Chapter 1

On the last day before the college application portal closed, an admissions counselor from Kensington University was still trying to convince Juliette Larkin to apply.

"Your scores are incredible. Stanmore would be a waste of your talent."

Juliette shook her head, her face bright with affection. "My boyfriend and I made a promise. I can't back out on him."

The recruiter paused. "What did your boyfriend score? We could put together a joint offer—"

Juliette's eyes lit up. She reached for her phone to call Colton Hayes, but a push notification stopped her cold.

Her best friend had just posted an update. [Finally, someone's coming with me to see those sycamore trees!]

The video showed two application screens side by side, hers and Colton's.

Colton had not selected Stanmore. He had chosen Lakewood, the school her best friend, Kelsey Tyndall, had been dreaming about for three years.

Juliette could not believe it. She grabbed a cab and rushed straight to Colton's house, arriving just in time to see him click the confirm button.

She stared at his back. For a long time, she could not form a single word.

When she finally managed to speak, her voice came out strained. "Colton, did you put in the wrong school? Why'd you suddenly pick Lakewood?"

Colton closed the browser window, his tone light and careless. "I didn't put in the wrong one. I'm not going to Stanmore, Juliette. I'm going to Lakewood with Kelsey."

"Why?" Juliette stared at him in disbelief. "We said you'd come with me to see the rose gardens at Stanmore. You promised me."

Colton did not flinch. "With your usual grades, you couldn't get into Lakewood or Stanmore. Instead of going to Stanmore by myself, I'd rather go see the sycamore trees at Lakewood with Kelsey."

His profile was calm and indifferent, while she was close to tears.

She had outperformed every expectation on this exam, scoring 705. Every university in the country was hers for the taking.

Colton had only scored 650.

Even so, she had never once considered breaking their promise.

However, he had dismissed everything with a few careless words.

"Juliette, you're here too?" Kelsey wandered out of the bedroom in her pajamas, still half asleep.

"Colton and I were up so late going over applications last night that I just stayed over."

She rubbed her eyes. "Which school did you pick? I caught a glimpse earlier. There's a pretty decent community college near Lakewood. You should think about it."

Colton chimed in without looking up. "If you choose that community college, we could all see each other every day."

Juliette's hands curled into fists. Her grades in high school had always been neck and neck with both of theirs. There was no world in which she belonged at a community college.

She opened her mouth. "I scored—"

Kelsey cut her off, turning to Colton with a pout. "Colton, I want coffee. Go get me some."

He turned and left without a word.

Whenever Juliette used to ask him to pick up a coffee for her, he would not even lift his head from his notes. "I'm busy studying. Get it yourself."

Yet when Kelsey asked, he was back in no time, setting a cup of hot chocolate in front of her.

"You're on your period. You shouldn't have anything cold, and you should probably skip the caffeine too. Have this instead."

Then he slid an iced coffee across the table to Juliette. "Here, your favorite."

Juliette stared at the ice cubes spinning inside the glass and bit down hard on her lip. The ache in her chest made it difficult to breathe.

She was on her period too, but Colton did not remember.

Juliette had always had terrible cramps. Every month, the pain was bad enough to double her over.

After he found out, Colton had sworn he would always keep track of her cycle. He promised he would never let her have anything cold during those days.

He used to keep that promise. Now he had forgotten.

Juliette pushed the iced coffee aside, her voice cold. "I can't have anything cold either. I'm on my period."

The two of them froze. Colton's brow creased.

"Then why didn't you say something when I went to order?

"You've been doing this a lot lately, Juliette. If something's up, just say it. Do you really need everyone to guess? It's exhausting. Honestly, I'm tired just watching you do it."

Now Juliette understood.

Kelsey never had to say a word, but Colton remembered everything for her. When Juliette stayed quiet, it became his burden.

Sensing the tension, Kelsey jumped in quickly. "Don't overthink it, Juliette. I mentioned it to him on the way out this morning. That's the only reason he knew.

"You're our little princess, okay? We'll always put you first.

"He's your boyfriend, I'm your best friend. The three musketeers, together forever, right?"

Juliette did not say another word on the walk home. Colton dropped her off at her door, then turned to walk Kelsey home.

"See you tomorrow, Juliette!"

Kelsey and Colton headed off together, bumping shoulders and laughing the whole way. They looked more like a couple than she and Colton ever had.

Watching them disappear down the street, Juliette made up her mind. If he could give her up for Kelsey, she would give him up for her future.

She was not going to Stanmore or Lakewood anymore. She was going to Kensington, all the way in the north.

She changed her application, clicked confirm without a second of hesitation, and shut the laptop. She had spent three years of high school as the third wheel, and she had had enough.

For the next four years of college, she was going to be on her own.