A Summer to Remember(29)
He kissed my forehead. “Don’t let it happen again, okay?”
“I promise I won’t.”
We continued to hold each other and somehow, I knew everything would be all right in the end.
Chapter Ten
Sometimes the journey is just as wonderful as the destination and this was definitely the situation when it came for us to drive to Martha’s Vineyard. It was only two hundred and sixty miles but we stopped along the way a lot and since we were spread out in three vehicles, it was great.
At the last minute, Paul decided to take his Aleutian silver Range Rover so it was him, Talia and I in the Rover. Jude opted for his black ice Cadillac Escalade; Autumn, Ashley and Savannah all decided to ride with him. He and Paul’s investor buddy, Gerald Capshaw—whose father, Kurt, owned a major stake of CDG with James Davis and Clive Guttenberg—had a dark blue Porsche Cayenne Turbo and the other two guys who had decided to make the trip with us rode with Gerald.
Paul and I tried to act sociable with Talia and not too giddy or happy with one another’s company though it would have made no difference because my best friend was armed with her one hundred and sixty gigabyte iPod and her 8.9” Kindle Fire HD. When she wasn’t listening to music and reading, she was catching up on the season finales of The Walking Dead and Sons of Anarchy before she caught up with the latest episodes of the sixth season from True Blood.
Morgan Page played in the background and as we drove down I-95 heading north, Paul set his right hand on my thigh. I wore a cute magenta sundress which looked terrific on me but when I was in the car, the skirt which ended just above the knee rode up my slim thighs.
“You have absolutely no idea how proud I am you told Jude the truth. It will make this whole long weekend that much more pleasant. I can’t believe your courage and I admire what you have done.”
I set my left hand over his own as I turned towards him. He looked positively handsome yet manly in a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a fitted yet faded black Winter’s Regret tee-shirt.
“Listen, it wasn’t that courageous. He was furious at me and thought I was using you for some kind of smutty, illicit affair and you meant nothing to me. I couldn’t have him thinking that about us so I told him the truth. At that point, I didn’t care if he approved or not but I wanted him to know how much you mean to me and that you aren’t some conquest.”
“True. I guess when we became friends way back then, the first words he said to me was he had a very attractive sister who would grow into a beauty one day and I was, under no circumstances, to touch you what so ever. He was very protective of you and I could understand why because there was such light and joy in your eyes.”
He paused before he continued, “When you left for Vassar, you were a completely different person. There was such hope and promise in your eyes although I can’t lie because…I never liked Kevin. I was actually hoping the distance would drive you two apart. However, he was persistent. I don’t know if it was because he was a money-grubbing bastard or if he just looked at you as the perfect trophy girlfriend by his side.”
“I don’t know what happened but when we met each other…I just felt like I was being swept under…by something greater than me, you know? He was the first person I was attracted to besides you and I was overjoyed because I could feel something for someone else. It never once occurred to me that he might be using me.
“We saw each other a lot but it certainly wasn’t an every weekend type thing. I mean, I spent time with Talia and I also had Autumn and Savannah. They were such gems and I was so happy we met one another and were able to bond so quickly.”
Paul removed his hand from mine and placed it on the steering wheel again so he could concentrate on driving. “So, in other words, Vassar wasn’t all bad even though one of the worst incidents of your life took place there?”
“Exactly. It’s kind of like that saying, ‘It was the best of times and the worst of times’. Yes, some crappy stuff went down but fortunately, it happened my last semester there so I will always remember college with fond memories.”
We were quiet for a while and just sat there with one another and listened to the stereo before Talia interrupted our thoughts with a screech and yelled, “That is such bullshit!”
I turned around to face my friend whose face had turned such a deep scarlet, she was almost purple. “How you doing back there, music girl?”