Saying Goodbye, Part One (Passports and Promises Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

pants, plain and simple. But you deserve better,” I said.
    Bethany, oddly quiet, sat eating her ice cream. She’d nearly finished the entire tub, a sure sign she was worried. Bethany had always been a stress eater. Fortunately, she had the metabolism to keep up with it.
    “What’s the matter, B?”
    She winced, I couldn’t tell if it was from brain freeze, or from what she was about to tell me. I pulled on my PJs and sat down next to her on my bed. Bethany poked at the bottom of her empty ice cream container. There was nothing left. Not even a chunk of chocolate. Finally, she let out a sigh.
    “Be careful, Sam.”
    “With Dylan?”
    She nodded. “There is something odd about him.”
    “Like what?”
    She tossed the ice cream container in to the garbage. “Like where was he last year? And why did no one at the Sig house ever talk about him?”
    “I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for it. I’ll ask him. Okay?”
    Bethany folded her arms across her chest. “You know how you are. Just don’t rush into anything, okay?”
    “I won’t,” I said, but we both knew I was lying.
    ~
    The next few weeks passed in a blur, as I ignored Bethany’s good advice and got closer and closer to Dylan. I’d avoided Max, although he called me a few times and texted me almost every day. I sent him back noncommittal replies, and he never asked about Dylan, so I never mentioned it.
    Dylan and I met for lunch every single day, and dinner most nights. We studied together, and on nights when we weren’t together, we chatted or Skyped for hours. Soon, I couldn’t remember what I’d done before he’d been a part of my life. Exactly what I hadn’t wanted. Exactly the sort of relationship I promised myself I wouldn’t jump into.
    We never talked about his absence from school the year before. Every time I mentioned it, somehow he changed the subject or avoided the issue altogether. It was frustrating, but he had ways of distracting me.
    Our kisses grew more and more passionate, but he refused to let it go any further. He never came to my room, and never invited me to his apartment. I’d become a ball of sexual tension. The only consolation came from the fact he wasn’t much better off than me. The thing that pissed me off, however, was how he controlled it. He controlled everything.
    When he picked me up for a date on Thursday night, I’d worked myself into a snit. Neither of us had any classes the next morning. I should have just relaxed and enjoyed the night, but couldn’t.
    I put on a long sleeved dress, loose with a bright geometrical pattern. Once again, Dylan refused to tell me where we were going. He planned everything. He chose everything. But I never complained. I allowed it to happen.
    I didn’t talk as we drove away in his Volvo. Everything felt off. Everything felt wrong. He tried to start a conversation with me, sending me worried looks as we sped through the city to a place on the far side of town. It was a small restaurant, elegant without being ostentatious, and had only a few tables. Each table was secluded and private. We couldn’t see or hear most of the other diners from where we sat. I should have been thrilled to be in such a place, but mostly I was annoyed. Especially when the waiter brought drinks and soup before we’d even ordered anything.
    The soup, served inside a small, carved out pumpkin, looked delicious, but it didn’t help my mood. I shot Dylan an angry look, and he put down his spoon.
    “Talk. Please. Tell me what is going on.”
    I put down my spoon, too. “You control every freaking thing in our relationship. Occasionally, I’d like to order for myself. You decide where we go, what we do, what we eat, when we kiss. I’m sick of it.”
    As soon as I’d said the words, I wished I could take them back. Dylan looked like I’d punched him in the gut.
    “I’m sorry, Sam. I wanted to make things special…”
    “You can’t make something special. It either is or it isn’t.”
    His