A Summer to Remember

football and didn’t pay enough attention to her. Which was true. I was working my ass off to get into Brant. There were a few girls before and after her, but they only stuck around for a few weeks, maybe a month or two at the most.” The waitress came over and set our two sodas and straws down on the table.
    “Thank you,” I said to the waitress. “Do you still keep in touch with her?” I asked Adrian.
    “Not really. She moved to Los Angeles after we graduated and hasn’t been back since.” He opened up his straw and put it in his drink.
    “What about girls from Brant?” I took a sip of my soda.
    “Same thing. They come and go. You’re the first serious relationship I’ve had since Kim.” It made me feel a little better hearing him say he’d only had one other serious girlfriend before me.
    “Well, what about Sam?” My heart began to race. I didn’t want to ask, but I knew we had to lay it all out on the table before we could put it behind us.
    “Sam and I met the summer going into my sophomore year at Brant during one of Shane’s parties. We hung out one night and then it sort of turned into a summer thing. At the end of the summer, she went to Florida, where she goes to school, and we continued on with our regular lives. When she’d come back again in the summer, we’d end up seeing each other and things just kind of picked up where they left off. Over Christmas break when she came back, I found out she was seeing one of my teammates behind my back and I freaked out. I couldn’t really get mad at her because we never considered ourselves official, but after that, things were never the same.” Knowing everything he just told me made me feel a little better, but it also made me sick to my stomach knowing they had so much history together.
    “Then why did she seem so happy to see you?”
    “She was drunk. After you left, I went into the kitchen to get a drink and I heard her telling her friends that after she found out I was with you, she decided she wanted to try and start things up with me again.” The waitress came to back to our table and brought our salads.
    “Did you say anything to her?”
    “I told her she was out of her mind and things between her and I could never work out. Even if you left me, I would never be able to be with someone like her again. I can’t see myself being with anyone other than you.” He reached across the table and grabbed my hand. “I love you, Ava, I really do, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get you to trust me.”
    “I love you, too. Even if you’ll be leaving me in a few weeks.” The thought of him leaving always found a way to cross my mind.
    “I really wish you would just come with me.” He rubbed the top of my hand with his thumb.
    “I can’t. I’m already enrolled at Brant and I’m not ready for that yet. That is a big step to take and we’re still trying to work out this whole thing. I can’t just up and leave before we work out the kinks we have in our relationship. Moving is stressful and so is finding a job and new friends and a new school. It wouldn’t help our situation.”
    “You’re right. I’m just really going to miss you.” He squeezed my hand.
    “I’ll miss you, too. We just have to remember, if it’s meant to be, it’ll work itself out.” I was feeling more relieved after our conversation and more confident. This was right, for now. I was going to have to learn to trust Adrian more and enjoy what little time we had left.
    “Then we don’t have anything to worry about.”
     

 
     
    CHAPTER 24

    I t felt good to be waking up in his arms again. I was a little disappointed knowing that this would be the last day we’d be spending together before he was going to be working all week again. I loved hanging out with Lily but I always wished I had a little more time with Adrian. I felt like the time he spent working was wasting time we could be spending together but I knew he needed the money before the move.
    Since he always made me breakfast in the morning, I decided it was my turn to return the favor. I had to carefully slip out from under his arm. I grabbed my pink robe off the hook behind the bedroom door and pulled it on.
    “Where are you going?” he asked sleepily, barely opening his eyes enough to see me.
    “I’m just going to the bathroom. I’m coming right back,” I lied.
    “Okay.” He turned over and was out in a matter of seconds.
    I tip-toed out of the room, closed the door quietly behind