I Think You Could Do Much Better Than Me

It was Saturday morning. It was very early; not even 3 yet. I had only slept a few hours, but I wasn’t tired. I decided I would get out for a while and escape the dread of studying and my parents. I got dressed quietly to be sure not to wake up my parents. I picked up my phone off my dresser and moved silently downstairs.

I praised myself for leaving my car outside the garage earlier, because it avoided the chance of me being caught leaving by my parents. I slipped into the silver mustang and closed the door easily. I leaned back against the car seat and let out a sigh. I looked at the house in front of me and shook my head slightly. I really hated this place.

My mind left those thoughts rather quickly though. I thought of Rose and how she was probably still awake.

“Are you awake?” I texted her.

Less than two minutes later she replied, “Yeah. I was just about to go to sleep, but what’s up?”

“I’m going to drive along the coast and I was just wondering if you would want to come. It’s fine if you don’t want to go.”

She texted back with, “I’m down with going. Come pick me up?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a few,” I replied.

With that, I started the engine of the car and backed out of the driveway. It only took me a few minutes to get to Rose’s house. Rose was outside sitting on the steps outside of her house. She stood up once she saw the headlights of my car. She wore an oversized sweater and shorts. Although it was forty degrees, she wore shorts. I laughed to myself a little as she entered the car.

“What?” She asked with a small, tired smile.

“It’s forty degrees and you’re wearing shorts.”

“It’s not even that cold,” she argued.

I placed my hand on her leg and cringed away. “You’re fucking freezing.”

“I don’t feel cold though,” She shrugged.

“I don’t want you to get sick,” I said.

“I won’t get sick,” I could see her sea colored eyes reflecting the street light’s light.

“Well, put this on your legs anyway,” I told her handing her my jacket.

“But aren’t you cold?” Rose questioned.

“I’m going to turn on the heater so I won’t be cold,” I said.

She grimaced a bit, but didn’t say anything else. She placed her keys and phone in the cup holders by the radio. I caught her hand after she put her phone down and pulled it to my mouth. I placed a tender kiss on the back of her hand earning a cute smile from my girlfriend. I weaved our hands together and smiled back at her. I backed out her driveway and started on our journey.

Rose fell asleep shortly after I had gotten on the main highway. I didn’t bother to wake her, because I knew she was tired and also because she looked so precious while sleeping. Although she looked precious all the time; she just looked more childlike and sweeter.

The highway along the coast was amazing. The beach was so beautiful at night. The stars and the moon complimented the dark water and bright sand so nicely. It was perfect. The artificial light along the coast couldn’t even ruin all the beauty.

I knew Rose would love this since she loved the beach and the stars, but I didn’t dare to wake her from her slumber. I would bring her out another night and let her soak in all the beauty. It was beautiful like her and it reminded me of her.

The morning drew on and it was 5 now. I still held Rose’s hand. We had been driving for about two hours now. We were low on gas so I stopped at a gas station to refill the tank. I turned off the engine after I parked by the pump and looked at Rose who was still sleeping soundly. I couldn’t help, but smile to myself. This beautiful girl sleeping in my car meant so much to me.

I slipped my hand away from hers causing her to stir. She rubbed her eyes and then opened them. She looked at me with wide eyes; questioning why I had let go of her hand.

“Well hello, love,” I smiled.

She yawned and stretched in the passenger’s seat. “How long was I asleep?”

“About 2 hours,” I told her.

“Sorry I fell asleep,” she apologized.

“It’s fine,” I laughed, “I’m about to get gas. Do you need anything out of the store?”

“Could you get me a coffee, please?”

“Yeah, I’ll get it after I pump the gas. You want one of the cold ones right?”

“Yes,” She smiled.

I got out of the car and stepped up to the gas pump. I pulled out one of my many credit cards and inserted it into the card slot. After paying for the gas and pumping it, I went inside of the convenience store to get Rose a coffee. I got both of us a cold coffee and paid for it at the counter.

When I got back to the car, I noticed Rose was deeply interested in something. I sat in the driver’s seat and handed Rose her coffee.

“What are you looking at?” I asked her. She held up one of the many albums I had in my car. It was Wildlife by La Dispute. “I didn’t know you liked La Dispute.”

“I actually love them,” she told me, “I even have a tattoo of their flower logo.”

“I don’t think I’ve seen that tattoo,” I said.

“You probably haven’t,” she laughed. “I’ll show it to you.”

She lifted her shirt a little and just above her hip there was the La Dispute tattoo. It was plain, but still very beautiful.

“It looks really good,” I told her.

“Thanks,” she said pulling her shirt back down.

I picked up the Wildlife album and put the CD in the CD player. Rose smiled and leaned over to get a quick kiss from me. I cupped her chin with my hand and deepened the kiss, making it longer. After a moment, I pulled away from the kiss.

“Well I was aiming for a short kiss, but that was fine,” Rose laughed.

“Is it a crime to want to kiss my girlfriend?” I asked raising an eyebrow.

“No,” she breathed with a smile, “I love kissing you.” I could help it when I smiled as I started up the engine of the car. I got back onto the highway and this time Rose stayed awake. We rode for about forty-five minutes just listening to La Dispute and making small talk. Rose held my hand and mostly stared out of the window during the ride. She hummed along to some of the songs when weren’t talking.

When we weren’t close to the beach, we passed by plenty of trees. The East coast was so beautiful at times. Especially at night while the moon and stars are shining over it. I decided I wasn’t quite ready to go home yet and I had something special in mind. I pulled off of the highway on an exit and Rose looked at me with a confused look.

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“You’ll have to wait to find that out.”