No really, I'm okay. I'm also a great liar.

jenna goes clara on jacob and annabelle and i plan our future

Jacob's got a job at the local florist. (Finally — he's been wanting to work there for ages, but they always had full staff.)

"I'd love to open up my own flower shop someday," he's saying now, flopping his hands excitedly just thinking about it.

This year has gone by incredibly quickly. It's crazy to think that in two months, give or take, we'll all be graduating. We'll have to adult.

I really want to get a place with Annabelle.

Maybe not a house right away, despite our probably being able to afford one. (It would be mostly her, though, with her blog being famous and whatnot.)

No, we've agreed we don't want to settle down right away. Not right out of school. Who knows? We might want to move to a different city, state, country.

I actually don't know where I'd like to end up, just whom I'd like to end up next to every morning.

We could have a small apartment downtown. I could write a book, or become a waitress, or run a bakery. She could run her blog or start teaching or designing clothes.

"I could see you doing that," I reply. "Maybe you and Jenna could run a tattoo-and-flower shop, with a little bakery in the back. Tackle all three dreams."

Jenna grins. "I love the aesthetic of flower shops. They're so bright and cheerful, not usually stuff you see in a tattoo parlor."

"We could make it work."

"Annabelle could help you design the inside."

"Yes! I mean, have you seen her apartment?"

"I have indeed. Multiple times."

I smile to myself and slowly fade out of the conversation, leaving Jenna and Jacob to debate the color of the walls and opening up my messages with Annabelle.

Hope your up for an interior designing job

Little dots pop up immediately, making me feel happy. We've never been the 'don't wanna seem too enthusiastic' types. It feels nice to get a response back quickly — it feels like people want to talk to you.

*you're She replies.

and what job?

J and J need someone to plan out their joint tattoo parlor slash flower shop

ok cool i'm down w/that

And like where's our apartment gonna be? I know we don't wanna get a house right away

i guess somewhere fairly local, to start

Ooh, nice one

what about the house, though?

I guess, when a house is bought, we might want it to be in a place other than here

sounds good

anywhere i've not been is a place we can move

We're so prepared for adulthood Annabelle

i know they should screenshot this convo and put it in a dictionary next to the entry for "prepared college student"

I don't think that'd be in the dictionary

well if it was we'd be the stock photo

ok i gotta go now last class of the day

See u later

byee

I close my phone, and zone back into the conversation, which has escalated into an argument.

"No! We're not having red walls. Who's ever heard of a flower shop with red walls?"

"That's the thing! Who's ever heard of a flower shop with a tattoo parlor attached? This is no mere flower shop, Jenna. We must overthrow this stereotype of a flower shop! And also that of a tattoo parlor!" Jacob raises his fist heroically in the air. Jenna leans down and slips her sneaker off her foot, then throws it at him.

"Calm down, you revolutionary. First we need to graduate."

"And then?" He looks at her with puppy-dog eyes. I swear, they're both impossible to resist like that.

She sighs. "We can see about red walls."

He springs up and down on his feet happily, then leans down to peck her on the cheek. He also hands her back her shoe with a muttered "M'lady," then bounces out of the room.

Annabelle and I are sitting across from one another at the little corner Greek restaurant.

She's talking about this book she read, gesturing wildly with her hands. It sounds like a wonderful book (or maybe it's just that everything she talks about she makes sound wonderful), and I mentally add it to the list of things to read.

I continually stuff my cheeks with pita bread and tzatziki and calmly listen to my girlfriend talk. I think she'd do well reading audiobooks.

When she pauses for breath, I swallow my food. "I love you."

"I love you too," she says, furrowing her eyebrows. "What brought that on?"

I giggle a bit. "Just me realizing how pretty your voice is and that I want you to read me stories as I fall asleep in your arms every night. Oh, and you're going to read my audiobook when I get published."

She blushes behind her freckles, and crinkles her eyes. "Well, darlin,' she drawls batting her eyes, "thank you very much. I'd be honored to read out your book."

"Can we cuddle when we get home? I'm like," I yawn, probably giving Annabelle an idea of what I'm about to say, "very tired."

She yawns after me, then nods her head and sips her water, then moves her legs forward and tangles them with mine. "C'mon, Haze, you're makin' me tired!"

"Sorry," I say halfheartedly, resting my chin in my palm and yawning again, pulling the hoodie I'm wearing taut around my torso, letting the familiar softness and scent of it surround me.

When we get back to her apartment, though, I think of her large, relaxing bathtub and how nice a warm bath would be.

My plans shift, and soon we're flinging bubble bath at each other and she's rubbing shampoo into my hair.

And then I'm only in my underwear and one of her shirts loose enough to hang off my frame and show my collarbones, and we're wrapped up in her duvet together, my head tucked underneath her chin and my back against her chest.

There's not anything I can recall wanting to be in my future more than this.

a/n: it physically pained me to use the wrong form of "you're"

also this chapter made me really want greek food i frickin love greek food