“I’m going to miss you, too,” I said softly. “Without you, I would’ve drowned this summer.”

He kissed me, and something shifted that night. His kisses felt different, more real than the fictional story we’d been telling one another every single day for so many weeks. He hadn’t said the words, and I hadn’t either, but our kisses felt like we were begging for a little more time, a few more touches, a few more skipping heartbeats.

I stayed longer that night as our touches almost mimicked something that could’ve been confused with love. As the sun began to rise, I began to put on my clothes and started heading back to my place.

“I’ll walk you home,” he offered.

I smiled and yawned. “You know I’ll decline.”

“Text me when you make it back?”

“I can do that.”

“Okay.” He smiled, leaning against the doorframe.

“Okay,” I replied.

“Gracelyn Mae?”

“Yes?”

He cleared his throat and placed his hands into his pockets. “Do you think I can take you out on a date sometime? Like a real date?”

Butterflies filled me up inside.

“I didn’t know Jackson Emery dated people.”

“Not people…only you.”

More butterflies.

“Actually, I was going to ask you if you’d do something with me.”

“What’s that?” he questioned.

“Each year, for as long as I can remember, my parents host a summer gala at the town hall ballroom to raise money for charities. It’s a big deal, and everyone in town dresses up like it’s the Oscars or something. There’s a big dinner and dance and literally everyone in town will be there.”

“The Harris Gala. Yeah, I’ve heard of it.”

“Be my date?” I asked him. He grimaced for a moment, and I felt my heart crack. Embarrassment hit my cheeks. “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to. I swear, I just thought—”

“I want to come,” he told me, giving me some reassurance. “I just worry people will give you a hard time if you show up with me. I don’t want to stress you out and add more drama to your life. People will talk.”

“Let them,” I told him, placing my hands against his chest. “We just won’t listen.”

He smiled. The kind of smile that made my heart skip a few beats. He leaned into me, placing his forehead against mine.

His lips grazed mine, and I knew I was ruined.

“So…” He whispered. “It’s a date?”

“Yes.” Chills raced throughout my body. “It’s a date. Good night, Jackson Paul.”

He kissed me gently on the lips, and I felt it in every fiber of my body as his hands fell behind my neck. He massaged my skin then softly spoke with his smoky voice. “Good morning, Gracelyn Mae.”

39

Jackson

“Closing early today?” Alex remarked, a bit stunned. “You never shut the shop down early.”

“Yeah, well, I got plans tonight.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Plans? With a woman named Grace?”

“Don’t do that,” I told him.

“Do what?”

“Smile.”

“I always smile.”

“Yeah, and it’s annoying,” I joked, tossing all the dirty towels into the back room.

“So, are you two, like…a thing?”

“What? No. We’re just…friends.”

“With benefits.”

“Something like that.”

“But it’s more,” he commented. “It’s so much more.”

“Alex, I’m going to need you to shut up right about now.”

“All right, but I’m just saying, it’s okay for you to like people, man. I know you think it’s not, but it is. It’s part of what makes humans…human.”

I frowned and shrugged my shoulder as I began tossing my supplies back into the toolbox. “I can’t like her, Alex. Even if I did, she’s leaving town in a few weeks.”

“So? Go with her.”

I rolled my eyes. “Right.”

“Dude, I’m serious. Get out of this hellhole and go live your life. Even if it’s not with Grace, you’re allowed to leave this place.”

I huffed. “It’s not like I can leave my dad. The only reason I was able to go off to rehab was because you stepped in, and I wouldn’t ask you to ever do that for me again.”

“Buddy, your father is not your burden.”

“I’m not going leave him to die. I’m all he has.”

“Okay, I’ll drop it because I can tell you’re getting upset. I just want you to know that the world will keep spinning even if you go off and live your own life. My main point is this: you are allowed to be happy—maybe more than most people, and I think Grace makes you happy. I think you make her happy, too.”

I swallowed hard. “You think so?”

“She was about to rip out some woman’s hair at the festival because they were talking about you. She’s as protective of you as you are of her. I’ve never seen something that made no sense yet made complete sense until I laid eyes on the two of you together.”

“She’s just so…good.”

He laughed, walked over to me, and patted me on the back. “So are you. I’m going to get out of here. Have a good time tonight, all right?”