Page 47 of Praise You

To claim him as mine.

Spring break starts tomorrow and I've been trying to plan a little getaway for us. I say try, because I keep failing at what to do. I don't know where to go or what could be fun. I haven't even brought it up to Ronan yet, because I haven't asked if he has any plans for spring break.

Rubbing my temples, my head jerks up at the knock on my office door. Hoping it's Ronan, I start to sit up, but instantly deflate when Nate walks in the office.

"Don't look so bummed to see me," he jokes, walking into the office and closing the door.

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting to see anyone," I say, hoping he can't tell I'm lying.

"I was just coming by to see if you wanted to head over to the sports bar and get some food."

Knowing I'll see Ronan later, I nod my head before replying, "Yeah man, let's go."

Lifting my phone off my desk, I type out a quick text to Ronan, letting him know where I’m going, and telling him I hope I see him later. When he quickly replies ‘okay,’ I shove my phone into my back pocket and stand up.

"Do you wanna walk?"

"Sure," he says, walking in front of me out of the office.

We walk in comfortable silence out of the building and through the quad. Luckily, the sports bar isn't too far, so we're sitting at a table in no time at all.

We order a couple beers and some wings. Once the waitress leaves, I turn to Nate. "You ready for this break?"

"Hell yeah, man. I have no idea what I'm going to do, but I need a rest."

"Same." Knowing that Nate has lived here his whole life, I figure I should ask him if he knows of anywhere I can go for the break. "So, I've been wanting to get out of town for a couple days, but I have no idea where to go. Do you have any ideas?"

"Well, what type of things are you wanting to do? Relax? Hike? Beach? There are so many options."

"I'm not really sure. Definitely relax, maybe add some hiking. It doesn't need to be the beach; I see that enough here."

"Have you ever been to Joshua Tree National Park?"

"Uh, no. How far is it?" I’ve heard of it before, but I’ve never been there. I do know it’s supposed to be beautiful.

"About three hours."

I wince, thinking of how long the drive would be. But the thought of being so far away that I can walk around with Ronan where no one knows us filters through my mind, and I smile. "Hmm. I might have to look into that. Is there a lot to do?"

"Camping and shit. But if you're not into camping, there's a couple towns close by. Yucca Valley or Twenty-nine Palms. There will be a lot to do there. And you'll be able to rent a house or get a hotel, then you can hike at the park instead of camping out there."

"Yes." I point at him. "Now that I can do. I'm not a big camper, but I can do the hiking thing as long as I have a room to go back to."

"I think it would be fun. You would have a blast. Are you planning on going by yourself?"

"No, I'm planning on taking someone," I tell him, taking another sip of my beer and glancing away.

"Oh, yeah? Someone special?" he asks as the waitress sets our food down. I'm thankful when she asks if there's anything else we need because it gives me a few moments to gather my thoughts.

When the waitress leaves, Nate turns his eyes back on me. "Yeah, someone special, but it's still new."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry," he says sheepishly, taking a sip of his beer.

"No, you didn't. It's really new and I don't want to jinx it just yet."

"I completely understand. Well, I hope you have a great time. When you come back, we should try to get together for a baseball game."

"Hell yeah, man, let's do it."

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