“What’s this?” I ask, glancing down, my face immediately breaking into a grin when I see Jo’s familiar loopy handwriting and her return address on the front of the box.
“Intercepted the UPS guy.” Elliot takes the chair across from the swing and glances at the box. “Open it. We delivered it, so that means we get to see what’s inside it.”
“Second that,” Noah says. “Jo is the best present giver ever. I’m dying to see what’s inside.”
I glance at my dad. “Aren’t you going to say something about how I’m entitled to my privacy and get them to back off?”
My dad laughs. “Fuck no. That pancake package was amazing. I’m invested in your little game now. I need to see what’s inside too. Besides, I think you could use the distraction.”
“Distraction from what?” Elliot asks.
What the hell? I think. These are my brothers. “Distraction from the fact that I’m face first in love with Jo and want her to move to Boston so we can be together, but I haven’t told her yet.”
“Fuck, yes,” Noah crows. “I knew you were in love with her, and she’s cool as hell. It’ll be awesome to have her here.”
“That must be scary for you,” Cooper says, consideringly, with his trademark intuition.
“Fucking terrifying, actually,” I say idly, peeling the tape away from the box. I flip open the lid and pull back the tissue paper, staring inside the box, trying to figure out what I’m looking at.
I pick up the items one by one. A keychain from Coney Island. A tiny park bench like the ones that line Battery Park. A replica of the Central Park gazebo. A magnet shaped like a bagel. A shot glass with Lincoln Center emblazoned on the side. A mug she must have had made that says “Free Mugging” on one side and “The J’s Summer of Fun” on the other in bright pink letters. A box of flu tests. A little photo album full of pictures of us from all our summer adventures. And so much more. Little mementos of everything we did over the summer. Our entire love story, right here in this box.
I pull out the note sitting on top.
J,
The J’s Summer of Fun was the most epic adventure of all time.
I thought we should have something to remember it by.
You are my favorite everything.
Love,
Jo
“Holy shit,” I murmur, my heart in my throat. The rush of love and longing is so strong that I have to grip the edge of the porch swing to keep myself grounded. My brain races, calculating the distance between here and Pittsburgh, how long it will take to get there, and if maybe I should just get on a plane instead. It suddenly feels insane that I’ve spent almost a month away from Jo, not telling her how much I love her and can’t imagine living without her, and it is absolutely urgent that I get my arms around her as soon as possible.
I don’t know how long I’ve been sitting there staring at the box on my lap, but when I glance up, all three of my brothers are looking at me with matching, knowing grins on their faces. It’s Noah who breaks the silence.
“Buckle up, boys; I think we’re about to go to grand gesture city.”
Cooper swings an arm around my shoulder. “So…road trip?”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-EIGHT
JO
With a frustrated huff, I toss my phone on the couch face down, vowing not to look at it for an hour. Okay, fine, half an hour. Fuck, ten minutes. If I can go ten damn minutes without flipping the phone over, I’ll call it a win.
“This is pathetic, Jo,” I mumble to myself. “He’s busy. He has a whole ass life and doesn’t need to be texting you every ten minutes.”
The he, of course, being Jordan.
I haven’t heard from him since his mom stole the phone from him earlier tonight and I got sucked into a conversation with her about the book she, Hannah, and I are reading for our book club of sorts. The tracking on the New York themed package I sent him said it was delivered while I was talking to his mom, but so far, it’s crickets from my Boston-based man.
It's unlike him, and it’s unsettling.
I shake my head and shoot to my feet, because like fuck will I be this girl. The one who loses her marbles because her long-distance boyfriend doesn’t text her for a minute.
