Page 48 of Praise You

We eat the rest of our food, making small talk between us. After sitting in the restaurant for about an hour, we head out. Ronan texted me while we were eating, letting me know he was on his way over, which has me racing home to my apartment. Luckily, I had given him an extra key for the nights that he got done early and I was still at BU.

Walking through the front door, the sound from the TV draws my attention, my feet taking me into the living room. My chest warms at the scene in front of me. Ronan is sound asleep on my couch, wrapped up in one of my throw blankets. Ember is lying next to him on the blanket and his hand is on her back. For as much as they bicker, I’m momentarily stunned. Taking out my phone, I quickly snap a picture, not knowing if this will ever happen again.

Tiptoeing over to him, I kneel on the floor beside the couch. Reaching out, I swipe the hair off his forehead, placing a kiss where his hair just was. His eyes blink open, a smirk forming on his face when his eyes focus.

"What a way to wake up," he rasps, his voice thick with sleep. He looks down, seeing Ember in his embrace, and he rolls his eyes. “I guess sometimes she isn’t so bad.”

"Sorry I'm late." I tap his legs and he sits up, grabbing Ember, making room for me to sit down next to him. "It's finally Spring break."

"Finally. This semester is dragging by. I just want it to be over with." He says, rubbing her back while she purrs and closes her eyes.

"Me too." Sitting back, I grab Ronan's other hand and interlock our fingers. "Do you have any plans for the break?"

"Nope. Was planning to hang around here. Spend some time with you, of course."

"I have an idea if you're up for it."

"Lay it on me," he says, turning his body to face me.

"I was talking to Nate earlier, about places to get away to," his eyebrows raise and I clarify. "I didn't say who I was going to go with, but that I wanted to get away for a few days. He recommended Joshua Tree. Have you ever been there?" He shakes his head so I continue, "It's a national park, but I figured we could stay in town a few miles away, either at a rental or a hotel, maybe even head into the park to go hiking. I wanted some time with you outside of these walls, where we could be together in public. But if you're not okay with that, we can definitely stay here; that's fine too." I'm starting to ramble and I'm not quite sure why. I doubt he's going to say no, but still, it'll be the first time we're actually away together.

"Oliver," his soft voice pulls me in and I glance up into his eyes. "I would love to go out of town with you. When were you thinking of leaving and how long were you wanting to stay?"

"Um, I haven't gotten that far yet. It was something that came up at dinner and I figured I would ask you to see if it was something you wanted to do."

"Well, I do. Let's google some things and see if we can find somewhere to stay. And we're splitting everything fifty-fifty." I go to protest when he cuts me off. "Please, just because I’m younger doesn't mean I don't have my own money."

"I wasn't going to say anything about your age. I was going to say that since it was my idea, I should be the one to pay."

"No, that's not how it's going to work."

"Fine."

We both take out our phones, planning for a trip away for a couple days. I can't wait to get away for a little bit and spend time out in the open.

The drive to Joshua Tree wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. We spent the whole drive singing along to the radio, snacking on candy and chips, and stopping twice since Ronan couldn't hold his bladder after downing three sodas. Being able to enjoy the ride was a great feeling. Nate didn’t plan to leave town, so he’s watching Ember for me, so that’s helping me relax.

We ended up renting a small house on the outside of town next to the park. It's secluded enough that we'll have privacy, but still only a few minutes from the town. We drive straight to the house, going inside and unpacking our clothes before getting back into the car and driving to town.

"Keep a lookout for a grocery store. We need to get some items to make dinner," I say, backing out of the driveway and heading down the road.

"Can you cook? Cause I can't."

"I can cook some things. We can walk around the store and see what looks good."

"Yeah, let's do that."

We drive around town for a couple minutes before we find a grocery store. We park and head inside, grabbing a shopping cart on the way. We take our time walking up and down the aisles, each of us throwing in food and snacks. Once the cart is semi full, we check out and head back toward the rental house.

Standing in the kitchen, I start opening the bags, pulling out the food and setting it on the counter.

"What about we make baked garlic chicken tonight? We can save the steaks for tomorrow?" I ask as I start putting groceries away.

"Sounds good. What do you want me to do?"

"Can you peel the potatoes and I'll start the chicken?"

Working side by side, we get the food into the oven in no time. Once the food is cooking, we head toward the couch, sitting next to each other.

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