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"What do you think?"

I realized then that my mouth was open and I snapped it shut

His eyebrows pulled together "I went to Hobby Lobby in Ponca to get it framed It wasn’t the frame I wanted, but they would have had to order the other one, and I wanted to show it to you today I couldn’t wait"

"Are you really going to fail Art?"

He shrugged "Who cares? What do you think?"

"The Art Institute of DallasArt"

His shoulders fell "I’ to Dallas, Erin"

"Why not?"

"I tried to tell my parents, but I can’t look theo?"

He held out his hands then let thehs with a slap "Yeah"

"Then you’re going We’re going to figure out a way to get you there, even if I have to hold your hand when you tell them They love you, Weston, and above all, they want you to be happy, right?"

He nodded slowly "But"

"No buts We’re going to get you there"

He watched me for a moment "Do you like the frame?"

"I love the frame I love the picture I still don’t understand why you decided toin the air "Is that what I am? A project?"

He seeoing to do I just started drawing After a week I realized that she," he said, pointing to the drawing, "was you As I puther perfect, I understood why it happened" He took a few steps toward me, until he was so close I had to look up to see his eyes "When you think about so about it And when you dreah, you just have to hope that it becohed "I think about you all the time, Erin I’ve wanted to talk to you for years, but I was just so damn nervous I didn’t knohat to say or how you’d react if I did I was afraid you would think I was just trying to help Alder pick on you I know that I have shitty ti ready to ood at loving you from a distance"

I’d worked so hard not to let anyone see me cry that I felt a moment of panic when my eyes watered and the first tear fell I quickly wiped it away

Weston put his thu just before he whispered, "Can I kiss you?"

I nodded slowly, feeling every nerve in my body perk up and wait to experience as about to happen