The lunchroom is normal, which means that I can almost imagine David Attenborough giving a voiceover. As the teen animals begin to feed themselves, groups form to help protect from predators. The only question is, who are the predators and who are the prey?

I guess it’s the same in every school lunchroom. For me, my eyes immediately search the room, looking for my handsome boyfriend, who is now damn-near six foot five but finally seems to have stopped growing. At least he’s easy to spot.

It’s not Aubrey I see first but Declan, one of Aubrey’s teammates. “Hey, Declan, seen Aubrey?”

“Draining the lizard,” he says, grinning as he looks over my shoulder.

Before I can turn to see what he’s looking at, I feel powerful hands wrap around my waist, and I squirm, turning to see Aubrey looking down at me. “Hey, baby.”

“Hey to you,” I reply before Aubrey takes my breath away with a kiss. He’s daring today, slipping his tongue into my mouth as Declan groans beside us.

“Will you two get a room? Or at least give a fuck if Mr. Anderson’s in the room or not?”

“Okay, okay . . . don’t want you to get in trouble,” Aubrey says, finding us some extra seats. “Anderson isn’t going to say anything with my signing day so close. Not about a kiss, anyway.”

“Hey! Guess what? Marissa and I went shopping yesterday after school and I found my prom dress!” I tell Aubrey as I take out my lunch. It’s a cute dress, and I know Aubrey’s gonna love it. “What about you? Need any help with your tux or anything?”

“Nope, I’m all set and ready,” Aubrey says, taking out a huge beef sandwich that looks like it should feed a small village. Then again, he’s working out even harder than he did during football season, bulking up for college play and it shows. “Can’t wait to spin you around the dance floor in my arms, show everyone what a lucky bastard I am. I don’t know why you put up with me, but I’m damn sure glad you do,” he teases me, well aware that I still have occasional doubts about what a star of the school on the fast track for college glory is doing with someone like me.

I’m definitely not as nerdy as I used to be. Aubrey’s circle of friends accepted me and Marissa into their fold last year when we started showing up for games and parties, me on Aubrey’s arm. Well, they accepted it after a while. At first, there was some definite jealousy and petty bitchy comments, but now people keep telling me that they’re voting us as prom king and queen because we’re ‘such a cute couple . . . so adorbs!’ with actual squeals. I don’t get it, but I’ll admit that getting crowned prom queen and dancing with Aubrey as my king sounds like the cherry on top of our high school years, a sweet beginning to our college days together at Oregon.

My imaginary image of Aubrey and me dancing, sparkly crowns on our heads, is interrupted as I realize Aubrey is still talking.

“ . . . and Gabe’s going to be home soon for the baby, and I’d like him to see I’m wrapping up high school on a high note. Face it, Sweet Ana, we’ve got the world at our feet. Finish high school with a bang, head to a great school for college . . . and most importantly, I get to do it all with you. You’re gonna be my queen, for prom and for always. I love you.”

“You’re silly,” I murmur, blushing furiously. The things he’s saying are making my insides feel like the champagne my parents let me have on New Year’s Eve this year, bubbly and happy and shiny. But there’s a whole table full of people listening to him wax poetic about us. I’m equally proud and self-conscious.

Aubrey, though, is riding too high to notice. “I’m serious. No one else stands a chance. Everyone loves you.” He swings his arm wide, gesturing to everyone in the cafeteria.

“No, they don’t. Most of these folks wouldn’t even know who I am if I wasn’t your girl.” I say, not being modest. It’s just the truth.

But Aubrey’s not hearing it. Suddenly, he stands up, pulling me with him and his voice booming out across the lunchroom. “Hey everyone!” There are a few folks that echo back a greeting and all eyes turn to Aubrey as I try to sit back down, a huge grin on my pink face. I don’t know what he’s doing, but it’s already such an Aubrey thing to do . . . impulsive, confident, and loud. “You know my girl, Anabelle Tucker, right? Just wanted to make sure you knew who you’re voting for when you write her name down as prom queen. She’s the best girl in the whole world, and I’m lucky enough that she puts up with me, so she damn sure deserves a crown.” He laughs, and the whole room laughs with him, although I hear more than a few ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from the girls. I want to tell them that I agree with their sentiment . . . Aubrey is over-the-top and romantic and crazy. And mine.

I’m blushing again, his words meaning more to me than he could possibly know, a big grin of happiness fighting down the nerves of standing up in front of the whole room of kids.

“Baby, come on,” Aubrey says, leaning in to talk with me softly. “I’m your king, you’re my queen. Now we’re gonna make it known to the whole damn school.”

He bends down to kiss me, full on the mouth in front of everyone. Suddenly, Mr. Anderson is at our side. “Mr. O’Day and Miss Tucker.” His voice has that hard edge of a teacher, but you can hear the humor tickling underneath where he’s pushed down his grin too. Aubrey’s like that. His charm can get anyone on his side for anything, even obviously breaking the rules against PDA in school. “I think your declarations are done for the day, and perhaps it’s time to get on to your next class.”

