I stopped to think for a moment. This was the moment of truth. No hiding from my feelings. If I was going to get him on my side, I needed to lay it all on the line. “Yes, Dad. It means everything to me. I think she needs me there with her instead of here. And that makes it pretty damn simple for me. If Kaylie needs me, then I am going to find a way to be there for her. Because that’s what I was made to do. Make her world a better place.”

At my words, my dad’s face broke into a beaming smile. “Then that’s what you’ll do, son. All your mom and I want for you is happiness. That’s what I was trying to tell you back over Christmastime. You needed to find someone who makes everything else seem less important because they mean everything to you, like your mom does for me. If you need to go to New York for now so she can dance, then we’ll figure it out. I’ve still got some contacts there, so I’m sure we can find you a job. But you need to live your own life, son. Don’t worry about your mom and me or the bank. We’ll all be here waiting for you if or when you want to come back.”

That right there was why my dad was still my fucking hero. He was one of the strongest men I knew, but he still had no problem letting us know how important we were to him in both actions and words.

“Thanks, Dad,” I muttered, relieved that I’d managed to explain this to him in a way that he understood why I was changing my plans so drastically.

“Don’t thank me yet, Jackson. We still have to explain this to your mom,” he reminded me. “And it sounds like you need to have a serious conversation with Kaylie, too.”

I wasn’t too worried about my mom. If my dad was already on board with the plan, she’d come around eventually. But I wasn’t sure how Kaylie would take my news. I hoped she’d be excited, but it wasn’t something we’d talked about at all. She hadn’t asked me to come with her. The idea was all my own, but I wasn’t going to wait around to see if she was going to ask me to go with her, because if I waited too long, she might do something impulsive and accept the Chicago offer. It might be ballsy of me to barge into her new life, but I was going to do it anyway.

CHAPTER 17

Kaylie

The decision for where to go after school ended was so damn difficult. This was a time when I should be thrilled that my dreams were coming true. Instead, I was so unsure of what to do because I knew that whatever I decided would impact Jackson almost as much as it did me. When we talked about it, he’d assured me that I needed to go with whatever was best for me and we would figure out our situation after. But how was I supposed to do that when I knew that I could take us down a path that meant the end of our relationship?

I hadn’t been looking for a relationship, but I guessed these things happened when they were meant to instead of when it was convenient for us. This was probably one of the worst times in my life for me to be worried about a boyfriend, but it just didn’t matter. Jackson was a part of my life, and I wanted to keep him there, which meant I was going to go with the decision that would let me have my dream and still give me the best chance to keep him in my life. I was going to accept the Chicago offer. It might not be what my heart was telling me to do when it came to my dancing, but it was definitely what I felt I should do because of Jackson.

It wasn’t that I thought he wouldn’t support my decision to go to New York. I knew that he would back me up no matter what I chose to do. But the extra distance and the frantic pace of New York City meant that I would get even less time to build our relationship. As solid as things felt between us right now, I had to remember that this was still relatively new and needed time to grow deeper—time spent together, not apart.

I planned to tell Jackson my decision tonight. We were going to spend the night at the cabin again, so it was perfect timing since we would have some extra privacy we wouldn’t get if we were at his frat or my dorm. He had plans for most of the day, so I was just meeting him there. With the school year almost over, I went ahead and quit my job at the bar so I’d have extra time to make sure I was ready to go when the time came. I also wanted to have extra time to spend with Jackson so that I could save up some memories for when I left. I finally had some flexibility in my schedule with the showcase being over and not working anymore.

When I made it to the cabin, Jackson’s truck was already parked in front and there was a flickering light coming from inside. I hurried in because I didn’t want to waste a minute of the time I had remaining with him. When I stepped inside, I saw that he’d gone all out. Dinner was on the table, candles were lit, and Adele was playing in the background. Jackson had really shocked me with how romantic he could be sometimes. I hadn’t expected it of him, but I loved that he was willing to show his sensitive side to me on occasion. He always made sure I knew how much I meant to him. He worked hard to ensure I had no reason to ever doubt my place by his side.