The night was warm and close, cicadas humming steadily in the trees, the lights of Ridgeview spread out small and distant below us. Neither of us said much for a while. We didn't need to. Something had shifted the moment I'd said yes with my eyes open instead of my eyes closed, a kind of honesty settling between us that made the silence feel full instead of uncertain. "I don't want tonight to just be goodbye," I said eventually, my voice quiet against the dark. "I want it to be something we actually chose. All the way. Not because you're leaving tomorrow and it feels urgent. Because I trust you completely, and I don't want to wait for something perfect later that might not come the way we imagine it." Kai turned to look at me, searching my face carefully, making sure. "Are you sure?" "I'm
