“You’re not?” she asks, clearly surprised.

“I’ve moved on from it, Heidi. I had to.”

She blows out a shaky breath, her hands at her sides again. “We never really talked about it, you know… what happened to us?”

I shrug. “We grew apart.”

“That’s it?”

I nod.

“Before or after you broke up with me?”

I shake my head, slightly annoyed. “I didn’t break up with you, Heidi. I enlisted.”

“You asked if I wanted to stay with you even though your future was uncertain!”

“Exactly!” I take a calming breath. “Heidi, I asked you. I did it for you. I didn’t say I wanted to break up. You read into that what you wanted. And you can’t deny that even after that there was a part of you still holding onto us like I was because you broke up with me in a damn letter while I was deployed!”

Her mouth opens. Her eyes widen. It seems like words are caught in her throat and for a few seconds, she stays that way. Then, slowly, her features soften, as if she’s remembering the conversation for exactly what it was. “When did we grow apart?” she asks.

“I can’t answer that, Heidi.”

She frowns, her gaze dropping. “Did I do something, Dylan? Was there a certain incident that made you wake up one day and realize I wasn’t enough for you?” When she looks back up, her eyes are clouded with tears.

For a second, I almost go to her. Almost. “No, Heidi. It wasn’t anything you did. But it wasn’t anything I did either. It was just us. We weren’t working. You knew I didn’t want to go to college but I went for you, and that life—” I take a breath. “That life is perfect for you. It wasn’t for me. And that’s how we would’ve spent the rest of our lives had I not made the choice to leave. We would’ve both been unhappy.”

“I didn’t ask you to follow me there,” she says.

“I’m not saying you did.”

“Then why do it?”

“Because I loved you, Heids.”

She wipes her tears. “You did?”

“Of course, I did. I don’t regret being with you all those years.”

“Do you regret how it ended?” she asks.

I shrug. “I really only regret not telling you sooner.”

“Telling me what?”

“That I thought we’d fallen out of love.”

“I still loved you,” she says quickly.

I shrug again. “Yeah, but it was a different kind of love. It was familiar and—”

“Safe,” she cuts in. “You always made me feel safe, Dylan.”

I find myself smiling, though I don’t really know why. “Why’d you really want to see me, Heidi?”

Now it’s her turn to shrug. “Closure, I guess. Why’d you let me see you?”

“Same reason.”

“So you don’t hate me?”

I shake my head.

Then she says, “You look good, Dylan.”

And I look away.

She sighs. “Your dad helping you with the car? That was something you did together, right?”

“Yeah, it was.” I smile again. “Riley’s helping me with the rebuild.”

“Riley’s… a guy from your unit?”

I chuckle. “No. Riley’s my girlfriend.”

Her eyes widen. “Your girlfriend?”

“Uh huh.”

“Sorry.” She laughs. “I thought Riley was a guy.”

“Common mistake.”

“So…” Her shoulders relax. “How’d you meet?”

I jerk my head toward Riley’s house. “She’s the girl next door.”

“How cliché.”

“Says The Prom Queen.”

She laughs louder and pats her hair. “I still wear my crown when I want to relive my greatest moments.”

Shaking my head, I tell her, “That doesn’t surprise me at all.”

“You’re such a jerk,” she jokes. Then adds, “So can I meet her?”

I pull my phone out of my pocket and shoot Riley a text.

Dylan: Come over.

“Whoa, you learned how to text?” Heidi asks.

“Yeah. Riley’s a texter. Besides, it’s about time, right?”

“You must really like her.”

“You have no idea, Heids.”

Riley shows up a minute later, stopping at the end of my driveway when she sees Heidi in the garage. She’s dressed exactly as she was when she left: a plain white shirt underneath one of mine. I make her wear them when we’re working on the car so it doesn’t ruin her clothes.

Slowly, she walks up the driveway, her gaze everywhere but on us.

“Hey babe,” I say in greeting.

She glances at Heidi quickly before looking back at me. “Hey. I’m sorry. I thought you meant to come over now. I didn’t know you still had company.”

“I asked him if I could meet you,” Heidi cuts in, raising her hand in a wave. “I’m Heidi.”

“I know,” Riley rushes out, then recovers, “I mean, I know you—recognize you—from high school, I mean.” She presses one foot on top of the other—a sign I’ve learned means she’s trying not to run.

“We were in the same class?” Heidi tilts her head as she looks Riley up and down.