We meet our trader, whose name is Zeke, just outside of Toby's Tavern just a short while later. He's tall, with curly blond hair and blue eyes, a light smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose, and a light southern accent that would make almost any girl swoon. When we get there, Keke asks him if he'd be comfortable filming, and he agrees as long as the video doesn't come out for a couple days.

"I know my girlfriend probably won't see it, but I don't want to take the chance," he says as he holds a small box full of cookbooks in his hands. "I thought about asking her for some paint, but I didn't want her to get suspicious. Actually, I was just about to go to the art store to pick some up when I saw your video. And I thought it would be such a better story for her. She's going to love this."

His energy is contagious. Even Vale, who has never been too keen on this trading game, has a small smile on his face. "What are you going to do with the paint?" I ask him as he sets the box of books down at his feet. Keke already has the camera rolling. Leave it to her to not miss a single moment of good footage.

"Well, she's an artist," he says. "Her name is Emersyn, and she's got quite the following around here. But when we met, she was just starting out. And we have all these memories. I thought it would be fun if I attempted to paint them, then hung them around the beach for her to see when I propose. I'm not an artist, but I want to do something special for her. Something she'll really love."

I look over at Keke, who seems to have had an epiphany. "Would it be too much to ask for you to show us the place you're going to propose?" she asks a little too enthusiastically. I give her a warning look. "What? It'll be great for the channel. The only thing people love more than petty breakups are marriage proposals."

All I can do is shake my head in exasperation. Then I turn to Zeke. "What do you think? Would you be willing to do that?"

He rubs the back of his neck with his hand, and I can tell he's a little uncomfortable with the idea. "There's no chance of you posting this video before the proposal, right? Because even if she doesn't see it, I don't want to give the spot away. It's kind of... our place."

"What makes it so special to you guys?" Keke asks, the camera in this poor guy's face.

"Oh my God, Keke," Vale snaps, his eyes wide in disbelief. "I know you're trying to help, but maybe this guy doesn't want to showcase his entire relationship for the internet. Did you ever think about that?"

But Zeke just laughs. "No, man. It's okay. I get it. Tell you what? I'll tell you the story of how we met, as long as you promise not to post the video until I give the okay. I just don't want to take a chance of the surprise being ruined."

Keke nods her head. "Sure. And you probably don't want to risk being embarrassed if she says no."

I am mortified. Seriously, I cannot believe she just said that. My eyes lock onto Vale's, and I see his jaw is hanging open in shock too. Zeke just smiles at her though. He seems so unaffected by her tactless comments. "We've been together for a few years. And we've gone through a lot. I really don't think she'll say no. In fact, that's the part I'm worried about the least. I just don't want her to find out. I want it to be special. So I'll take you to the place, and I'll tell you the whole story. Just hold off on posting the video until I message you and give you the all clear. Okay?"

Keke nods her head, and I intend on making her keep that promise. Zeke leads the three of us past Toby's Tavern to a nice, wooded area. We follow the path down for a bit until we reach the beach. And as we walk, Keke films him telling us the story of how he met his girlfriend in the local cemetery. How they spent the summer looking for his dad, and how he fell in love with her while they cleaned gravestones together. And then he tells us how her efforts not only saved his life, but brought his family back together as well.

"She's the most amazing woman I've ever met," he says, and the love he has for her is clear in the way he talks about her. "She stuck with me through chemotherapy, and continued to love and support me when I went back to school to finish my degree. There is no other person in the world I would rather be with. She's it for me. She always has been it for me."

My eyes are swimming with tears as he finally shows us the special place he plans on proposing to his girlfriend. And it takes me a few moments to realize that this is the exact same place I found Vale last night. The place where we almost... heat rises in my face at the memory, and when I look at Vale I can see in his eyes that he's thinking the exact same thing. There's a little smirk on his face, and I can't help but smile at the idea that our special place from last night is about to be even more special for someone else.

Keke finishes filming, and I make her swear on her life that she won't post the video online until Zeke gives us the okay. Then we take the box of books, which thankfully were left in the car during our small hike, and head back to the house. The twins and Tyler are cooking up the crab that we've been catching, and Vale wastes no time in eating what's already been cooked. But even though everyone seems like they're happy, I can sense that something is off with my best friend. Keke's smile just isn't reaching her eyes. In fact, everything about her seems down.

When everyone is distracted, Keke sneaks off to be by herself. For a while, I consider leaving her alone to deal with whatever she's going through. But when I remember her behavior at the beach today with Zeke, I can't help but think that something is really wrong. She was not herself at all. It was like she'd shut off her emotions just to get the job done. Which makes me wonder what's going on with her, and if she's keeping a secret too.

