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“Tell me about everything I don’t already know about. The good stuff.”
“Well, my parents drove me crazy, but acted normal when Dean arrived. They loved him, he’s going to try and fly up in a few weeks.”
“Wow, snoozeville. That’s all you got?”
She shrugs her shoulders but the smile creeping on her lips gives her away. “Let’s just say that you’re not the only one getting laid anymore.”
“Woohoo! Give me PG rated deets.”
“I now know the difference between sex with a boy and sex with a man. And no matter what, I’m never going back.”
“Sounds serious.”
“I think so. We’ll see. Hey, do you think Nate or Bryce could get me two tickets to the Graduation and ROTC Ceremonies?”
“Yeah, but why? Won’t you be bored as hell? I’m obligated to go.”
“Well, I thought Dean could drive up and meet me and we could spend the weekend together. I want to be there okay? Nate and Bryce are like brother’s to me.”
“Okay. If you say so.” Something seems odd. Who would willingly sit through hours of boredom?
Chapter 14
Whoever coined the term, time flies, has obviously never been in love and separated by long distance. A part of me believed Bryce would find a way to get to Virginia to surprise me, but it didn’t happen. And with our schedules it was extremely hard to talk as often as we liked.
One highlight in the six weeks since I left Knoxville is the Holli situation was completely taken care of. She approached Bryce one night while he was working, which was a big mistake. He was still furious with her and basically cussed her out. Even though I wanted explicit details, he resorted to ‘man details.’ Basically, he told her she was a bitch for approaching me and needed to get over him. His vocabulary was extremely colorful with words like cunt, useless shit, and fucking crazy. I shouldn’t have been so happy he was mean to her, but I was delighted.
I decided I wanted to spend a week in Destin for our vacation. He found us a cottage on the beach and we leave the day after his UT commencement. Quinn called him begging to come along but he shut her down quick. She pouted for a day or so, but then pledged revenge one day.
My legs shake nervously when we drive up to the guys’ apartment. As usual, Bryce is outside waiting on me. The car isn’t fully stopped when I hop out and run to him. As soon as I jump in his arms, I feel whole again. His scent envelops me and I wrap my legs around him, holding his as close as possible.
His lips run a trail down my neck and across my chin until he finds my mouth. I breathe in deep, drawing air from him. He breaks away too soon and looks at me sadly.
“Babe, Karen and Steve are already here. Your dad’s having a really hard time with the fact you’re staying here and already gave me a lecture. Not sure how he’ll handle me mauling you in daylight.”
“Does that mean you will maul me in moonlight?” I tease.
“Oh yeah. You can count on it.”
I loosen my legs and stand up dizzily. He steadies me and laughs. Quinn walks up and shoves her bag at him.
“If you aren’t going to take me on vacation, you can at least carry my bag.”
He rolls his eyes and goes to the car to get my things. She and I walk in and immediately are surrounded by my family. My dad holds me extra long and when I pull back he looks happy and sad at the same time. My mom tears up.
“What the hell, guys? I just saw you in February,” I question.
“Baby, my son’s graduating from college tomorrow. Give me a break. I’m a little emotional,” she says.
Whatever, I shrug and embrace my brother who keeps shaking his head. Sheila and Dave come in and we repeat the whole routine. Sheila sheds a few tears too when she lets go of Bryce. He rolls his eyes and pulls me to his side.
We choose a restaurant nearby and leave for an early dinner. All throughout our meal, Bryce holds my hand firmly. Quinn and I keep everyone entertained with stories of the last semester. The story of our exhibit is a huge conversation grabber. We should know in the next week about the program we applied to and if we’ll get to go away this summer.
My mom keeps looking my way and smiling widely. Finally I give her the signal to follow me and go to the restroom. When we get inside, I check under the stalls to make sure we’re alone.
“What the hell is going on?” I question her.
“You’re back. All of you is back. The joking, vibrant, joyful Devon is back.”
