Page 75 of Promising You
“You mean Carson? Why do you hate Carson? He just stopped you from going to jail.”
“He shouldn’t have interfered like that. It was none of his fucking business.”
We drive past the college and continue down the winding road.
“Where are we going?”
“I don’t know. I don’t want to go back to Moorhurst right now. Let’s just drive. Unless you have a place you want to go.”
“Can we just sit and talk for a minute? I think you’re too angry to drive.”
“So now you’re agreeing with Carson?” Garret shakes his head. “That’s just fucking great.”
“Why are so jealous of him? We’re lab partners. That’s it.”
Garret pulls into an empty parking lot and stops the car, leaving the engine running. “He wants you, Jade. It’s so damn obvious. He’s been trying to make me look bad since I met him. And then tonight he tries to come in and rescue you, like he’s some fucking superhero saving you from the evil villain. How are you not seeing this?”
“It doesn’t matter. He can do a million things to try to impress me, but I’ll still end up with you. Don’t you get that? You don’t need to be jealous. I want to be with you and only you. Nothing is going to change that.”
“Yeah, right,” he mumbles.
“What’s that supposed to mean? You don’t think I’m committed to this? Is that what this is about?”
He looks straight ahead into the darkness. “You’re always telling me this won’t last. That something or someone will break us apart. And as much as I tell you that’s not true, you continue to think it.”
“I used to. But not anymore. I’m the one who suggested we move in together. That’s a huge commitment.”
“I suggested it first. And you turned me down. You suggested the summer rental because it’s temporary. You said if it doesn’t work out, we’ll still have our dorm rooms in the fall. Like you’re already planning on it not working.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
He turns to me. “Then why say it, Jade? Why do you have to put all this negative shit out there like that? Why can’t you just leave it at ‘I want to get an apartment with you, Garret’ and forget whatever thoughts you have about it not working?”
“I don’t know. I just say that stuff without even thinking.”
We sit quietly for a moment.
Garret turns the car off and lets out a long sigh. “I’m sorry about tonight. Things got out of hand. It started when I saw Carson looking at you that way.”
“He wasn’t—”
“Let’s just agree to disagree on that, okay? And then Sierra had to start bringing up all that high school shit again.”
“About that. Did you really play football?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“And you were the freaking quarterback?”
“Yeah.” His tone softens and he smiles just a tiny bit.
“That’s really hot. Why didn’t you tell me I was the dating the high school quarterback?”
“I went to a small private school. It’s not like we had a good team.”
“I still think it’s hot. And you were homecoming king?”
“That’s just embarrassing. I can’t believe Sierra brought that up.”
