"I don't have your number. At least not until you call me first."
"I'm sorry." Now I need to find a reason to call him. I can't really remember the last time I called a guy to talk. Maybe because that was never.
"Weird I didn't receive a message," he says, looking concerned.
"But I'll see you tomorrow, right?" I ask, hoping he doesn't already have a commitment.
"Uh, yeah. Tomorrow." He still looks bothered by the mess up in scheduling.
"Are you okay?"
"I was ... a little worried ... that you were distancing yourself again. Monday was ... Well, a lot was said."
"I remember," I say, offering a gentle smile.
"All of it?"
"Yup," I tell him. "Even the parts when I was in Wonderland. It feels like I'm looking at those memories from a thousand feet in the air, watching myself. But I remember."
His face becomes thoughtful, almost pained actually--like he's struggling to find the words to ask a question he's afraid to know the answer to. So I stretch up on my toes and kiss him, hoping that gives him the answer. His mouth eases into a smile even before my lips leave his.
A throat clears.
We turn to find Cary standing behind me. "Uh, as much as I'm a fan of young love, I will have to kindly ask you to refrain from expressing it while you're working."
I bite my lip, my cheeks blossoming with color.
"We're not," Grant chokes out, his eyes flashing to me nervously. "It's not ..."
"Relax, Grant. I'm not scolding you like I'm your father. You're not in trouble." Before he walks away, he adds, "I'm actually happy for you both."
Grant closes his eyes and grimaces. "I'm sorry. I didn't know how to fix that, to keep him from thinking ..."
"It's okay. We can't control what anyone else thinks. As long you and I know what we are, or what we're not."
Grant relaxes a little, but the worry lingers in his eyes. I'm not sure if it's because we were caught by Cary, or if it's what I said. "Okay. Then I'll see you tomorrow?"
I nod and watch him walk away. I guess it is a little complicated, to be together but not. Except that's the whole point; it's not something that fits in a box. The more we think about it, or what everyone else will think about it, the more complicated it will be. And it's not complicated ... or it's not supposed to be. And now ... I'm confused again.
I'm not allowed to see my room until Serge has completed its transformation. He and Ashton spend most of Thursday together. They asked me to join them, but after ten minutes of his exaggerated hand gestures and words flying out of his mouth so fast he sounds like he's speaking in a foreign tongue, I told them I needed to go to the library to work on my American government paper.
Before I reach the library, I receive a message.
You have a guest at the administration building.
When I enter, I find Parker waiting for me. He smiles as soon as he sets his brilliant blue eyes upon me. I sigh, hating that he still captivates me.
"Hi," I greet him, surprised to find him in Kingston. "I thought you'd be in Nantucket with your family."
His brows scrunch. "How do you know my family's in Nantucket?"
Crap.
"Your brother," I say, trying to play it off. I'm not sure what his deal is with Joey, and I really don't want to be the reason they continue with their stupid squabble. So it's probably best if Parker doesn't know I've been in contact with Joey.
He nods in understanding. "Right, Lance couldn't come this year because of classes." Then he says, "I came back early. I found out something that I wanted to share with you."
"You didn't have to end your family t