughed.

“I don’t believe you’ve never worn it.”

“There’s a process, a protocol. You have to get nominated and then approved by the keeper. I don’t want to mess with the power of the mask, throw off the fine balance.”

I shook my head and opened the door. “Come on.”

He let me lead him down the dirt path that was so familiar to me. His hand felt nice in mine, like it belonged there. I stopped us at the edge of the path and turned off the light on my phone. Then I took him by the shoulders and faced him toward the lake that I knew was now less than ten steps away. The only thing I could see was a few bright spots in the darkness—the reflection of the stars above on the water. I positioned myself behind him, laying my cheek on his back. I wrapped my arms around him, placing one palm flat on his chest so I could feel his heartbeat.

He took a deep breath in.

“What do you see?” I asked.

“Nothing. Darkness.”

“But you know there’s something there, right?”

“I assume something is there.”

“Just because you can’t see the future, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. You don’t have to see everything clearly or know exactly where you’re going to move forward.”

I slipped out of my shoes and whispered for him to do the same. I felt him shift as he stepped out of his.

“You move forward.” I took a step, which pushed his leg forward and we walked like that until the water and mud seeped between our toes. “And when the future surrounds you, then you know where you are, what the steps you took led you to.”

“Are we at the lake?” he asked. His voice was low and husky.

“I swim here sometimes. If I had a car, I could swim here a lot more.” My cheek was still pressed up against his back, my arms still wrapped around his torso. Last time I had been here, I couldn’t force myself to relax. Now my whole body seemed to lack muscles. It would melt to the ground if I let it. Jackson laid one of his hands on top of mine.

“Jackson?”

“Hmm?”

“I like you just as much when you’re serious.”

It surprised me when he took a shuddering breath.

“You owe me comfort through an emotional breakdown,” he said.

“Yes. I totally do.”