Always and Forever, Lara Jean (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #3)

by Jenny Han

The hum of a memory, blurry around the edges, soft and nothing particularly special, all kind of blending into one moment.

“Two words,” Ravi says. Then he looks from Peter to me and whispers, “Penis fencing.”

What!

“The hottest places in hell are reserved for people who maintain neutrality in times of crisis,”

Thinking of Peter in his twenties, I feel a sense of yearning for the man I may never get to meet. Right now, today, he’s still a boy, and I know him better than anybody, but what if it isn’t always this way? Already our paths are diverging, a little more every day, the closer we get to August.

There’s making do, living a pleasant life, no big ups or downs, and there’s all the friction and fire that come with being in love with someone.

Stormy died in her sleep last night. The funeral is in Rhode Island on Wednesday. I just thought you’d want to know.

Oh my god??

I clap my hands in delight. Is there anything more intoxicating than making a boy bend to your will?

Everyone knows where they’re going, and the right now already feels like it’s in the rearview. Suddenly life feels fast and slow at the same time. It’s like being in two places at once.

Never related to anything more

Congratulations. Have fun at college. P.S. I’ll miss you an 11.

Are u joking im gonna cry

She wraps both her hands around her mug of tea and takes a sip. “You can’t protect him from being hurt, babe, no matter what you do. Being vulnerable, letting people in, getting hurt… it’s all a part of being in love.”

We’re still here. It’s not the future yet.

At college, when people ask us how we met, how will we answer them? The short story is, we grew up together. But that’s more Josh’s and my story. High school sweethearts? That’s Peter and Gen’s story. So what’s ours, then? I suppose I’ll say it all started with a love letter.

My heart