A Summer to Remember

across the room and saw that Adrian finally had his attention focused in my direction.
    “We’ll see how un-repairable we are when your boyfriend runs off to Florida. I know you felt something when we kissed the other night at Chad’s. You’ll come back to me. You always do.” I couldn’t fathom what he just said. Was he actually serious? Or was he just saying it to show off to his friends? Either way, I was pissed off beyond belief. How dare he sit there and tell me I’d come back, I always do. Was that really how he saw me now? As the poor little helpless girl who couldn’t get anyone else so I’d always go back to him?
    Adrian was heading in our direction. He must have been able to tell by the look on my face I was pissed. When I looked at Adrian, he had a way of sending some kind of calmness through me. Thank God or I would’ve said some pretty mean things to Jason right then, but I decided to take the high road.
    “Jason, you make sure you remember this moment, right here, right now. I promise you this will be the last conversation we ever have. When you see me in the hallways at school or out in public, don’t bother coming up and saying hi again, because I won’t have anything to say to you. Just remember you’re the one who fucked this up. Not me. Goodbye, Jason.” I met Adrian as he was about to reach our table.
    “Are you okay? What did he say to you? If I need to kick his ass, I will, just tell me when.” He was ready for a battle.
    “Adrian.” I put my hand on his chest to calm him. “Everything is fine. Great, actually. I handled it myself.” He looked down at me and I smiled. He calmed down when he realized I was actually happy.
    “Are you sure?” He looked in Jason’s direction again. I pulled his face down to look at me again.
    “I’m positive.” I kissed him gently on the lips and felt him lighten up a little bit. “Now will you please get me out of here?”
    “Of course.” He grabbed my hand and led me out of the tent.
     

 
     
    CHAPTER 26

    T he next night we made plans to meet with Lily and Steven to attend one of the concerts at the fairgrounds. We agreed to meet at one of my favorite restaurants for dinner and drinks beforehand. It was nice to have something to do other than go to the same places and parties.
    I wasn’t feeling as chipper as usual because I only had one more weekend left with Adrian before he was off to Florida. I was trying to enjoy myself and have a good time, but I wasn’t fooling anyone. When Adrian left the table to go to the bathroom, Lily used it as her time of attack.
    “What’s your deal? Are you upset about what happened with Jason last night?” she asked as she took a bite of her French fry.
    “Ha! Uh, no!” I looked at Steven. “No offense.”
    “None taken. I know as well as anyone how big of an asshole my brother can be.” He smiled and took a drink of his beer.
    “Then what’s the problem?” Lily asked.
    “I only have one more weekend with Adrian before he goes to Florida.” I looked down at my plate and used my fork to push around the food that was left.
    “Well then, go with him! I’ve told you this a hundred times! You know he really wants you to. You’re making this a lot harder on yourself than it needs to be. I mean, come on, it’s Florida! How bad could it be? I would love to move there!” She looked over at Steven to see if he caught her hint.
    “And I’ve told you a hundred times I can’t do that, Lil.”
    “Why? What’s stopping you?” She took a drink of her soda.
    “Same thing I always tell you—school and my family. I’m just not ready for something like that.” I saw Adrian across the room coming back toward our table. “Now drop it. Please.”
    “You guys about ready to head out?” Adrian asked. “We should leave soon so we can find parking.”
    “Yep. I think we’re good to go.” I stood up, grabbed my purse and jacket off the back of my chair, and we all walked out to the parking lot.
    The ride to the fairgrounds only took about a half an hour. I wasn’t in the mood for small talk but we tried to hold a few conversations about things other than the fact he was going to be leaving next weekend. I was glad we left earlier because Adrian was right; by the time we had parked and headed toward the gates, the parking lot was crazy.
    We met Lily and Steven at the front gate and walked into the concert together. The place was filling up quickly so we found our seats while the guys went