I spent the rest of my morning getting ready for lunch with the Flynns. Lee's mom had organized for us all to go out for a fancy meal to celebrate our graduation. I usually wasn't one for dressing up, so there had been a few outfit changes and a slightly desperate video call to Rachel, who was also going to be there. It had been enough to distract me from thinking too hard about the two admittance letters that now sat in my desk drawer. And then, of course, Noah had come by to pick me up and drive me to the restaurant, so it wasn't really like I'd had the time to think about it . . .

'So,' Noah said, slinging his arm around my shoulder once we were out of the car. My hand moved up automatically, fingers locking with his. 'I've been thinking.'

'Careful. Don't wanna hurt yourself.' 

He rolled his eyes.

'About?' I prompted, jokes aside.

'I was thinking,' he said again, 'maybe this summer you could come with me to Boston. You could check out where I'm gonna be living. I can show you your dresser drawer.'

'You saved a dresser drawer just for me? Awww,' I cooed at him, turning my face up to his to bat my eyelashes. I pinched his cheek playfully. 'Look at my boyfriend, the big ball of mush.'

He was such a big ball of mush. At least compared to how he'd been when we first started dating. Noah had been our school's bad boy, with a reputation for hook- ing up with tons of girls (which he later told me was mostly untrue). He even had a motorcycle, and he used to smoke just to help him look the part. And here he was, talking about the dresser drawer he'd reserved for me.

I loved him so much.

'It would've been so awesome if you'd been in Boston with me. Even if it wasn't at Harvard. We'd have seen so much more of each other. Could've even, like, gotten an apartment together over the summer, or something.'

I stopped in my tracks, pulling my hand from his before he noticed how clammy it had become.

Noah stopped walking too, turning around with a laugh. His face was stiff, though, and he couldn't quite meet my eyes, looking past me at the parking lot instead. 'What, too mushy? I thought you wanted me to open up more, be more honest, not all macho-macho and never talking about anything emotional.'

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

Noah's cheeks flushed pink. 'I mean, like, you know. Elle.' He cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck. 'I wasn't serious. I mean.' Gulp. 'Moving in together'd be a big step. We're not there yet. I was just joking around.'

This should be where I told him I got in. Hell, this should be where I told him I'd actually applied in the first place on the impossible chance that I might end up in Boston with him. He had no idea, but here he was talking about how nice it would be to have me around, how we could live together.

The idea of Noah wanting to make such a big commitment and live with me should have made my heart do somersaults. I should have been squealing and throwing my arms around him and shouting, Surprise! We can! I can come to Boston!

This was definitely where I should tell him.

Especially when he looked so mortified that he'd suggested we live together in what was almost a throwaway comment, and thought I was horrified at the very idea.

'Elle?'

Crap. Come on, Elle, say something. Tell him!

I looked at Noah, focusing back on his face instead of staring right through him. And I said, 'I think I left my curling iron on.'

I didn't think he bought it, but he said, 'Text your dad. He can check for you.'

I quickly pulled out my phone and pretended to send my dad a text, typing it out and then deleting it straight away.

'C'mon, we're already late,' Noah said.

'Yeah,' I said, shooting him a look, but a smile crept back on to my face. 'And whose fault is that?'

'What, like it's my fault you looked so damn good?' I fell back in step beside him and he bent to press a kiss to my neck. I laughed and pushed him off. 'Don't you dare! That's what made us late in the first place.' 'You know, technically, we wouldn't be late if we didn't show up at all . . .'

'Noah Flynn, don't even think about it. There is a big ol' ice cream sundae in there with my name on it, and not even you and your cute butt can get in the way of that.'

'My cute butt, huh?'

I didn't know how, even after over a year of being together, he could still make me blush for saying something like that, but I blushed nonetheless. Noah chuckled, wrapping his arm around me to walk inside.

Dining out with the Flynns was a pretty regular affair, but usually when we went out for a meal my dad and brother were there, too. I'd thought it was a little weird that Lee and Noah's mom, June, had made a point of only inviting me out for brunch today, but maybe it was because she'd invited Rachel, too. Maybe it was less of an 'Elle' thing and more of a 'Noah's girlfriend' thing today.

Even after more than a year, me being Noah's girlfriend was still a new dynamic we were all getting used to.

The rooftop restaurant they'd picked out was gorgeous. I felt underdressed in my jeans, my gaze lingering on a group of women in their early twenties who were laughing and drinking mimosas. I was glad I'd let Rachel persuade me to leave my hoodie behind and put some effort into doing my hair.

We found the others easily enough, and, as June got up to hug me hello, I said, 'I'm so sorry I'm late. Traffic was awful, and I didn't realize we'd have to stop for gas.'

'It's fine,' she said, smiling warmly as we took our seats.

I heard Lee mutter, 'Traffic? Really? That's what she's going with?'

It was promptly followed by, 'Ouch!' as Noah stomped on his foot under the table.

Once we'd ordered, I looked out at the view of the skyline. 'This place is so perfect.'