I wander out of the room in search for her and find her sitting with her laptop on her lap, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her earbuds are on, and so she doesn't notice me enter the room. I sit down beside her, and she jumps, startled at my sudden appearance. Then she quickly wipes her tears away before giving me a fake smile and saying, "Hey, what's up?"

"What's up with you?" I ask her gently, and her smile falters just a bit. "You seem upset about something, and then you snuck off. I just wanted to check in on you and make sure you're okay in here."

She gives me a slow nod of her head, trying to put that fake smile back on her face. But I don't buy it, and she knows it. A few seconds later and she bursts into tears. My heart shatters. There's nothing, and I mean nothing, worse than seeing one of my friends cry. And in all the years I've known Keke, I don't think I've ever seen her cry like this. My arms wrap around her, and I pat her black curly hair soothingly.

"I've just been thinking about what you said this morning," she cries into my shoulder, and now I feel even worse. I should've known our little spat this morning would hurt her. "About how you and Lucas aren't going to work because long distance relationships never work."

She's upset over the whole Lucas thing? My brow furrows in confusion as I try to figure out why on earth she would be this broken up about Lucas and I deciding not to date. "Keke, I'm sorry. I know you were trying to play matchmaker, and I know I ruined it for you. I shouldn't have snapped at you this morning. It wasn't right."

But she shakes her head. "No, it's not that. I don't really care that you and Lucas aren't getting together. But hearing you say that long distance relationships just don't work out got me thinking. You know, about me and Paul. We've sort of been secretly dating. I didn't want to tell anyone. I don't know why. I think it's because I didn't want to be judged about it. We met during strange circumstances. But he's actually really sweet, and I enjoy being around him."

It's all I can do not to burst out laughing. Glad I'm not the only one with a secret relationship. Although I think mine is a bit more shocking. I do my best to hide a smile as I continue to stroke her hair. "Aww Keke, no one would judge you. We all just want you to be happy. And I don't really know Paul, but he seemed like an okay guy."

Again, she shakes her head. "I'm ending it with him when we get back," she says through tears, leaving me surprised and confused. "You're right, Gen. Long distance relationships don't work out. And I'm leaving the area for school in the fall. Paul's not going to drop everything in his life to follow a girl he just met at the beginning of summer, and I wouldn't want him to. So we were doomed from the start."

She's almost inconsolable now, and I feel like a total jerk. But I don't know what to say to her, because I know my words from earlier are true. Long distance relationships hardly ever work out. When I said that to her this morning, I was just trying to come up with a reason why Lucas and I won't be dating. A reason that wouldn't tip her off to the truth. But now... now I'm questioning my own secret relationship. Because if this trading game goes the way I'm hoping it does, I'll be leaving for Boston in the fall. And Vale has no intention of going to school. His plan is to stay in town, work on his cars, and continue helping his dad.

Long distance relationships hardly ever work out. Those were my words. And I just started a relationship with my best friend. Right before I'm hoping to leave Coeur d'Alene behind. My blood runs cold, and as Keke continues to cry in my arms, I'm left with a whole new set of worries and thoughts. Do I love Vale? Yes. Of course I do. I've always loved Vale. But is loving him this way right now worth the risk of losing him forever in just a few months? Because statistically, that is what would happen. And if we take things much further, we could risk losing each other forever.

This morning, I couldn't wait to be with Vale again, alone at our quiet spot on the beach. But now... now I'm dreading it. And when the night begins to slow down and he sends me a text asking me if we're still on to meet up at our spot, I don't know what to say. I don't want to end things with Vale. Not really. But I know now that I was right. And there is nothing in the world that I would risk my friendship with Vale for. He's too important to me. So I reply to him that I'm too tired, and that I think I'm just going to head to bed. He's going to have questions tomorrow. But our time on the island is running short, and soon we'll be at home. As soon as we get home, I'll tell him the truth. That I think it's best if we take a step back and just remain friends. It'll hurt. More than I can even imagine right now. But it's the right thing to do. I just hope that I'm not too late.

Author's Note:
Happy Thanksgiving to all my American homies out there. Hope you all had a wonderful holiday with your family/friends. And I hope you enjoyed seeing Zeke in this chapter and getting a little peek into his life with Emersyn. 

Next chapter will be released sometime next week, so stay tuned for that! Stay safe and healthy until then, my dears!
XOXO,

~Aly