Red Flags (37 page)

“You are?” I asked, utterly confused on how
this was taking place.

“Yes. Hunter’s dad’s firm is employed by the
Bradley’s and Hunter is going as the representative for the company
for the gala. I’m going with him.”

“Awesome, then we should have a good
time.”

Chelsea shook her head, but dropped the mood
shattering conversation that had me playing defender of Jason in
his absence. I felt like a threshold had been crossed, that I knew
now that I was completely loyal to Jason, and would do whatever it
took to protect the fragile bond that we had forged.

Chelsea took me out for an early dinner, and
nothing more on Stacey was mentioned.

<>

The next few days seemed to streak by. I’d
taken two finals and aced both, gone to my job interview and was
offered the job on the spot, and now, just waiting for my final
exam in Professor Velez’s class. Jason had been so busy with
studying, taking his own finals, and completing work for his dad
that I hadn’t seen much of him. He had been very good about calling
and texting every day, and even had flowers sent to my apartment on
the morning of my interview with a note that read: Since I couldn’t
find anything as lovely as you; I had to find the next best thing.
Knock em’ dead Gorgeous! Love, Jason

After landing my dream job, my mom decided
that we needed to celebrate by shopping. I couldn’t argue with her,
I did need a dress for graduation, and in her giving mood, I would
probably end up with something that I loved versus something that I
settled for.

Spending three hours going from store to
store, boutique to boutique was tiresome, but my mother’s tenacity
landed me the perfect knee length, flirty red dress, and killer red
bow tie heels. My mom didn’t mind the price tag, and for once, I
didn’t either.

We stopped to have dinner when suddenly, my
mom channeled her inner Mr. Pinkston.

“So do we get to meet Jason’s parents at
graduation?”

I quickly shook my head, “since we’ll be
flying down to Texas that night, they aren’t coming.”

My mom scrunched her eyebrows and took a sip
of her lemon water.

“Graduating from college is a big deal. And
let’s face it; they have the money to jet set. Why not come for the
graduation and then fly out that night?”

“I don’t know Mom. Plus, they have the gala
Saturday evening, so maybe they need to get ready for that?”

Shaking her head, she threw out, “I don’t
care what you have going on. When it’s your kid, everything else
stops. A college graduation is an important milestone. We’ll make
sure that Jason knows we are proud of him.”

I shrugged my shoulders but my heart swelled
on the inside. My parents had always been rocks to lean on,
shoulders to cry on, and confidants to sound off to. I had wondered
why Jason’s parents weren’t coming, but since he had yet to offer
up the information, I hadn’t asked. I knew his dad was a source of
tension for him, but his mom -- he hadn’t given any indication that
she was in the same boat.

All of this made me more and more anxious for
the trip to Heath. Jason seemed to have made it, despite the chaos
that was his familial life.

Chapter 18

Thursday morning came fast and furiously. I
felt as if I’d fried my brain from the countless hours of studying
for the final-final exam of my undergraduate studies. I’d been on
pins and needles, and ruthlessly short with almost everyone I had
come in contact with. Jason had been very understanding and had
respectfully given me my space. His cute text messages, and short,
yet affectionate phone calls helped to calm my nerves, but the fear
of bombing my final had engulfed me like the flames of a wildfire.
I missed the final exam review because I was avoiding Jason, and
while I got the notes, I just didn’t feel adequately prepared.

On top of the final, Jason insisted that I
stay at his house, or as he referred to it,
our
soon to be
house, so that we could wake up to congratulate each other first
thing in the morning. I had to finish packing for the three days we
were spending in Heath, and sadly, the only thing that I had
packed, was the gown I was wearing to the gala, which was currently
at Jason’s house.

My clomping around in my room invited Mila
and Chelsea in to figure out what was going on. They both stood in
the doorway, looking between me and my empty suitcase, before
heading in and grabbing things from my drawers and tossing them on
my bed.

“I don’t know why you’re so frazzled. Jason’s
family is going to love you.” Mila stated, while looking me in the
eye on the tail end of her statement.

