Time flowed away from me at Rigby. I successfully dodged Joey by avoiding the apartment, which meant I was in Jacob's arms when I was not at work.

"I have something for you," Jacob unceremoniously spoke before dipping his face to kiss the crown of my head.

"For me?" I lifted my gaze to meet his.

"Well, part of it is for you; part is for me." As he spoke, he pulled a glass bottle of Coke from his nightstand.

"Jacob, for me; you shouldn't have?" I twisted the cap off as I spoke and took a long sip.

"Remind me to discuss your sugar consumption with you."

"It is what makes me so sweet."

"Of course, and the caffeine?" He pressed.

"Within this little bottle is one of the greatest things humanity ever created." As I spoke, I theatrically held the bottle before me.

"Really? In the same realm as the lightbulb and penicillin?"

"Far better. You can drink a Coke while dying in the dark, which tastes just as good as when living in the light. I firmly believe that if world leaders bought each other a Coke, there would be far less war."

"Really?" Jacob said, shaking his head at my insanity.

"What is the jingle? I want to buy the world a Coke," I sang.

"Well, it's good to have goals." Jacob nodded with a playful smile.

"What are your goals?"

"Short term, to make it through the day," he absently spoke as he tucked a tendril of hair behind my ear.

"And long term?"

"Make it through the year." Jacob shrugged.

"Good talk, Jacob," I sarcastically said as I rolled onto my back and gazed up at the ceiling.

"Alright, wise one, teach me the ways of Coca-Cola."

"When was the last time you just had a Coke with nothing in it?"

Jacob thought for a moment. "I think it must have been about five years ago."

"You haven't had a Coke in five years! No wonder you are so cranky."

"Cranky?" He said in surprise.

"Jacob, you know you are cranky."

"I think I am a delight," he evenly said. "Would you still think I was cranky if I bought you a Coke daily?"

"I have made you privy to my weakness already. Some girls are suckers for diamonds or chocolate; for me, it is Cokes." I curled into his side as his arms wrapped around me. I reached over him and picked up my Coke from the nightstand. With a roll of his eyes, he took the bottle from me and took a swig.

He set it down and laid back. "Not bad," he agreed after a moment.

"You could make the switch from scotch," I hopefully said.

"We shall see," he sighed. "Now, the second present. Remember, it was a Coke for you and peace of mind for me," he said, as though he were baiting me to defy him.

"Peace of mind?"

He lifted a car key from his nightstand drawer and looked at me, expecting the response.

"I accept the Coke," I defiantly said.

"You accept the Coke," he said back to me.

"I accept the Coke," I said again.

"Riley, this constant use of Ubers is not safe," he argued. "You are very important to me. I would never forgive myself if something were to happen to you, especially if it were to happen because you were coming to see me."

"Jacob, it is a car. You cannot just buy me a car."

"I do not believe you are questioning the capability given that I have already purchased the car, but for clarity's sake, I can buy you a car."

"You should not be buying me a car." Joey's words swirled in my head that Jacob was spending his father's money. "I am certain your father will be curious as to why you just spent thousands of dollars out of the blue?"

Jacob let a laugh slip from his mouth.

"What is funny?"

"Nothing, but fear not. My father did not pay for the car. The bootleg nightclub makes more than enough income to keep the house going. My father has not paid a single bill for this place for years."

"Oh, right. Wait, what is funny?"

"It's an Audi, Riley."

"What does that mean?"

He soothed my hair tenderly. "Nothing. It is just a very safe car to give me peace of mind. If you will not accept it as a gift, at least borrow it whenever you need to go anywhere."

"And that differs from accepting the gift because?"

"I was hoping the semantics would appease you."

"And how do you think that is working out for you?"

"I believe that if I continue to remind you of the discomfort that fills me when you get into unsafe cars with strangers, your logical side and, dare I say, care for my comfort will win out."

"You do not play fair," I teased.

"I do not; I play to win." He tenderly kissed the top of my head.

The days ticked to weeks that slipped by as I quietly spent more and more time with Jacob. A pull in my chest sparked a subtle worry for him when we were apart. As I continued to fall deeper into his orbit, I saw less and less of Matt and nothing of Joey. My infrequent visits to the apartment were only to gather more things to move to Rigby.

The depth of how far I had separated myself from my former life snapped into focus with a soft knock on Jacob's door.

"Hey, Riley." Matt gave a half-smile as he stood in the doorway.

