"All ready!" I said, slamming the car door for good measure.
"Are you sure that's everything that you're gonna need, Love?" Mama asked me, tearing up.
"I'm pretty sure," I said, wrapping my arms tightly around her, "I'm gonna miss you so much!"
I had played the way this day should go several times in my head. Never once did I expect my heart to feel like it was getting ripped out of my chest.
"I'm gonna miss you, too, Ren," she said, kissing my forehead, "It's going to be so weird not having my baby around!"
I felt sorry for my mom... First, she lost Dillon, now, it was my turn. If there was anything left in this town for me, I would have stayed. James came outside, giving me a hug. "Good luck, Ren," he said, nodding in my direction after releasing me.
"Don't worry, Coach...Miss Laura... I'll take good care of Lauren," Logan said, pulling me close and kissing my temple.
"That's what I'm afraid of," James grumbled under his breath. As much as he acted like he hated the fact that Logan and I were together, he knew I'd be safe with him. Logan flashed him a broad smile as if he didn't hear him, though I know damn well that he did.
Logan walked over to James and extended his hand. James took it. "Good luck, Chadwick... You're gonna do great, you're one helluva quarterback and it's gonna be harder'n hell to fill your shoes," he said, shaking it, "but I swear to God, if you hurt my daughter in any way... I'll murder you."
"Dad!" I squealed in embarrassment. This was so unreal.
Logan nodded and took it in stride, "I understand, Sir."
We hopped into our vehicles and began the hour-long drive to Norman. We had barely been out of high school for two weeks and here we were: driving to school. I always knew that I'd be taking Summer classes but when I mentioned it to Logan, he looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. When it became obvious that I was going early with or without him, he decided to enroll in some as well.
It also didn't hurt that I did the math: If we did six hours a Summer for four years, we could knock two semesters off total. It would be tough but if things went according to plan, it would definitely be rewarding.
After about twenty minutes into the drive, my phone began to ring. I pulled it out and looked at it: Logan.
"Hello?" I answered after putting him on speaker.
"I can't wait to get there so we can break in our new apartment," his voice growled into my ear. I felt shivers up and down my spine.
"Well, you're gonna have to wait," I said simply, ignoring everything that my body was screaming at me, "I still have to unpack." Just because I knew that I was full of shit didn't mean that he had to.
I couldn't help but think that I was making a mistake by moving in with Logan but I had a full ride scholarship, including my choice of on-campus housing or a stipend just in case things didn't work out. Right now, I'm taking the stipend.
"Babe, you have all summer to unpack," he whined.
"No, I have all weekend," I corrected him, "Classes start on Monday."
"Oh yeah," he said quietly, sounding a bit deflated. We had both signed up for English and History together but I was taking Math alone, since six credit hours was fulltime during the summer. It was gonna be hard enough to keep myself afloat this fall, let alone him. I would definitely hate to overload him before school really started.
"Well, the least you can do is unpack naked," he suggested, eliciting a laugh from deep within my being.
"Anyway, tell me about the new place!" I gushed excitedly. He wanted to surprise me and I only hoped that he didn't overdo it.
"All I can say is it's perfect and you're gonna love it... but I have to be honest, this is an apartment that my dad keeps in Norman so he would have somewhere to stay during football season," he confessed, I could almost see him flinching in my mind...
"Fine...," I grumbled. I was a little pissed off that he lied to me... anything of Kyle's was entirely beyond anything that I was used to.
"That's it?" he asked, surprised.
"Are you talking and driving, Logan?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No, Lauren, I'm talking to you through Bluetooth," he replied, exasperatedly. I could almost hear his eyes rolling from his end of the line.