Page 19 of Choosing You

I stare at him, not answering.

“Okay, fine.” He dumps his beer out on the grass.

“And I’m not promising I’ll stay for more than an hour.”

“Whatever. Let’s just go.”

When we get back, more people have arrived. Music is blaring from some speakers in the corner. Blake is doing shots by the bar with some blond girl.

“So are you guys close friends?” I ask Garret as I nod over at Blake.

“I wouldn’t say that we’re close. We don’t sit around having meaningful conversations. We just hang out. We were on the swim team together in high school and now we’re both on the team at Moorhurst.”

“Does he drink like that all the time?”

“Yeah. That’s why he got a place off campus. He knew he couldn’t get away with drinking every night in the dorms.”

“Hey, Garret.” A girl in a short white dress with long black hair and a golden brown tan walks up to him. She wraps her arm around Garret’s. “I just got back from Italy. I called you several times but you never returned my calls.”

“I’ve been busy.” He seems completely disinterested in her. He doesn’t even look at her.

“What did you do all summer? Did you go to your place on Martha’s Vineyard?”

“No. I had an internship in DC.”

“I thought you hated politics.”

“My dad made me do it. I was working for one of his senator friends.” Garret moves over slightly to get some distance from the girl which only makes her tighten her grip on him and move closer. “Courtney, this is Jade. Jade, this is Courtney.”

“Hi.” She glances at me, then turns back to Garret. “You need to be at my parents’ house next Saturday at 2. Don’t be late. And for dinner wear that light gray suit with the blue tie. I’m wearing a blue dress and we need to coordinate.”

He yanks his arm away from her. “Yeah, I got it, Courtney.”

“God, what was that for?”

He doesn’t answer her.

“You’re such an ass sometimes, Garret.” She storms off toward the bar.

“So you two have a date next week?” I ask him.

“Her parents always have this huge end of summer party. It’s next Saturday and I told her I’d go.”

“Is she your girlfriend? Or ex-girlfriend?”

“I don’t want to talk about her, okay?”

Before I can ask more, Sierra, the girl I met earlier, comes up behind Garret. She puts her arm around him and kisses his cheek, leaving pink lipstick behind. “Haven’t seen you since Cabo. You should’ve called me when you got back. Or are you still dating that boring chick from DC?”

“She’s not boring. And no, we’re not dating anymore.”

“So you’re single again?” She leans in closer. “What are you doing later tonight?”

He pushes her away. “Shouldn’t you be with Luke right now?”

“Luke cheated on me with Kelsey. You didn’t know that? God, I thought the whole town knew.”

More people are arriving at the party. Everyone seems to know each other and I feel completely out of place. “Garret, I think I’m gonna leave.”

---