Promise of Forever(28)
“I’d like to sleep on it,” I cut in before we’re made to feel guilty if we didn’t get the ring. “Thanks so much for your time.”
As soon as we got out of the shop, I started giggling. “That was fun, Jax.”
“It was fun for me, too.”
“Really?” I looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. “Should I be concerned that my boyfriend likes jewelry?”
He laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m not metrosexual. You know me well enough to know I’m more of a man’s man.”
“Mmm-hmmm.” I flashed him a suggestive smile.
“I just meant I liked watching you try them on. Your eyes just lit up like you’re a fat kid in a candy shop.”
I laughed. “Whatever. I’m not into jewelry remember? It was just fun to play pretend, that’s all.”
“Riiight.” He sounded unconvinced.
Then he grabbed a hold of my waist and pulled me into him. “I’ve missed you, Clo.”
I looked up at him. “I missed you, too.”
“Move in with me, Clo.”
“What?” His words caught me by surprise.
“Would you want to move to New York and move in with me? I don’t think I can do long-distance with you. It’d drive me crazy.”
“Really?” I felt excited about his offer, because I felt the same way, I wasn’t sure I could handle long-distance dating. But I also wanted him to be sure.
“Yes, I’m serious, Clo. I know you’re in between jobs right now. So why not look in New York City? There are more opportunities here than in Philly.”
“Aren’t you worried we’re moving a little too fast? We’ve only started dating two weeks ago. Are you sure you’d want me to live with you?”
“Baby,” he said as he looked deep into my eyes, “To me, we’re not moving fast enough. I’ve been courting you for over twenty-three years. So say yes that you’ll move to New York.”
“Yes.” I nodded excitedly, unable to contain myself.
As we walked hand-in-hand to his condo in the East Village, I felt so happy that I had to pinch myself to make sure that this wasn’t all a dream.
And it wasn’t.
CHAPTER
ELEVEN
Jackson
“I’ve really missed hanging out in your room.” I had my arms crossed behind my head.
“Are you sure you’re not missing Harvard already?” she asked in her teasing tone.
“Nope. I’m pretty happy being right here hanging out with you.”
“So you’re not missing those Harvard girls…like Amber?” She looked away when she asked her question.
“Come on, Clo. None of those girls—especially Amber—means anything to me. I’m sorry you walked in on that. I know you don’t like her, and I don’t ever want you to think that I’d ever pick her over you.”
She nodded but didn’t say anything.
“Clo, I’ve really missed you this past semester. We barely talked and I was miserable. We only have half the summer left before we have to go back to school. Can we just move on from what happened and hang out like we used to? Please?”
She finally met my gaze and smiled. “You’re right, Jax. I don’t want to think about our past or what we’ve done. Let’s just enjoy our time together.”
“Great,” I said with a wide smile. I turned to lie on my stomach and looked over her shoulder. “What are you reading?”
“Just this book I picked up from the book store last weekend. It talks about setting your goals and dreams for life and not wasting the limited time we have on Earth.”
“Oh.”
“Jax, tell me about your dreams?”
I frowned. “Why do you want to know what I dreamt of last night?”
She stared at me in disbelief. “Did you listen to anything I said about what I was reading?”
I looked away sheepishly. “Sorry, my mind kind of wandered off.”
She shook her head and started laughing. “Sometimes, Jax, I really have no idea how you got into Harvard.”
“Hey, don’t be mean,” I objected but laughed along with her. “You know I don’t like to read that kind of stuff. I’ve never been good with the liberal arts stuffs. That’s why I’m taking the business and economics courses.”
She rolled her eyes.
“So ask me again,” I insisted, not wanting to get her upset.
“Ok, fine. What are your dreams for the future?”
I frowned. “I don’t have any real dreams. Does getting a good job after college count?”
She shrugged. “Yeah that does. Do you have a goal of when you want to accomplish that?”