“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he replied, looking at me expectantly.
I wiped my face in case there was still toothpaste round my mouth, or worse, banana waffle. “What?”
“Which Coldplay album are we listening to?”
I huffed a little smile of relief, and my heart immediately calmed. “Oh, I just had a mix on.”
“Okay,” he rolled his lips while fiddling with the buttons on his car stereo.
A second later, my hands shot up to cover my ears as Coldplay blasted out.
“Sorry,” he smirked, adjusting the volume to a less ear-bleeding level. “This good?”
The violin intro for Viva La Vida played out. “Yes, this is one of my favorites.”
“Really? Mine, too, though I don’t listen to them too much. I prefer Eminem or Jay-Z, you know, something to psych me up in the gym, or before a game.”
“You need to do that?”
Jupiter’s wide grin warmed me to my toes. “Hell yeah. Gotta get in the zone to win.”
I nodded, understanding. I never needed to psych myself up, but I also wouldn’t ever listen to Coldplay if I was heading out for a run. Stifling a yawn, I watched as his big hands moved across the steering wheel and we eased back into driving to school.
“Want some coffee?” Without taking his eyes off the road, he pulled out a to-go cup from the center console I hadn’t noticed before and handed it to me.
I tried not to freak out. In fact, it was quite easy not to freak out because I still wasn’t fully convinced I’d woken up from a dream yet, so I sipped it.
“Why are you so tired?” he asked.
I placed the coffee back into his outstretched hand but couldn’t stop my stare at his lips as they touched the exact spot mine had just touched.
“Um, I was up late.”
“Obviously, but why?” he shot back. “Texting a boy?”
I scoffed so hard I nearly caused myself to have a coughing fit. “Uh, no.”
I was now fully turned in my seat and facing him, which meant I saw a little smile curl his lip. “Tell me then.”
Had he been this nosy last week? I didn’t remember him being this nosy. I never really talked about my stargazing outside of my group, mostly because when I had, people responded with blank stares. But I also had nothing to lose; he knew I tutored in the NCAA office, and he knew I was a nerd.
“I was looking at the stars.”
His bright blue eyes flicked over to me. “Stars? Like stars in the sky?”
“Um… where else would they be?” I replied with genuine confusion which made him laugh.
He waited for a car to pass before pulling out of the main entrance to our neighborhood, and onto the busy road which led to the freeway. I jerked back slightly as he stepped on the gas and we zoomed forward.
After we’d settled into our lane his gaze flicked to mine, before going back to the road.
“Okay, wiseass. You’re going to have to explain a little better though. Can’t you just stick your head out the window and see them? I don’t understand why you were up so late.”
I turned in my seat and faced forward, smoothing my hands down my jeans. It would be easier to explain this if I wasn’t looking at him… then I wouldn’t notice the expression of boredom which would no doubt hit once I got going.
Because I could talk about stars all day long.
