Coffee Shop Soundtrack

I walked through my front door and instantly felt the cool air conditioned air hit my face. I was outside all day with Ashlyn and it had to be in the hundreds out there. There was nothing that I wanted more than a cold shower. I went upstairs toward my room, pulling my T-shirt off over my head. I walked through my bedroom door but immediately stopped.

“New tattoos?” Makenna asked, looking at my chest. She was sitting on my bed, leaning against the head board.

“A few,” I said, “What are you doing here?”

“What?” She asked. “I can’t just stop by and wish my friend a happy birthday?” She smiled, but we both knew she wouldn’t come over here for just that. She laughed. “Garrett said I have to be here to make sure you get ready for tonight. And to make sure that you actually go.”

“So basically, you’re my babysitter.” I leaned against the doorframe, T-shirt in hand.

She nodded. “Well, we all know that if it’s up to you, you wouldn’t show up.”

I shrugged. “I don’t see why we all have to go out anyways.”

“Because it’s your birthday and everyone wants to celebrate it.”

“Except for me. I don’t want to celebrate it,” I said, pulling a clean shirt out of a drawer.

“Too bad,” she said. “You have to.” She stood up and walked over to my closet, throwing the doors open and rummaging through my clothes. “And you should probably try to look nice. I mean, you shouldn’t show up in a cut up tank top.”

“Why not?” I asked, walking across the room and sitting on the side of my bed. She didn’t answer. “How’d you get in here, anyways?” I asked, just realizing that nobody else was home.

“I have a key,” she said, pulling out a button up and turning to face me. She paused for a second, looking at my face, and then started laughing. “I’m kidding.” She threw the shirt at me. “I caught Shane as he was leaving, he said I could wait for you here if I wanted to. Now go shower.”

I got up and pulled a pair of jeans and clean underwear from a pile of clean clothes on my way to the bathroom. I turned on the shower faucet and let it run cold. When I got in I thought about Makenna, sitting there in my bedroom waiting for me. I thought that after last week with the kiss and the songs that things would be weird again between the two of us, but she was acting as if nothing happened at all. I didn’t think she would take “let’s forget it” so literally. I didn’t think it was possible to.

I got out of the shower and quickly dried myself with a towel before throwing my clothes on. I left the bathroom and towel dried my hair as I walked back into my bedroom now finding Makenna sitting at my keyboard in the corner of the room.

“Can I ask you something?” She said.

“You asking me if you can ask me something is asking me something,” I smiled and sat on the bed. “What?”

She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Why do you still live with your parents?”

I laughed. “Why do you still live with your parents?”

“You know that I have my own house, right?” She said. “In California. On a military base. I’m just staying with my parents while Derek is gone.”

I winced when she said his name. “Yeah, I know,” I said. “I was just kidding.” I sighed. “Well, I’m touring for months at a time, I’m never home. I guess I just don’t want to throw down money every month on something that I don’t even use.”

“Don’t you think you’re too old to be living with your parents though?” She asked. “I mean, all of the other guys have their own place. You can get a roommate, rent out the furnished apartment by month while you’re gone. I know you know this, so why won’t you do it?”

I shrugged. “I guess I don’t like growing up,” I smiled. “I know I need to get a place soon, I’m just sort of dreading it. I’m like Garrett though, I can’t live with anybody. I live in a bus for most of the year with a bunch of guys, if I end up with my own place, it’s going to be my own place.”

“I can help you look.” She said. “For an apartment.”

“Why?” I asked.

She shrugged. “I don’t have anything better to do, it might be fun. You know how much I love House Hunters.” She smiled. She could sit on the couch and watch HGTV for hours.

“Yeah, okay,” I said. “But I’m not actually moving out unless I find somewhere I like a lot. And if I can even afford it.”

“Deal,” she said. “Are you ready?”

“No.” I said, only because I didn’t want to go out tonight.

She smiled and got up. “You pretty much are.” She walked towards me and brushed out parts of my still wet hair with her hands. “It’s still weird seeing you with shorter hair. I’ve only ever known you with long hair.”

“Oh yeah,” I said. I hadn’t realized how much different I probably was to her. I’ve changed a lot since I last saw her.

“It looks good,” she said, “you look older.”

“Thanks,” I smiled. I got up and walked over to the mirror, grabbing a bottle of hair gel and squeezing a little into my hand.

“What about me?” She asked.

I laughed. “What about you?” I rubbed the gel throughout my hair, making it stand up the way I liked it.

“Do I look good? Do I look older?” She laughed.

I turned to face her. I looked at her for a minute, and then smiled. “You look the same.” And she did. She looked exactly the same. She was her same beautiful self. She was perfect.

Her expression dropped, clearly unhappy with my answer but I shrugged and grabbed my jean jacket and walked out of my room and downstairs. She followed behind me, but led the way outside to her car. I got in the passenger seat as she got in and started the car up. Right away I noticed Pioneer blaring from her speakers and I looked at her with a smirk.

She turned the volume knob down and looked at me and laughed. “It’s good, okay?”

I nodded. “Maybe you would already know that if you listened to it earlier.”

“Yeah, whatever.” She pulled out of her driveway and towards Garrett’s house.

I sighed and rested my body against the back of the seat and listened to the faint music of mine coming from the speakers.

“You really don’t want to go tonight, do you?” She asked.

I shook my head. “Not, really.”

“Did anyone ask you what you wanted to do?”

“Of course not. They already know what I would say.”

“Well what would you say?” Makenna asked. “What would you say if I asked you what you wanted to do for your birthday.”

“I would say nothing,” I answered. “Absolutely nothing.”

“Come on,” she said. “There has to be something you would do.”

I shook my head. “Nothing.”

She shook her head and smirked. “Fine. We’ll do nothing.” Makenna did a quick U-turn, going back in the direction we were just coming from.

“What?” I laughed, “You’re not serious.”

She smiled. “It’s your birthday, John. You should be doing what you want to do.”

I looked a t her. This was the Makenna I knew, sitting right here next to me. Smiling, laughing, being spontaneous. It was like she never left, it was like I never left. It felt like I was in high school again sitting next to the only person I ever cared about. But no matter what things were different now. I wouldn’t be able to reach over and hold her hand like I used to.

Makenna pulled over into the parking lot of the nature preserve we were at not too long ago. “Is this okay?” She asked, finally looking at me. “For doing nothing?”

She was smiling, and it was a real smile. It made my heart melt. I nodded. “You’re going to do nothing with me?” I smirked.

She nodded. “Yeah, you’re stuck with me.”