My kiss thief didn’t respond. Because he couldn’t. He was currently owning everyone at beer pong. I smiled to myself. I was growing more and more sure that it was Jacob by the second. But there were still some pestering doubts in the back of my head. And when I was alone, the doubts grew louder and louder.

I looked around for Sophie again, but I still couldn’t find her. My gaze fell toward the edge of the woods. I set my cup down on a stump. I knew exactly how to clear my head.

I walked away from the smoke and the music. Soon the laughter drifted away and I could hear the crunch of the leaves beneath my sneakers again. The fall air felt crisp away from the fires. I wrapped Jacob’s jacket tighter around my shoulders to chase away the chill. I smiled when the smell of grass hit me. But then I immediately frowned. Why couldn’t I remember what my kiss thief had smelled like that first time?

I kept walking until I made my way into a clearing. I could see my dad’s treehouse in the distance. It didn’t really make any sense, but I felt like I was being pulled toward it. Like all the answers I sought were just sitting there waiting for me.

The yard I was standing in was completely empty and perfectly manicured. And only one house away from my grandfather’s. I kicked off my sneakers and socks and then tucked them under my arm. I loved the feeling of grass under my feet. It reminded me of playing at Jacob’s grandparents’ house when I was little. I could really go for one of Mrs. Caldwell’s cookies right now.

But I think turning up drunk on her doorstep in the middle of the night would end up with me being grounded again. And despite the alcohol coursing through my veins, I knew a freshly baked cookie wasn’t worth it. No matter how good they were. So I walked in the opposite direction of the Caldwell mansion.

I exhaled slowly as I wandered through the grass. The fresh air was already helping clear my head. I made it to the fence of my grandfather’s property and tossed my shoes over before climbing over it. I jumped down into the plush grass and grabbed my things. I started humming as I walked up to the treehouse.

There were old pictures of my dad and his friends up there that I loved. I’d recreated a few of them with my friends over the years. Like the one of us hanging out at Jacob’s grandparents’ pool. It always felt like I was living in some kind of parallel universe. Maybe making the same choices and mistakes that they had growing up.