Promised (16 page)

Removing her hand, she looks away. “This isn’t my answer, not yet.” She takes a deep breath and releases it, then turns back to me. “But if I’m going to consider what you’ve offered, I need to do research. That’s why we’re here.”

“Can we just walk around?”

“I’m not sure, but we don’t have to. I’ve scheduled us for a campus tour.”

Truly surprised, I ask. “How long have you had this planned?”

“Only since yesterday. I got Mrs. Mandevers to arrange it; so truthfully, we’re not skipping. We’re taking advantage of our college visit days the school lets us take.”

“This is a great idea.” I say as I climb out of the car, forcing her to follow suit to continue our conversation.

“You’re not disappointed?” She asks, joining me at the front of the car.

I wait as she buttons up her coat and then I grab her hand. “Not at all. This shows me that you’re really considering what I’ve offered.”

“I don’t deserve you.” She says as she kisses my cheek.

“I think you have that backwards, but we won’t argue about it right now. We probably have an appointment to make, right?”

She looks at the time on her phone. “Oh gosh, we’re going to be late.” She puts her phone back in her pocket and rushes towards one of the closest brick buildings, pulling me along by my hand.

Chapter 22 – Wyn

~Sinking In~

Linc is sitting across from me, grinning from ear to ear, trying to hide it by keeping his cup of hot chocolate close to his mouth. I set my caramel Frappuccino on the table and say. “Don’t get your hopes up, yet.” But even as I’m saying the words, I can’t stop myself from smiling. This college is perfect and the tour only helped to emphasis that point; a top rated nursing program, excellent student housing, and to top it all off, only an hour away from home. So I’d be able to see Linc when he’s on leave.

“I know, I know. But you have to admit this place is almost perfect.” He sets his own drink on the table.

“I’ll admit that, but I don’t know if I’ve been accepted yet. And then I have to worry about paying if I do.”

“You’ll get a scholarship.” He states as if it’s already a done deal. If only I could be that confident that everything will work out.

I change the subject, not wanting to jinx myself. “Let’s go look through the school store. We still have some time before we need to be back at the school.”

He picks his hot chocolate back up and in one large drag, downs the remainder. He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. Without a word, he drags me out of my seat and in the direction of the store. I somehow manage to grab my Frappuccino before he has me too far from the table.

*****************************************

I snuggle deeper into my new hoodie. It’s not my usual style, but dang if it isn’t cozy. And the fact that Linc bought it for me, makes it my favorite item in my wardrobe. This is the reason Linc was so pumped about looking through the school store. Well, not this specifically, but the idea that he could buy me something for Valentine’s Day. Not your typical V-day gift, but in my eyes, a heck of a lot better. I could have picked out anything there and he would’ve bought it for me. But as soon as my eyes locked on the white zip up hoodie with the school name across the back, I knew I wanted it. I planned on buying it for myself, but Linc wouldn’t even let me open my purse. I tried to buy him something in return, but he wouldn’t let me do that either. Though, he did get himself a baseball cap with the school name across the front. The hat upped his already hot self from smoking to on fire, so I was pretty darn thrilled when he decided to buy it.

Overall, this day has been perfect. The school taking responsibility for a small part of the perfection, and the time spent with Linc taking up the rest. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Linc silently shaking with laughter.

“What?” I ask.

“You act like you’ve never worn a hoodie.”

“This is my first.”

“Seriously?”

“I’ll have you know, Lincoln Tatman, I am normally a girl of fashion.” I say all high and mighty, causing his silent laughter to turn audible.

“That’s hard not to notice, but you do add a touch of class to the casual college student look.”

I roll my eyes at his comment and push my hands into the pockets. “I have to admit that this thing is super comfy. If I could wear it every day without freaking out my mom, I’d so do it.”

“Where are you going to tell them it came from? I don’t want you to get in to trouble.” He asks as he flips on the turn signal to merge into the next lane. He decided he’d drive us back to the school and since it’s his car, I decided not to argue. Instead, I’m sitting back in my super soft hoodie enjoying the ride, and the view of Linc in his new hat. Which by the way, he wears turned backwards, which might up the hot factor from on fire to molten.

