Page 68 of Promising You
“Garret used to drink, but he cut way back when we started dating. He hardly drinks at all anymore.”
“Then what do you guys do on weekends when everyone’s partying?”
“Go out to dinner. See a movie. Hang out in his room.”
“And he’s okay with that?”
I find the question somewhat rude but answer him anyway. “If he wasn’t we probably wouldn’t be dating.”
“Hmm. Okay.” He sits back.
“What? Are you trying to tell me something, Carson?”
“It’s just that I was talking about you two last night to those girls I met and they said Garret was kind of a legend around here as far as his performance at parties. So I was surprised when you said he didn’t go to them anymore.”
“When Garret used to drink, he got a little out of control. At least that’s what I heard. But that was back in high school. He’s not like that anymore.”
“Isn’t he on some reality show with a girl who goes to school here?”
“No, the producers are just trying to get ratings and they’re using this fake story about Garret to hook viewers. It’s completely unethical. I don’t even know how they get away with it.”
“How long have you two dated?”
“A few months. We were friends first. I met him the first day I got here, and after that we just started hanging out.” I glance back at the door, wondering why our classmates aren’t showing up. “So do you have a girlfriend back home?”
“I did, but she broke up with me right before I came out here. She wouldn’t do the long distance thing.”
“Do you two still talk?”
“She called me last week just to see how school was going, but other than that we haven’t talked.” He takes his phone out and swipes the screen. “This is her.”
He shows me her photo. She’s gorgeous. Like model gorgeous with bright blue eyes and long blond hair.
“She’s pretty. She looks older than you.”
“She is. She’s graduating from college this May and starts law school in the fall.”
“You like older women, huh?” I kid.
“I like mature women,” he clarifies. “Not necessarily older.”
The way he’s looking at me, it almost seems like he’s indicating that I’m mature and am therefore someone he might date. But I’m sure he’s not doing that at all. It’s just my skewed view of him thanks to Garret. Seeing the hot blond on his phone, I am most definitely not Carson’s type.
He puts his phone back in his pocket. “Did you look at the syllabus for chem lab? Because I was thinking we should get together this weekend and divide up the assignments.”
“We can just do that after class. It shouldn’t take long.”
He nods and his smile disappears. “Yeah, okay.”
“Is something wrong?” I ask him.
“I was hoping we could be friends, not just lab partners. Grab a coffee sometime. Maybe go for a run. You’re the only person who’s been friendly to me since I got here. But I get the feeling you’re not interested.”
Damn. I feel really bad for this guy, but I can’t mess things up with Garret over it.
“I’d like us to be friends, but it doesn’t seem right for you and me to hang out when I have a boyfriend. I should be spending my free time with him, not some other guy.”
“He doesn’t let you have friends? That’s kind of possessive, isn’t it?”
