“That changes things,” Dad says.
“It does. I know I told you I would help out in the restaurants this summer, but she wants to stay there to be with her family, and I can’t fault her for that. I want to spend the entire summer there with her instead of splitting our time.”
“Okay,” they say at the same time.
“It’s that easy?” I ask them.
“You’re an adult, Griffin. You can do as you want. You have your own money, and I happen to think that’s a good idea. She’s leaving her family, and her being close to them until she moves is a good plan.”
“Thank you.”
“So, where is she staying? Dorms?” Mom asks.
“Hell no,” I say. “I want her with me. I need to call Ollie and give him the ‘good for me, bad for him’ news.” I chuckle.
“I’m sure he’s going to be fine with it.”
“So when you leave in a few days, you’ll be gone all summer?” she asks.
“Probably. We do need to find a place to live, so I’m sure we’ll come back to take care of that and to see the two of you,” I tell them.
“What can we do to help?” Dad asks.
“Bring it in,” I say, holding my arms open wide. They both stand and come to me, and I hug them tight. “I love you, guys.”
“We love you too.”
I stay a little longer before Oliver calls and asks if I want to grab a bite to eat. “That’s Ollie. We’re going to go eat. Want me to bring something back?” I offer.
“We’re good,” Mom says. “Your dad and I are meeting up with Steven and Kathy later for dinner.”
“Have fun.” I wave and turn for the door.
“There’s only one thing that puts that goofy-ass grin on your face,” Oliver says, pointing at me from across the booth. “How is she?”
“She’s fucking perfect,” I tell him.
“Wow, okay then.” He laughs.
“She’s moving here.”
“What?” He was in the process of taking a drink of his Mountain Dew but slides it away and waits for my explanation.
I go on to tell him about how she’s transferring and moving here after the summer break. “I’m spending the summer there. In Tennessee. When I leave in a few days, I won’t be back until school starts.”
“So I need to find a new roomie?” He laughs.
“I’m sorry.” I do feel bad about it, but not bad enough to change my mind.
“You’re fine.” He waves me off. “I get it. If I were in your shoes, I’d do the same. Actually, are you driving there?”
“Yeah. I figured it would save on flights, and now, since I’m going to be there all summer, I’ll need my Jeep to get around. Maybe I’ll find a part-time job or something.”
“Are you staying with them?”
“That was the plan. She doesn’t know that I’m staying all summer. It’s a surprise, but I can’t imagine her telling me I can’t.”
“Yeah, that won’t happen.” He sits back in the booth and stares down at the table. “You think I could catch a ride with you?” he asks.
“Sure, you going for Karina?”
“Yeah. I’ve been trying to get her to make this official.”
“Long-distance is hard, man, but if it’s the right one, it’s worth it.”
“Maybe I can take the summer to find out?”
“Seriously?” I grin.
“Yeah, as long as they’re good with me being there. If not, I can catch a flight home.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. A summer with my girl and my best friend. Can’t beat it.” The server arrives, and we order our pizza. We talk about how so much has changed in the last few months, and I, for one, know I wouldn’t change a thing.
“Why are we waiting until this weekend?” he asks as we’re finishing up dinner.
I start to reply, but I don’t have an answer. “I don’t know,” I confess.
“I say we pack and get on the road.”
“You anxious to see your girl?”
“And make her mine.” He nods.
“Let’s do it.”
“Leave early tomorrow morning?” he asks.
“It’s around thirteen hours straight through.”
“We can take turns driving and napping. Hit drive-throughs for food.”
“I’m down. We’ll leave early.”
“Done.”
My cell rings, and I hit accept on the steering wheel. “Hey, babe,” I greet Peyton.
“Hi. What are you doing?”
“Oh, Oliver and I just hit a drive-through for some grub.” It’s not a lie. We did just hit a drive-through. What I don’t tell her is that my GPS says that we’re only about an hour from her.
“Nice. Karina just went to pick up Chinese.”
“Did you order your sweet-and-sour chicken?” I ask her.
“You know it.” I hear her rustling around on the other end of the line. “What did you all get?” She asks.
“Just some burgers and fries.” It’s not a lie, but I don’t want to tell her the name of the restaurant. She might know we don’t have them in Florida.
“Well, I’ll let you go since you’re driving. Call me later.”
“Okay. We’re going to just drive around for a while and chill.”
“I’ll be up,” she assures me.
“Love you.”
“I love you too,” she says and ends the call.
“She’s going to flip.”
“I know. Karina will, too, you know. Peyton told me last night that she’s really into you, but long-distance scares her. She’s been there as we’ve navigated it.”
“I know, but you two are rock stars. You’ve made it look easy.”
“It’s not easy,” I assure him. “I miss her every fucking day, but that’s over now.”
“But worth it, right?”
“So damn worth it.”
He moves, adjusting his position. “I’m ready to get there. I know that. Thirteen hours turned into sixteen by the time we get there.”
“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting a traffic jam, but we’re close. Grab a nap. I’ll wake you when we’re closer.”
“No way can I sleep knowing we’re almost there. You want me to drive so that you can?” he asks.
“Nah. No sleep for me either.” I glance at the dash. “Forty-five more minutes.”
We spend the last part of the journey talking about how we’ll surprise the girls, and we decide to just knock on the door. We’re both too exhausted to put more effort into it, and that’s going to be a shock to both of them. It’s simple, but it works.
Idle chitchat gets us through the last leg of the trip, and it seems like it takes hours before we’re pulling up outside of their apartment building.
“Finally,” Oliver says, climbing out of the Jeep.
I grab my phone and keys, and we grab our luggage, which is much more than we would need if we were just staying the week that the girls expect us. Together, we make our way to their door and knock.