“Yeah, plus I’ll be there. And if they don’t
love you, they can kiss my ass,” Chelsea threw in for good
measure.

I managed a smile, but feverishly continued
throwing things onto my bed. When the comforter could no longer be
seen, Chelsea pulled my suitcase to the floor, and began to neatly
fold the clothes and place them inside. I probably had too many
clothes for what was truly necessary, but as Chelsea always said,
it’s better to have too much, than to be a repeat offender. Her
words brought a smile to my face, and when the suitcase was stuffed
to capacity, I followed the girls out to the kitchen for a calming
glass of wine. Mila swore it helped to pacify her anxiety all
through finals, and at this point, I had no other option.

A few errands with Chelsea turned into a full
day’s task. Her shopping list for Texas went from needing a few
small things, to buying damn near all of San Diego. I should have
known better than to let her talk me into a day out with her, but I
went anyway, and was now in need of a quick nap.

Jason called a couple of times, failing
miserably to hide his lack of enthusiasm for me spending the day
running around with Chelsea instead of resting at home. His last
text message after being out for more than two hours after I said I
would be home said all he needed to say.

From Jason

*Get your ass home NOW! <3*

I simply replied with a smiley face, but
pressured Chelsea to end her spree and let me rest.

Walking into the apartment, my eyelids felt
like lead and I made my way to the couch and passed out. The
draining feeling of anxiety had left me physically exhausted, and
praying for this test to come and go.

Mila woke me up with about a half hour before
I had to leave for class. She handed me another glass of wine and
then made her way back into the kitchen to retrieve the glasses
that were set aside for her and Chelsea. We sipped, chatted,
laughed, and did anything but think about the test awaiting me.

A knock on the door was our cue that the
dreaded hour had arrived. Chase waited for us in the foyer as we
gathered our bags to make the trek down to campus. Mila, having
completed her finals, saw us off, but not before making an all too
obvious sour face at Chase, coupled with a nice thick roll of her
eyes.

“Good luck assholes, I’m sure you’ll need
it.” She laughed, and while I knew she was kidding, her words
stung, and reminded me that I was about to sit for the hardest test
I had ever taken.

Walking in the direction of the classroom, I
saw Jason sitting on the planter just outside the door. He walked
up to us, eyeing Chase antagonistically, but didn’t say anything to
him. He put his arm around my shoulders and led me to the
classroom. We took our seats and as I started to pull my notecards
from my bag, Jason put his hand my mine and stopped me.

“You know it. If you keep mashing information
into your head, you’re going to forget everything.”

“I’m just nervous. I need to do well.”

“Well, I’m not nervous, but you keep this
shit up and I will be.” He rubbed my hands and for a second or two,
all felt right in my world again.

Professor Velez passed out the final exam and
in the moment that I had been dreading, I was surprisingly calm.
The information was like a fountain, gushing from within, eager to
be placed on the paper. I stole a glance over at Jason who looked
equally relaxed. I took a moment to breathe, after having felt like
my life was over upon entrance into the classroom. Mila’s wine just
may have done the trick, or the fact that I’d studied for days was
winning through.

An hour into the class, Jason stood and
walked his paper up to Professor Velez. They exchanged quiet words,
and shook hands. Jason motioned to me that he would be waiting
right outside the door, and while I was nearly finished, I felt the
need to check my work – which he failed to do.

Another 20 minutes passed before I felt
completely comfortable turning in my work. When I looked it over
until the writing fell off, I finally stood, gathered myself, took
a long, deep breath, and walked up towards Professor Velez. I sat
my paper down on the stack, and shook his hand.

“Congratulations Miss. Pinkston, I look
forward to seeing you walk the stage tomorrow.” He smiled a deep,
genuine smile, and I found myself looking down, but smiling
broadly.

I strolled outside -- feeling relieved, and
made my way into Jason’s arms. He lifted me off the ground, and
kissed me passionately, without a care for the other students
walking through the halls. Chase walked out of his classroom, and
nodded my way, but didn’t stop to speak with Jason around.

