“My mornings won’t be quite as disappointing from now on if I know you’re waking up in that shirt,” he countered.
“Good point. I’m taking it. But it’s only on loan.”
“Oh, there’s no doubt in my mind that one of these days it will be a permanent fixture in my closet again. You can’t live in Andrews forever.”
I bit my lip and pressed my cheek against his bare chest. It seemed a little silly, lying here with him, knowing we both would rather I just stay. But I would never hear the end of it from my friends, and my mother would be an entirely different set of problems.
“I could stay here on the weekends,” I said.
“You will?” he asked, his eyes brightening.
“If that’s okay, I don’t want to impose.”
Jared kissed me until I could feel a tingling in my toes. Just as I needed to take a breath, he pulled away. “I would have everything you own here by the time you finished your classes today if you’d let me. You staying here on weekends is absolutely okay.”
A smile spanned the width of my face and I wrapped my arms around his neck. When he said things like that, it was hard for me to remember why I couldn’t just give in to what he wanted — to what I wanted. I immediately felt better knowing that I had a few more days with him.
“You’re going to be late. I’ll make coffee,” he said, jogging downstairs.
I hurried through my shower and Jared handed me a pink travel mug as I put my coat on. I raised an eyebrow at the color and then looked back at him.
“It’s Claire’s,” he shrugged.
“Um, I thought I would take my car today. Do you mind picking me up, later?”
Jared didn’t hide his disappointment. “Sure. Just give me a call when you’re ready.”
I leaned up on my toes to kiss him. “Okay. I’ll see you later.”
The professor began lecture just as I slid into my seat. Kim leaned over to whisper in my ear.
“Beth and I are going for coffee after class. You coming?”
“Sure. I’ll drive,” I offered.
I felt like I hadn’t spent enough time with Kim and Beth lately. An afternoon at the cafe would give us time to catch up. At least I would get caught up on their lives; my news included almost getting kidnapped and tortured, and my boyfriend nearly beating the man to death who had tried.
The three of us huddled at the table of the coffee shop, waiting to thaw. The temperature had dropped significantly after lunch, and the wind was brutal. I was glad that I would be lying on a beach somewhere in just over a week.
I sipped my coffee as Beth chattered about Chad. Things between them were progressing, and she mentioned she wasn’t homesick for the first time since she’d come to Brown. She was even considering getting an apartment in the summer instead of returning to Oklahoma.
I tried to concentrate on the conversation, but I found myself focusing on the new information Jared had forced out of Dawson. I wanted to know what it was that Jared was keeping from me; it couldn’t be good news.
“Nigh. Nigh! Where are you? You look like you’re a million miles away,” Kim said. She and Beth were both staring at me with matching expressions.
“Ugh, I’m sorry. I just have a lot going on,” I said, blinking.
Beth’s cell phone hummed. By her tone I knew that it was Chad. Apparently he was out and about, and she invited him to join us.
“I hope that’s okay,” Beth said to us after disconnecting the line.
Kim shrugged. “Fine with me.”
“Ryan is with him,” Beth added, eyeing me.
I made sure my face was smooth. I hadn’t seen Ryan since Jared had told me that Ryan and I were meant to be together. I wasn’t sure how to act around him with that knowledge.
Ten minutes later, the door chimed as Chad and Ryan strolled through it. They were both in gym clothes, sweaty and tired.
Ryan had his white hat pulled down over his eyes and didn’t speak when he sat across from me at the table. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.
“What have you two been up to?” Beth asked, standing up to sit on Chad’s lap.
“We just finished a basketball game. We lost,” Chad said in an embittered tone.
“They cheated. Repeatedly,” Ryan chuckled, only his smile visible.
“What? You can’t handle prison rules?” Kim elbowed him, making him sway for a moment.
Ryan pulled his hat up and over to the side, his eyes finally in view. “I can handle prison rules, it’s the cheating when there is supposed to be rules that bothers me. I lost twenty bucks!”
“Oh no!” Beth said, laughing. “Did you lose money, Baby?” Chad pursed his lips and nodded, still brooding. “Aw!” she said, rubbing his back.
We sat at the table, discussing the game. Our laughter saturated the room, causing the other patrons to stare. After a while, Ryan leaned over and pulled my chair closer to him, the legs grating against the floor. He stretched his arm around the back of my chair and smiled, flashing the deep dimple in his cheek.
Ryan’s destiny to be my future husband popped into my head, and a strange ache overwhelmed me. Ryan’s future was forever changed the second Jared sat on that bench. I would never take that moment back, but I cared about Ryan. I wanted him to be happy, and that was impossible if I stayed in the picture. One of these days I would have to remove myself completely from his life, and because of that, either Claire or Jared would be separated from their family.
Ryan gripped my shoulder and pulled me to his side. “Hey. What’s wrong?”
“Hmmm?” I said, distracted.
“She’s been like that the whole time she’s been here,” Kim complained.
Ryan hugged me to him again and I turned, throwing my arms around him. He tensed, obviously not expecting my sudden display of affection. After his initial shock wore off, he rested his chin on my shoulder and enveloped me in his arms.
He puffed a short laugh. “What’s going on, Nigh?” he whispered into my neck.
I shook my head. I couldn’t tell him, and even if I did, I didn’t want him to know.
“We’re, uh…we’re going to take off,” Chad said.
“Is it all right if I catch a ride with you?” Kim asked.
I pulled away from Ryan and looked up at my friends. “It’s Friday. Did you want to go out later?”
Kim shot a look at Ryan and then back at me. “I already have plans. Tomorrow night?”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“I’ll catch a ride with Nina,” Ryan said.
Beth and I both looked at Chad, who shrugged. “Cool. See ya.” He lifted his hand to wave and they filed out of the coffee shop.
I looked at Ryan, embarrassed. “It’s official. I’m a freak.”
“You’re not a freak. Chad was planning on taking Beth back with him, anyway. They have dinner plans.”
“I cleared the table in less than two minutes. I’m a freak.”
“You want to grab some dinner?”
I tried to think of a delicate way to turn him down, but he spoke before anything came to mind.
“We’ll just grab something quick…go through a drive thru. Me and Josh are going to grab a few beers later, anyway,” he explained.
“Oh. Yeah, okay,” I said, standing up.
We sat in the parking lot closest to Andrews devouring our fast food. The slogan game had kept us entertained since we left the coffee shop. Ryan countered my feeble attempts to stump him so quickly that I couldn’t help but double over with laughter.
“Have you been practicing?” I giggled, exhausted from laughing so hard.
“I’m not gonna lie. I’ve had a lot of time on my hands, waiting to heal,” he chuckled, throwing up a piece of chicken and catching it in his mouth. “What are you doing tonight?” he asked.
