Loving You (The Jade Series #3) (19 page)

“Did you transfer from somewhere?”

“Um, no. I had some family issues last fall, so I couldn’t start until this semester.”

He seems uncomfortable, so I don’t ask him about the “family issues.” I skip to the basic questions that I’m sure he’s already been asked a hundred times.

“Are you from Connecticut?”
 

“No. Illinois.”

I smile. “A Midwest boy, huh? Finally. Someone else from the middle of the country. I used to be the only one here.”

“You’re from the Midwest?”

“Des Moines, Iowa.”

“Oh yeah? My grandma lives in Des Moines. We go there all the time to visit her.”

“How did you end up at Moorhurst?”

“My dad found this college a few years back when he was out here for a conference. He liked the area and did some research on the school and suggested I check it out. We came for a visit and I liked it. But now that I’m here I’m feeling a little out of place. So nobody else at this school is from the Midwest?”

“Just me. Everyone else is from the coasts, mostly the East Coast.”

“Then it’s a good thing we met.” He flashes the dimple again. “So far I haven’t found the people here to be very friendly.”

“They’re kind of cliquey, especially the ones from Connecticut. Some of them went to the same high school. Oh, and you should know that these people have no idea what’s in the middle of the country. If you tell them where you’re from, they’ll look at you all confused. I’ve told people a million times I’m from Iowa and half of them still think I’m from Ohio.”

He laughs. “That explains it. I was telling some people in my dorm that I’m from Illinois and they keep asking me if I liked growing up in Indiana.”

“See? And it’s no use trying to correct them. I tried and they still think I’m from Ohio.” I hoist my backpack onto my shoulder. “Well, I should get going. I’ll see you at lab.”

He follows me out of the building and walks with me across the open quad. “Hey, um, I don’t mean to bother you, but do you think we could maybe have lunch and you could tell me more insider secrets about the school?”

I stop walking and turn to face him. Wow. He’s really good looking. And he’s tall. Maybe 6’4 or 6’5? He seems desperate for someone to be friendly to him. I’m usually not very friendly, but I know how much it sucks to not know anyone and I feel like I should be nice to the only other Midwesterner on campus.

“I could do lunch. Are you free at noon?”

“Yeah, but I was gonna get the lab supplies at 12:30. Could we meet earlier than that?”

“Let’s say 11:30. Which dorm are you in?”

“That one over there.” He points to the one next to mine.

“Okay, I’ll meet you in your dining hall at 11:30.”

“Great. See you then.”
 

When I get back to my room I realize that I just agreed to have lunch with a really cute guy who isn’t Garret. Is that bad? It shouldn’t be, so why do I feel guilty? And why did I purposely arrange to eat at Carson’s dorm and not mine? It’s not like the girls from my floor would see me with Carson and assume I’m interested in the guy, would they? That’s ridiculous. It’s just lunch. Am I not supposed to eat a meal with a guy ever again? That doesn’t seem right.
 

At 11:30 Carson is waiting for me at the entrance to the dining hall. As we get into line, I feel like everyone is staring at us, gossiping about how I’m cheating on Garret. But I’m not cheating. I’m just having lunch. And nobody is staring. It’s just my guilty conscience telling me they are.

We take a seat at a table in the corner. I’m starving because I never ate breakfast.
 

“You must really like fries,” Carson says, noticing my plate.

Despite my resolution to eat better, I still haven’t done it. Today’s lunch is a plate of waffle fries, a dish of chocolate ice cream, and a soda.

“Everyone likes fries.” I reach across the table for the ketchup. “And why are you picking on me? You have a pile of fries, too.”

“Yeah, but I also have a chicken sandwich.”

“So what questions do you have?” I ask as I tap the ketchup bottle on my plate.

Carson quizzes me about some of the professors and what to expect in terms of homework and tests. Then we talk briefly about the social scene and I explain how everyone goes to parties off campus on Friday and Saturday nights and how it’s a social sin to have a party in your dorm room.
 

“Do you know if there are any trails around here?” he asks. “I like to run, but I don’t like running on a track.”

“Same here. But I don’t feel safe on the trails by myself, especially at night, so I usually end up on the track. Anyway, to answer your question, there’s a trail that starts in the woods behind the science building.”

“How far do you run?”

“Nine or 10 miles. Sometimes less if I’m in a hurry.”

“I usually go 8 or 9. We should run together sometime.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Guilt is creeping into my conscience again. What am I doing with this guy? First lunch. Now plans to go running? I haven’t even mentioned Garret’s name yet. I didn’t even tell Carson I had a boyfriend. No wonder he keeps asking me to do stuff with him. Just as I’m about to bring up Garret, Carson starts talking again.

“So what’s your major?”

“I don’t have one. I’m undecided. What’s yours?”

“Biology. I’m planning to go to med school.”
 

“What kind of doctor do you want to be?” I take a big bite of my ice cream.

“I want to be an oncologist.”

I cringe as the ice cream causes a moment of brain freeze. When I recover, I say, “So you want to be a cancer doctor. Any reason why?”
 

“Yeah, because um . . .” Carson sets down the french fries he was holding and wipes his hands together, shaking the salt off. “My sister had cancer.”

I’m confused by his use of the past tense. She either beat cancer or is dead. I’m too afraid to ask.

He moves his tray to the side and leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. “I don’t like to talk about it, but since I already brought it up I’ll tell you. My sister died of cancer last month. She was 16.”

So that explains the past tense.
 

“Oh. I’m sorry. That’s awful.”

“Yeah. She wasn’t doing well last summer, so I didn’t start school in the fall because I wanted to spend time with her. She passed away the week before Christmas.”

