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my bed. “Are you sure this is what you want?”
“What? Why wouldn’t it be?”
“Because I saw you two at the engagement party. Aunt Rachel didn’t even know which one was your fiancé.” Worry is evident in the tone of her voice, but I don’t dare to look at her. “What were you two fighting about?”
I shake my head. “It was stupid.”
“It didn’t look stupid. It clearly upset you.”
She’s right. It did upset me. It still does if I’m honest, but there isn’t much I can do about it now. He starts classes on Wednesday because that’s what he wants to do. My opinion didn’t matter when he made the choice to enroll, and it doesn’t matter now. That’s just something I need to accept.
“He signed up for summer courses without talking to me about it first.”
“You don’t want him to get a head start?”
“It’s not that.” I will myself not to get emotional. My mom will go all protective mama bear and I don’t need that right now. “Since we met, one of us has always had some kind of obligation. We both promised to spend this summer together.”
“That’s not very considerate of him. If you two are going to get married, he needs to know that he can’t make all these decisions on his own anymore. You’re supposed to be equals.”
“Yeah, well.” I toss the shirt into the box with a little more force than necessary. “It’s a problem but it’s not going to make me leave him. I’ll get over it.”
“And what about Colton? Will you get over that, too?” My whole body tenses and my eyes fly up to see my mom staring right back at me - not judging, just the soft gaze I’m used to. “I saw the way you looked at him when you were dancing.”
“That-”
She holds up one finger. “I also saw the way he chased after you when you ran off. So, I’m going to ask you again. Are you sure this is what you want?”
Running my hands over my face, I take a deep breath. “Yes, I’m sure. I love Parker. Colton was just being a good friend.”
“Honey, I’ve known that boy since he was ten years old. If you think the way he looks at you is like a friend, you’re not as bright as I thought you were.”
“Mom!” I laugh in disbelief. “We’re not talking about this. There’s nothing going on between me and Colton. I’m moving in with Parker and in four months, I’ll be marrying him. That’s all there is to it.”
“I just-”
I shake my head. “That’s all there is to it.”
“Okay, I get it.” She stands from my bed. “Let me know if you need any help.”
Without another word, she leaves me alone to process my thoughts. After I walked away from Colton on Friday night, he didn’t try to talk to me again. I caught him looking at me a couple times but he left with Maverick shortly after.
My eyes move to the picture on my nightstand. I walk over and take it into my hands, looking at it for the millionth time since I got home. Like a habit, my finger rubs right over Colton’s hair and down his face as I remember what he feels like. It’s been two days since I saw him and while I know it was my idea to stay away from each other, I’d be lying if I said I like it.
“Hello love.” Parker greets me as he comes into the room. I startle but it’s too late. “What are you looking at?”
I shrug to seem apathetic and hand it to him. “Just a picture from a few years ago.”
“Is that Maverick and Colton with you?”
“Mhm.”
He looks up at me and smiles. “You all look happy.”
I take the picture as he passes it back to me and glance over it one more time. “Yeah, we were.”
The sun beams down on me, warming my body as I relax on the beach. Waves crash against the shore and just barely kiss the dry sand before retreating. The sound of seagulls and the ocean provide a feeling of calmness that can’t be beat.
“If you stare any harder, your eyes are going to dry out. At least blink, jeez.”
