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All the apprehension and anxiety disappear. The butterflies quickly settle, and I can’t help but smile.
“I–I, uh…” I sigh, tucking my head down and gripping the back of my neck. When I look back up at her, the confusion on her face has softened. A small smile spreads across her face as she waits for my answer and silently lets me know that whatever the reason I’m standing in front of her house, she’ll understand. “I just wanted to see you,” I finally confess.
She nods. “I don’t know whether to be scared that you showed up out of nowhere or impressed that you remembered where I live.”
My rattled nerves calm to an excited quiver.She’s making a joke.“I had to drive around a bit to finally find your house. Which actually makes me sound more stalkerish, now that I think about it.”
She laughs, turning her head to the side to look away. We stay quiet for a moment. I haven’t thought this far ahead. I’ve been so focused on actually finding her that I realize I don’t know what to do now that she’s in front of me. Until I think of the only thing that feels right.
“You want to go for a drive?”
She tilts her head, her smile fading just slightly.
“Or maybe I can get your number so that I can call ahead next time. If you’re busy or something.”
She nods. “Okay. Let me just go inside and set down my things.”
SIXTEEN
ELLIE
Iclose the door behind me, my heart racing and practically beating out of my chest. Rhylan Matthews is outside my house, waiting for me so we can go for a drive.
I plop my backpack on the floor next to the couch and look down at what I’m wearing. I see the splotch of coffee on the bottom hem of my oversized sweater, dried and crusted, from this morning when I unsuccessfully tried to balance my books along with my travel mug. And my black leggings are covered in Angus’s fur, prickly hairs matted over the spandex material that are more stubborn than Angus’s obsession for his monkey squeaky toy. I need to change.
I rush to my room, ripping off my clothes before throwing them in a heap next to the hamper. I only see flashes of my own hands in front of me. I don’t even know what I’m doing. All I know is that my fingers finally grasp a dress, floral and navy blue with thin straps and cut mid-thigh, and I pull it over my head, struggling as I try to get it down past my armpits. I brush out my hair and touch up my makeup before reaching for my purse and keys to leave my house, taking a deep, calming breath before stepping off my stoop.
Rhylan is waiting, leaned up against his car with his hands shoved into his pockets, looking so perfectly handsome. He’s dressed casually, like any other twenty-something guy that I see at school or on the street. He wears a plain black T-shirt that’s pulled taut against his chest and arms, and it blends into his black jeans that are slightly faded and worn. I can’t help but let my eyes linger on the tight hem of his sleeve cutting across his tan bicep, leading down to his muscled forearm. His ankles are crossed in front of him, and he peeks up at me through his hair when my sandals take that first step onto the pavement.
His body stands upright as he pushes himself off the car and his eyes scan over me, trailing from my bare legs to the dipped neckline of my dress. “You ready?” he says, taking a step closer to me. I tilt my head up to look at him and lean slightly back when he hovers over me. The upturned curve of his lips that I’ve acquainted myself with causes me to chew on the inside of my cheek to suppress a smile as he turns to open the door to his vintagy car. I don’t know what kind of make or model it is, but it looks like a classic. The kind of car that would be considered collectible and expensive. Once we’re both nestled and buckled up in his front seat, he drives.
We drive on with no specific destination. I enjoy the cooled-down air of the late afternoon coming in through the open window with the sun shining high above us as the loose waves of my hair flow wildly behind me. I feel free. Like we could drive off and disappear, and I would have no regrets.
Nothing about sitting in Rhylan’s car is unnatural. Not synthetic, as if we were forced into an awkward situation. It’s the complete opposite. It’s comforting.Like being alone with an old friend, familiar and ordinary. But not ordinary as in boring. This type of ordinary feels like coming home, like being in a place where comfort is the whole point and the only purpose.
“So,” he says, speaking over the sounds flowing in from the busy streets. “Can I take you somewhere?”
I peer over at him, tucking in my hair behind my ear as his eyes linger on my hand. “What did you have in mind?”
“I know of a few places. Some that might interest you. Some that may not.” He looks back at the road ahead as his playfully ominous words sit between us. I see the corner of his mouth lift, forming a teasing smile.
“Will there be milkshakes?” I ask boldly. I bite my lower lip, anticipating his answer.
The sound of his laugh booms between us, echoing off the storefronts lining the sidewalks filled with people. “You read my mind.”
After about another half hour of driving, we pull up to what looks like an outdoor diner equipped with waitresses on roller skates and loud music coming from a jukebox settled under an awning. A large, rotating neon sign reads Marie’s at the entrance to the parking lot. He pulls into a spot that lines an outdoor checkout counter and rolls down his window.
“What is this?” I ask. I lower my head and peer through the windshield to look up towards the diner.
“This is one of my hidden gems I discovered a long time ago,” he explains with a smile full of excitement as I take in the scenery.
A young waitress wearing a pink poodle skirt and thick cat-eye glasses approaches the car, ready to take our order. She’s gliding on white roller skates and is skilled in maneuvering herself on them as she comes to an effortless stop at Rhylan’s window.
“We’ll take a strawberry and vanilla shake. And a basket of fries,” Rhylan says.
“Coming right up!” answers the waitress in a cheerful tone.
He turns to face me. “I come to this place all the time. At first, I embarrassingly enjoyed the recognition when the staff saw me, but now they just treat me like a regular,” he explains. “And the milkshakes are to die for.”
