I wedge my keys in my palm, shifting my feet. My parents picked the worst time ever to develop an emotional insecurity about me leaving the nest. If it were any other night, I could’ve stayed and found some way to cheer them up. But it’s my graduation party, and Finn is waiting. Tonight is too important to miss.

“I’ve still got two and a half months left. There’s plenty of time to hang out. And have a Lord of the Rings marathon.” I look at Dad, and he raises a fist in the air triumphantly.

Mom tightens her mouth and pretends she didn’t hear the last part. “Okay. Well, have a good time. And I know you’re eighteen, but you still live in our house, so—”

“I know, I know,” I interrupt. “I’ll be home by midnight.”

Dad grins. “And if nobody wants to talk to you, you can always come home early.”

Mei giggles from beside him. “Are you kidding? There’s no way she’s going to come home early. She’ll be too busy making out with Finn—”

“Goodbye!” I shout loudly, just as Mom’s and Dad’s faces start to morph into concern, and I’m out the door and hurrying toward my car with nothing but blissful excitement flooding my chest.

2

THE WINDSHIELD WIPERS SCRAPE THE glass like a metronome, causing a rubbery squeak that aggravates my ears. I turn the volume up in the car to try to drown it out, keeping my eyes on the road.

The streetlights appear less frequently on the drive toward Foxtail Woods. Our entire senior class pooled together to rent a cabin for the night, and I’m still another twenty minutes away. I force my gaze beyond the scattered raindrops landing in front of my headlights and spot a restaurant Finn and I have been to a hundred times before. They have an old jukebox there and about thirty different milkshake flavors to choose from.

I wonder if it will feel different, going back there after Finn and I make it more official than it already is. I wonder if we’ll order one chocolate milkshake instead of two to dip our french fries in, and if we’ll sit on the same side of the booth, hold hands, and stay an extra hour just to make the night last longer.

I wonder if we’ll have kissed before the next time we walk through those doors, and if Finn will have called me his girlfriend, and if we’ll have talked about what will happen when we both go off to college.

I wonder if the rest of the summer will feel like a thousand summers and if time will decide to be on our side and slow down.

Ophelia’s voice shatters my thoughts. “You have an incoming call from Lucy Martinez. Would you like to accept?”