Seven Days

No matter what she did, Andrea was nervous as hell. Jared was in the back lounge with her as she was getting ready, trying to make her laugh and calm down a bit, but nothing seemed to help. Kennedy Brock made her feel like enough of a fan girl before he’d decided he was taking her out, and now, she didn’t know what to do with herself.

“Relax, Andrea. Think of it as you guys just hanging out, except you get to do the couple-y stuff too.” Jared suggested, giving her a hopeful smile. She only got more nervous, however, more so at the word couple than anything else.

“I’m sorry, I just… it’s hard to think of it that way. And besides, when have Kenny and I been able to just ‘hang out‘? There’s always one of you guys there with us.” At this, she began pacing to try and clear her thoughts. Jared sighed and took her in his arms, if only to get her to stop moving so much.

“Now you’re just freaking yourself out. It’ll be fine.” He assured her. He nodded and returned his hug, trying to calm herself. Maybe it wasn’t going to be such a big deal… and maybe flying elephants would serve them spaghetti on the moon.

“You guys almost done in here? K-man’s probably having a heart attack.” The door to the back lounge opened to reveal John, who took one look at Andrea and slapped a smirk right on his face.

“Don’t you even-” She warned, but it was much too late: he already had his smart comment thought up.

“Whoa, sexy lady!” He exclaimed, taking her hand and spinning her around. She knew a blush was creeping across her cheeks at this remark, and it burned hotter when she heard footsteps pounding towards the door.

“WHERE?!” Pat shouted, bursting into the room with Garrett hot on his heels. “Heyyy, I found the sexy lady!”

“That’s too much sexy for you to handle, Pat. Allow a more mature man to handle this.” Garrett told him, throwing his arms around Andrea’s shoulders. Pat shot him a glare as Andrea tried desperately not to burst into laughter.

“Garrett, you are younger than me! Shut up!” He complained, giving Andrea just enough time to move before he tackled Garrett to the floor. Seeing this as a perfect getaway from the chaos, she ran out the door, through the bunks and off the bus in a hurry, hoping none of them would follow her.

Once she made it outside, she looked around for a moment until she noticed Kennedy with his back against the bus, eyes closed and hands shoved in his pockets. She quietly made her way over to him, stopping just before him and pressing her lips gently to his. Before she could move away, however, his hands grasped her hips and pulled her close, returning the kiss. By the time she stepped back, a rosy tinge once again painted her cheeks.

“Finally got away from the crazy people?” He asked, grabbing her hand and lacing their fingers. She glanced down at their hands for a moment before giving him a shy smile and nodding.

“Yeah, something like that.” She replied, trying to forget how the guys always seemed to embarrass her.

“Don’t lie to me, there was a bunch of yelling in there. Care you explain?” He began to lead her down the road, and she considered telling him, but then thought against it.

“No… I really don’t. It was awkward.” She decided to say, making him laugh and nod in understanding.

“I get what you mean. They’re awkward people.” She gave a light chuckle of acknowledgement and they continued down the road in a comfortable silence, her head eventually finding a place on his shoulder as they walked through the town. They passed multiple places she thought they might stop at before he pulled her toward an In-N-Out Burger. If she hadn’t fallen in love with him before, she certainly did now.

“I hope this is alright for dinner.” Kennedy told her, opening the door for her and letting her into the air conditioned building.

“This is perfect, honest.” She replied, getting on her toes and kissing his cheek once he’d join her inside.

“Okay, good. I’m not gonna lie, I asked for help on this one.” He admitted, looking slightly guilty.

“And how did you do that?” She asked, a smile tugging at her lips as she thought of how he could have cheated coming up with ideas for a date.

“Well… I called the guys in your band.” He rubbed the back of his neck slightly and gave her a cheesy smile. She rolled her eyes at him, but let out a slight chuckle to show that she was joking as they stepped up to the counter.

“Hello, what can I get for you today?” The girl behind the counter greeted them. She looked to be in her teens and almost instantly, Andrea knew she was a fan of The Maine.

“I’d like a double-double and coke, and she’ll have a grilled cheese and Dr. Pepper.” He answered, then looked down to see Andrea’s confused expression. “They told me what you always get, don’t look at me like that!”

“You took the easy way out of that one.” She muttered teasingly, trying not to laugh at him.

