18

"I don't get how you do it." I whined to Austin into the phone. Yesterday we had gone to the beach with the guys in his side project band and they were like little kids because of all the energy they had.

"Do what?" Austin asked me as he laughed about something that was happening at his house. I could hear all the commotion.

"Yesterday. You all were balls of fiery energy. I feel dead today." I said with a sigh. The noise around Austin got quiet after he shut a door. I guess he had went outside.

"Yeah. We like to unwind and act like children at the beach." He chuckled. I shook my head and heaved another sigh. "Jae?"

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if you would like to go on a little week long vacation with me." He said quickly. I stared at my ceiling as I tried to process what he had just said.

"Where to?"

"I was thinking about going up to Oregon. Hitting up Ashland, Eugene and Portland." He said. I nodded and thought for a moment.

"When?" I asked him. It was starting to sound like a good idea.

"I can literally go whenever you are free. Well, if you want to go." Austin mumbled the last part to himself but I had heard it as clear as day.

"Tomorrow?" I suggested. Austin remained quiet for what felt like a lifetime. I sat up and looked around my room as I waited for him to speak. In the time that I had known Austin, I never knew him to be this quiet for so long. After a few minutes I could hear him tapping away on his laptop. I rolled my eyes and just listened to the sound.

"Maylee Jae?" My mother called through the door. I sat up and fixed my hair so that I would not look so wild and deranged.

"Yes?" I answered. She came in and looked at me. I took in her appearance and noticed that she was in one of her "I'm married to a rich lawyer" dresses with short heels on. She had makeup painted on her face and her hair was pulled back into a neat bun.

"Your father is leaving for a little over a for some meetings in New York. I took some time off to go with him. You'll be here alone. I will leave you money for food. If you need anything just call." She told me. I nodded.

"That's fine. I was thinking about going to Oregon for a few days with a friend." I told her. She nodded and reached into her purse. She grabbed her check book and started writing a check.

"Have fun but on your father's expense." She placed the check on my desk and with that she was gone. The front door shut and the sound of a car left the front of the house. I heaved a thankful sigh.

"Jae?" I heard Austin speak into the receiver. I picked up my phone and placed it to my ear to continue talking to him.

"Hmm?"

"I just booked our hotels. I'll be at your house to get you in an hour. You can stay the night at my house tonight and then we will leave pretty early in the morning." He told me. I smiled and told him that I would see him soon before hanging up and going to pack. I looked up the weather forecast and packed the clothing depending on the weather.

I grabbed pants because I had a feeling that Oregon would be a lot cooler than Southern California is in the middle of October. I also made sure to bring socks and shirts that would keep me warm. I wasn't used to this cold weather. It never got cold in Southern California, especially not as cold as Oregon did.



I must have spent an hour packing because before I knew it, Austin was ringing the doorbell as I was zipping up my suitcase. I gave up on my suitcase and rushed downstairs to let him in. He stared at me with wide eyes. I had forgetten to mention that my family was rich and that we lived in one of the nicest houses in the hills of Monrovia.

"Your family is loaded." He said walking inside. "When I started driving through the hills, I was looking at the houses in aw."

"Yeah. I usually never have people up here." I said shrugging my shoulders. I shut the door and started to walk up the stairs to my room with Austin.

"I hope to own a house like this one day." He muttered as we went into my room. He stared around it for several minutes before sitting on my bed. "You have a nice room. It suites you."

"Thank you. My mom is always wanting to change it." I said shaking my head.

"I think its awesome." He said looking at everything carefully. I watched him as he studied my room with excited eyes.

"Well I just need to zip up my suitcase and then we can head over to your house." I said smoothing out my galaxy skirt. I sat on top of my suitcase and zipped it up with no problem. I grabbed my black lip shaped purse and look at Austin.

"Ready?" He asked me. I nodded and he grabbed my suitcase.

"I'm excited." I smiled at him as we walked down the stairs. He nodded and opened the front door for me. I typed in the alarm code and shut the door, making sure to lock it. I walked over to Austin's car and climbed in.

"This is going to be a great week." He smiled at me. I nodded in agreement.

"I need to stop at the bank to deposit a few checks." I told him. He nodded and we headed for the bank. The drive to the bank was in complete comfortable silence, we listened to some music and just enjoyed each others company. I knew that we would spend all day tomorrow in the car so we would get to know each other better tomorrow and have a ton of things to talk about. Today, I was enjoying the peace with him.