Staying on Course (3 page)

Quinn grasps my hand, and we communicate without words. This was us. Somehow, someway, our families orchestrated this sabotage. It probably wasn’t hard if the other parents were as upset as ours. But how the hell did they pull this off? There are sixteen people in our group. How did they get the names?

Then it hits me like a ton of bricks, and my blood runs hot. No wonder Bryce was so calm about the whole thing, and my parents nonchalantly mentioned me being gone this summer.

The eruption of massive proportions from everyone never came because they all knew. We weren’t going to Israel— they made sure of it.

“We shared this with our sponsors, and the decision was made to change our location. Lucky for us, there was a project readily available that would support our numbers.”

I ball my fists and beat lightly on my knees. Quinn’s eyes are wide as she looks back and forth between me and the screen.

“I’m going to kill them. Could this be more humiliating? Everyone has to know it was us,” I snip to Quinn, and she nods, giving me a nasty glare.

“Where should we start?” she asks under her breath.

“I’m assuming my pushy, overprotective fiancé. He’s probably the one who spear-headed this. He’s the only one who knew, outside of me and you, until we told our families.”

“I see irritation and uncertainty crossing some of your faces. Let me assure you, this was the best decision with the current unrest in certain parts of the country. We were already questioning backing out, and that’s why it was so easy to change our course.” Once again, he’s looking straight at us.

That damn star-eight beeps, and voices fill the line.

“Come on, Professor G. Don’t keep us hanging.”

“The suspense is killing me. Spill it.”

“Where the hell are we going?”

“Who the F cares about Israel? Let’s hear it—where we goin’?”

He clears his throat and does nothing to hide his excitement. “We, my friends, are heading to Rio De Janeiro, home to the 2016 Olympics.”

My stomach lurches, and Quinn and I screech at the same time. We jump to our knees and hug clumsily, this time not caring that the computer falls over into the mattress. The excitement is shared equally with everyone, as screams can be heard through the phone.

“Fuck yeah!”

“Holy shit!”

“This is fucking cool!”

One guy even yells,
“Mom, you’re gonna love this shit!”

This sends a round of laughter.

Some of my irritation is replaced with thrill. We set the computer back up right and wait to hear the rest. It takes a few minutes for everyone to calm and Professor Grant to continue. For the next hour, we receive multiple emails with instructions, agendas, and basic travel rules.

When the call is over, both Quinn and I fall back on the bed and make a list of things we now know we need. My phone dings with a text from Bryce.

Bryce: How’d your call go?

“Is it creepy how in tune he is with you? I mean, the call ended less than ten minutes ago. How did he know?” Quinn asks.

“I don’t know, but are you ready to go? Once I reply, we need to run.”

She gives me a knowing grin. We get to her car and back out of the driveway before I send my response. He could be down the street or across town, but no doubt he will be barging through the door soon.

Me: Call was great. Israel’s out But, no worries. Istanbul should be fun. Phone is dying. Out with Quinn. See you later! XO!

He’s going to flip, but let him stew on it for a while.

*****

When Quinn and I walk into my house a few hours later, Bryce is on the couch with his arms crossed, staring directly at me. His expression is eerily blank. Quinn stands close and puts her hand to my back. “Should I go?”

“No, Quinn, you need to stay. Put down your bags, and both of you come here,” Bryce orders and we move fast.

When we get to the couch, he pats the cushions on either side of him, and we drop down.

“Istanbul, Devon? Really? I almost believed it.”

“It was a joke. I was aggravated at you for interfering with the program. Do you have any idea how embarrassing it’s going to be when I see these people in two weeks?”

“I don’t give a flying fuck if you’re embarrassed. What I care about is you coming back alive and unharmed!”

“What exactly did you do, Bryce? How did you make this happen, changing an entire planned and sanctioned trip? We already know you had help, but you were with me in Florida.”

I look to Quinn for support, but she’s silent.

Bryce blows out a breath and runs his hands down his face. “If you want me to say I’m sorry, I’m not.”