I focused back on Jason and couldn’t help but
feel the warmth of happiness seeping into my body. I don’t think I
had ever seen him so carefree, and fortunately, the feeling was
infectious.

“Let’s get your stuff so we can go and
celebrate.” He said, pulling me in the direction of the parking
lot.

“Celebrate? We don’t graduate until
tomorrow.”

“Yeah, and we’re officially done with school…
that’s cause for celebration.”

I smiled, but shook my head at him. “What do
you have in mind? Bar? Club?”

He stopped and gazed into my eyes, “you,
naked, in our pool.”

“Your pool?”

“No I meant it,
our
pool. Why do you
keep avoiding it?”

“I haven’t agreed yet. Why do you keep saying
it?”

“I figure, if I say it enough, it’ll grow on
you.” The All-American boy smile was back, and I couldn’t help but
laugh at the idea. If he bombarded me with the statement that all
that was his was mine, it would grow on me and I would have no
choice but to give in. While I was not entirely sure of the logic,
I couldn’t fault the persistence that came along with it.

<>

Waking up sore was definitely not in my plans
for the morning of graduation. The pool, the outdoor bar, the
shower, the bed… Was that it? The night was so explosive,
pleasurable, intense, and mind blowing, that I wasn’t even sure
when I had fallen asleep, and I was definitely tired waking up.

Envy crept into my body as I watched Jason
walk from the shower into the closet. He looked wide eyed,
refreshed, and full of life. I could stare at his body for hours.
Rubbing a towel over his damp hair, he stalked towards the bed and
threw himself down next to me.

“How did you sleep?” A wolfish grin spread
across his mouth.

“I’m not sure I slept. I’m exhausted.”

“I figured you would be. You were a nympho
last night.” He stood and dropped the towel that was gracefully
hiding his man parts. I mustered up the energy and ignored the pain
radiating through my body and bound to him, wrapping my arms and
legs around him before he had a chance to move. “Damn. You want
more?”

I smirked, but slowly covered his mouth with
mine, and we stood in the middle of the bedroom, kissing, like we
had no care in the world. My legs came back to life and the pain
that had occupied my body began to radiate again. I lowered myself
off of Jason and quickly mouthed, rain check, and I winced and
walked off to the shower. He laughed and mumbled something about
breakfast, but all I could think about was a hot shower to
alleviate the tension that had built up in my muscles.

I walked out in a white camisole tank top and
black mesh shorts, wet, curly hair, and a roughly scrubbed, make-up
free face, and met Jason at the kitchen table for some Greek
yogurt, fresh blueberries, strawberries, and muffins. Plopping down
in the seat across from him, I smiled at him, making sure to remain
silent, hoping to perk his curiosity. It worked.

“Why are you smiling like that?” He gave a
nervous smile, not sure if he should even be smiling at all.

“I’m just a little excited, that’s all.”

“Well you should be. We’re getting degrees
today.”

“Well, that’s not all.” I shoved more yogurt
and fruit into my mouth.

“What else? You can’t be that excited about
Heath. It’s just not that exciting of a town.”

“Not Heath per say… but the fact that Chelsea
is going with us, I’m excited about that.”

Jason dropped his spoon back into his bowl,
mouth gaping open, and his eyes bulging out. “What did you just
say? Today is a day of celebration, not a reason to binge drink at
eight in the mornin'.”

I laughed at his little joke, but reinforced
my earlier statement, much to his dismay.

“Hunter is the representative for his dad’s
firm, so he’s taking Chelsea with him.” The stoic look on his face
empowered me to bring up the situation that had me wanting to tear
into someone. “Besides, it might a good thing having her there,
since Stacey will be there.” I threw a piece of my muffin into my
mouth and waited for Jason’s reaction. He barely moved, smirked and
looked at me with affection in his eyes.

“Stacey’s family is close to mine. Doesn’t
shock me that she’ll be there. You worried about her?”

“No,” I answered much too quickly, my
desperation to hide the fact that it did bother me was painfully
obvious. Jason started playing with my feet under the table, and we
moved on to much more pleasant topics of conversation.