“I have to admit, I was skeptical, but you two totally pulled this off.”

Heather beamed as she looked out over the boathouse. The Tullys had gone with a Breakfast Club theme—Heather was rocking a Claire Standish getup and had forced Michael into a John Bender outfit, complete with a tiny diamond stud that had to be a sticker. Michael loved Heather to the ends of the Earth and back, but Willa didn’t think he’d go so far as to get an ear pierced for a party. Next to him, Willa slid Van an equally pleased look, although weighted probably less with earnest delight and more with I-want-to-jump-your-bones. Because Van looked even hotter than normal.

The John Hughes mash-up theme was proving to be an enormous hit. People from the Aquitaine session had taken up the gauntlet she and Van had thrown down. There were, of course, multiple representatives from The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, and Sixteen Candles, but there were also people with fair-to-excellent imitations of Weird Science and Uncle Buck.

And Van…well, Van made an amazing Duckie. God knows where she’d found them, but she was rocking a blazer that looked eerily similar to the one Duckie wore in the prom scene of Pretty in Pink and a bolo tie. Seriously. Where in the Berkshires did one get a bolo tie?

Her own dress wasn’t as good of a replica of Andie’s pink monstrosity, but she didn’t think Van minded she’d taken a few liberties. The halter neckline and bubblegum pink color were the same, but that was about where the resemblance stopped. Willa had gone for something more flattering—clingier than the original, and fuck no with the polka dots.

When Van smiled at her, looked at her in that way that she knew meant Van was picturing all the filthy things she was going to do to her later, she didn’t think she could be happier.

The night was nearing its end, and so was the camp season. Hard to believe she had to go back to Stanford in a few days, all the way across the country from Van. But they’d text and email and Skype, and Van was going to come visit her. She’d promised, and that was something Willa could trust in. She’d watched Van be the best friend a person could ask for to Nate for her entire childhood, and loyalty was still one of the things Van did best.

After they attempted to shake their way through all the eighties hits, Van excused herself. Though Willa was bummed they’d likely miss the last dance, she couldn’t blame her. The punch was pretty addicting stuff, and they’d both had several glasses. No wonder she needed to use the ladies’ room.

Willa set to picking up some empty cups and abandoned paper plates, because they’d have enough to clean up once everyone had bunked down; she may as well get started now. The Aquitaine crew was pretty great, but neat as a pin they were not. Who was when they’d been downing Meg’s punch all night?

That was when Otis Redding’s “Tenderness” started to play. Willa loved that song and wished Van would hurry back so they could enjoy it together. But as she eyed the doors Van had disappeared through, damn if the woman didn’t come busting through them, doing a pretty damn impressive imitation of Duckie in the record shop, serenading his not-so-secret crush.

It was epic to watch Van lipsync the whole thing, and Willa had to wonder when the hell she’d found the time to practice, but practice she must have because she nailed it. Totally fucking nailed it. Though the entire camp was gathered, watching Van get her enthusiastic groove on, Willa knew this performance was for her. Maybe later she’d give Van her own performance to show her exactly how grateful Willa was…

After the number was over, Van approached her—ruddy-faced, because that was probably the most physical activity Van had done all summer—and took her by the hands. “You know, I liked a lot of things about Duckie in Pretty in Pink, but one of the things I could never get my head around is he never told Andie how he felt. That and his ‘nice guy’ attitude.” Van shivered, and Willa laughed. Yeah, she knew a lot of those guys. “So I’m going to be better than Duckie. I’m telling you now I love you, and I want to be with you. I’m making a promise out loud and with my whole heart.”

Her Duckie was superbly swoon-worthy and she wanted to tell her so, but before she could, Van shook her head. “I will sort this out, and once I do, we will be together. The more I talk to Michelle from Aquitaine, the more I think they’d be a good fit for me, and know what the best part is?”

There could be a lot of things about Aquitaine Van was excited about. They clearly had excellent taste if they were trying to recruit Van and they’d had an eighties-themed retreat at a grown-up summer camp. Maybe they had cosplay Fridays or a desk decoration allowance? Willa didn’t feel like guessing. “What?”

“They have offices in Palo Alto.”

Not that she’d want Van to take a job because it was close to her, but the fact she thought that was the best part? Gave her the warm fuzzies. “That’s literally next door to Stanford.”

“Yeah, I know.” Willa’s heart swelled with the lopsided smile Van gave her, so she kissed her and kissed her again.

Van pulled away. “So if I end up working there, it’ll be perfect. And if not, there are other places near there that do the kind of work I think I’d like to. Either way, we won’t have to say goodbye at the end of the summer ever again. Promise.”