I never know what to say when people tell me sad things. I just sit there looking lost and feeling like an idiot.

“Anyway,” he continues, “seeing her go through that made me want to be a doctor. Plus, my dad’s a doctor and so was his dad, so it kind of runs in the family.”

“I’m thinking of going to med school, too.” I had no intention of that little secret spilling out, but I was so flustered from the dead sister story that I wasn’t even thinking.

“Really? Do you know what you want to specialize in?”
 

“No. I haven’t even decided for sure if I want to be a doctor. I’m just thinking about it.”
 

Now I totally regret telling him that. I haven’t even told Garret. I can’t tell a stranger what I plan to do with my life when I haven’t even told Garret.
 

“Well, if you ever want to talk to a doctor about med school or different types of medicine, you could talk to my dad. He has a private practice and also teaches a class at a university.”

“Yeah, okay, I’ll let you know.”
 

“I should probably head over to the lab.” Carson gets up from the table. “Are you busy now or do you want to come with me and help get the supplies?”

“I might as well go with you, but I have to stop at my room quick and get my lab book.”

Carson follows me back to my room. Some girls on my floor see us together, but they don’t give me any strange looks, so maybe I’m making too big a deal out of this. I can hang out with a guy friend. Why not? Other girls do.
 

The girls walking past us are really checking Carson out. The way he looks, he’ll have a girlfriend by the weekend.
 

“I’ll just be a minute.” I hurry into my room and start searching for my lab book.
 

“You don’t have a TV?”

“What?” I look up and see Carson sitting on my bed. “Um, no. I don’t watch much TV.” I kneel down and sort through the stack of books on the floor by my desk. “I swear someone stole my lab book. I remember buying it, but now I can’t find it.”

“Hey, Jade. I got out of—” Garret walks through my half-open door, but stops when he sees the hot new guy sitting on my bed.
 

Damn! This is not at all how I pictured my first day of the new semester.

“Looks like you have company,” Garret says to me.

I give up trying to find my lab book and go stand next to Garret. “This is Carson. He’s new here. Carson, this is Garret.”

“Hi.” Carson gets up and holds his hand out. He
’s
taller than Garret, but only by an inch or so.
 

“Hi.” Garret looks at him suspiciously. “I’m Jade’s boyfriend.” He shakes Carson’s hand, then puts his arm around me.

Carson keeps his eyes on Garret. “Jade didn’t mention she had a boyfriend.”

What the hell did he say
that
for?
 

“She didn’t, huh?” Now Garret’s looking at
me
suspiciously.
 

I try to explain. “Carson had all these questions about Moorhurst, so we were just talking about school stuff.”
 

This is so awkward. I hope I’m not blushing. I feel like I am. Either that or this room is getting really, really hot.

“Did you two just meet?” Garret asks.

“Jade’s my partner for chem lab,” Carson answers. “We met at class this morning and then she was nice enough to have lunch with me.”

“Yeah, Jade’s friendly like that,” he says, knowing it’s a lie.
 

Garret looks at me again and I scramble to find some words to fill the awkward silence. “Carson’s from Illinois. His grandmother lives in Des Moines.”

Carson smiles and the dimple appears. “Small world, right?”
 

Garret doesn’t smile back. “I guess it is.”

“Why are you back from class so early?” After I ask Garret the question, I realize it sounds like I was hoping he wouldn’t be home. Like I was hoping to hide Carson from him.

“The professor gave us the syllabus and assigned some reading, then let us go.”

“I need an easy class like that,” Carson says. “What’s your major?”

“Business,” Garret replies, annoyed. “It’s a finance class. I’m sure it won’t be easy. What’s your major?”

“Carson and I really need to go.” I break free from Garret’s arm and grab my backpack. “We have lab at 1 and we have to get our supplies.”

“I guess I’ll see you later,” Carson says to Garret. He follows me to the door, then looks back at Garret. “Oh, and biology. That’s my major. I’m pre-med. Just like Jade.”

I freeze, my heart stopping along with the rest of me. Garret’s asked me numerous times what I want to do for a career and I always tell him I don’t know. And now Carson’s telling him. Shit! This is bad.

“Jade?” I turn back to see a confused and somewhat hurt look on Garret’s face.
 

“We’ll talk later.” I kiss him quick, then pull him into the hall so I can lock my door.
 

I can’t concentrate at all during chem lab. Carson is likely regretting picking me as a partner. I already screwed up the first experiment.

“I’m sorry, Carson. I didn’t sleep much last night. I promise I’ll be a better lab partner next time.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He places his hand on my back. It’s completely innocent, but it still feels wrong. “Not every experiment turns out.”

The lab is almost over, so I start gathering my things. “I guess I’ll see you Thursday.”

“Are you taking physics?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Wednesdays at 3? With Professor Bryce?”

I nod. “So I’ll guess I’ll see you tomorrow then.”
 

It makes sense we would have similar classes if he’s pre-med and I’m considering it, but I hadn’t thought about that until he mentioned it. At this rate, I’ll see him more than I see Garret.

“Can I get your phone number?” Carson calls after me as I’m leaving.
 

My phone number? He just met my boyfriend. Why is he asking for my phone number?

I turn back and see him holding his phone. “We should exchange numbers in case one of us has to miss lab or needs help with the homework.”
 

I give him my number, then race off to European history, my next and last class of the day. Afterward I go back to my dorm and collapse on my bed, wondering how to handle the Garret situation. It’s 4 and Garret should be back from class by now. He hasn’t texted or called me since I saw him last. I decide to go up to his room and talk to him.