“Except that he’s a man-whore!” I protested.

“And my mama always said that reformed rakes make the best husbands. Hell, look at Shane. He was a huge player in high school before he met me our senior year, and he settled right down and into a long-distance relationship when I decided to come here for school. He’d like nothing more than to put his ring on my finger, and nobody would have ever expected it of him four years ago,” Charlotte argued.

I stopped to consider the point she was making, and it was a good one. Just because a guy played around a lot didn’t mean that when he really fell for a girl he wouldn’t be able to be faithful. If anything, maybe at our age it would make him more likely to be able to not cheat since he’d already been with so many other women and worked it out of his system. But that didn’t mean that Jackson Silver was the guy for me, and I wasn’t even looking for Mr. Right in my life. Maybe a Mr. Right Now, but not a forever guy. Charlotte was relentless when she was trying to make a point though. Better to deflect the conversation now or spend the rest of the semester with her trying to catch Jackson for me.

“I hear what you’re saying, and if I meet a guy like that who’s totally into me, I promise to at least consider giving him a chance. But I am really glad you mentioned Shane and a ring. Do you think he’s going to pop the question over Christmas break? Because as you pointed out to me, we are graduating soon, and I’m sure he’s hoping that you’ll be ready to come back home and become Mrs. Shane Sorenson.”

She flopped down onto my pillows and tossed her right arm over her face, covering her eyes. “Ugh! I just don’t know. I love Shane, I really do. But do I really want to take my brand-new college degree back to the middle of nowhere in Tennessee and hope that my parents will use some of my ideas to market the bar while Shane’s training horses at his dad’s place?”

“You know your parents will listen to your ideas. They might not use them all, but they pushed for you to go away to college so you could spread your wings a bit,” I reminded her.

“I know,” she sighed. “I guess I just pictured something different for my future than the same life in a small town that my parents have.”

“Then tell Shane that. Give him a chance to give you the something different that you’re dreaming of. He worships the ground you walk on. Are you ready to walk away and give him up?”

“No! I can’t picture my life without him in it,” she protested. “We didn’t survive four years of college and a long-distance relationship only for me to dump him when I graduate. I just need to figure out what I want. But I hate the thought of him making any more sacrifices to be with me.”

“You both made sacrifices to be together,” I reminded her. “You’ve missed out on lots of things here because you have a boyfriend waiting at home for you. Don’t forget that. Plus, he’s the one who pushed for you guys to stay together when you left.”

“You’re right. I just wish I was happier about going home is all,” Charlotte worried. “I really am looking forward to being closer to Shane. I’m just not excited about going back to small-town life.”

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s not like you’re living life in the fast lane up here, Char. Things can’t be that much different on campus than they are back home. You’ve got the same gossip mill, and the campus is about the size of your town.”

“True. I guess it’s just that I dreamed of getting out, and now I’m going back right away. It’s hard to explain.”

As much as I loved Char, it was kind of hard to hear her complain about an option I would kill to have. “I hear what you’re saying, but just remember how lucky you are to have a home, parents who will support any decision you make, and great guy to go back to when you graduate. I have no idea what I’m going to do or where I’m going to go. It’s not like moving back in with my aunt is even an option since I’m an adult now.”

“Oh, Kaylie. I’m such a whiny bitch! Ignore me. I’ll figure out what I want soon enough, and you know that you are always welcome back home with me, too. My parents would love to have you while you’re trying to decide between all the offers you know you’re going to get! They can’t wait to see you during break.”

I chuckled in response to her enthusiasm. She wasn’t exaggerating either. Her parents would absolutely let me stay with them while I was trying to decide what to do next. Although I doubted she was right about me getting offers to dance professionally. My decision to attend college at my parents’ alma mater might come back to bite me in the ass when it came to that. But it had been worth it to spend four years feeling closer than ever to them.