Page 225 of Finding Us

“That’s okay.” I hold my hand out. “I’m Garret.”

“Nate.” He shakes my hand. “I think you’re in my accounting class.”

“Yeah, I thought you looked familiar.”

“I’ll let you get back to the weights. Hey, if you’re not doing anything Saturday night, I’m having some guys over to watch the game. You’re welcome to come.”

“I don’t know. I think I have plans Saturday.”

“If you don’t, then just stop by. I’ll give you my address when I see you in class.”

Another guy comes up behind Nate. “Hey, I could use a spotter on the bench.”

“Dylan, this is Garret. He might come over and watch the game with us on Saturday.”

“Hey.” The guy nods at me. He’s too sweaty to shake hands. “Dylan Matthews. Nice to meet you.”

I step aside to let another guy use the lat machine. “That name sounds familiar. Did we meet already?”

“I don’t think so. I’m not a student here. I work in the marketing department.”

“Do you have a fiancé named Brook?”

Dylan gives me a strange look. “Yeah, how’d you know?”

“Her friend, Harper, is best friends with my wife.”

He smiles really wide. “So you’re the mysterious Garret. Brook keeps saying we need to meet you and . . . Jade? Is that your wife’s name?”

“Yeah. Jade and I used to go to Moorhurst with Harper. We transferred here this fall.”

“Brook said she’s called Jade and left messages but she didn’t get a call back. We figured you guys weren’t interested in meeting, which is totally fine. Don’t feel like you have to.”

“No, we want to get together. We just haven’t had time.”

“Don’t worry about it. Whenever you get time, just give us a call. If you’re coming over to watch the game on Saturday, maybe Jade and Brook could do something together.”

“I’ll check with Jade. She’s really buried in homework right now.”

Dylan jabs Nate. “What’s with you? You haven’t said anything this whole time.” Dylan looks at me. “Nate never shuts up. This is the longest he’s gone without talking.”

“You’re really married?” Nate asks me.

“Yeah.”

“You’ve made him speechless,” Dylan says. “He can’t imagine being married. It’s too grown up for him. Nate lives in a state of delayed adolescence. He lives on pizza and plays video games five hours a day.”

“Two hours,” Nate says. “Maybe three.”

“Let’s go.” He motions Nate to follow him. “See ya, Garret.”

They go to the bench press and I continue on the weight machines. Then I run on the treadmill. I shower at the gym to use up more time. I’m not sure how long Sara will be with Jade and I want to stay out of their way.

When I get back to the house, Sara is gone and Jade’s on the couch watching TV. Jade hasn’t watched TV in three weeks so this is strange.

“What are you doing?”

“Watching a movie. Come watch with me.”

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