I Only Need One Hand To drive.

“John,” I whined, leaning my head against the headrest of the passenger seat of his Jeep. “I’m bored. Are we there yet?”

He chuckled, keeping his eyes on the long winding road in front of us. “You know, you’re worse than my niece when we make the twenty minute drive across town for ice cream,” he teased.

“But that’s twenty minutes,” I pointed out. “We’ve been on the same bloody highway for two hours. Will you at least tell me where you’re taking me? Or shall I call 911?”

He rolled his eyes at my empty threats. He quickly glanced over at me, grabbing my hand and pressing his lips to the back of it.

“Will you calm down? You’re so melodramatic.” I shot him a glare, pursing my lips. He sighed, shaking his head ever so slightly. It made his curly blond locks fall across his forehead. He let go of my hand to run his fingers through them, pushing them out of his eyes again. “It’s a surprise darlin’; you’ve been so stressed out with school and finals, I just want to do something nice now that you’re on break. I want you to kick up your feet and relax; let me do all the worrying for one, okay?”

I huffed, feeling my walls start to crumble as I crossed my arms over my chest. I loved how thoughtful and selfless he was. Yet, all I could do was complain about being confined in this metal box for the better part of the morning.

“Come on, root through the glove box and find a CD you want to listen to,” he insisted. I caved, uncrossing my arms and reaching for the handle. I pulled out a stack of CD and started sifting through them. Normally, we’d just plug one of our phones into the stereo, but the wire had gone on a fritz about forty-five minutes back, leaving us to switch back and forth from radio station to radio station, trying to find something pleasant to listen to all while avoiding the annoying static and commercial breaks.

My eyes skimmed over the plastic covers; Tom Petty, Manchester Orchestra, Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones, Tom-

“I think you need a bigger selection than just Petty, John,” I teased, giggling as I glanced over at him.

“Hey now, the minute you start dissing Petty is when I pull over to the side of the road and you get to walk home missy,” he shot me a warning glance. I hit his right arm gently as I pried open the last case of the pile; Flies in All Directions by Weatherbox. John had introduced me to it when we’d first started dating and I’d fallen in love. I’d spent many a night studying to the sounds of this, and their other, albums this past semester.

“Good choice,” he murmured, nudging the volume dial up with the knuckle of his index when I’d slipped the CD into the slot. I put the other albums back into the glove compartment, only to come across an old and ratty looking book. I was almost afraid to touch it, by fear that it would fall apart in my hands.

“What’s this?” I asked, flipping it over so that I could look at the yellowing cover.

“I’ve been looking for that!” John exclaimed, fidgeting slightly in his seat to get more comfortable. He readjusted his left hand on the top of the steering wheel as well. “I found it at a thrift shop when we were on tour ages ago.”

The works of Edgar Allen Poe, Volume Five, I read the fading words off of the cover.

“Any good?” I asked, kicking off my Toms as I brought my feet up onto the seat. I crossed my legs, getting comfortable once again, too. I couldn’t sit still for very long, I fidgeted a lot, John knew that. That’s why I was so baffled that he thought it’d be a good idea to confine me in a car for God knows how many hours.

“You’ve never read Poe?” he exclaimed. He shot me a look of confusion and surprise, his eyes wide and his brow furrowed. I blushed ever so slight, biting down on my lip. I had read a couple of Poe’s works, for school and such, but I’d never actually pursued the idea of looking up anything more than that. I’d always told myself I’d read more classics, but then after having my head buried in science textbooks for eight months out of the year, the only thing I could bring myself to read when I was on vacation were cheesy romance novels. “Well then, sit back and enjoy the ride darlin’.”

I got so engrossed in the book that the next two and a half hours flew by. I jumped as John’s hand slid down my thigh to rest on my knee. I looked up to see that we were parked in an empty lot. Oh yeah, as if this would settle my anxiety about him kidnapping me and murdering me out here.

“Pretty good, hm?” he asked, a small smirk playing on his lips. I took my feet down from where I’d propped them up on the dash board a little while ago and closed the book, after checking what page I was on obviously.

“It’s alright,” I replied, not wanting to admit that he’d been able to successfully distract me. I couldn’t believe that the clock on the dash now read 12:47, indicating that I’d gone silent for the better part of two hours. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head at me, knowing very well just how stubborn I could be. He leaned over, pressing his mouth to my own, his chest straining against the seatbelt.

“So where are we?” I asked, glancing around. There were a couple of other cars parked in the lot.

“Joshua Tree National Park, I figured we could do some hiking, maybe some camping, replenish in the great outdoors seeing as you’ve been cooped up all winter. All the gear is the trunk.” I let out a breath, feeling the weight I’d been carrying around for the past fifteen weeks suddenly drop. He really did know me better than I knew myself, and I loved him for that.

“Thank you,” I murmured, reaching out to peck his lips.

“Anytime darlin’,” he winked as he reached to unbuckle his belt. He grabbed the handle, pushing the door open and stepping outside of the jeep. I watched as he stretched his arms over his head, his loose black shirt riding up, giving me a sneak preview of his V line and happy trail.

“John?” I asked, I had yet to move from my seat or even unbuckle myself.

“Hmmm?” he hummed as he dropped his arms, reaching back into the car for his wallet and phone in the cup holder.

“Do you mind if I bring the book?” I asked quietly. He chuckled, a grin spreading across his lips.

“Only if you admit that I was right.”