“Is that all?” The girl asked. Kennedy nodded as he took out his wallet. “Your total is $12.82”

“How about you go pick some seats while I wait for these?” Kennedy asked her. She agreed and turned to find a table, settling for one off to the side. Not too long after, Kennedy joined her, sliding into the opposite booth and placing the tray onto the table. After he handed her her food, they began to eat in silence… something that wasn’t like them.

“When I was little, I used to run around in my underwear because I thought clothes were a conspiracy of the government.” Kennedy informed her randomly. The fry in her hand dropped onto the table instantly, and she burst into laughter not long after.

“And you’re telling me this why?” She asked, unable to even begin trying to understand his word. His laughter proceeded her question and he took a quick swig of his drink before answering.

“It was too quiet. I figured it’d make you laugh and start talking.” He shrugged. “Did it work?”

“It most certainly did.” She answered. After the silence was broken, conversation was found much more easily, and she now had new ammunition to tease him with.

After dinner, Kennedy amazed her further by taking her to the beach. The waves washed over their bare feet as they walked across the shoreline, hands intertwined and light conversation exchanged between the two. She’d never been so comfortable around anyone before, and that was what she liked most about Kennedy; being able to say whatever came to mind and not having to walk on eggshells on any subject.

Out of nowhere, Kennedy threw his shoes onto the sand and ran out into the water up to his knees, waving her over to join him. Tossing her shoes next to his, she ran out to him, only to be met with cold water in her face.

“You… how dare you?!” She cried, pointing a finger accusingly at him before splashing him back. Laughter soon erupted from the two as they ran around splashing each other, and Andrea felt a wave of relief as the tension from the last couple days was instantly wiped from her mind. Kennedy was clearly owning her by the way she was nearly soaked through and his shirt and shorts were only spotted with water, so she took the only way out that she saw: she tackled him into the icy cold waves. When the two of them surfaced, Kennedy gave her a playful glare and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Now that was cheating, I do believe.” He told her, leaning his forehead against hers and smiling wide. Her hands instantly placed themselves on either side of his neck, her lips forming a smile as well.

“I’d love to hear how you think it was cheating.” She answered, resisting the urge to laugh at him when he pushed his bottom lip out and pouted.

“I have better things to do.” He reasoned.

“Oh?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. He nodded and gave her a slight smirk.

“Definitely.” In one swift motion, he pulled her body up against his and pressed his lips to hers. She instantly kissed him back, and when she thought about it, she felt as though they were in the middle of a scene from The Notebook. It was completely cliché, and she was perfectly okay with it.

“I almost forgot, I’ve got something in my pocket for you.” he told her suddenly, in turn making her stare at him in shock at the possible innuendo. His eyes widened as he shook his head, failing at life and making things awkward. “No, not like that, unless you really-”

“No, just go about what you were going to do.” She laughed as she hit his shoulder playfully. He let out a laugh as well and dug his hand into his pocket momentarily.

“I know I haven’t asked you to be my girlfriend yet, but I figured this would be a good idea anyway so… will you marry me?” He asked, holding up a silver ring. She stared in shock for a few moments before realizing it wasn’t real, only one of those metal rings children get in quarter machines.

“Oh, of course! I thought you’d never ask!” She replied sarcastically before throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him. His hands grasped her hips instantly as their mouths began moving together, and all thoughts she might have had instantly evaporated. All she could concentrate on was the way his fingertips gently traced shapes into her hips, the way she was pressed up against his entire body, the way his tongue gently swept against her lower lip before she parted her lips slightly, deepening their kiss. It was completely blissful, just being in his arms and being able to lose control with him while no one was around.

As fast as Kennedy had her heart racing and mind in a flurry, an overly large wave crashed into the pair, knocking them clean into the freezing water and ending it. When they managed to reach air once more, Kennedy grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the beach.

“I think that was a sign that we should probably get back.” He joked before getting down on one knee. “I still need to put this on you though.” He looked up at her, a wide smile on his face, before sliding the ring onto her ring finger on her left hand.

“Are we just going to tell the guys we’re getting hitched?” Andrea asked as he stood back up and wiped the sand off himself. He grinned mischievously and nodded.

“Of course, what else are we going to say?”