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“It’s just a stupid party,” Priya says from behind me, her voice soft. “We don’t have to talk about it. We don’t even have to think about it. We can just go home and watch Jennifer’s Body and eat pickles and stay up all night. I’ll even buy you another Slushie if you want.”

A flood of warmth fills the hole in my chest, and I whirl around to face her. As I stand there staring at the best friend I’ve ever had in the park where we grew from kids to teenagers to people taking their very first steps into adulthood, I realize it doesn’t matter what this summer meant to Andrea.

It doesn’t matter if I was more than a fling.

It doesn’t matter if she really did see me or not, because I saw me, and no matter who helped me get there, nobody will ever be able to take that away.

I’m the one who stood on that stage and read that poem. I’m the one who followed her into the parking lot and laid my whole heart on the line. I’m the one who decided I was enough for her, even if she couldn’t do the same for me.

The voices in my head might be trying to tear me down and tell me differently, but the loudest part of me knows I will always be enough for myself.

“You know what?” I say to Priya. “That sounds like the perfect summer night.”

Her face splits into a grin to mirror my own. She links her arm through mine, and the two of us turn to head over and collect Shal.

Only Shal isn’t where we left her.

“Shal?” Priya shouts, just as I whip my head around and spot Shal reaching for the door of a silver car that’s pulled up to the edge of the sidewalk.

“Come on!” Shal shouts, waving us over.

“Who is that?” Priya demands, releasing my arm so the two of us can sprint over to the car.

“Our driver,” Shal answers with an eye-roll. “For the ride I ordered. Duh.”

“The ride to where?” Priya demands.

“To the party.” Shal rolls her eyes again, like the answer should be obvious. “Do you really want Andrea to finish the bucket list without us? We have to go to this pool party.”

She tugs on the door handle, but Priya grabs her arm.

“Listen, Shal,” she says over the sound of her sister’s affronted gasp. “We are not going to the party. You are drunk, and that is a terrible idea.”

Shal yanks her arm out of Priya’s grasp and then shrugs. “Speak for yourself, but I am finishing that bucket list. I’m going to go to that party and make a new friend and also fall passionately in love, okay? We can’t let Andrea beat us at our own list!”

Before either of us can move to stop her again, she hauls the door open and dives into the backseat.

Priya groans. “We’re not getting her out of this car, are we?”

Considering that Shal has now buckled herself in and is humming along to the radio, I shake my head.

The driver looks back over his shoulder and asks, “Are we getting in or not, ladies?”

Priya groans again and then looks at me with a grimace. “I’m sorry, Naomi. I can’t let her go alone. I’m sure by the time we get there, I’ll be able to convince her to come back. You can stay, and—”

“I’m coming with you.”

Her eyes widen. “You don’t have to. I’ll deal with it. You shouldn’t have to see—”

“If Andrea can spend her last night in the city throwing a pool party, I can show up there. Shal is right. We have to finish the list. Maybe it’s stupid, but we made it this far, and…and I think maybe I need this.”

I was ready to forget about the list altogether, but now that the chance to finish it for good has literally pulled up to the curb in front of us, I can’t help thinking ‘That Summer We Almost Completed a Crazy Bucket List’ is not what I want this chapter of my life’s story to be called.

I’ve read so many stories about other people. Now that mine has finally begun, I’m not going to cut it short.

So I get in the car.

CHAPTER 23