This wasn't how my summer was supposed to go. I wasn't supposed to be "tied down" to anything or anyone from Lakeview. It was supposed to be my in between time, all fun and care free. Then Dexter happened. He was definitely not what I was expecting. Even when we were first together, I just thought he would be like all of the others, two months and then add him to my very long list of ex's. I guess he was right from the very beginning; we did have some kind of chemistry that was simply undeniable.

Dexter was as crazy and random as always as we drove to the airport. Dark curly hair going wild, hands drumming along with the beat on the steering wheel, and of course, his shoelaces untied. He was completely the opposite of me, and I was completely in love with him. There was no way around that, it follows me everywhere.

"So, I bet," Dexter stated in his game show voice, "that you are going to miss me. Every single day you're going to think of me every single day while you're becoming a genius at Stanford." There he went again with his famous bets.

"Oh, really. You think I'll miss you?" He just laughed and reached for my hand.

"Nope, I know you will," he was always so sure about himself, about me. That was part of the reason I would miss him so much.

"And why is that?"

"Well, Miss Remy, first of all, I'm simply irresistible. That's a given," he mused with his cute crooked smile. "And then there's the other thing," with that and glanced over at me, completely ignoring the road causing us to swerve a little bit. "You love me." At that point, his smile got so big; it was like looking at a little kid on Christmas morning. It was as if he could never want anything more then to have me love him, and at this point in time I truly believe it.

"You just keep telling yourself that," I joked with him. "Anything to keep your poor fragile self esteem up," We passed by Joie salon and Flash Photo right then. I would miss all the girls from the salon and having Dexter only a few feet away whenever I was working.

"You think you're so smart," he laughed to himself. I really would miss him.

"Why yes, I really do. You think you're so funny, don't you?" With that, Dexter quieted down. The quiet only lasted about two seconds, which was probably a record for him.

"So how long is it until you get to come back to this side of the continent?" he'd been quite anxious since the beginning of this week. We both had, really. Just a week after we got back together, I'm leaving for California.

"I'll be home for Thanksgiving, are you going back to Virginia, or is Truth Squad going to stick it out in Lakeview for a while longer?" I can't believe it's going to be three months before I'll get to see him again.

"I don't know about staying here for that long," my smile dropped completely and I'm pretty sure he saw. "Don't worry, though. We'll be here on Thanksgiving for sure. Nothing could keep me away." He always said just the right things at exactly the right moments.

"Good. I wouldn't want to fly all the way back here just to see my family or anything," I replied with a sly smile. "Here it is," I said as we approached the airport, "the gateway into my future."

I checked in at the airline desk quickly. I had already said my goodbyes to my mother, already too involved in editing her novel to come to the airport. Chris and Jennifer Anne both said they wouldn't mind coming with me, but I dealt with them this morning. Now it was just me and Dexter. I knew there would be no guarantees from now on. We'd just play it by ear and hope for the best.

At that moment, when I was least expecting it, Dexter pulled out one of his warped disposable cameras and snapped a picture of me. "That one is definitely a keeper," he said playfully. Then he pulled me into a hug and snapped another one of us both smiling into the camera. "I'll miss you," he whispered, so seriously it almost seemed as if it was someone else, but I knew it wasn't.

"I'll miss you too," I replied, just as serious, if not more. Our time of jokes and laughs had ended, and the real goodbye began.

"Just don't turn into a hippie or a vegetarian out there in California," trust Dexter to extend the laughs just a little longer.

"I won't, "I said with a giggle. "Don't turn into a crazy obsessive rock star that only cares about fame and glory. We wouldn't want another Spinnerbait situation on our hands."

"Hate Spinnerbait! Just a bunch of corporate crap! They don't even care about the true music like we do." He would have gone on forever if I hadn't have put my hand on his shoulder to stop him. We only had a limited amount of time left, and I wanted it all to myself.

"Let's just both promise each other that we'll still be the same people in three months, it may not seem like that long, but it may turn out to be an eternity."

He looked directly into my eyes and simply said, "I promise." It was the kind of thing that gave me the chills. His piercing blue eyes were so peaceful and honest. It was like I was seeing that other side of him, the side I was just now discovering when there wasn't enough time to discover it.

"Flight 719: Lakeview to LAX now checking into security," the loudspeaker blared throughout the lobby area. I looked up at the speaker, wishing I had more time.

"I'd better get in line," I said, just looking up at Dexter. I didn't want to leave without him, but I couldn't stay here. I knew at that moment that going to Stanford was exactly what I was supposed to be doing. There could be no regrets at this time. We just had to live for the moment and hope things turned out well in the long run.

"I really will miss you," he told me. I just tucked my head into that one spot on his shoulder where I fit perfectly. I wanted to take in everything I could, get as many memories as possible before getting on the plane.

"I know," and I really did. "I love you. Don't forget that, ok?"

"I never will, because, believe it or not, I love you. 100% of the time, I love you. A person doesn't forget a thing like that. It doesn't matter what they do. Love is just one of those things that lives on with you forever." As he hugged me closer and kissed my forehead, I realized how much he did love me and how safe I felt with him.

"I promised myself that I would have something truly incredible to say before I went through the gate. Now that the time is actually here, I can't think of anything. " His face was too hard to read right now. Was he sad, or did he not know what to say either.

"'Even if I let you down, this lullaby plays on,'" his version of my father's song for me. He knew me so well.

"That is so much better than anything I even thought about saying," I couldn't see his face right then, but I knew he was smiling. He got it right.

"You should probably get going," we were both trying to deny that fact, but it was true. "Goodbye Remy Starr."

"Bye Dexter, I'll miss you. Everyday I'll miss you. That is one bet you will definitely win. I love you." I kissed him and walked towards the gate. He just stood there watching me walk through the metal detectors into the main part of the airport, waving every time I turned around. More than that though, he watched me walk into a new adventure, a new part of my life. While he wouldn't be with me at school, I knew Dexter would be with me in my new adventure and in my future