Page 182 of Finding Us

Later that day we go to the campus bookstore and get the books we need for class, as well as some other school supplies. Then I spend the evening getting myself organized, printing out all the schedules and other stuff the professors have already posted online.

On Monday, which is Labor Day, Garret and I go out and buy a small gas grill so we can have a cookout. He spends half the day putting it together while I read magazines out on the deck.

He grills burgers and hotdogs for dinner and we eat outside. Then we go to that ice cream stand again and order the same sundae as before but this time we actually eat it.

We haven’t seen that white car driving around since that day I was running on the beach. I’m hoping that guy’s gone for good.

The security system was installed yesterday. I’m still learning how to use it. The outside cameras link to our phones so we can check the views remotely. Pearce’s private security team in Connecticut can also access the cameras if they log into our account. It’s not like they’ll be watching us all the time but Pearce wanted them to have access, if needed.

The cameras are placed all around the outside perimeter. We had to contact the real estate agent who found us the house and have her ask the owners if it was okay. Luckily, they were fine with it. The real estate agent told us the area where we’re living is very safe, but even so, I feel safer knowing we have a security system.

Now it’s Tuesday, our last day of freedom before classes start. I always like to figure out where my classes are before the first day, so Garret and I go to campus so I can locate all the rooms.

Freshman orientation is going on and it reminds me of last year. The day of orientation at Moorhurst was the day I found out Garret was a Kensington. I went to dinner at his parents’ house and there he was, sitting across from me. Now a year later, we’re married and living on the opposite coast. It seems crazy when I think about it.

“We should go out for dinner tonight,” I tell Garret after we get back from campus. We’re sitting on the deck, looking out at the ocean.

“Where do you want to go?”

“Someplace fun. I need a new memory of this night.”

“Why?”

“Because last year on the day after Labor Day, we had dinner at your parents’ house and I found out who you were and we had that big fight and didn’t talk for days.”

“Jade, just forget about that. You ended up marrying me so everything worked out.”

“I still want to do something. It’s our last night without homework. We could just get fast food and take it to the park.”

He turns to me and smiles. “The park, huh?”

I roll my eyes. “I wasn’t thinking we’d have sex at the park. Just dinner.”

“And then sex.” He says it like it’s a given.

“No. Just dinner this time. The Camsburg students are back. There’ll be more people hanging out at the park.”

“Yeah, drunk people. They’ll probably be doing it, too.”

“Let’s go. I don’t want to be out too late. I need to get to bed early. I have class at 8.” I stand up and pull on him to move.

“I don’t have class until 10. I can sleep until 9:30.”

“Great, good for you.”

I’m jealous of his schedule. His business classes always start late in the morning. Science classes start early because they usually have lab after the lecture.

I’m feeling nervous about classes tomorrow. I always seem to get this way before the first day. I was this way in high school, too. Tonight I’m even more nervous than usual and I’m not sure why. But I’ll get over it. I always do.

CHAPTERFORTY-SIX

GARRET

Jade and I pick up some sandwiches for dinner and take them to the park. It’s more crowded than before so I’m unable to talk Jade into the outdoor sex. It’s too bad. I like doing it outside. I’ll have to entice her into it some Sunday with my strawberry-lemon pancakes.

When we get home, Jade packs her backpack for class. She’s like a little kid. She takes it so seriously. She puts pens and pencils in the little slots in the front of the backpack, then packs extras in a zippered pouch. Then she opens another zippered pouch and tosses in a calculator and a protractor.

“Why are you bringing a protractor?”

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