“Bryce—”

“No, Dev, here’s what happened. I forwarded the email on your phone to Nate. There was a spreadsheet attached with all students accepted and their contact information, including their emergency contacts. Most of these were the parents. A few calls and emails were exchanged. Karen, Steve, Michelle, Paul, and Nate all called your professor and expressed concerns. Believe it or not, they were not the first, nor the last. Once the administrators understood the ultimate dangers, they made a different decision. It wasn’t all us.”

“But you should have talked to me! Y’all promised we’d talk about it logically when we got home. All the while, you were plotting behind our backs.” I point to Quinn who nods eagerly. “They wouldn’t send us into a country without protection.”

“Baby, they wouldn’t purposely do it, but threats don’t stand on the street corner warning you they are coming. Don’t you understand? No matter how peaceful a country wants to be, they can’t stop the evil lurking in the shadows. ISIS is building an army. Everyone in law enforcement around the world is trying to get a lock on their movements and motives. A group of young Americans talking to the families torn apart by religious war and political enemies could set off someone. We couldn’t take that chance.”

“I think you all may have overreacted.”

“No, Devon, listen to me! Really listen to me.” He reaches to the folder on the table and starts arranging photographs. “This is what can happen to people ISIS wants to make an example of.”

My gut turns and tears sting as I take in the horrid pictures laid out. Men, women, and children are beaten, bloody, burned, and some dead. Quinn sucks in a shaky breath, and I know she’s holding back her own emotions.

“I wish on my life I didn’t have to show you these. But it’s not fair for you to be mad at me, your parents, Nate…anyone. You have to understand; I’d do anything to protect you, including forwarding these to the President of the University of Virginia. Her mind changed really quickly.

“It’s one thing to send in a team of seasoned journalists with protective details and millions of dollars behind them. But totally another for a group of college kids.”

“This is so terrible.” I reach for one of the pictures and withdraw quickly. I don’t want to even touch them.

“Yeah, babe.” He cups my chin and turns my face to his. “And I already told you, if anything happened to you, I’d die along with you. I’d prefer to delay that for seventy or so years. You owe me a trip down the aisle.”

A sob escapes, and I throw my arms around him. Quinn wraps around from his back, and we both hold him tight. After a minute, we pull away, and he puts the pictures back in the folder. He visibly relaxes and lifts me onto his lap.

“All right, guys, it’s handled. You can come in now. They’re under control,” Bryce yells behind us.

Like Sunday night when we got home, the room fills with all our parents and my brother. My mom, somewhere in the last few hours, has found a shirt with the Olympic Rings and the 2016 logo for Rio.

“How in the world did you know we’re going to Brazil?” I question her.

The room erupts in laughter, and every eye goes to Bryce. When I look at him, he gives me a cocky grin.

“I have Professor Henry Grant on speed dial.”

Of course he does…

“Babe, we’re here,” Bryce says softly in my ear. I open my heavy eyes slowly and see we are in the parking lot of his apartment complex.

“Sorry, I fell asleep.”

“Don’t be. Nate and I listened to sports radio.”

“That’s probably what put me to sleep.” I scowl. “Well, that and the half-dozen shots I got this morning.”

“Let’s get you to the couch. You can go back to sleep.” He unclips my seatbelt and lifts me.

“I can walk,” I try to argue but then rest my head on his shoulder, inhaling his scent.

“Are you sniffing me?”

“Sort of. I love the way you smell. Spicy, woodsy, citrusy…all you. I’ve loved this cologne since you were in high school.”

He stops and turns his head toward me. The look on his face is unreadable until his eyes grow soft. “It’s exactly the same with you. The perfume you wear is permanently etched into my brain. Every single time a woman is in the vicinity with that same scent, I automatically look for you.”

My heart swells, and I touch my lips to his. He holds me tighter as his tongue slips into my mouth. At the taste of him, my heart rate speeds up. I clutch his shoulders and twist my legs around his waist. It doesn’t occur to me that we’re still outside in the parking lot as I devour his mouth. Our tongues swirl together while the familiar burning builds in the pit of my stomach. We stay this way until a car drives by honking. Bryce breaks away, nipping my lower lip gently.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Nate grumbles behind us.

