Page 145 of Promising You
“It’s a two day drive! That means you two will be spending the night in a hotel. No fucking way that’s happening.”
I hadn’t thought about the hotel issue. “I’ll tell him we have to drive all night. No stopping at any hotels.”
“You can’t drive, Jade. So he’ll have to drive the whole 22 hours or however long it is. He’ll fall asleep at the wheel and then you’ll roll into oncoming traffic and die.”
“That won’t happen. I’ll be there to keep him awake. I’ll make sure he drinks lots of caffeine. Last fall Ryan drove the whole way back without stopping to sleep.”
“Yeah, and that was stupid. He even admitted that himself when we saw him after Christmas. He only did it because he had to pick up Frank at the hospital.”
“I want to see them, Garret. I want to see Frank and Ryan. That’s all this is about. If Carson wanted to try something, he could’ve done it by now. I’ve been alone with him plenty of times.”
“Not alone in his car for 22 hours! This is exactly what he wants, Jade. To get you alone so he can convince you to stop seeing me. He’ll be saying shit about me the entire time while he tries to move in and take my place.”
“Nobody is taking your place. Would you just come over here so I don’t have to yell this across the room?” I wait for him to sit next to me. “You know how you always say I’m stuck with you?”
He doesn’t answer. His mind is still on Carson.
“Hey, you. Over here.” I laugh as I push on his shoulder to get his attention.
He finally looks at me. “Yes, I heard you. I always say you’re stuck with me.”
“Yeah, well, you’re stuck with me, too. Carson can say whatever he wants about you, but it won’t change anything. I’ll still want to be with you. I don’t want to be with anyone else. And I don’t mean just now. I mean not ever.”
His expression softens as I continue to say the things I should’ve said months ago.
“I know sometimes I say or do things that make you think I won’t stick around, but it’s not how I feel. Iwantto stick around. I want this—us—to be my future. I don’t want this to ever end.”
It takes a few seconds for my words to register with him and when they do, the corners of his mouth tick up a little. “You’ve never said that before. How long have you felt this way?”
“For a while. I was just afraid to say it.”
We’re both quiet for a moment and then he says, “So I’m stuck with you, huh?” He says it like he’s not sure that’s a good thing.
I punch his arm. “Hey, you’re supposed to be happy about this.”
He lays me down on my back and props himself up beside me. “I am.” He gives me a kiss, then runs his hand up and down my arm. “But I’m still not sure about this trip. It’s your decision, but can you just think about what I said before you decide?”
“Yes, but I want you to think about what I said, too. You have nothing to worry about.”
“I’ll always worry about you. You know that. And I’m not just worried about Carson hitting on you. I’m worried because I hardly know anything about this guy, and it really does concern me that he’ll be driving the whole time without a break. It’s dangerous and it’s still winter so you might hit bad weather.”
“Okay, I got it. So can we make up now?” I ask with an anxious tone.
He looks confused. “Why? Did we have a fight?”
“Well, yeah. Where were you?”
“That was more of a disagreement, not a fight. Hang out with my dad and Katherine for an hour or two and you’ll hear a real fight.”
“I don’t want us to fight like that. To me, what we just had was a fight.”
His sexy smile appears. “Then let’s make up.” He takes his t-shirt off, then kisses me softly and trails more kisses down my neck to the opening of my shirt. He undoes each button until he’s at the end, leaving kisses all the way down to my stomach. The area just below it is scorching hot and begging for attention. He undoes my jeans and slides his hand down them. Then he kisses his way back up to my mouth as his hand does whatever the hell he does down there that is pure magic.
“Garret,” I say breathlessly.
“What?” he says against my lips.
“You’re so damn good at this.”
