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got back to the bar, instead.
    Sipping on my water allowed me to relax a little and the more everyone else drank, the better I felt. For some reason, buzzed eyes were easier for me to stand than sober ones.
    We were leaned up against the back edge of the bar, still in the same group as Mason and Dustin but with enough space between us to hold separate conversations. Willow and Stephanie were chatting about their dorm room assignments at Appalachian State while I pretended to listen. As far as I was concerned, that college was essentially high school number two. Besides, Mason’s girlfriend had just walked in, and I was far more interested in torturing myself by watching them together. She had just strutted in and thrown herself into his arms as everyone around them smiled. He wrapped his arms all the way around her and pulled her tight into him, kissing her lips like he’d kissed mine a week before, and I couldn’t help but realize that he could never wrap his arms that far around me.
    “What about you, Nat?” Stephanie asked, stealing another sip from her flask before pouring half of it in the soda she’d just ordered. “Where are you rooming? I’m surprised you and Willow aren’t together.”
    I shrugged, tilting my plastic cup until an ice cube slid between my teeth. I crunched on it loudly with my eyes still on Mason. “I haven’t decided if I’m going to Appalachian State, yet.”
    Stephanie blanched and Willow’s mouth pulled to the side. She already knew I was still debating my options, but to Stephanie and everyone else in this town, it was practically a sin not to go to Appalachian State. It was where everyone in Poxton Beach went. We “stuck together,” as Dale liked to put it, and most of us would end up right back in that town.
    Again — high school number two.
    But me? I hadn’t made a single move toward college, other than take the standardized testing.
    “What do you mean? Like, not this semester?” Stephanie was twirling the small black straw in her drink furiously as she waited for my response.
    Embarrassment shaded my cheeks, though I wasn’t sure if it was from her judgmental questions or from Mason’s eyes catching mine briefly before I flicked them back to Stephanie. I hated having to explain my decisions, especially when I wasn’t quite sure why I made them, either. The only thing I knew for sure was that I didn’t want to go to a college just because everyone else was doing it. “As in maybe not at all. I don’t know, I haven’t decided yet.”
    “But don’t you have to get a room? And enroll in classes?”
    I shrugged again. “I’m not worried about it right now.” That wasn’t exactly true, but it wasn’t exactly a lie. I did worry about it — about the decision I had to make, about being behind the rest of my classmates when it came to knowing my future. But, it was also true that, at the moment, my only real worry was that Mason had his tongue halfway down another girl’s throat.
    Willow followed my gaze and shook her head, stealing a shot from her flask before grabbing my arm. “Nuh-uh. Not happening, Nat. You are not going to sit here and torture yourself all night. Let’s go dance.”
    But before she had the chance to pull me away, Mason’s girlfriend made her way toward us. She smiled at Stephanie first, eying her outfit.
    “I love those boots! Where did you get them?”
    Stephanie returned her smile, flattered and clearly unaware of my discomfort. “The boot boutique in town. They have the best colors and styles! I’ll have to take you sometime.”
    “I’d love that,” she answered genuinely before turning her gaze to me. It soured immediately. “You’re Natalie, right?”
    My throat was too dry to swallow, which meant I definitely couldn’t answer, so I just nodded.
    Her smile was pinched at the corners. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you from Mason.”
    My heart backflipped at her words before sinking to the floor. She heard