shocked.
Griffin is hovering close by. “Let me grab your bag for you,” he says, picking it up off the ground next to me.
“Look, I can’t do this right now. We’ll talk when I get back,” I say, moving past them.
I follow Griffin to his truck, where he stops in front of the open passenger door. Before I climb in, Laurel’s car is turning into Wes’s driveway just a few feet in front of us.
I can see his face as he looks between me and Griffin, before the car zips down his driveway and moves out of sight.
Yeah, I need to get out of here. “Let’s just go,” I say to Griffin.
Griffin walks around the front of the truck and hops in. I don’t look back as he pulls out of the drive.
We’ve only been in the truck for ten minutes, and the silence is awkward. Finally, he asks, “Want to talk about it?”
“No. Not really.”
“Are you ready to come back home now? I know how tired of your family you get when you’re stuck over there.”
I cringe, my argument with Olivia still too fresh. “Actually, it’s been good for me. I didn’t realize how much I missed them.” And Wes.
He lets out a grunt. “Yeah, looks like it’s been a great time,” he says sarcastically. “So who’s that guy that lives next door? You were in one of those pictures with him. Did y’all go on a date?”
I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly. How could I have been with Griffin for a year and never told him about one of my oldest friends?
“I grew up with him. We’ve been friends since we were little, and he’s Charlie’s best friend. And, no, I wasn’t on a date with him.”
I feel like I should know everything there is to know about Griffin, but I’m not sure what that slow nod means. I squirm in my seat, unsettled by how familiar yet strange it feels to be back in his truck.
Thankfully, he turns up the radio and a country song chases away the silence.
It’s actually one of the songs Olivia was making fun of on my last road trip.
“This song is like a Lifetime movie,” I say, hoping to lighten the mood.
He looks at me like I’ve said the dumbest thing ever. “What does that mean?”
I start to explain, but I can tell by his expression he doesn’t get it. “Never mind.”
Four songs later, we start talking about school, the only subject that feels safe and familiar.
“So I got some good news last week,” he says.
I turn to the side so I can look at him a little easier. “Oh, yeah?”
He nods. “Got an early acceptance to TCU.”
My eyes get big. “That’s huge! I didn’t even know you were applying there.” And why didn’t I know that? We’ve talked about Texas schools, but he never mentioned TCU. It’s not even on my list.
“Yeah, well, I didn’t want to say anything in case I didn’t get in.”
“So is that where you want to go?”
“If I can get the money, then yeah. That’s my first choice.”
Another ten miles pass in silence.
“What did you have planned tonight?” I ask.
He smiles. “I picked an early time so I could take you back home. I thought we could hang out at your house like you originally wanted to do this week. Just you and me. And then we could swing by the field later. Eli and them are having a bonfire tonight.”
I give him a big smile, but the more I think about it, the faster my smile disappears.
He looks from the road to me. “That is what you wanted to do this week, right? That’s what you said. I’m just trying to give you what you want.”
“That is what I said.” But why couldn’t he give it to me before?
He lets out a frustrated breath. He puts on the blinker and takes the next exit. “I need some gas.”
We pull into the station and I wander around the store, looking for snacks. Griffin joins me and we each get a drink and a bag of chips.
When I’m back in the truck, my phone buzzes in my pocket. It’s a notification that Griffin has tagged me in a post.
I glance at him, but he isn’t looking at me. I swipe open my phone and see it’s a selfie he just took of us while we were standing in the checkout line. He’s got the phone held up high and he’s looking at the camera,