It's a Band Thing Part Two

Spring break. Never something I ever really understood. Why give kids a week off to go to some beach town, get shit-faced, and do stupid things? I mean, I’m not complaining; it was always nice to have a week off school, but it was always pretty pointless in my book. Anyways, this year, I was glad for it because it meant that Lauren and I had time that we could spend with each other. We didn’t see each other much during the school year, but that’s what’s to be expected when a high school girl dates an already graduated boy. About a week ago, one night when we were on the phone together, she told me she had a surprise for me, but I’d have to wait for spring break for it. I told her I had a surprise for her also, and then I corrected myself because I really had two. One of them was a place I was going to take her sometime during break and the other was that I got my hair dyed blond earlier that day. She wouldn’t see it until, well, until she saw me, which was going to be spring break. But when I knocked on her door for the first time in a week or so, I didn’t expect to see her have the same color of blond hair. Both of us nearly fell over laughing and when her mom came downstairs to see what happened, she asked us if we planned it.

“No, that’s why it’s so funny! We didn’t know about this until just now,” Lauren chuckled, brushing some of her newly blond hair that fell in her eyes out of them.

“It adds a certain level of cuteness, really, because the colors are almost exactly the same,” her mom pointed out.

“Our natural colors are almost the same too,”

“Yes, but this is different because you guys chose these; you weren’t born with them,”

“Ah, well, that’s true,”

“So where are you two headed for today?”

“I don’t know; Shane won’t tell me anything about it,”

“Ah, so it’s a secret date…I see. Well, I’ll let you guys go do your thing and I’ll stop asking questions. I’ll see you later, sweetie. Love you,” her mom waved, heading back upstairs to do whatever she was doing before she came down in the first place.

“’Bye Mrs. Gilespie!” I yelled after her, trying to be the nice boy every parent wants dating their daughter.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Lauren laughed lightly and shoved my shoulder playfully. “You are such a kiss-ass to her,” she said, shaking her head at me.

“Like you aren’t?”

“I know!” she giggled.

“Come on, you’re gonna love this place,” I smiled, grabbing her hand and leading her to my car, opening up the passenger door for her and then heading around the front, getting in, starting the engine. I knew the way to this place as well as I knew the back of my hand, and it didn’t take too long to get there, so both of us just watched the scenery flash by as I drove to one of my favorite little hide-a-ways. When we got a few miles away, I told her to close her eyes until I told her she could open them.

“Wow, you really are keeping this a secret aren’t you?” she chuckled, closing her eyes and placing her hand over the top of her face.

“Well, this is the second surprise. The first was my hair and this one is even better. You really are going to love it there,” I assured her, giving her side a little playful squeeze. It was so adorable how she squealed from surprise, and it just reminded me of the other cute sounds she makes (and yes, I do mean it like that).

“Well, where is there anyways?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,”

“Can you tell me anything about it?”

“Just that it’s really beautiful and I’m almost 100 percent sure you’ll love it,”

“Alright, whatever,” she chuckled, shaking her head in disbelief.

“What? Don’t believe me?”

“I will when I see this place and it blows me away,”

“Well, it’s about to, because we’re here,”

“Can I open my eyes yet?”

“Just be patient,” I laughed, pulling off to the side of the road and turning the car off. I opened my door, went around to the trunk to get something out, and then helped Lauren out of the car.

“Hm, why does it feel like you’re driving me off to some secluded place so you can murder me viciously?” she smirked as I lead her to a clearing.

“Maybe because you read too many horror books and watch crime shows too often,”

“Yea, that’s probably why,”

“You can open your eyes now, though,”

She did just that and looked all around her, taking it all in. It’s really nothing all that glamorous, but the little that it is makes it all that much more beautiful. “Wow, Shane…how’d you find this place?”

“When I get upset or really emotional, I go for scenic drives to calm myself down. I found this here the say of my junior prom,” I explained while we walked a little further into the overgrown field and sat down.

“What made you go for a drive?” she asked, leaning back on her right hand, resting the other on my leg.

“You did,”

“I did?”

“You did,” I repeated, chuckling.

“Well…how? I was just a freshman then,”

“Yea and prom was about four or five months after I started crushing on you. I’d wanted to ask you but I was too chicken to do so. I was pretty angry at myself for that so I took I drive. And that’s when I found this little beauty,”

“You’ve got that right; this is beautiful,”

“Too bad it’s going to rain soon,”

“How can you tell?”

I laughed and looked up at the sky. “Look at the clouds; they’re all nasty and dark. And they’re headed our way.”

“Is that why you’ve got that umbrella?”

“Yea; I noticed the sky as we were driving down here, so I grabbed it out of my trunk in case it did start to rain,”

“Lemme see it,” she sort of giggled, reaching out for it. I handed it to her and she opened it, holding it above us. “Nice polka dots.”

“It was my sisters, but she had two and I didn’t have any, so she gave me this one to put in my car just in case,”

“Uh-huh. Excuses, excuses,” she scolded playfully, tapping me on the head with it.

“Well it’s true,”

“I’m only joking with you,” she smiled, leaning a bit closer to me. “It’s cute actually. Just like you.”

“I’m not cute,”

“Yes you are! You’re absolutely adorable sometimes,”

“Oh, really now?” I smirked, leaning so close to her that she was nearly falling backwards. “Because from my stand point, you’re the cute one.”

“How about we just settle it with we’re both cute?”

“How about we just settle it with a kiss?”

“I like that idea better,” she smiled, leaning up towards my face a bit more as I captured her lips with mine. I swear, every kiss with her is like the first time all over again.