Chapter 16

Autumn spends an afternoon at Brooke’s house with Sasha and Brooke, taking lighthearted magazine quizzes while Jamie is away in Chicago. They enjoy the reassurance of always getting the “balanced” answers and chat about their boyfriends and upcoming anniversaries, with Autumn savoring the legitimacy a one-year mark will confer.

The conversation turns to relationships, with Sasha and Brooke noting their own milestones. Brooke laments a lack of alone time with Noah, and the girls continue flipping through magazines, comfortable in their shared routine.

Sasha then finds a quiz titled “Does he like you as MORE than a friend?” and teases Autumn by applying it to Finny, recalling middle-school moments. Autumn answers honestly from memory—Finny’s attentiveness, comfort with touch, and best-friend declarations—yielding a result that suggests he once had strong feelings for her.

Autumn rejects the implication, arguing the questions don’t fully fit their past and emphasizing present realities: Finny is with Sylvie and she is with Jamie. The moment exposes unresolved undercurrents about Finny while Autumn asserts her commitment to Jamie and returns to the safety of their current friendships.