6. Chapter 6
Ajax
What are you doing?
It had been three weeks since our birthday and up here, the weather was starting to shift. It wasn’t freezing, but the evenings were starting to get cooler and once the cold hit, it was the sign that fall was around the corner.
I looked down at my phone again waiting for a response. I knew she didn’t have any plans going on so I was hoping she was willing to go with me, just to hang out.
Since that boat trip, I had only really gotten to see her one more time, and I wasn’t liking it. But she also told me not to request her if I didn’t have to. I was going to take that as if I had some type of working plans or something.
I just got out of the shower, why?
What are you doing?
I grinned at her question.
I’m bored. And my fingers hurt from typing.
I need to leave my place. Care to join me?
I watched the dots appear then stop, only to come up again. She was thinking awfully hard over a simple yes or no question and I couldn't help but laugh over it.
Depends. Does me joining you mean I get food out of this?
I checked the time and smiled all the more.
As it’s that late, and I didn’t realize it, yes. I’ll treat you. Know this great little Mexican joint you’d love.
Sold at the Mexican food. I'll be ready when you pick me up.
Perfect. See you in a few.
I tucked my phone in my pocket and then grabbed my keys.
I loved the fact that she was going to be natural for me.
Honestly, she was stunning when she was all done up for a date, but naturally, that was my favorite time with her.
Her skin always glowed and there was just an air about her, even when she was younger, that just made her that much more beautiful.
I knew I wasn’t the only one who saw it.
Maybe just the only one who stood up for her fast enough and got the special friend spot.
I pulled up to her place, fifteen minutes later and sent her a message that I was here.
“What?” she asked, locking up her front door and walking to the car, "chivalry is dead?”
“I’m holding open your door for you, aren’t I? I just didn’t go to your front door. Geez, lady, skin a man alive, why don’t you.”
She grinned as she climbed in and buckled up. I took off, driving down the street and then pulled out of her neighborhood.
“Where are we going?”
“Have no destination in mind other than feeding you. I just needed to get out and thought a drive would be awesome. And if one of my favorite people joined me, that would be even better.”
“Aww, you thought of me.” I gave her a mock glare before she rolled her window down and stuck her hand outside, enjoying the cooler breeze. “Been working a lot?”
“Actually, yes. I’m actually about half way done and sent the first ten chapters to both my people and the feedback was crazy.”
“Good crazy or bad?”
“Good. Both said this is probably one of my best stories yet and neither can wait for me to hand the whole book over. In fact, my editor, he said he read those ten chapters in one sitting. He was at his work desk and just got so into it that he couldn’t put it down.
And when he got to the last page, he had a fit.
A co-worker had to come in and ask why he was screaming and he said he got a story and he couldn’t finish it. That's new.”
“Wow, AJ, that is awesome. I’m glad you seemed to have stumbled over the block.”
I glanced at her as we tore down the empty street.
She didn’t get how much those words from people who had been slapping your hands had meant.
They just weren’t words of approval; they helped boost my confidence when I was failing in it.
And she didn’t understand how just seeing her had activated something within me.
No matter what happened in the future, I wasn’t losing this woman’s friendship again. She might not get the meaning of muse, but I did and I wasn’t dumb enough to let it go.
“You know,” she said, looking around at the darkened area, “if I didn’t trust you, I’d say this is a really good area to kill me at.”
I rolled my eyes at her, pulling off into a little area on the edge of town and killed the engine.
“Sure, if it wasn’t so close to businesses. Come on, you wanted food and this is the best place I know of.”
I grabbed her door and took her hand as she got out. Once inside the restaurant, she smiled as she inhaled deeply.
“It smells divine in here. How did you ever find it?”
We sat down at the booth, and I just shook my head.
“The same thing we’re doing now. I drove one night, trying to piece thoughts together to wrap up a story.
I was torn between which way the characters should go.
I had the possible ideas, all would have fit, but all of them were being denied by the characters.
” I held up my hand to stop her from asking about it.
“Characters are real, they will fight a writer anytime.
“Anyway, none of the ideas were fitting correctly, so I drove to clear my head. Drive for hours on end. When I finally got home, I typed for about six hours. Ended up writing nine chapters and going a whole different route with the ideas. But I needed to eat and came across this spot.”
“You and writing. I should have known you would have followed that dream. But I'm also glad you found this place because if the food tastes as good as it smells, you just found our spot.”
I don’t know why I liked the sound of that so much, but I knew I wasn't letting it go.
Fifty-five minutes later, we were back on the road, enjoying the night breeze and the talk. It seemed like I had far more to catch up on than she did, seeing as my parents decided to confide in her quite a bit. Not that I minded, actually. It still felt like some connection between us.
After another hour of random turns and twists, I finally pulled up to a lake and got out, making her raise her brow at me.
“If I wanted to do something, it wouldn’t be here,” I told her, popping the trunk open and grabbing a blanket. “Come on, I need you to show me something.”
“What’s that?” she asked, grabbing the big pillow I stuffed back there.
I laid the blanket out then laid down, pulling her with me. I pointed to the black sky with thousands upon thousands of twinkling stars.
“Tell me about those. What's in the sky right now?”
“You mean constellations? Well, since summer is fading, the sky is starting to shift too, so many of the constellations are moving out of the sky or might be so clear. Like, see that group of stars?”
“The ones like a pot?”
“Yeah.
“Isn’t that like something major?”
“I taught you this as a kid and you still don’t remember?” she huffed, making me grin. “Geez, yes, Ursla Major. It’s always seen in the night sky, just appearing in different areas.”
I watched her as she explained different parts of the stars, her eyes alight with passion. She finally looked at me, a grin on her face and I did the only thing I could think of.
I cupped her cheek, my thumb brushing over her cheekbone before I pressed my lips against hers, swallowing her gasp.