Veronica hurries past me. I just stand there, still staring at Tim. Besides knowing about him from Veronica, I know who he is from school. He stares back at me, giving me a confused expression.

“Way to go, man,” he says shaking his head.

“Shut the hell up.”

“She ignored me, and I had to beg her to just let me talk to her, all under threat of being doused by her drinks, and you basically just accused her of cheating on you. Nice job.”

I want to punch him, but not because I saw him hugging her. Because he’s right.

“Shit,” I hiss under my breath and turn around to find Veronica. She’s walking down the boardwalk, far enough along that I can barely make her out.

“Micah, go,” Cindy tells me.

Her words are the push I need to break away from this stupid jealousy and start to run. Weaving around people, I catch up to her, as she continues to walk briskly.

“Veronica, wait.” I pull at her arm.

“Just leave me alone.” She yanks it free, continuing forward.

“Please! I’m sorry, okay?” I get in front of her, stopping her motion. “I’m a jackass.”

“Yes, you are.” She folds her arms, staring at the ground. “Do you know how much that hurt, Micah? As if I don’t know what he did, then you throw it in my face.”

“I know, I don’t know why I said that. Damn it, I’m sorry, Vero.” I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close, but she keeps her arms up. “I wasn’t thinking. I just saw him with his arms around you, and I thought—”

“I know what you thought.” She looks up at me like I’m crazy. “Micah, I would never do that. I’ve never given you any reason to think that.”

“I was just shocked. I saw him and you and …” I kiss the top of her head, still holding her, willing her to hold me, or at least drop her arms. “What’s going on, Veronica?” I ask softly. “This entire week things have felt off.”

“I know,” she answers, finally putting her arms around me.

Moving us off to the side instead of standing in the middle of the boardwalk with everyone around us, I lean against a cement partial, keeping her close. The waves break behind us, kids are playing in the sand, and music floats out of neighboring stores. We should be enjoying ourselves. Laughing in the sand or water, only worried about our upcoming classes. Instead, it feels like there’s a dark cloud hovering above us.

She’s right though. She hasn’t given me any reason to believe she’d cheat on me. So why am I still so jealous of Tim?

“You know I would never do that either, right?” I ask her. “You don’t have anything to worry about with Lana.” I’m not sure if I’m saying it to calm her fears or my own.

I wait patiently, hoping she finally lets me in. Ever since the night she told me how much she loved me, I thought we crossed a point in our relationship where we knew one another, inside and out. But since then things have also felt crooked. Like a schism has torn through us and I have no idea what to do.

“I … I just feel …” She takes a deep breath. She’s finally going to talk to me. Maybe we can finally move past whatever wall is being built up. “I feel like—”

“Hey, guys,” Cindy cuts off her words, jogging over to us. “I told Tim to get the hell out of here.”

I give her a thankful nod, but can’t help tensing up as Veronica looks over at her and shakes her head.

“Cindy, you didn’t have to do that. We weren’t doing anything.”

I don’t say anything because I’m not sure what to say, but I feel angry and jealous again. Why the hell is she defending that asshole? “Taylor and a few others have a spot picked out on the sand.”

“I don’t know.” She finally looks up at me. “I’m not really up to hanging out on the beach anymore.”

“Please?” I lean down closer, kissing her forehead.

“Yeah, come on, V,” Cindy adds. “It’ll be fun.”

She pauses, taking a deep breath. Looking up at me, there’s a timidity in her eyes I haven’t seen since the first night she slept over. “No, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine.” I squeeze her hand, trying to sound as understanding as I can. “Did you want to go back to my place?”

“I don’t know.” I fight back a frown from her words. “Maybe you can drop me off at home, and I’ll pick up Miguel’s car. He’s been letting me use it.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mind taking you.”

“Yeah, I think that’d be better.”

Better? Better for who? I swallow the words and nod, trying to smile, but it’s barely a smirk. “Okay.”

After she gives Cindy a hug, we head to the parking lot. The drive to her house is anything but comfortable. I turn on the music low, hoping something will cut the tension that seems to be building, but it doesn’t help. She stares out of the window as I drive down the highway. I reach over, giving her hand a squeeze, offering her another smile. She smiles back, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.

My thoughts drift back to what she was going to say right before Cindy showed up. Something about how she feels. Does she doubt us? Me? I thought we were on such solid ground a week ago, but now I don’t know. And why would she even give her ex the time of day, much less let him hug her? Unless—

No, Micah. Get your head out of your ass.

I pull up to her house, parking on the street, and turn down the radio. She doesn’t move. She just stares out of the window. I reach for her hand again, pulling it to my lips, and kiss her fingers.

“You’re still coming over, right?”

“I don’t know,” she answers, shaking her head. “Maybe I should just stay home.”

“Veronica, please.” I move closer to her, hoping she’ll do the same. She doesn’t. “Can we just try and get to where we were? Or at least tell me what you were going to say?”

She finally scoots closer, wrapping her hands around my arm, laying her head on my shoulder, nodding. “I’ll come over. I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s going on with me.”

“It’s okay, baby. Just know you can talk to me.”

“I know,” she whispers and then sniffles. Reaching for the door handle, she plants a quick kiss on my cheek, then steps out the truck. “I’ll grab some clothes, and I’ll be over in a little bit.”

“Okay.”

I watch her get out, giving me a quick wave, and then she heads into her home. I wish I knew what was going on, but more importantly, I’m hoping whatever it is means we aren’t over before we even got a chance to start.