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“Yeah, me too.” She sat up and started flicking through her notebook, which I thought she’d left in the cab of the truck. Eventually, she found the page she was looking for and pulled out an envelope that was tucked inside. She looked down at it, reading whatever was on the front before handing it over to me.

“What’s this?”

“It’s what comes next. At least, I hope it is...”

I took the envelope from her, and my breath caught in my throat when I recognized the Ryker University emblem printed on it. It was a letter from Ryker, and it was addressed to Paige.

I sat up straight. “Seriously, what is this?”

“Well, you know how my mom convinced me to finally apply to colleges?”

“Yeah . . .”

“I’ve started getting replies.”

She was smiling at me, but through the dim light I could tell she was nervous because of the way she was glancing between me and the envelope. I reached out and tangled her fingers with mine, needing to calm my own rapidly beating heart just as much as hers.

“You applied to Ryker?” The words came out softly, as if I hadn’t been sure whether to speak them aloud.

She gave a small nod. “I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to get your hopes up, and then the letter arrived last week but it was the playoffs, and I was afraid it might distract us...” She stared up at me, her eyes wide with worry. “You don’t mind, do you? It’s not just that I want to be with you next year. Obviously, I want that, but I’ve realized I want to be there for me too. They have an amazing sports journalism program, and from the moment I applied I haven’t been able to imagine myself going anywhere else.”

“Of course I don’t mind,” I said. My own nerves were growing as I looked at the letter she’d placed in my hands. Since we’d gotten together, I had tried not to let myself worry too much about where we might end up next year, knowing Paige had her own dreams to chase. I haven’t even dreamed this was a possibility. But now that the letter was here, I couldn’t imagine any other future for us.

“But what if I didn’t get in? What if they rejected me? What if they all reject me?” Her voice was becoming more frantic. “I filled out my applications so late. And then they felt so rushed. Mom was right, I need options. But now I just want Ryker so badly.”

“It’s okay, Pidge.” I scooted closer and wrapped my arms around her once more. “Whatever happens, we’ll figure it out. I’ll do whatever it takes to be with you. Even if that means ditching hockey and opening Crapcakes.”

She laughed. “I didn’t know we’d settled on a name for our crappy bakery. I like it.”

I kind of liked the sound of it too. Our joke about opening a bakery was growing on me more and more. For most of my life, hockey had been the number one priority. But missing the second half of the season had allowed me to take a step back and think about other things. Hockey was still important to me, and it was still my plan for the future. But it didn’t have to be. As long as I had Paige, I knew I’d be happy.

“We probably can’t actually call it that,” she said.

“Why not?”

“Because no one would buy the food!”

I nodded. “True. But that’s probably a good thing if you’re cooking it, right?”

I laughed as she elbowed me hard in the ribs and snatched the Ryker letter back from me. “Let’s just pray this option works out.”

“Okay. Are you going to open it?”

She took a deep breath, nodded, and then tore open the envelope like she was ripping off a Band-Aid. She was more careful as she pulled out the letter inside and started to read in silence.

I stayed quiet as I watched her, doing my best to keep a neutral expression as I braced myself for whatever her next words would be. When I was certain she must have read it through at least once, the suspense became too much for me.

“Well? What does it say?”

Paige was still, her eyes locked on her letter. She seemed like she was in a state of shock, and I wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad sign.

“I’m in,” she murmured, before lifting her wide eyes to mine. “I’m in!”

She threw herself into my arms, and I hugged her tightly, tucking my head into her neck. Relief flooded through me and a smile spread across my face.

“I’m so proud of you, Pidge,” I said, pulling back to look at her.

“I’m proud of me too.” Her eyes were glittering and her expression filled with hope. “Can you believe I finally have a plan for my future?”

She grinned and dropped her gaze back down to her acceptance letter, as if she needed to read it one more time to make sure it was real.

I leaned back, relief mixing with excitement for all that was to come. As I stared up, a star streaked across the sky. Paige’s eyes were still lowered as she reread her letter, and I was tempted to point it out to her. But instead, I let the star fall without drawing her attention. I’d leave that wish for someone else. We both already had everything we wanted.