He rolls his eyes and gently presses a kiss to my lips. “I’d hate to see what evil plot you two come up with if a guy was to break either of your hearts.”
“Do it,” I dare him. “We’ve already worked out every last detail and trust me, I don’t think you’ll come out the other end alive.”
“I don’t doubt that, but you have nothing to worry about. I'm not about to go breaking your heart.”
“You better not be,” I tell him, raising my head to meet his hazel eyes. “Were you coming to find me?”
“Sure was,” he says, pulling out of my arms and holding out the envelope. I take it from him with drawn brows. “This came for you.”
“What is it?” I ask, scanning over it to see my name printed on the front. I don’t think I've ever received a letter in my life. The only things that we ever used to find in our mailbox were bills, overdue notices, and an eviction notice. Though, the letter I got from Tommy Peters in first grade telling me he thought I was cute doesn’t really count … or does it?
“How am I supposed to know?” Colton says, his voice thick with sarcasm. “Why don’t you open it up and find out?”
I roll my eyes and flip the envelope over and stamped across the back is the return sender details together with the logo of The University of Bellevue Springs.
I suck in a breath and find myself holding the letter out as far as it can go, almost as though it’s diseased. “What are you doing?” Colton grumbles, looking at me as though I just boarded the train to crazy town.
“It’s from the college,” I say, knowing damn well that he would have already seen that and was just waiting to see my reaction. My nerves bubble up in my stomach as I ignore Colton’s presence beside me, unable to stop looking at the letter. This tiny slip of paper determines what I'll be doing for the next few years. Assuming Russo and the Wolves don’t get their filthy paws on me again. “What do I do?”
Colton chokes back a laugh and holds a straight face. “Um … read it?”
I roll my eyes. He’s such a boy, but despite that, he’s right. There’s no use standing out here, staring at it. I need to figure out what it says and start planning my future.
Taking a shaky breath, I slip my finger under the lip of the envelope and tear through it, hoping that I'm not accidentally destroying what’s hidden inside.
I get it open and my hands instantly begin shaking. I can hardly see the paper, it's so bad. Flipping it over, I unfold it and the dread begins flooding me. If this was an acceptance letter, wouldn’t it be a thicker envelope? More papers with course details and all that kind of shit? Just one lone piece of paper seems a bit … bad.
Shit.
I’m just about to start looking over it when a thought occurs. This is a huge moment for me and maybe I should be waiting for Mom, but then, do I have the strength to hold back? The curiosity of leaving it lay open on the table would kill me.
No. Sorry, Mom. I love her and all but I can’t wait. This is too big.
Colton steps right into my side and starts reading over my shoulder as I begin scanning the letter, my breath coming in short, sharp pants.
Dear Miss Oceania Munroe,
It is our pleasure to congratulate you on your acceptance to The University of Bellevue Springs…
A high-pitched squeal wails out of me and I jump up and down, clutching the paper so freaking hard that it crumples between my hands. “HOLY SHIT,” I squeak. “I GOT INTO A FUCKING COLLEGE WITHOUT SUCKING SOMEONE’S DICK.”
Colton grabs me and pulls me up off the ground, sharing in the joy as he spins me around. “I fucking knew you would do it, babe,” he says, crushing his lips to mine. “Now, let me take you somewhere to celebrate.”
Chapter 24
I sit across the table from Colton in one of the fanciest restaurants that Bellevue Springs has to offer and I’ve never felt so out of place. It’s not my kind of restaurant. The meal costs more than I could make in a week but damn it, it’s so good. It’s certainly no Chuck E Cheese or Chili’s though.
My acceptance letter sits on the table between us and I find myself reading over it for the millionth time, only my mood isn’t soaring anymore. My whole world fell apart as soon as I finished reading the opening sentence and got further into the details of what it means to be a college student.
Finance.
“Jade, come on,” Colton says, reaching across the table and taking my hand. “I don’t know what you're freaking out about. I've got you. If you want to go to college, then I’ll sort it out. Why are you worrying about this so much?”
“I’m not taking your money, Colton,” I say, looking up to meet his eyes while wondering how the hell Mom and I are going to make this work. The fee structure is insane and I already know without even trying that I’m not exactly the greatest candidate for a student loan. “You’re my boyfriend, not my sugar daddy. I've already let you get away with paying for my school fees. It’s not about to happen again. I can take care of myself. I’ll find a way.”
“Babe, come on,” he groans. “Do you have any idea how frustrating it is knowing that you’re going to sit here and panic over paying it when I could have the tuition transferred and paid by the time we’ve finished dinner?”
“Gee, thanks for rubbing my nose in it.”
“That’s not what I’m doing and you know it. I don’t want to see you going through that kind of torture when I could take it away for you.”
I shake my head. “No, I’m sorry, but no. I’m not tying myself to you financially. Mom and I will talk about it tomorrow and see what we can come up with.”
Colton falls back into his chair and stares blankly at me. “You’re serious about this? You’re really going to let a little stubbornness and your need to feel independent potentially stop you from attending college?”
“Dead serious,” I tell him, “I’m going whether I can pay for it or not so don’t worry about that. My independence is important to me and I’ll come out the other end with it still intact, but if I find out that you’ve gone behind my back and paid my fees, hell will rain down on you, Mr. Carrington.”
He sighs and from the guilty expression that cuts across his face, it’s clear that was exactly what he had intended to do. “Fine,” he groans while rolling his eyes at my stubborn nature. “If this is how you really want to do it then you have options, a few actually.”
I raise my brow and lean in, paying close attention while equally shocked that he’s actually entertaining the idea of me doing this on my own. “Like?” I question, ready to hang off his every word.
“There are all sorts of things,” he says. “Student loans, financial aid, grants. You could apply for a scholarship and if you really want to be independent about it, I could loan you the money.”
I shake my head at his last suggestion but feel my mind whirling with possibilities. “I doubt I’ll be accepted for student loans or any of the financial aid.”
“Don’t write it off too soon,” he tells me. “You work and your mom works, you shouldn’t have any problems getting financial aid. Not to mention, my dad was good friends with the dean of UBS. So, if all else fails, I could put in a good word and see if he’ll consider you for a payment plan.”