We stood there for several minutes, both of us content with the silence. It was broken only when Levi reached into his back pocket. Something crinkled. I watched with interest as he pulled out an envelope. He let me read the return address for only a second before he flung it into the bonfire. In seconds, the corners of the envelope curled up and blackened.

I gasped. “Levi, that was from RISD!”

“I know.”

“Why did you—” I shook my head. “Did you even open it?”

He grinned at me, utterly unrepentant. “What, do you think I’m crazy? Of course I did. That was just a grand gesture, since I didn’t have anything else I wanted to throw into the fire.”

I was in no mood for his cuteness. Especially when it wasn’t giving me the answer I wanted to know. “But…” I bit my lip, watching as the envelope disintegrated, becoming one with the flame. “What did it say?”

“I got in,” he confided. “I had the online acceptance a while back.”

“You got—!” I stared him down. “Levi! Oh my God! Congratulations.”

“I was going to tell you after the exhibition.” Oh. “I asked for my acceptance to be deferred until the spring semester,” he said. “It’ll give me time to apply for as many scholarships as I can before I officially start school.” His voice held more hope than I’d ever heard before when he added, “Dad said he’d help as much as he could.”

I knew what that meant to him. His eyes were so intense that I never wanted to look away. If I did, it wouldn’t come true. If I even blinked, it wouldn’t—

“Babe, say something.”

Words weren’t enough. I wrapped my arms around his middle and pressed myself close. I hugged his warmth to me, his soft shirt rubbing against my cheek. A whiff of familiar woodsy cologne brushed my nostrils. “You’re staying for a semester,” I said, mostly for myself but also for confirmation. This didn’t make any sense. What about RISD? What about figuring out if he had other passions besides art?

Levi cuddled me close. “I’m staying. I’ve been talking to Ralph about it. He got me a place here for a semester. I spoke to the art program coordinator and she said if I come up with a rigorous program, she’ll consider giving me course credit. And I don’t have to worry about, well, money. As long as I keep painting, I’ll keep getting commissions. And maybe after this, I won’t want to pick up a paintbrush again. Maybe I’ll do something totally different. I’m not in a rush to figure it out.”