Page 81 of A Love Song for Dreamers

I tug the sliding glass door behindme.

It’s what I’ve wanted for ages, and this is my chance. “I’ll call youback.”

“Today. I’ll try to hold them off, but you’re going to lose thisplace.”

When I head back inside, Annie’s in theshower.

I set my phone on the nightstand, and the text that came through while I was talking to my realtor has my absclenching.

“Hey,” Annie says when she gets out of the shower. “You ready forbreakfast?”

I take a second to memorize the way her hair hangs in wet waves around her shoulders, how the towel leaves miles of her legsexposed.

“Yeah. Your dad said the charter is leaving at four. He hadn’t heard from you, so he wanted to make sure you got themessage.”

Her smile fades as she realizes the same thing Ido.

Today’s our last day together, and it just gotshorter.

“Tell me what you want,” she murmurs. “We can stay in bed all day. I’ll call the front desk and book the room for another night if we have to. Or we could go to the beach. We could shoot pool. I don’t care as long as I’m withyou.”

I can’t breathe because this feels so right, spending the day with her without anagenda.

But it also feels wrong as hell to know it’s the last time we’ll do it thissummer.

“I want to show you something,” I tellher.

I drive her to the house in Santa Monica and parkoutside.

“This is it?” shewhispers.

“Yeah. Did you want to go inside? I can call the realtor. Have him meet ushere.”

Her eyes fill withtears.

“Shit,” I mutter, shifting across the console to wrap an arm around her. “This is not what I was goingfor.”

“It’s not that. Last night, I wanted… I dream of you too, Tyler.” she swallows. “This show in New York, it’s not only my dream. It’s other people’s. I need to see it through—not because I want to prove I can, but forthem.”

I heave out a breath. I’ve never been willing to have people rely on me like that, but I love her forit.

“I hate this,” I confess. “Not this time with you. I hate that I can be a part-time brother or friend or son. I can move in and out of Jax’s life or Sophie’s or Beck’s or even Shay’s. I can stop by for a weekend or a vacation, and we can catch up, and it’s like old times. And thanks to you, I want to. I know what it’s like to have people in my life I care about and who care aboutme.

“But I can’t be with you part-time. You need someone with you always. Someone who’s all in. Someone to wake up with, to laugh with. Someone to hold you when you’re freakingout.”

Her soft face, full of love and sadness and hope, has my chest caving in. “Maybe not. I could be in New York, and we could go back andforth.”

“Youdeservethat, Annie. I couldn’t live with the thought of you having less than you deserve.” She’s too bright, too creative, too connected. “And this sounds selfish as fuck, but letting you in… it’s hard for me. To do that, I need you with me. To see your face, to hold you, to know everything’s going to beokay.”

“I keep feeling,” she starts, swiping at her face, “like it’s not our time. Like I’ve been waiting for years and I only get glimpses of it, and we have to fight for every single moment. I just want it to be our time, Tyler. Just once, I want today to be ourday.”

I tug her against me, dropping my lips to her forehead. “Then let’s make today ourday.”

So, wedo.

We stroll LA liketourists.

We laugh and dance and make out like we’re in highschool.

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