The morning after Taverna Salto, Joey woke to Leo staring at her from within a hazy beam of sunlight. Her mouth felt cotton-ball-parched. As if reading her mind, Leo said, “I put a glass of water on the nightstand.”

She grappled for it, relief soaring inside her at the normalcy of his sentence and gesture. As she chugged the water, she listened to a gecko croak and watched it scurry into a ceiling crack. She set the glass down and slid against Leo’s warm skin.

He pushed her slightly back. “Jonesey, we need to talk.”

No good thing ever followed that sentence. Joey felt her throat constrict with fear. “Leo, please don’t—”

“I can’t do this anymore.” His eyes cast down to his pillow. “We—”

“No, Leo! Please, no.” Her chest seared with pain, like someone had taken a chain saw to it. “We’re so good. Please don’t do this.” Maybe it was pathetic to beg him to be with her, but she didn’t care. “You know how good we are.”

“We are good, Jonesey.” Leo still wasn’t looking at her, and his words were dry, almost unfeeling. “But I talked to Dave yesterday. The boat’s finally done, and I’m gonna join his crew. I need to start my life. Dive headfirst into this new career. That has to be my priority now, over summers on Corfu.”

“No, Leo! No.” Joey grabbed his face and made him look her in the eyes. There was wet between their chests, and she realized it had streamed there from her face. “This is because of last night. Don’t pretend it’s because of Dave. Tell me what happened last night. Did you see another girl or something? That French girl you dated? Tell me the truth, Leo! Is it someone else?

“What gi—Jonesey! You’re so wrong.” Leo kept his eyes fixed on hers, but they were different somehow, already gone. “That’s not it, Jonesey. Please don’t come up with stories that aren’t even close to true. Part of me wishes we had met later in life. We’re just too young. We’re about to be split across the world. Think how hard this past year was apart, but at least we were both in school in America. I’m going to be in the middle of oceans now. You know it’s impossible.”

Something about the way he said impossible absolutely zapped her of hope.

She didn’t know how long she cried. She felt him dab at her face with a tissue. “My grandmother will be happy about you breaking up with me, you know. Before I left this summer, she grilled me. Promise me you’re not going to look at this Leo boy.”

Even with Joey’s eyes closed, she felt Leo smile. “What did you tell her?”