“You can get scholarships and financial aid.”
“Yeah, I still need to think about it.”
He arches his back to stretch. “I could use a break. Do you mind if we stop and get some coffee?”
“No, not at all. Honestly I don’t know how you’re holding up so well. I’m exhausted.”
He smiles and puts his hand on my arm, gently squeezing it. “It helps to have a good travel companion.”
I’m not great at figuring out when someone is flirting but Carson’s gesture just now seemed very flirtatious. I can’t even describe exactly how or why. It was more of a feeling. Maybe I’m reading too much into it.
After our short break, we’re back on the road with two giants cups of coffee wedged in the cup holders. It’s 6 but the sun still isn’t up.
My phone rings just as I’m sipping my coffee. It’s Garret.
“You’re up early,” I say when I answer.
“I barely slept. I told you I can’t sleep unless you’re next to me.”
“Well, that’s a problem since we have to live in separate rooms until we get our own place.”
“We don’t have tosleepin separate rooms.”
“I don’t think Jasmine will allow that. She doesn’t mind if you stay over a few times a week, but every night might get us in trouble.”
“She doesn’t care. So you must be almost there, huh?”
“Just a couple more hours. Ryan called me last night and said he’d pick me up around 11.” I notice another call coming in. “That’s him now. He’s probably getting ready to leave. I should talk to him quick and make sure his plans haven’t changed. I’ll call you later.”
I switch over to Ryan’s call. “Hey, Jade. I just got up but I’ll head out at 7 and should be there by 11 like we planned. You guys still doing okay? No car problems?”
“Nope, everything’s good. See ya soon.”
I put the phone down and sip my coffee again.
“I didn’t mean to listen in, but it sounded like you might be moving out of the dorms,” Carson says.
“Yeah, Garret and I are getting a place together next fall. Oops, I didn’t mean to say his name. Let’s change the subject.”
“You sure you want to commit to something like that so soon?”
“Soon? By next fall, it’ll be a year since we started dating. That’s not soon.”
“I mean soon as in young. You’re only 19. Do you really want to move in with a guy at 19?”
“I’ll be 20 in the fall and yes, I do want to move in with him. Age doesn’t matter.”
“Itdoesmatter. You’re still figuring out your life at 19. Or 20. Like you said, you’re not even sure what you want to do after college.”
“Yes, but I’m sure about Garret and me. When you know it’s right, why wait? Waiting’s not going to change how I feel about him.”
“It might. A lot happens in college. You change. You make big decisions that affect the rest of your life. And you don’t want to make a decision based on what someone else wants instead of what you want. When you do that, you end up making sacrifices and then you resent the person.”
“It’s normal to make sacrifices in a relationship.”
“Yeah, when you’re older and have the big stuff figured out.”
“And what makes you an expert on this?”
