I stared at him expectantly. "Why are you being forced to jump ship?"

"You know how I missed our presentation that one day?"

I snorted. "How could I forget?"

Zac had the decency to wince. "Well, I wasn't lying when I texted you that morning. My mom really was in town. She came here to kick my ass and drag me back to New York."

I blinked. "What?"

"I'm supposed to be in Spain right now. On a year-long study abroad program."

Not sure if I was hearing him correctly, I blinked again. "What?"

Zac rambled on as though everything was making perfect sense, "My mom would never let me come back to Ashton Wellesley if I didn't lie about it. Not after the way everyone here treated us after we lost our money. Plus, she fucking hates my dad. She doesn't believe that he might be innocent."

"Dude, I'd wanna kick your ass, too, if I was your mom! Why the heck would you hide something this huge from her?"

"Making my mom believe that I was studying in Spain was the only way I could sneak back here. I want to know the truth about my dad, Cate. But my mom found out that I was in Wellesley because of a stupid oversight on my part, and, now, everything I've been working towards is going up in flames."

The shoddy studio apartment he had been living in suddenly made a lot more sense. His residence was only meant to be temporary. Zac knew that his time here would be limited.

I couldn't keep the tremor from my voice when I asked, "D-does this mean you'll be going back to New York?"

"No, not yet," he responded, urgently, as though he was trying to reassure me, "it was really fucking difficult, but I managed to convince my mom to let me finish the semester at Ashton Wellesley. Although, I... probably won't be here next spring."

I slumped down into the bench with a dazed expression. My brain turned to mush. My heart began to hurt. Despite all the bullshit this boy put me through, despite all the heartache I endured for this son of bitch, now that the truth was finally coming into the light, I wasn't ready at all for him to disappear from my life. Goodbyes were the absolute worst. I didn't want Zac to go. I wanted him to stay.

So, I taunted, "Wow, Mazur. Way to follow through. One little hiccup and, just like that, you're gonna run home to mommy and let daddy rot in prison? What if your dad really is innocent?"

I was just as surprised as Zac to hear those words fly out of my mouth.

He gave me a wry look. "You calling me a wuss, babygirl?"

"Maybe I am," I challenged with my hazel eyes flashing. "Don't start something if you don't have the balls to finish it."

"Trust me, I've had to overcome more than my fucking share of 'little hiccups,' as you call them, simply to get this far. I forged my mom's signatures on everything in order to reapply for Ashton Wellesley. I paid six months' rent upfront to convince my landlord to look the other way about my age. I've been using cash for everything else, too, so my mom and stepdad won't be able to track my credit card history. I created a fake website that mirrored the real study abroad program's website for my mom. I've sent her dozens of Photoshopped photos of me standing in front of places like Parc Güell and Casa Mila, and I had to teach myself how to speak some passable Spanish. This is just a fraction of the crap I dealt with on a daily basis!"

I winced. "Damn, I guess you really did overcome quite a few 'hiccups' already."

"Weren't you the one who was totally against me getting involved with illegal, stupid, dangerous shit? Why the change of heart, Cate?"

I made an annoyed face at Zac. I didn't like that he was starting to use my own words against me.

"Okay, fine, maybe this whole thing hasn't exactly been a walk in the park for you," I admitted begrudgingly, "but what if you had someone like me in your corner? I could help you plan out your strategy more effectively. We could work together."

A hard line appeared between his brow. His jaw tensed up. I could tell he was trying not to lose his patience with me. "What part of me 'not wanting you involved in this shit' is confusing to you?"

But I refused to give up. I'm not sure why I felt so strongly about this matter. It wasn't even completely about convincing Zac to stay in Wellesley anymore. Suddenly, I wanted to see this shit through to the bitter end for a deeper reason.

I persisted, "Don't walk away from your dad, Mazur. If I had the chance to do just one more thing for my mom, I wouldn't even think twice about it."

Zac grew quiet for a moment. Then, he said, "If I'm being totally honest here, I appreciate what you're trying to do for me, really, I do, but I don't wanna waste my last month at Ashton Wellesley pretending to be into some other girl and creeping around her house like some kind of wannabe spy. I just... wanna spend time with you."

My eyes grew round. "Really?"

A pink glow crept onto his cheeks. Zac wavered for a second before continuing, "I may be getting ahead of myself here, like, no pressure or anything, but, even after I leave, we could still... hang out. Manhattan and Wellesley really aren't that far apart. It's only a three-hour drive. One hour by plane."

I grew quiet, too, as the meaning behind his words flowed over me. Warm and soft. Like the blanket wrapped around my shoulders. My hazel eyes flicked towards him in awe. It sounded like he wanted us to start dating or something.

The corners of my mouth slowly tilted upwards. "I don't think I caught that last part very clearly. Could you repeat it again?"

He shook his head. "Nuh-uh. You heard me the first time, babygirl."

Pouting, I grumbled, "Man up already, Mazur. Do you like me or not?"

His eyes softened. "Yeah, I like you, Cate. I like you a lot."

A small, satisfied smile graced my lips. "Good."

"Good? That's it?" Zac protested.

"Yep."

He prompted me again, "You sure there's nothing you wanna say to me?"

"Nope."

"Brat," he chided.

My smile broadened. The boy had finally opened up to me. About his dad. About Lily. About his feelings for me. I moved the food and drinks aside and slid closer to him on the bench. "Actually, I did have something I wanted to talk to you about."

He surveyed me with interest. "What's that?"

"I've always thought..."

"Tell me."

"I've always thought that life was unfair," I stated in all seriousness. "I absolutely hate it when bad people get away with shit, and the good are left to choke on the leftover debris. It should be the other way around. Good people deserve to be rewarded, and the bad should be forced to clean up their own messes. I hate that people have to choose between this evil or that evil and give up a part of our souls in the process. We should be able to have it all and sleep soundly at night."

Zac's features remained impassive, but his golden eyes were watching me intently. "What are you getting at?"

"If we roll up our sleeves and do a little work, a lot can happen in one month," I said, "What if I could get you into Mr. Sinclair's study without you having to date Lily?"

His expression darkened. "You never give up, do you? I meant what I said earlier, Cate. Let me decide what to do about my dad's situation. I'm not turning my back on him. I'll figure out my next step once I'm back in New York. Can we please just focus on us for now? You... still haven't told me how you feel about me."

Zac draped one of his arms along the back of the bench. His fingers brushed lightly against my shoulder as his gaze searched for mine. A question lingered in his touch.

I bit my lower lip. "Isn't it obvious?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Not really, no."

I moved closer. "Then, close your eyes."

Zac's mouth parted in surprise. His eyes crinkled with amusement. "Isn't the guy supposed to be the one—"

"Just do it," I ordered, "before I chicken out!"

"Yes, ma'am."

His eyes snapped shut. My heart was pounding against my chest so loudly I was afraid Zac might hear it. Taking a deep, shaky breath, I placed one hand on his muscled shoulder and used the other to guide his face towards mine. I closed my eyes and leaned in.

Our lips touched for the first time.

He tasted like the strawberries and chocolate we had been eating earlier. My heart thudded even faster as all my senses began tingling with pleasure. I felt a gentle tug on my lower lip. His tongue slipped into my mouth while his hands rose to cradle my face, pulling me closer to deepen the kiss. I had never made out with a guy that had a piercing before. The metal barbell felt kind of wicked and forbidden against my tongue.

Zac and I kissed and kissed until time stood still, until the river and trees around us seemed to fade away, and we were the only two people existing on that park bench. Just a boy and girl sharing a soft, shining moment in time that would be forever ingrained in my heart.