Page 48 of Promising You
Garret turns his phone off. “Jade, I seriously didn’t think she wanted to get back together. I thought she just wanted to talk. And I can’t believe she said that stuff about you. She’s never acted like that before. I didn’t think she believed in all that dating-within-your-social-class shit. Or at least she didn’t act like it when we were dating. She’s always been—”
I lean over and kiss him before he can finish. I don’t want to talk about Sadie anymore. Garret made it clear that she’s his past and I’m his future. That’s all I needed to hear. Whenever I think things won’t last between us, he does something like this and I have faith in him again. I wish I could stop doubting him and just accept that he wants to be with me.
I sit back, keeping hold of his hand.
“Does that mean you’re not mad at me anymore?” he asks.
“I don’t know. Do you have any other ex-girlfriends trying to get back together with you? Any other secret phone calls to tell me about out?” I say it kiddingly but Garret looks serious.
“No. And I never should’ve hid that from you.”
I smile, trying to lighten the mood. “Let’s go inside. We’ll get our stuff later.”
We run through the frigid wind and sleet to the dorm. The inside of the building is almost as cold as the outside and Garret’s room feels even colder than the hallway.
“Did they forget to turn the heat on?” I grab an extra blanket from his closet and curl up on his bed, wrapping the blanket around me.
“They turn it way down during breaks.” He takes his coat off and drops his keys on his desk.
“Get over here. I need your warmth.”
“You’re so demanding,” he kids. “You could at least ask, especially when you’re just using me for my body.”
“I’m not using. I’m just borrowing.”
“You’re borrowing my body heat?” He laughs as he joins me under the blanket. “So you plan on giving it back someday?’
“Yes. Now let me in.” I sit up a little, waiting for him to move his arm.
“Let you in where?” He smiles and remains on his back, keeping his arms at his sides.
I make a circle in the air below his shoulder where his arm meets his chest. “That little nook area that’s all warm and cozy.”
He’s laughing at me again. “Little nook area? I’m sorry. I don’t have one of those.”
“Yes, you do. Now come on. I’m freezing here.”
He puts his arm out and I slide up next to him, wrapping my arm around his chest and resting my head in that spot just below his shoulder.
He closes his arm around me. “Better now?”
“Much better.” I pull the blanket over us. “So about that proposal thing. I probably wouldn’tkillyou if you proposed. Kill is kind of a strong word.”
“Well, you’d definitely freak out. Look how freaked out you got when I asked you to get an apartment with me.”
“I didn’t freak out. I just thought this semester was too soon. Plus I’m not ready to take the bus to class every day. It’s easier living here.” I move even closer to him, trying to steal some of his warmth. “So what are your plans for the summer?”
“I don’t know yet. Why?”
“It’s not that far away and we’ll have almost four months off. I’m just trying to figure out when we’ll see each other. Are you staying in Connecticut? Or going somewhere for an internship like last summer?”
“I might stay in Connecticut, but I really don’t know yet.”
I was sure Garret would tell me he wanted us to spend the summer together, but he didn’t and now I’m confused. Does he really want to be apart for four months? We could barely stand being apart for one week.
My finger starts making small circular movements on the blanket. It’s what I do when I’m not sure what to say.
“What are you thinking, Jade?”
