Lila's POV
During the first month, we talked every day.
Not always long conversations. Sometimes just a few lines back and forth between his practices and my internship shifts, photos of things we thought the other would find funny, a running joke about the six-hour difference that made "good morning" and "goodnight" collide constantly into the same message thread. It felt, for those first weeks, like distance was just a minor inconvenience layered on top of something solid enough to absorb it easily.
Kai: skated with the varsity guys today. actual college hockey players. felt like a joke that I get to do this now
Lila: you earned it, stop being weird about it
Kai: hard when everyone here is so much better than Ridgeview hockey. feels like starting over
Lila: you'll catch up. you alw