“I’ll tell them there were college recruiters giving out freebies at the school today. They won’t think anything about that because it’s happened before. I just didn’t get sweet hoodies those times.” I grin.

He shakes his head and smiles. “You’re a goofball.”

“Well, I’m a goofball you love. So what does that say about you?”

“That I must be a goofball too.”

“Yep.” I nod in agreement.

All too soon, we pull into the school parking lot. The carefree feeling of earlier in the day gone and in its place is the uncertainty that’s shadowed our whole relationship. I know my indecision is the cause of it and I want to give him an answer, the answer he wants. But like always, the thought of turning my back on Dani and Adam causes a knot to form in my stomach. I don’t
want
to live without Linc, but I
can’t
live without them either. I’m facing a double edged sword with this decision and either way I go, I’m going to hurt and be hurt.

I look at the time on my cell to make sure there’s time before school lets out. We don’t need another incident with Shay. He’ll be here soon to get me, but we still have a few minutes.

We’re both leaning against the Challenger, side by side, in silence. Grabbing his hand, I give it a little squeeze to get his attention. It works because he turns to look at me. “Thank you for today.”

“I should be thanking you; it was your surprise for me after all.” He releases my hand so he can slip his arm around my shoulders, to pull me tighter to his side.

I slip my arms around his middle to hold tighter to him. “It may have been my surprise to you, but you could’ve refused. And you agreeing to go, made my day. So thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He whispers against my hair right before placing a kiss there. We stand there wrapped around each other in silence for several minutes. Finally, I break the silence by whispering. “I hate that I have to leave you to go to him.”

His arms flex tighter around me and I don’t think he’ll respond, but finally, I hear him whisper back. “Me too.”

Sighing, I push away from his side and move to face him. His beautiful face that had been smiling and happy a short while before is now sad and closed off, I cause this. Each day I hold off on my decision, I hurt him. Someone should slap me for what I’m putting this boy through. He may not be perfect, but he’s pretty darn close and I’m dragging him through the ringer. I don’t deserve him, but he says he loves me and I know without a doubt that I love him. So I can’t let him go. Not yet.

I lean in and kiss him, soft and sweet. His hands automatically go to my waist to hold me to him as he kisses me back, eyes closed. I don’t close my eyes this time so that I can take in his face. The kiss wipes away a little of the sadness, but not all. I pull back and give him a sad smile when I tell him. “I better go.”

His fingers at my waist tighten. Then he releases me with a nod of his head. It’s the only acknowledgement I get from him so I turn and walk up to the school to wait on Shay. As soon as I’ve taken a seat by the front door, I hear the Challenger roar to life and take off.

Not even ten minutes later, the Dodge pulls up. He looks me over, taking in the jeans and flats, and then his eyes come to rest on the hoodie. Finally, his eyes come to mine and his left brow arches in question.

“School recruiters came today and gave out freebies.” I explain, handing him my book bag to carry.

He gives me a chin lift in understanding, throws my bag over one shoulder, and then takes my hand to guide me to the truck.

He’s quiet the short drive to my house, where he drops me off with orders to get changed and be ready by six p.m. One quick kiss on the cheek later (him kissing my cheek) and I’m out of the truck and in the house.

Two obscenely large bouquets of roses are sitting on the kitchen counter. Both sets are a red that’s so dark, they’re almost black. I by pass them, figuring they’re the first step of Dad’s always outrageous Valentine’s Day plans for Mom. He goes all out each year. And the next year, he has to try and top himself. But no matter how much he grumbles about it, I know he loves the big show he makes, not to mention the look of pure love that he sees on her face when she finally gets to see her surprise.