Aubrey grins at Mr. Anderson, throwing an arm around my shoulder. “I think you’re right, sir. We’re off to fifth period. We have chemistry, right?” He says it with a wink, and at first, I don’t get it, too good-girl to catch the tease. But when I realize what he’s joking about, I blush again and Mr. Anderson quirks an eyebrow pointedly. Aubrey leads me out of the cafeteria, a chorus of hoots and hollers in our wake. I wave ‘bye to Marissa, who’s lit up like a Christmas tree and mouths ‘we’ll talk later’ as she quietly mimes a slow clap.

Once we’re in the hallway, away from the prying eyes of teachers, I stop and look up at Aubrey. “Aubrey, I love you too. I don’t need some stupid crown. Just you. You’re all I need.”

When Aubrey meets me after school, I can tell he’s got something on his mind, probably still prom. “Come with me,” he says.

“Where?” I ask, taking his hand. I don’t have a car yet, so it’s no big deal to get a ride with him, but Mom and Dad like to know where I am.

“Just a special place,” Aubrey says mysteriously. “Tell your mom that I’ll have you home by nine.”

I text Mom and jump into Aubrey’s truck as he takes off out of town, driving up into the mountains. For the most part, we just chat, talking about classes, the almost constant rumors that someone’s going to open a ski resort up in these mountains, what Oregon is going to be like next year, and other stuff.

By the time the sun’s starting to set, we’re a good way out of town, and it’s getting a little chilly. “Glad the heater works in this thing.”

“Yeah . . . here, wear my jacket too,” Aubrey says, grabbing his letterman’s jacket from the back seat and handing it to me. “That’ll cover you.”

“From knee to shoulder,” I joke, slipping it on. It is warm, though, and when Aubrey turns off the main road and down a short dirt path into a clearing, I find my breath taken away. About halfway across is a small pond, barely a hundred feet across, but it’s breathtaking.

“Wow, this is beautiful,” I whisper as I look out over the entire Great Falls valley. We’re surrounded by nature, the darkness of the evening encroaching all around us, but below us, the lights of town are just beginning to come on. “How’d you find this place?”

“My folks used to take Gabe and me camping up here when we were kids, but we found this place a lot later than that,” Aubrey admits. “One of the rare times Gabe was on leave, he and I came out here . . . hiking, camping, talking, just roughing it up and goofing off like we used to. We found this spot, and I knew as soon as I saw it that this place was special.”

We walk across the field, which is crunchy with the last remnants of winter’s frost, but the spring daytime sun has melted most of the ice and snow. The thin film of ice around the edge reminds me that we’re up in the mountains, but Aubrey’s jacket and his warm arms help me. “Thank you for bringing me here. This place . . . it’s beautiful.”

Aubrey nods, and we sit on a blanket, watching the sun go down and the first stars twinkle to life. “I come out here to think sometimes, and it was here I decided something,” Aubrey says, looking up. “Ana, this is where I realized I was in love with you.”

My eyes shine bright, remembering the first time we’d said ‘I love you’ to each other. It’d been quiet and soft, sweet and special. I hadn’t been surprised. I knew we’d both been feeling it for a while, but the meaning in the depth of the words would stay with me forever.

“I came up here last week again, thinking about my future, our future. What I want it to look like and knowing that things are going to be different in college.”

I hold my breath, not sure where Aubrey’s going with this line of talk but able to read the seriousness of this moment in his eyes.

He takes my hand, his eyes locked on mine as he swallows audibly. “My Sweet Ana, we’ve got our whole lives in front of us and I imagine what that might look like every day. In every one of those possibilities, I see you, me . . . us. I know we’re young, way too young to get married, obviously. But I want you to know that I see that for us. I want that.”

He digs in his pocket for a second, pulling out a small black box, and I gasp, unable to hold back my shock as tears start streaming down my face. “Aubrey—”

“It’s not an engagement ring, and I’m not getting down on one knee yet. But this is a promise that one day, I will. A promise ring that one day, I’ll put a diamond ring on your finger and then a wedding band. And that we’ll have that forever I see in my dreams.” He opens the box, and I blubber all over again.

The tiny gold band has a knot at the center, the two sides coming together and weaving into an infinity knot. He takes it from the box, slipping it onto my finger, a perfect fit. And we kiss, my arms wrapping around his neck and him pulling me tight to him with his hands on my waist.

The kiss turns heated quickly, and as Aubrey moves lower to kiss along my jawline and down my neck, I finally find words. “I want that too, Aubrey. All of it. A future with you. But Aubrey, I also . . .”

He pulls back, looking at me, and the heat in his eyes gives me the courage I need. “I also want you . . . now. We’ve waited, but we’re eighteen, about to go to college together, and promising to have a future. I want it to start right here.” I move in to kiss him again, the flames reaching higher than ever before.

“Ana, are you sure? We’ve got forever. There’s no rush.” He’s trying to be noble, respectful, and not to pressure me.

But I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. We might be named prom king and queen in a few weeks, but our life together beyond high school starts tonight. Right here, right now. Our bodies pressed together, our hearts full of love, and his promise ring on my finger. “I’ve never been surer, Aubrey. I love you.”