“Sorry,” I squeak, completely unapologetic.

He rolls his eyes and passes us to grab the bags from the truck. I jump down and help unload.

Once we get inside, a sense of sadness washes over me. These next few days will be the last we spend in this apartment. There are a lot of fond memories that whirl through my mind. Bryce and I may not have spoken for a long time, but before I cut him out of my life, Quinn and I loved visiting the guys when we were seniors in high school.

Even with the Holli fiasco, the week I spent here on Spring Break was one of the best weeks ever. It was the first time, as a true couple, Bryce and I had a week together. I fight back the tears that threaten. Both men watch me carefully, reading the sadness in my face. Neither says anything as they wait for it to pass.

The apartment is not the only thing that has made me feel this way. Since the night we celebrated my trip to Rio, I’ve been blindsided with emotions regarding the upcoming changes in our lives.

In twelve days, I’ll be saying goodbye for six weeks. Bryce and Nate leave for Rhode Island shortly after. We’ll know more about methods of communication once they get there. But both have already prepared me that we won’t be having hours of Facetime like we did before.

OCS expectations are insanely high, and the training is intense. Bryce has promised to try everything in his power for us to talk daily, but we both know it won’t happen, especially when I land in South America.

So I glance around the room, committing it to memory, and plaster on a fake smile. “We’re getting the U-Haul on Saturday, right?” I ask Nate.

“Yeah, a few guys will be here to help load it up. We should be on the road back to Nashville by two or three.”

“Why don’t y’all start on your rooms, and I’ll do the kitchen?”

“Fine by me.” Nate grabs a few boxes from the corner and disappears down the hall.

“I’ll help you. My room can wait.” Bryce follows me to the kitchen with our own boxes.

“I’ll start with the cabinets. You clean out the fridge.”

He agrees and grabs the trashcan, while I get the dishes down and start wrapping. We’re silent for a few minutes, but I feel the heat of his stare.

“I know you’re looking at me.”

“I’m not trying to hide that.”

“Why are you looking at me?”

“Because you’re breathtaking. My eyes won’t come unglued.”

Tears blur my vision with his sweet words. My heart physically hurts knowing we’re about to be apart for so long.

He sees them and comes straight to me, pulling me into his embrace. “Don’t cry, baby.”

“It’s all becoming so real. When we walked into the apartment today, I felt it immediately.”

“I know. It was written all over your face.”

“It’s silly. It’s only an apartment, and we have time before we leave. Why the hell am I so emotional?”

“Maybe it is only an apartment, but remember the weekend you and Quinn came to visit and we took you to a UT football game?”

“Yes.”

“Remember that stupid marathon you girls watched on Sunday?”

“Pretty Little Liars is hardly stupid.”

He raises an eyebrow and cups my chin gently. “It was and is fucking ridiculous. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. Every once in a while, I’ll run across that program and watch it, thinking of you. God, I loved you then but was too scared to admit the feelings. At the time, it was more of a
she’s such an incredible and beautiful girl
. But now, I recognize the signs. All weekend, my heart would race when you walked into a room. My palms grew sweaty, thinking about reaching out to grab your hand. My mouth would salivate each time you licked your lips. I had it bad but was too dumb to recognize it.

“So, yeah, it’s only an apartment, but it holds memories.”

I suck in a shaky breath and stare into his deep blue eyes. They hold me captive with their own emotions swirling. I thought it impossible to love him any deeper, but he proves me wrong with statements like that.

“We’ll get our own apartment, baby. In a few years, when you graduate and we know where I’m stationed, we’ll get a place and build new memories.”

“I know we will. I’m being immature and ridiculous.”

“No, you’re being you. And I love you.”

“Bryce, I’m going to warn you now. I’m going to be a mess, an absolute mess when I leave.”

“Me too, babe,” he tells me and sweeps my hair to the side, laying his face against my neck. “I need to be focused, but you’ll be on my mind constantly.”

I try to hold back but fail. I cry openly, latching on to his shoulders. It’s a worthless effort to talk because sobs wrack my body. I’ve been holding in so much emotion that I can’t stop.

I’m happy but sad.