Hello World

I skip down the steps of my apartment smiling as I see the old white pickup truck parked outside at the end of the driveway. The windows are down and the Arizona sun makes the paint shine like new. He sits in the driver’s seat, his sun glasses on his face and a small smirk playing on his lips.

He reaches over and opens the door just as I reach him. I slide onto the bench seat and close the door. I rest my arm outside the window as he shifts to drive and takes off down the street.

Glancing over at him, I smile widely, “Afternoon, Cornelius.”

John looks over at me, his lips upturned in a crooked grin, “How are you, gorgeous?”

Dry air blows into the truck and whips my hair about. I revel in the feeling of the wind beating against my face as my hair is sucked out the window to blow with the Phoenix breeze.

I shrug, “I’m pretty fuckin’ great.”

He nods with a chuckle and turns off the paved road onto the nearest desert dirt path. His speed increases and I throw my hand up and feel the force. A loud laugh escapes my lips as I watch the truck kick up dust in the rearview mirror.

Reaching over I turn up the stereo as Tom Petty plays out from the speakers. John grabs my hand as he continues down the bumpy road. He lets out a loud yell of excitement and I laugh.

Eventually, he stops in the middle of nowhere. Arizona desert for as far as the eye can see: cactus, rocks, dirt, and clear bright blue skies.

The radio switches to Neil Young and I crank it up louder and hop out of the truck to climb into the back.

I kick the objects in the back out of the way and open up the cooler. I dig around until my fingers wrap around the neck of the bottle of Jack Daniels. Smiling to myself, I twist the top off and take a seat on top of the cooler.

Taking a long swig, I relax against the back window of the truck taking in the world around me. The music stops when John cuts off the truck. He joins me in the back taking a drink from the cold bottle. He sits at my feet and rests his head against my knees.

I run my fingers through his hair. He hands the bottle back to me and I take another pull. We sit in silence for a few minutes until I slide down next to him passing the bottle back and forth to each other.

He mumbles something to himself and I raise an eyebrow, “What?”

John shakes his head, “Just some lyrics I’ve been working on.”

Rotating my body so I can face him I question further, “Whatcha ya got so far?”

He scratches at the back of his neck, “Leg shaking sound. All nice and slow. You’re whiskey straight. And my whiskey cold.”

I laugh, “Real-thought provoking, O’Callaghan.”

John narrows his eyes at me before quickly digging his fingers into my side causing to jerk and squeal. He pulls me closer by my side so I can’t escape. I shift to straddle his legs and stop his fingers.

We stop and he stares at me for a moment before clearing his throat. He breathes, “What’d you do if I kissed you?”

I bite my bottom lip, “Why don’t you do it and see what happens?”

His lips meet mine and my entire body warms from the touch. I pull away slightly resting my forehead against his; he slowly opens his eyes. John pulls my bottom lip between his teeth for a brief moment before sighing, “Hello, world.” Dragging out the O’s.

My face stretches into a smile and I quickly kiss his lips once more before standing up and doing a small happy dance. I grab the bottle of whiskey shaking my hips as John stares up at me amused.

I throw my hands in the air, “Hello, world!”