Just because I’d gotten in didn’t mean I could stop studying the minute I got there. I would have fun, the same way I did in Boston; I’d just have to find a balance.

“I’ll—”

“I’m not done, missy.” She smiled. “I also want you to grab ahold of the sexiest single British man you can find, and I want you to let him fuck your brains out.”

My cheeks were so hot; they felt sunburned, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re crazy. You know that, right?”

Her fingers grasped my arms as though she wanted to emphasize. “It’s time, Chloe.”

It hadn’t been my plan to be a virgin this long, nor was it intentional. But I’d learned very early in high school that I didn’t have time for it all. Something had to be sacrificed, and it ended up being boys.

I held her with the same force, so she knew how serious I was. “I’ll go to England with the most open mind, I promise.” As I pulled my best friend in for another hug, I was hoping some of the nervous energy would loosen.

But it was still very much there, matching the excitement I had felt when I got accepted to BU, knowing then that my whole life was about to change.

The same way I knew right now.

“You’re never going to want to come back,” she whispered.

I hoped she was right.

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