"But this time, I beat you to it."
He dangled the keychain, a cheap plastic heart with our initials clumsily carved into it. It looked like something you'd find at a gas station checkout—tacky and completely not my style.
"One month anniversary," he said, his smile disarmingly sweet.
I blinked, taking an involuntary step back. "You didn't have to do this."
"Why not?" He closed the distance between us, his voice low and magnetic. "Imagine it," he murmured, "At the bonfire tomorrow, we show up with these. Everyone will know we're a couple."
I opened my mouth, a wave of nausea rising in my throat, but I swallowed the words.
He noticed my hesitation and chuckled softly. "I get it. I can't afford anything expensive; this is just a small gesture. You're not going to look down on it, are you?"
He paused, his words hanging in the air like a vow. "One day, I'll buy you the real thing."
Before I could object, he had already taken my backpack and clipped the keychain to the zipper, his fingers intentionally brushing the back of my hand.
I looked down, silent.
A bitter taste flooded my mouth.
We don't have a "one day," Nathaniel.
The next day, at the bonfire party.
Nathaniel led me in. The beach was already buzzing with energy.
"Look who finally showed up!" someone shouted upon seeing us.
"Seriously? You guys are so cute it's actually painful for the rest of us!"
"Damn, Cassie, you really snagged a catch," another guy from school laughed, tapping his beer bottle. "Nathaniel wouldn't give most girls in this school the time of day."
"And it's not just that Nathaniel is handsome. Cassie is just as amazing: valedictorian and got into Yale. They're a match made in heaven!" my best friend giggled.
The beach filled with excited cheers, and someone yelled, "Kiss! Kiss! Make it official!"
Nathaniel flashed his signature easygoing grin, one arm draped over my shoulder. "Whoa, easy there," he laughed. "Let's not give away the whole show at once."
"Oh, don't be shy!"
"Just one kiss, to seal the deal!"
The catcalls echoed around us.
I looked down, forcing a smile.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Blair's face twist into a grimace of fury.
She bit her lip, staring daggers at us, then made an excuse and slipped away. "I'm going to get a drink."
Nathaniel, who had been pretending not to notice her, immediately followed.
I slipped away from the crowd, making my way along the shore toward a shadowed cluster of rocks. And just as I suspected, they were there. Blair stood with a furious expression while Nathaniel followed her out.
"You just had to flaunt your relationship in my face, didn't you?" Blair's voice was cold, sharp with a jealousy she couldn't quite conceal. "And you gave her a matching keychain? Are you trying to make me puke?"
Nathaniel reached for her hand, his voice low and placating. "Haven't I explained this? It's all an act to keep her hooked. The higher I build her up, the harder she'll fall."
He paused, then added comfortingly, "Besides, what's a cheap keychain?"
He took off his lacrosse varsity jacket and draped it over her shoulders with a meaningful look. "This is what really matters," he said.
I hid in the shadows, staring at the patch on the jacket's chest.
It was the custom patch I had spent nights designing for him.
I hadn't forgotten our one-month anniversary. In fact, I'd put a lot of thought into his surprise.
It wasn't until I heard that recording that I left the patch on the table with the key he had given me.
But he had draped that jacket over Blair's shoulders, while fobbing me off with a piece of plastic that cost a few dollars.
