Page 143 of Keep Me Never
“Yeah, maybe when we’re like fifty and retired,” Cam teases.
The girls grin, looking between each other with a sense of shared camaraderie.
The door closes softly behind me, and I turn around to find my grandpa standing there, his eyes scanning the area around us. He’s looking out into the quad, his brows furrowed, and I notice the heavy lines that have settled over his forehead. Something’s off. I turn back to scan the area to see what he’s looking at but there is nothing there. I spin his way again, a little concerned. He’s been on edge the past two days, acting a little strange and much quieter than he had been the entirety of the trip.
I figure he’s just itching to get back to work, the workaholic that he is.
He offers a tight smile as I walk to him, wrapping him in a hug. “I had the best time.”
“You sure? You did ask to come home a few days early,” he teases.
My cheeks heat and I shrug. “Thank you for changing the plans. I was just ready to get back.”
A heaviness takes over his expression and he gives me a little squeeze. “You’re welcome, sweetheart. Call me when…” He pauses, and his shoulders seem to fall a little. “Just call me when you feel like it, okay? And I’ll see you soon?”
“I will.” I nod.
With that, he tells the girls goodbye and slides into the seat, the SUV pulling away.
“He okay?” Ari asks.
“Yeah, just missed his job, I think.”
“Ha! Said no one ever. Now. Come on.” Cam claps. “Let’s get this stuff upstairs—Ari, don’t touch a single bag—and go get coffee.” She pauses, turning to Ari again. “Decaf for you, honey bunny. Paige, I want to hear everything, in full detail because the only break stories I’ve got involve me and Brady in the barn, by the creek, the master shower with one of those little?—”
“Okay, we get it.” Ari cuts her off, the four of us smiling.
“Hey, we’ve got to get in everything while we still have all her attention,” Cam teases.
“Girl, you have no idea how weird it’s been to not have you and Chase around,” Payton adds. “Everything just makes more sense when it’s all of us. Mason is a lot more codependent than I realized.” She chuckles, pushing her braids over her shoulder.
My head snaps up. “Wait, Chase wasn’t with you?”
“He was but when we went to the beach, he decided to stay home to spend some more time with his dad.” A small frown forms on Payton’s brow, and she cuts a quick glance at the others before she looks back. “You didn’t know?”
Did I? I try to think. “I don’t remember him mentioning it.” I shrug, rolling my larger suitcase behind me and shoving it through the open door. “I’m sure he did it, and honestly, I think that’sexactly what he needed. These last few months were stressful for him.” I wait to see if they mention football at all, hoping he told them over break, but when no one’s comments I continue, “But anyway, like I said, the time zones were so messed up, it made talking to anyone super hard.”
“Uh, yeah, you woke us up with pictures in the group thread the first few nights, remember?”
I chuckle, stepping into the elevator. “See? It took me like five days to figure it all out. I usually waited until the end of the day my time to text him, and by the time he would see it, I’d be in the middle of a tour or excursion with my phone off or asleep by the time he could reply. It was a mess.” The elevator dings on my floor, and we step out, moving toward my room. “I can’t wait to surprise him.”
“He doesn’t know you’re home early?” Ari’s eyes widen.
“Nope.” I grin, the idea of sneaking up on him getting more exciting by the minute. “He’s not expecting me until Saturday.”
“Girl, he’s going to kick his own ass when he realizes you’re here and he’s not.”
My head yanks her way. “What do you mean?”
Ari winces. “He told Mase not to expect him when we got here. From what Mase said, he’s not going to be here until classes begin Monday morning.”
Monday? It’s only Wednesday now.
My shoulders fall and I can’t help the disappointment that creeps in. “Oh.”
“He would have been here if he knew you were coming back early,” Payton assures me.
“But he did tell you he wouldn’t be here until classes started, right, not when you were originally supposed to be home?” Cam frowns.
