He knew we did. His tone was light, cheery. Meant to make me feel better, I knew. But even the safety of his arms didn’t quell the unease that gripped my mind. His words should have been everything I wanted to hear, but they were wrong somehow, too. He shouldn’t go to a local school that couldn’t offer him the kind of program he deserved. He should have the best education available, and Oar’s Rest Tech wasn’t it.

I rested my cheek in the crook of his neck. He was sensitive there and went tense when I brushed my lips against his clavicle. “Your art is amazing,” I whispered. “If you get in, you should go to RISD.”

I felt rather than heard him exhale. “You’re still up for a long-distance relationship, right?” he asked.

This was it, my chance to come clean. But taking it back was cruel, even if it was true, and I didn’t want to let him go. Maybe throwing everything into the ring and doing something scary and potentially heartbreaking was the right call. Maybe everything was aligning this way to make me see that a long-distance relationship wasn’t the end of a relationship, but just another path to get where I needed to go.

He was waiting for an answer. I swallowed. “I—I said I was, remember?”

“No, I remember. I just wanted to double-check.”

“I’m not a multiple-choice quiz,” I said with a smile that felt just a little bit wooden. Pulling away to look at the boat, I let my smile drop the moment he couldn’t see me anymore. The truth was that he was right to second-guess me. I wished I had a life eraser that could sweep away the wrong answer and give him the right one this time.

He opened his mouth—maybe to talk about RISD, maybe to press me further—but I knew I couldn’t let the conversation keep going. I didn’t want to talk about plans that might or might not happen. I’d done that often enough with Elodie; I wasn’t up for a round two.

Choosing to focus on a different plan instead, I asked, “Hey, do you still want to visit Stephen King’s house? I have the day off tomorrow.”

Levi shrugged, looking embarrassed. “You know, the main reason I said yes was so I could spend more time with you. I love his books but don’t really want to gawk outside his house. I’m up for doing anything that you want to do.”

I thought for a moment, then asked, “Would you like to go blueberry picking? They’re in season right now and I’d love to use some in my baking.” Judging from the grin that slipped over his face, he was into the idea.