Page 226 of Promising You

She smiles back, her eyes wide and hopeful. I think she gets that I’ve finally accepted them as my grandparents and that I really do want a relationship with them.

Grace and I take out the salads and sandwiches she brought and arrange them on the small table in the kitchen. Then she calls Arlin to come down and the three of us have lunch. Afterward, Grace reads a book while Arlin teaches me more about sailing.

We get back to the house late afternoon. They invite me to stay for dinner, but it’s a 2 to 3 hour drive back to Moorhurst depending on traffic around New York City and I don’t want to drive in the dark. I don’t know the area that well. This is the first time I’ve driven out to their house. When I came here last Saturday, Arlin and Grace drove me. But I insisted on driving myself this week. Arlin wanted to send his private plane to pick me up, but there’s no way I’m getting on one of those small planes knowing what happened to Garret’s mom.

Before I leave, I say goodbye to Grace in the kitchen. Then I go outside and meet Arlin by his car. He’s putting a bag of golf clubs into the trunk.

“I’ll see you next week, Arlin.”

“Looking forward to it.” He shuts the trunk. “Have a safe trip back. Call when you get there so we know you made it.”

I turn to leave, then stop and turn back around and give Arlin a hug. “Thanks for teaching me how to sail.”

I pull away, but he keeps me there a moment longer. “Anytime, honey. We love having you here.”

I’ve already agreed to come back next weekend and the one after that, but next time I’ll spend the night and drive back on Sunday. Hanging out with the grandparents in the Hamptons is a lot more fun than sitting alone in my room all weekend. Plus, it keeps my mind off Garret.

CHAPTERFIFTY-THREE

The restof April goes by really fast. I’ve been buried me in homework and I still have two big papers to finish before the semester ends.

Every weekend I’ve been going to the Hamptons to hang out with Arlin and Grace. I take my books and study on the deck overlooking the ocean, which is the absolute best place to study. The sound of the waves. The cool breeze. The warm sun. It’s way better than studying in my room. Grace sits out there with me and reads a book. She loves to read.

We always spend the afternoons on the sailboat. I’m learning a lot about sailing. Arlin’s face lights up whenever I ask him to teach me something new. Grace says I’m the only grandkid who’s ever shown that much interest in learning how to sail. But I like learning about it. And I like spending time with Arlin. He tells me these old people jokes that aren’t that funny but still make me laugh because of the way he says them. And then he laughs at his own jokes, which makes them even funnier.

During the week, Garret and I have been meeting in our secret location almost every night after dinner. A couple weeks ago, Garret set up a tent because the bugs were getting so bad. It’s a big tent and he outfitted it with sleeping bags and pillows and got some lanterns so we could stay out there really late. I keep worrying we’ll get caught but Garret assures me that nobody goes down that far into the woods.

It’s hard to believe that it’s now the first week of May and finals are next week. This past weekend I left for the Hamptons on Friday instead of Saturday morning and didn’t get back until late Sunday, which means I haven’t seen Garret for days.

Monday night I hurry through dinner because I’m dying to see him. We’re meeting earlier than usual so we can both get back to our rooms and study.

When I get to the tent, Garret’s already there waiting. I crawl inside, zipping it up to keep the bugs out. He grabs my waist from behind and pulls me down on the sleeping bag with him.

“Nice of you to stop by,” he says, kissing the side of my neck.

“I haven’t seen you for three whole days. I needed my Garret fix.”

“I needed my Jade fix three days ago.” His kisses move to my mouth as he slides his hand under my white cotton skirt. “I love it when you wear these.”

Lately I’ve been wearing skirts when I come here, which always leads to sex right away and then we hang out and talk. The same thing happens tonight. After the sex part I get right to the talking.

“Did you get any updates over the weekend?” I ask Garret as he’s pulling his shirt on.

“I got an update, but I don’t know if it’s good or bad. The organization is having a big meeting two weeks from today. My dad said they didn’t send an agenda so he doesn’t know what it’s about.”

“When I was with Arlin yesterday he mentioned the meeting, too. He said he heard it’s about you.”

“Shit! Really? My dad thought it was still too soon for them to vote. He thought it’d be late June or July.”

“Garret, this is good. They’ll finally make a decision.”

“Yeah, and their decision could be to keep moving forward with the plan.”

“Why would they still want you to be president? Nobody would vote for you. Even 20 years from now people will remember you as being some spoiled trust fund kid who got drunk, did drugs, and trashed his dad’s expensive cars. Hardly anyone is talking about you online anymore, and the few people who are have nothing good to say about you.”

“I know, but there’s still a possibility they’ll make me do this.”

“No. I’m not even considering it.” I secure my arm around him and lay my head on his chest.

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