“Why? She seems nice.” She hooks her arm through mine and we follow everyone over to the conveyor belt.
“Yeah, that’s the point. She’s nice and Trey doesn’t stay interested in nice very long,” I tell her and she gives an understanding smile.
Once everyone has their luggage, the guys and I head over to the car rental place. Brady reserved it in advance, so he gives them his information and we all remind him that we’ll pay him back.
“I know you guys are good for it,” he tells us as we walk back out to the girls. “Plus,” he jokes, “I know where you all live.”
When we return from the car rental desk, the three girls are laughing and talking like they’ve been friends forever. Kailey’s quiet demeanor in front of the guys is the opposite of the way she is with the girls. She seems to be leading the conversation between them, which is saying a lot considering who she’s talking to. Usually when I’m with the two of them together, I just sit and listen as they finish one another’s sentences.
“Ready, baby?” Brady asks Sadie, and she stands up, whispering something in his ear. He laughs and smacks her ass.
“Brady Carsen, you better watch those hands,” she remarks.
“I’ll watch them alright. Later tonight, I’ll be watching them move all over your body,” he says and Sadie turns bright red.
“No one wants to hear about your missionary sex life,” Jessa jokes.
“Hey, missionary done right is better than from behind,” Sadie returns, turning around to Jessa.
“Not like we would know,” Brady finishes, and we all crack up as Sadie playfully smacks his stomach.
Arguing about which minivan to pick, it’s finally decided that we’ll take a blue one. Brady climbs in the driver’s seat and Sadie takes the passenger side. Jessa and I sit in the second row, with Dex, Trey, and Kailey in the back. Our luggage barely fits in the back, so some bags are squeezed in around our feet.
“It’s like they’re the married couple and we’re their kids,” Dex chuckles and Brady flips him off.
The energy in the van is easy-going and fun, even with our impromptu guest. Kailey and Trey can’t stop talking to one another, and Dex’s sighs become louder with each of Kailey’s giggles. While Brady drives, Sadie fiddles with the radio. Jessa and I look out the windows as the van heads toward the mountains. This feeling of togetherness is comforting, and it’s almost as though we’re a family.
Jessa
I love my friends, especially the way they’ve been able to keep me distracted so far. Once the plane took off, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. Grant has no idea that I was up half the night, debating on whether or not to even come home. I’ve pushed the feelings of what happened with Jason so far down, you would think it would be blocked from my memory by now. When we touched down and the pilot said “Welcome to Denver…,” it took everything I had not to beg Grant to take me back to Western. For some reason, having him by my side makes me stronger.
I wish I would’ve gone to Western to begin with, but like my dad always says, ‘You’re past makes you who you are’. As Grant grabs my hand, leading us to the rental car, I smile up to him and he grins back. This boy has the possibility to break my heart so much more than Jason ever did. Looking back at Jason and me, I know now that what we had wasn’t love. It wasn’t anything close to what I have with Grant.
They load our bags in the back. Dex and Trey climb into the back, with Kailey stuck in the middle. I feel bad for the poor girl the way they’re fighting for her, like she’s the last piece of cake at a birthday party. Although it does seem that Dex is slowly accepting defeat. From the conversation Sadie and I had with her while the guys were getting the rental car, I know Kailey’s more into Trey, based on the questions she asked us.
She’s cute and shy, and I notice the way she tucks her hair behind her ear while talking with Trey. Dex huffs every few minutes when she gives Trey a flirtatious giggle.
“Seriously, switch seats with me?” Dex leans forward, whispering in my ear.
“No way, man,” Grant answers for me, placing his arm around my shoulders.
“Shithead,” Dex sighs, leaning back in his seat.
Trey and Kailey talk non-stop on the way, while Brady and Sadie start arguing about whether or not to pass a truck. Sadie thinks he shouldn’t, but of course, Brady does it anyway. Just when you think the boy is whipped, he stands up for himself by passing a truck on a highway. Seriously? Sadie rolls her eyes, letting out an annoyed sigh and staring out the window.
“It’s so pretty here,” Sadie remarks. “I can’t believe you were lucky enough to grow up in this area.”
“Yeah, it’s kind of amazing. My parents moved here right after they got married. My dad was a ski bum and my mom was a waitress.” I lean forward and Grant’s hand goes to the small of my back, rubbing circles on the exposed skin above my waistline.
“What did you say your parents do?” Brady asks. Grant instantly stops moving his hand.
“They own a few restaurants,” I tell them. There’s no point in telling them that my dad owns half the restaurants in town. No one else really knows either. My dad keeps it under wraps, making the employees believe they’re owned by different corporations. He says if people knew the truth, the restaurants wouldn’t try hard enough to win the customers over. That they’d think if customers were dissatisfied, they would just go to another restaurant that’s most likely owned by my dad as well.
“That’s cool,” Brady says. “A ski bum turned business man.”
Grants hand moves back to my shoulder. I nuzzle into his neck, giving it a soft kiss. I start to hear Dex lightly snoring and decide to relax into Grant before I get home.
The gut-wrenching fear that I might run into Jason or someone else from my past terrifies me, but I know that I have to face them at some point. I can’t hide out at Western for the rest of my life. Not to mention, I won’t let Jason do that to me. I already let him win when I dropped out of school, moved halfway across the country, and stopped talking to all my friends. As much as the humiliation makes me want to bury myself in a huge hole, it also makes me furious. I wish I could ring Jason’s neck until he crumbles to the ground, begging for mercy and saying he’s sorry. The probability of that happening is unlikely, but the thought brings a smile to my face.
And then there’s Beth. I asked Sam to look her up, and she texted me the number she got from another mutual friend. Sam told them some lie about how she had met up with her one night and was too drunk to type her number into her phone. I laughed at Sam, saying she didn’t have to come up with something so exaggerated, but of course, Sam said it was believable. I haven’t decided if I want to call her yet. Talking to her still might bring back memories I don’t want to fully relive. Not to mention, she might not want to be my friend anymore after how I treated her, and I couldn’t blame her for that.
If those issues aren’t enough, I haven’t told my parents about Grant yet. They met him at Christmas and liked him then, but he wasn’t my boyfriend. I have no idea how they’ll take this news, especially since Jason and Grant appear similar in their extracurricular activities. Grant has shown me though that just because two people may have common interests, it doesn’t mean they’re anything alike. I only hope my parents can see what I see in Grant. He can be a little rough around the edges, but man, the boy has the capacity to love. It takes him awhile to allow people in, but when he does, it’s amazing how quickly he acclimates to it.
If I were to compare the Grant I met a few months ago to the Grant that sits next to me now, I’d say they’re polar opposites. I never would’ve thought he was capable of the love he gives me. He makes me believe in the possibility of a future, and maybe even a happily ever after.
I glance over and see beads of sweat on his forehead and notice that his knuckles are white from clutching the door handle. A smile crosses my lips as I watch this strong man, who could hang by one arm from a cliff, afraid of the mountain roads of Colorado.