Page 92 of Promising You
“What kids?” I take a sip of water.
“Our kids.”
I cough a little as I choke on the water. “Excuse me?”
“Let’s say I were to propose to you in the next, I don’t know, few months or so.” He’s completely casual about it, like we’ve already discussed this. “We wouldn’t want our kids thinking we dated such a short time before getting engaged. It would set a bad example.”
I stare at him, trying to process this, but also trying to see if he’s serious or just doing this to get a reaction out of me. I assume it’s the latter and play along.
“There aren’t going to be any kids, Garret, because I don’t like kids. And since you already know that, I’m pretty sure you won’t be proposing in the next few months, or even the next few years, because I know for a fact that you want three kids. So I don’t think you need to worry about the timing of our first date.”
His cocky smile appears. “Just give me some time. I’ll wear you down on the kids thing. And if three’s too much, I’m willing to compromise at one and a half. A half a kid might be nice. Not as much work.”
An image of that pops in my head making me laugh. “Okay, enough about kids. Let’s go to the diner and split a sundae.”
Before falling asleep that night, I relive the entire weekend in my head. I don’t want to forget a single detail. The way the ocean sounded. The way the sand felt on my feet. The way it felt to kiss Garret as the salty breeze blew around us. It was almost too perfect.
As much as I try to ignore it, there’s still that voice in my head telling me that these perfect days won’t last. That something bad is just around the corner. The voice is much softer now, but it’s still there. And maybe it always will be.
* * *
Monday at lunchHarper races up to me in the dining hall just as I’m setting my tray down. Her enthusiasm causes her to bump the table, sending my chocolate milk splattering all over my chicken nuggets and onto my tray. “Jade, this weekend was beyond amazing!”
“Mine too,” I say, trying to mop up the nuggets with my napkin. “Go get your lunch so we can talk.”
I haven’t seen Harper since she left for Sean’s place Friday afternoon. She, too, had a Valentine’s weekend and didn’t get back to the dorms until this morning.
Minutes later, Harper returns with her usual oversized salad. She sits down across from me, wearing a light pink v-neck sweater, her long blond hair held back with a sparkly silver headband.
“Well, basically we never left his apartment.”
“Yeah, I probably don’t need all the details. I’m trying to eat here.”
“No, that’s not what I meant.” She dips her lettuce in her bowl of dressing. “Well, obviously we didthat, but not for the whole weekend. Friday night he made me the best pizza I’ve ever had. I told him he has to make one for you and Garret sometime. And then on Saturday, he snuck out of bed and made me a cheese souffle for breakfast. He made every meal and they were all fantastic. He even started teaching me how to cook.”
“So you two cooked all weekend? Did you do anything else, besides that and you know.” Once again, I avoid saying the word sex. I have no idea what my hangup is with that word. Sometimes I have no problem saying it, but other times I can’t. Weird.
“I know it sounds boring, but it wasn’t at all.” She leans across the table, keeping her voice low. “I won’t go into details, but the guy uses food in ways you wouldn’t imagine. It was totally hot. We’d planned to go see a couple movies, but never made it out of his apartment.” She sits back again. “Anyway, Sean and I were talking about the summer and it sounds like he’s going to come out and live with me in California. I mean, he has to find a job and all, but there are tons of fancy restaurants in LA he could work at.”
“So you two are getting a place together?”
“That’s the plan. He’s flying home with me over spring break so we can look at apartments. And he’s going to try to get some interviews scheduled for when he’s there.”
I get my phone out. “I have to text Garret quick and tell him. He keeps asking me if Sean’s going out there this summer.”
“Isn’t it great those two get along so well? This summer is going to be so much fun, Jade. The guys can go surfing while you and I tan on the beach.” She bites into a piece of lettuce. “So tell me about your weekend.”
I give her a rundown of each day, leaving out the part about catching Garret’s stepmother cheating on his dad. Those are Kensington family secrets and I have no desire to share them.
“Garret loved that bikini you gave me,” I tell her.
“Itwasa great suit. Kylie’s sending me some others this week. You can look through them and see what you want.”
“Anyway, that was my weekend.” I say it casually, even though it was one of the best weekends Garret and I have had together. But I don’t want to brag.
“Jade, that weekend sounds amazing. It must’ve cost Garret a fortune. Plus he gave you those diamond earrings. I can’t believe you didn’t yell at him about spending money.”
I shrug. “We have an agreement now. I promised not to bug him about it anymore.”
