Page 31 of Choosing You

“I can’t do this. I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

“Because of what just happened?”

“No. It just won’t work.”

“You don’t like me that way, right?”

Don’t like him that way? Is he serious? If he only knew how much I like him that way. My outburst must have really freaked him out for him to think that.

“I just can’t be in a relationship right now. I need to focus on school.”

He lets go of me, but takes hold of both my hands as they lie at my sides. “Then I’ll just be your friend. Everyone needs friends, right?”

I look up at him. “I don’t know. I’m not a very good friend. You might want to choose someone else.”

He smiles. “Nope. I’m choosing you. Only you can help me polish off one of those Boxcar sundaes. Other girls would take one bite and leave the rest. And only you know that I secretly like cartoons. Don’t you dare tell anyone that, by the way.”

The comment makes me laugh, which doesn’t seem possible after how I felt just minutes ago.

“And someday, even if we’re the best of friends, I’m gonna beat your ass on that track.”

“You’re never gonna beat me. You’ll always be at least a lap behind.”

“Then I’ll just keep chasing you until you let me catch up.” He waits for me to look at him. “What do you think? Can we be friends?”

I want so badly to be more than friends with him, but if that’s all my broken soul can handle, I’ll take it. I don’t want this boy out of my life.

“I guess. But I’m not going to treat you any differently. It’s not like I’m gonna be nice to you all of a sudden.”

“No, of course not.”

“We should go. We’ve got orientation first thing in the morning.”

He lets go of one of my hands, but keeps hold of the other as we walk back up the hill.

The campus is much busier now. Almost everyone has moved in. People and cars fill the area outside our residence hall. I jump when someone blasts their car radio as I walk by. Garret watches me, probably rethinking the friend agreement with someone as crazy as me.

“I don’t like loud noises,” I explain. “Especially when they come out of nowhere.”

“You can’t really get away from noise on a college campus, Jade.”

“I know. Doesn’t mean I like it.”

He stops before we reach the door to our residence hall. “I almost forgot. You haven’t eaten all day. Dry your hair and we’ll go out.”

“That’s okay. It’s too late to eat.”

“It’s not even 8. You need to eat something. Chips and soda aren’t enough.”

I don’t have much of an appetite but my stomach does feel empty. “There’s a taco place just down the road from here. Let’s go there.”

“That shitty stand?”

“Yeah. I ate there the other day. It was good.”

“No way. Everyone who eats there gets sick. We call it Taco Hell.”

“I didn’t get sick. I felt fine.”

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