Page 95 of Don't Puck His Best Friend
"Oh." I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. "That's... that's good. Good experience."
"Yeah. It pays well, and it'll look good on my resume." He pauses. "But I don't want to be away from you all summer."
"Cole, it's only two hours. We can visit each other on weekends."
"Or you could come with me."
I blink. "What?"
"Come with me for the summer. Stay at my parents' house. You said you're not doing the internship thing until next year, so you're free. And my mom already said she'd love to have you." He's talking faster now, like he's worried I'll say no. "You could get a job in town if you want, or just relax. We could have the whole summer together."
My mind is racing as fast as my heart. Spend the summer with Cole and his family. Two hours from campus, from Maddie, from everything familiar. It should scare me, should feel like too much too soon.
Instead, it feels right.
"Your mom really said that?" I ask.
"She did. She likes you more than she likes me at this point."
"That's because I'm delightful."
"You are." He steps closer, taking my hands. "I know it's a lot to ask. If you need time to think about it—"
"Yes."
"—I totally understand. Wait, yes?"
I nod, smiling at the surprise on his face. "Yes, I'll spend the summer with you."
"Really?"
"Really." I stand on my toes to kiss him. "I want to spend the summer with you. I want to spend all my time with you."
He picks me up and spins me around, and I laugh against his shoulder. Rex barks, thinking it's a game, and the moment is perfect and chaotic and exactly us.
When he sets me down, he's grinning. "You're sure? Because once you commit, my mom is going to put you to work. She'll have you helping with her garden and organizing the garage and—"
"I'm sure." I cup his face. "I love you. I want this."
"I love you too."
The pizza arrives, and we eat it sitting on his kitchen floor because we're too happy and too tired to move to the table. We make lists of things we want to do over the summer—hiking, beach days, teaching me to cook something besides toast. We talk about the future in vague, exciting terms that make everything feel possible.
Later, when we're in bed and Cole is half-asleep, he pulls me closer.
"Thank you," he murmurs.
"For what?"
"For saying yes."
I press a kiss to his shoulder. "Thank you for asking."
The next week is a flurry of packing and goodbyes. Maddie is heading home for a few weeks before going to the lake house with Sirus. I'm moving most of my stuff to Cole's temporarily before we drive to his parents' place together.
"Call me all the time," Maddie demands when we're saying goodbye. "I need updates. I need to know you're still alive."
"I'll be two hours away, not on another planet."