'We wanted to finally take you guys out someplace special to celebrate your graduation properly,' Matthew, Lee and Noah's dad, said.

'Elle's right,' Rachel gushed. 'It's so amazing here. Thank you for inviting me.'

'I can't believe we've actually graduated,' Lee said, shaking his head. 'It's so weird to think we won't be going back to school in the fall. Like, that's it. And now we've got the entire summer ahead of us –'

'It'll go quick,' Noah told us. 'Believe me.'

'Yeah, you kids better make the most of it,' Matthew said. 'Any big plans for the summer?'

'You mean aside from the beach house?' Lee laughed. 'Actually, we were talking about going up this weekend, if that's cool?'

I looked at his parents with an expectant smile, waiting for them to nod and say, 'Of course!' Because why wouldn't they? Lee and I had been planning a long weekend at their family beach house for a couple of weeks now. I went there with the whole Flynn family every summer, but Lee and I had thought, now that graduation was out of the way, it would be cool to go just us guys, sneak some beers, blow off some steam after the craziness and intensity of senior year.

But instead of smiling back and saying we could go, no problem, Matthew and June just looked at each other. June pursed her lips, looking worried. I watched her husband nod back at her and got a sinking feeling in my stomach.

I wasn't the only one who'd noticed.

'What's that look?' Noah asked. 'Is everything okay?' 'Everything's fine,' June said with forced breeziness and a stiff, too-wide smile as she looked around at us. Uh-oh, I thought. That wasn't a mom smile. That was more like the kind of smile she wore when she was taking a call from the office. She drew a deep breath.

'Actually, we have some news . . .'

A creeping feeling of dread prickled over my skin. 'We've decided to sell the beach house.'

No way.

This wasn't happening.

Today had already been a total rollercoaster, but this was the worst part so far – and it wasn't even one o'clock yet.

'What? Why?' Noah burst out, while Lee shot to his feet, crying, 'Hold on! What? Where's this coming from?'

'Lee, please, sit down,' his dad said firmly.

Lee did, but gawped at his parents. 'Wait a second – was this whole meal just to soften the blow and butter us up before you dropped that bomb?'

'No!' June sat up straighter, then fiddled with her napkin. 'Not . . . really . . . Kind of. Did it work?'

'Using delicious meats and beverages to deliver bad news is wrong, Mom, just wrong. I thought we raised you better than that.'

Noah elbowed him, to quit with the jokes. 'You guys are serious about this? You're actually selling the beach house? We've had it forever!'

'We've been talking about it for a while, now,' said June. 'It just doesn't make sense to hold on to it any more, not with you kids going off to college. It's like you said last year, Noah. You guys are going to start getting jobs, summer internships, moving around the country for college or to meet up with friends . . . A lot of things are changing, so it seems like the sensible thing to do.'

 'And we might as well tell you, because you kids will find out soon enough anyway,' Matthew said, with a sniff, 'the whole area is being redeveloped. If we sell up now, we could get four, maybe five times what it's worth.'

'You sound like a realtor,' Lee grumbled, sinking in his seat.

'Honey,' June said, 'I am a realtor. We didn't make this decision lightly, you know. There are a lot of interested buyers and that land is just too valuable to hold on to.'

'The land?' Noah echoed. He leaned over the table, frowning. 'They're not going to knock it down, are they?'

Matthew shrugged. 'It's very likely. We didn't take you for the sentimental type, Noah.'

He pouted, slouching in his seat. It made him look younger, and was an entirely un-Noah-like look. In fact, he looked distinctly Lee-like in that moment. 'We spent a lot of time at that place. It's – it's just weird to think it might not be there any more,' he added stiffly. 

'Where are we meant to watch the Fourth of July fireworks now? Going to the beach house together is tradition. We swore we'd always go there every summer! You might as well cancel Christmas, Mom.' 

'Lee . . .'

'With the money we make from the sale, we could buy another,' Matthew suggested, like that was anywhere near the point. 'Some place where the paint isn't peeling, and the pool filter doesn't break every year.'

'No!' Lee cried. 'I'm putting my foot down. You guys can't sell.'

'Yeah,' Noah piped up, shifting in his seat and crossing his arms just like Lee was doing. They'd always been so different, but, right now, anyone could tell they were brothers. They were a united front. 'I've gotta go with Lee on this one. That house has been in the family for – what, eighty years? It was your grandma's place, Dad! You can't just replace it. You can't sell it!'

'If we're voting here, I'm a solid no, too,' I said, raising my hand. The beach house felt like it was my place just as much as it was theirs. And Lee was right. It was tradition.

I shot Rachel a look, even though she'd only ever been to the beach house for a few days last year, and she waved a hand around awkwardly. 'Me, too.'

June sighed. 'I'm sorry, guys. It's already been decided.'

The waitress chose that moment to appear with our plates of food.

'Like hell it has,' Lee muttered to himself, but I heard him. He caught my eye and I didn't think I'd ever seen him look so determined.

If his parents thought we were going to let the beach house go without a fight, they were sadly mistaken.