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She smirked and hugged me on the way out the door.
Parker called last night and instructed me to pack a bag to be gone the entire day. I had no idea what we were doing or where we were going, and he refused to give me any hints. He told me to wear something similar to what I wore when we went to the waterfall but also to pack a jacket, a swimsuit, workout clothes, and a nice outfit. I knew he told me to pack all of that to throw me off the trail, so I had no way of knowing what items I would actually need.
I threw on my workout clothes and packed the rest. Right on time, he called to tell me he was downstairs. He was never late.
I hopped in the car, and he was giddy. Smile a mile long. Eyes lighter than usual. Two coffees sitting in the cup holders.
“A vanilla latte for my predictability princess.”
“You know,” I laughed. “That sounds like a compliment, but we both know it’s not really one. It’s like heart thing that southern people say.”
“Bless your heart?”
“Yeah, that!”
“Oh, princess. Bless your heart.”
He winked and reached for a kiss. He set his hand over mine and pulled away from the building. I was left feeling flustered.
“So, where are we going? And why did you have me pack so much stuff and wake up so early?”
“I’m not telling you. Just brace for a three-hour ride, which is why we’re leaving so early.”
“Three hours?!”
“It’s not too bad. We’ve got one stop on the way there, which I hope will blow your mind. Although it’s more for me than for you, just a heads up.”
I briefly protested, but the wheels were already humming on the smooth highway. Plus, it’s not like I would get out of the car and not go.
He curated the perfect playlist with some of our favorite artists for the ride. We sang off-key and off-beat to the music, and the first hour and a half passed in a blink.
Halfway there, Parker pulled over at a gas station where the convenience store looked plucked out of the middle of the woods. It looked like a Lincoln logs cabin. I had no idea how Parker found this place, but as soon as we walked in, I was glad he had.
The convenience store walls were lined with bags upon bags of beef jerky. There had to be thousands of pounds of jerky hanging from the small metal hooks along the walls. The only other things sold were beer and water in a small fridge by the restroom. This was carnivore heaven.
“I know that you think beef jerky is ridiculously overpriced and don’t love it as much as I do,” Parker fiddled with his hands. It was a rare sight to see him nervous or worried. “But I thought this would be a super cool stop!”
I looked at his brief, bright smile next to me. Full lips encased a perfect set of teeth. Perfectly trimmed beard. Eyes sparking with joy. He was, almost literally, a kid in a candy store.
He was right about the beef jerky. I would be willing to die on the hill that beef jerky was too expensive per package for a frustratingly small amount of meat. However, I would have paid an infinite amount of money and received nothing in return to see Parker smile like this.
“Are you kidding? This is awesome! I didn’t know you could have this many flavors of beef jerky!”
He looked at me like I hung the moon and let go of his worry. His hand found mine, and he pulled me through every aisle in the store. He stopped to read almost all the bags and combinations of flavors. The packets were organized alphabetically. They sold normal flavors like barbecue, garlic, and just regular. But they also had some more adventurous ones. I saw amaretto, caramel, and pickle.
When we got to the cash register, his arms were loaded with as many flavors as he could carry. I grabbed a basil one. My threshold of desire to try adventurous flavors of beef jerky was low. He chatted with the cashier for a few minutes while he rang up all the bags.
When we got back to the car, I acknowledged my hunger and tried to open my beef jerky. Parker ripped it out of my hands, insisting it would taste better once we got to where we were going. He also promised that we would be able to eat in an hour and a half.
We kept driving, and I fell asleep. Frankly, I was surprised I hadn’t fallen asleep before. I woke up to Parker running his fingers through my hair. The car had stopped moving, and he was crouched on the floor of the passenger side, waking me up. My seat was reclined mostly back, so I could only see him, the door, and the gravel at his feet.
“Don’t sit up,” his voice was low and husky. “You fell asleep at the perfect moment. I set everything up already. But I need you to cover your eyes.”
He handed me a shirt. Parker definitely had a flair for the dramatic. Every time he wanted to surprise me, he made sure to cover my eyes. The first look always had to be perfect.
“Promise you won’t look until I tell you?” he asked before helping me out of the car.
I nodded.
