Forever You & I (Book #3)

Chapter 19

           

"Have a safe trip back home." I tell my grandmother as I hug her tight.

"Okay, baby. You be good, you hear me?" She says as she holds my face in her hands.

"Yes."

"Maybe you should come spend some time with me in New York." She laughs.

"That sounds good." I nod in agreement.

"You really should come!" Jasmine exclaims as she bounces down the stairs with her bag on her shoulder.

"I mean I'll be taking a semester off so maybe I could come for a few weeks." I agree.

"Please come!" Jasmine begs.

"We'll think about it." My mother says before I can and places her hand on my shoulder.

"Well my house is always open," Grandma reminds me. "Of course I want you to get better first, though."

"Right. That is why she's taking time off to begin with." My mother says before I can.

"Give me a call sometime. I love you, Ace."

"I love you too, Gram. I'll see you soon."

"Okay." She squeezes me tight and kisses my forehead.

I hug Jasmine and promise her I will visit and after an extra five minutes of saying good bye (because my grandmother takes forever to actually leave), they finally leave. I planned to head back to sleep for another hour or so before I have to get ready for Hunter to come and pick me up. I barely got any rest last night because my mind was racing of things to say to him.

Jasmine tried giving me advice but deep down I knew it was one of those situations where no advice was needed. I've been given countless amounts of advice but now it's time to put them to use and do what I know is best for the both of us. But since we are going to be with his family most of the day, my job was to keep things as neutral and normal as possible.

After my nap, I hurry to bathe and dress. I slick my hair down into a neat bun and make sure that I am presentable. Time seems to be moving quickly and each moment that passes I feel my stomach growing tighter of both anticipation and anxiety. He texts me that he is here and I head out. I see that he is texting on the phone so he doesn't notice me making my way to the car until I am opening the door.

"Hi." I keep my voice light as I climb inside.

"Hey." He acknowledges me with a small glance.

I examine him and unconsciously smile. He looks good today and I can't help but feel that he has this certain appeal going on just to mess with me. He's wearing a white top with jeans and his hair is neatly groomed. Did he get a haircut? It looks really good. Did he shave? Ahh, why am I scrutinizing him so much?

I shake my head and look away so that I can put my seatbelt on.

"What?" Hunter asks, catching me off guard.

"Huh?" I look over at him.

"Why were you looking at me like that?"

"Oh," I guess he caught on to that. "You just look nice, that's all."

"Really?" He looks surprised.

"Yes, really." I nod with a smile.

"Oh...well thank you. So do you." He gives me a small, yet sincere smile.

"Thank you. Did you get a haircut?"

"Yeah," He nods as he runs his fingers through his hair. "This morning."