"Hey, Matt, what's up?" I tried to muster a cheery smile and squash the voice in my head that the interruption irritated.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" His eyes flickered to Jacob buttoning his shirt on the bed.

"Yeah, of course." I tried to keep my tone even, but I knew I would not enjoy the conversation.

"I'll give you two a moment," Jacob said as he rose. He kissed my temple gently and gave a slight nod to Matt as he passed.

"What's up?" I asked again as I settled on the bed.

Matt closed the door behind him and slumped on the couch with a sigh. "So, how are things with you and Jacob?"

"Great." My response was too loud to be believed.

He let out a slight nod. "So, I'm taking a job in Boston. It's a good job marketing for a few breweries."

"Oh wow, that seemed to come out of nowhere." My mind whirled around the sudden distance between Matt and me. I had never been more than a few miles from him in my entire life. Now we would be states apart.

"It's not really out of nowhere." Matt's voice came low in a mix of apology and something near to anger. "You've been nowhere."

I wanted to argue, but with Matt, I couldn't. "I am sorry."

"It's cool. But..." His eye lifted to mine with a glint of hope, "come with me; us. Joey's already down there, and we could all be together again. It'd be good, Riley. It's time to move forward. This lost year was a bad idea."

"Wait, what?"

"It's just this directionless life; it's not healthy. We need to move on, move forward. You'd find a job so easily," he continued to babble.

"No, I mean, Joey is already in Boston?"

"What? Yeah, he left a couple of weeks ago and started a job at some magazine."

Joey left and did not say a word; not a single fucking word. "My life is here," I angrily spat.

"What? What life is here? You work at the same record store and hide in this..." He glanced around the room cluttered with scotch bottles and extinguished cigarette butts.

For the briefest moment, I saw what Matt and Joey saw. But I chased it away with thoughts of Jacob. The pull began in my chest, tugging at me once again. Even just a few rooms away, the distance pressured me uncomfortably. My time apart from Jacob was running out.

"This is where I need to be." My voice came more confident than I felt.

"Riley, I'm worried about you. It just feels like you're losing," he shook his head, looking for the right word before settling on, "you. Even the way you speak now is more..."

"I am not losing me. This is me. I will figure out a place to stay. Enjoy Boston." I flopped back on the pillows and mindlessly flicked through my phone to let Matt know the conversation was over. There were more missed calls and texts than I had realized.

"Riley," Matt stood as he said my name and outstretched a hand to me, "please." There was a pathetic begging in his words.

"It is fine, Matt. This is life. It is not like friends forced on proximity last forever."

I felt his gaze linger on me for a moment before he silently left the room in defeat, accented by the echoing click of the closing door. The small solace his presence had given to my need for Jacob's nearness left with him, and the tug to find Jacob became overwhelming. I rose and ripped open the door to find Jacob there, his eyes wide with the vigor of my movement.

"What is wrong?" Fear flared in his eyes like a wildfire.

"Nothing." The word was a breeze as the tension relaxed from me.

Jacob lifted a hand to cup my face as he studied it. His eyes revealed he wanted to argue with my assertion that nothing was amiss, but as he scanned me, he let the desire deflate. "What did Matt want to discuss?" He asked as his hand dropped to the small of my back and ushered me back inside.

"He is moving to Boston. Joey has already moved down there. So, I am officially homeless."

"You are not homeless," Jacob soothed as he settled on the bed, pulling me down to his chest. "I will be your home."

"Last I checked, people did not come equipped with Wi-Fi," I teased as I let a finger circle a button of his shirt.

"You can live here. You already do."

I lifted to meet his gaze. His eyes had no concern that I would decline the statement. He knew it made sense.

"Do you want me to live here?"

"Riley, if I had it my way, you would never leave my arms." He pulled me tighter to him. "So, yes, I would adore you living here. You can have your own room if you like or stay here."

I let out a sigh as my head dropped to his chest again.

"What? You do not wish to move in?"

"No. I do, and I will." My eyes fell to the empty bottles and overflowing ashtrays as I recalled the look in Matt's eyes as he glanced around the space. "We need to clean."

Jacob looked around the room. "Fair enough." He reached over to his nightstand and opened the drawer. Then, in one all-encompassing movement, he swept the clutter into the drawer and shut it again. "Done."

"Not what I meant."

"We will clean," but as he spoke, he pulled me up towards his lips. Just before they met, he added, "later," and crashed his lips to mine.