You see, Mom and Dad are a typical gypsy couple. But unlike my unwanted arranged marriage to Shay, they wanted to be together. So much so that they got married in a big gypsy wedding when she was fourteen and he was seventeen. They haven’t had a perfect marriage. He’s a strong willed gypsy man and she’s a hot tempered gypsy woman. And at times, that’s a very volatile combination. But thankfully, as hard as they fight, they love twice as hard. That’s the nature of their relationship and somehow it works for them, and has for twenty-six years.

Mom walks into the kitchen as I’m walking out to head to my room. She’s grinning from ear to ear and carrying another large bouquet; this one is with yellow roses. “Three bouquets this year? Dang, Dad’s starting out good this year.”

Her brow pinches in confusion for a second before it smoothes out and she smiles. “These are mine.” She holds up the yellow roses, then points to the red. “Those are yours.”

I walk back to the bouquets on the counter and pluck the card out of its holder. I don’t open the card in front of her. She’ll expect me to be head over heels excited by the show Shay is creating for me, and I can’t make myself put on a fake smile for her. Our relationship is still strained from our blow up at the dress fitting.

Once I’m in my room with the door shut, I pull the little card out of its envelope and scan over the words. No poems or huge declarations, he simply signed. “Love, Shay”. I haven’t told him those words in return, but he’s been telling me them more and more. So far, he hasn’t expected me to return the sentiment, but it won’t be long before he starts pushing the issue.

With a sigh, I flick the card at my dresser and head to the closet to pick out a dress to fit the plans that Shay has made for us. I’m not sure what they are exactly, but knowing him, it’ll probably be over the top like my dad’s. So I need a dress to match without giving away too much of myself.

A deep red dress calls my name so I pull it out and lay it across my bed. I dig out the black heels that flatter it perfectly; then I begin to strip off my casual clothes from today. I lay the hoodie across the bed, right beside the red dress. I look back and forth between the two. One a symbol of my relationship with Shay – flashy and stunning, but uncomfortable. The other, a symbol of my relationship with Linc – simple, comfortable…right. I run my finger along the soft material of the hoodie, deciding I’ll wear it to sleep in tonight. Then I finish undressing and redressing in the red number. I pile my curls on top of my head with bobby pins and freshen up my make-up. After a once over in the mirror, I go to the living room to wait.

I hear Mom in her bedroom, going through her own dressing routine. Just like Dad goes all out with her gifts, she goes all out making sure she looks perfect for him. So I know it’ll be at least another hour before she’ll be done. Right now, she’s probably in the middle of applying her make-up. Then she’ll move on to her hair. And even though she had a dress created for tonight, she’ll still try on no less than three others before she’ll put on the one she had made.

Dad joins me in the living room; he learned years ago that he’d have to wait on Mom to get ready. And though he may grumble, he doesn’t complain because just like she loves his gifts, he loves the way she looks. And if it takes her two hours to look that way, so be it. A pale blue gift bag sits on the coffee table; his next step in the Valentine’s Day extravaganza he has planned.

He changes the plans up a little each year, but he does have steps he follows. First, the flowers. Second, jewelry. Third, dinner at an expensive restaurant. Then he ends the night with some huge gesture. One year it was a surprise honeymoon for just the two of them. Another time it was a hot air balloon ride at sunset. My dad may be a badass gypsy man, who can take a guy out with one punch, but when it comes to my Mom, he’s a romantic to the tenth degree.

“So what’s the bling this year?” I ask as I gesture to the gift bag.

“Emerald and diamond necklace.” I saw the dress Mom had made for tonight and it’ll match it to perfection. He really did think of everything.

He sees me smiling at him and gives me a knowing smile in return. I shake my head.

Without knocking, Shay walks in. He’s traded his jeans for black dress pants and he’s got on a white button up shirt with black vertical stripes. He’s carrying a gift bag almost identical to the one Dad has set out for Mom. He must be following Dad’s playbook for Valentine’s Day because I know those bags are only available from the jewelry store in town. My hand flies to my four leaf clover charm hanging around my neck. I don’t want what’s in that bag, but I really don’t want it if it’s a necklace because I’ll have to take off the one Linc gave me.