Page 36 of Yours and Mine (Friends with Benefits)

“What else am I going to do?”

“Well, you’re going to college with Molly, so that should keep you busy.”

I had applied to college intending to major in education, and while I’d never had a clear vision of what I wanted to do with the rest of my life, the way Nick had, I knew that I loved kids, and our school definitely needed more teachers. Besides, Mrs. Schipper in first grade foretold my future when she praised me.

“It will be the longest year of my life, Nick.”

“Just think how good it will be to see each other when I come back next summer.”

When he put it that way, next summer didn’t sound as far away as I thought.

“If you don’t like it, you won’t try again, will you?”

“I won’t, I promise. I’m going to stay here with you.”

Except we both knew that there was no way Nick would not like it. He wasn’t a quitter, and I knew that if there was anyone who would be a strong SEAL, it was him.

He leaned in and kissed me. I closed my eyes as more tears fell. I had a feeling that I’d be doing a lot of crying over the next year.

“I will miss you, Jo. I’ll miss you more than you’ll ever know.” His arms squeezed around me and I savored the feeling, hoping their strength now would be enough to keep me sane for the next year or so.

“I will miss you too.”

With that, I began counting down the days I had left with him. And they began flying at fast-forward pace.

Chapter 9

“You look beautiful, Joelle.”

My father’s eyes glistened as he looked me over. Today was our prom date, and a week from now, Nick was scheduled to leave.

“Thank you.”

“Somehow I always thought Nick would be the one taking you to prom, though.”

Carter was supposed to be here in five minutes. Like we’d agreed, Nick was taking Daisy. We planned on hooking the two of them up at prom, but we weren’t going to tell our parents until just before Nick left. We needed as much time alone as possible before then.

“I see him every day.” I shrugged.

“Honey, other people may be blind to the two of you, but I’m not.”

“What do you mean?”

“How long have you two been sneaking around? I’ve been trying to figure it out, but it was hard to because you’ve always been such good friends.”

“We still are good friends.”

My father gave me a knowing look. “I wasn’t born yesterday, and I’m getting the feeling that I’m not the only one who’s been keeping secrets.”

A month had passed since we outed my father and Marge. They’d been openly seeing each other since then, going out for walks and having dinners at either our house or Marge and Nick’s.

“Jo, there’s nothing better than showing affection to the person you care about. Just please be careful. I don’t want you broken-hearted.”

The only broken heart I would have was when Nick left me next week, and I was afraid if I didn’t tell someone about the turmoil inside my heart, I’d die. I finally lifted my head and connected my gaze with my father’s.

“I really like him, Dad. A lot. He’s… he’s my everything.”

He sighed and took my hand, bringing me down to sit beside him at the kitchen table.

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