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“Norma!”

“What?” She sounded genuinely confused by my reaction. “It’s true.”

“I’m seventeen. I’m not getting under anyone!” My cheeks were so hot right now I felt like I’d walked into a furnace.

“Well, it’s still the best advice I have.”

“That’s terrible advice to give a teenager.” I laughed.

“I’m just trying to keep it real.”

I shook my head. “Well, any other real breakup advice that is somewhat more age appropriate?”

“Well, my momma always said that you can’t heal a heart by dwelling on the past. The only way to make things better is to focus on the present. The heart will take care of the rest.”

“So, I need to stop thinking about Noah and the breakup?”

“Yes, and distractions will help. Distractions like finding a cute new boy to get—”

“Norma!” She was officially worse than Anna.

She chuckled. “Your mom’s back, sweetie, and I better get back to work. I’ll talk to you soon.”

She was off the phone before I could reprimand her again.

“Why did Norma have a devious grin on her lips when she handed over the phone?” Mom asked as she came back.

“She was giving me breakup advice.”

“And…”

“And it wasn’t very helpful. I think I’ll stick with your advice of giving things time.”

“That sounds wise,” Mom agreed.

It wasn’t exactly easy. Giving things time wasn’t the quick fix I was after, but I trusted my mom knew what she was talking about.

A big clatter of plates sounded in the background and Mom swore under her breath. “Our new waitress has butter fingers today,” she said. “I better go.”

“Okay, talk to you soon.”

“Love you.”

“Love you more.”

I ended the call feeling both better and worse. Speaking with my mom always made me happier, but it was hard not to feel a little disheartened as I was no closer to getting over Noah and her advice was to just wait. It sounded simple enough in theory, but I had a feeling it wouldn’t be nearly so easy in practice. Especially not when I constantly saw him at school and time seemed to warp to a standstill whenever I was in his presence. It also didn’t help that whenever we were close I felt so drawn to him. No time more so than yesterday in the woods. What we needed were better boundaries—any boundaries at all, really.

The thought gave me clarity and resolve, and my feet moved of their own accord in the direction of the boys’ dormitory. I was supposed to be meeting Wes in the library soon so we could work on our economics homework from last week, but I could spare a few minutes. I was probably crazy to think going to see Noah was a good idea, but if I was ever going to get over him, we needed to set some ground rules. I was thinking no kissing and no longing looks would be at the top of the list.

When I got to his room, I banged hard on the door. Noah answered on the second knock, pure surprise lighting his eyes when he found me standing on the other side of the door.

“Can we talk?” I asked before he could say anything.

For a moment, it looked like he was going to refuse me. He glanced past me and looked up and down the corridor. When he saw I was alone, he nodded. Was he that worried about being seen with me?

He stepped back, gesturing for me to enter his room. I clenched my hands as I walked past him, trying my best to ignore the fresh scent of his aftershave. Even now, I still melted a little at the scent of it. He was dressed in his soccer gear, his gym bag slung over his shoulder. He looked like he was on his way out.

“I have to get to practice,” he said.