“Beth, no boy wants to be called beautiful,” Parker groaned. “You need to pick a new nickname for me.”

“Why?” Beth whined, snuggling further under his arm. They were lying in his dorm room bed—on top of the covers at Parker’s insistence. The first day of college had snuck up on them and Beth was being sappier than usual.

“Because I don’t want my roommate to start calling me beautiful,” he joked. “I haven’t met him yet and I want to make a good impression.”

“He’s going to love you, beautiful,” Beth teased.

Parker pinched her side and she erupted into a fit of laughter. “Come on,” he pressed. “How about handsome? Or maybe I could get away with gorgeous?”

“Someone’s feeling full of themselves,” Beth taunted.

Parker pouted playfully.

She couldn’t resist him when he did that. Much more kissing ensued and when they finally came up for air Beth continued to harass him. “It’s really too bad you hate your nickname so much, because you, Parker Reed, are beautiful, inside and out. And I love you.”

Parker pulled Beth closer. “Well, when you put it that way . . .” He kissed her slowly, until she was putty in his hands. Parker sighed. “Hell, who am I kidding? I’ll let you call me anything you want.”

Beth giggled. “I know.”

She loved the easy banter they’d grown into since they started dating and was reluctant to let go. It seemed Parker was too, but with the first day of college looming there didn’t seem to be much choice.

Beth finally managed to pry herself away after multiple failed attempts in which Parker dragged her back to his bed. “Alright, I guess I should go.”

Parker looked at his watch and frowned. “If I keep you any longer you’re gonna miss your first class.”

She pouted. “I don’t wanna leave you.”

“I know,” Parker replied. “I don’t want you to either, but we talked about this. It’s gonna be fine. Our campuses aren’t that far apart.”

Beth groaned. “It’s just gonna be weird.”

“I know.” Parker admitted. “I’m not gonna know what to do with myself. We haven’t spent a moment apart since we got back from Georgia.”

“Mmm, Georgia,” Beth mused. “Can we please go back there?”

“Yes. Every summer. And then we’ll retire there when we’re old and gray and drink gin and play bridge like Nana.”

Beth laughed. “That sounds perfect! But do we have to wait until we’re old and gray? Retirement is so far away.”

Parker stroked his chin. “Good point. We’ll move there right after we graduate so all our kids can run amuck at Bellemora like we did.”

Beth looked up at him, eyes wide. “We’re having kids?”

“Lots of kids,” he replied kissing her nose.

Beth sat up. “Just how many kids are we talking?”

“Oh at least six. But not all girls, okay? I love your sisters, but they’re crazy.”

Beth snorted. “You wouldn’t want six of me?”

“On second thought,” Parker tackled her back onto the bed kissing her until she was breathless.

“Okay, okay. I think I better go before you jump start the kid plan.”

Parker chuckled, but walked Beth to the door. He slid his college hoodie over her head, kissing the crown of her head when it popped out. Her blonde hair was in a messy ponytail and he couldn’t resist giving it a tug. “Now go to class so we can get to our amazing future sooner.”

Beth grinned standing on her tiptoes to kiss him. “I love you, Parker Reed.”

“I love you too, Beth Bennett. Don’t worry, okay? It won’t be that bad.”

“I know,” she said trying to put on a brave face. “We’ll see each other all the time.”

“One more kiss,” Parker said pulling Beth toward him by her sweatshirt strings.

And then she was out the door.

Beth walked across the blustery campus as the fall leaves danced in the crisp air. The wind smelled of change and she tried not to be nervous. But as she continued to her waiting car, she glanced down at the words embroidered across Parker’s college hoodie and smiled—Harvard University.

Maybe change wasn’t so bad after all. Parker had changed his mind about college and now their campuses were only a few miles apart. Everything was falling into place for them. With Parker by her side, the future was full of possibility. And as much as that excited her, Beth was more focused on the present these days. Mainly because she’d gotten much better at seeing what was right in front of her, and she really liked the view.

Beth smiled at her driver as he opened the door to her town car. Settling into the comfortable leather of the back seat, Beth let her mind wander back to Georgia for a moment. She and Parker had returned to Bellemora after graduation and spent four weeks discovering just how many things they didn’t know about each other.

Grinning, Beth looked out the window as the beautiful Boston scenery passed her by. Georgia could wait. Beth and Parker had a lot of memories to make in Boston first. Especially since they had rewritten their rules . . .

1. Always admit how you truly feel.
2. Never let your best friend date a jerk.
3. Attend as many weddings as possible together.
4. And always remember . . . love is worth the risk.