Page 26 of Promise Me Never

“So what are we doing?” she asks.

“It’s a surprise.”

“What if I don’t like surprises?”

I look at her sideways. “I think you’ll like this one.”

“You don’t know me well enough to know what I like.”

“Maybe that’s the plan. It’s a bit of a drive to get where we’re going, how about a game of twenty questions?”

“Okay, we each get one pass, and I’ll start.” She rubs her palms together. “What would your death row meal be?”

“Lobster tail and a New York strip, au gratin potatoes, Linda’s fresh sourdough, and Jo’s chocolate chip cookies. With a cold six pack of Coors Light.”

“Grandma does make the best cookies, but if Linda’s sourdough makes the list beside them, I’ll have to get my hands on some.”

“That can be arranged.” I bite back a smile knowing there’s a fresh loaf in the basket behind me. “My turn. Why the hurry to have sex?”

She groans and drops her head against the back of her seat. “I knew you would ask that.”

“You can pass.” But I’ll be finding out eventually.

“No, it’s okay. There’s probably something else you’ll ask that I want to answer less.” She looks over at me. “Plus, this is something you probably deserve to know.” She takes a deep breath before continuing. “There’s this guy I’ve been in a bit of situationship with. We’ve messed around, made out a few times, and our friend groups overlap. We have a bunch of common interests and end up in classes together.”

I immediately hate him.

“This past semester we ended up going home together after a party right before spring break. He stopped us before things went any further than oral and told me he doesn’t fuck virgins.”

Loathe. Loathe him.

“He sounds like an insecure little boy who probably lasts a maximum of two pumps.”

“That’s what my best friend said, but if he was that bad, why not just sleep with me? It’s not like I would have any frame of reference.”

“So do you even like him? Are you doing this just to get him?”

“First of all, I’m doing this for me.” She taps her hand over her chest. “I want this elephant off my back. And I’m not doing this because I want to be with him. It honestly puts me off a bit that he’s so dismissive.”

I hope that’s true. From what she’s said, I already know that he’s a piece of shit. She can do so much better. In fact, I’m going to set the bar so high he will never reach it.

“Fair enough.” I tap the steering wheel. “Your turn.”

“Biggest fear.”

“Easy. Losing someone I love again.”

She gives me a sad smile and rests her hand on my thigh, giving it an understanding squeeze. “I’m so sorry.”

Our questions move to lighter topics for the rest of the drive. By the time we make it to the meadow on my friend’s land, we’ve found a few unexpected things we have in common, like our love of second-hand books and our taste in music to our favorite subject in school, science.

“This is gorgeous,” she whispers in awe as she unbuckles her seat belt.

I’ve driven us around to the other side of Hayes Peak, which has turned lavender as the sun sits low on the horizon. Thin, wispy clouds cut through the twilight sky like pink and orange ribbons. But the best part is the riot of colors springing up from the ground. Wildflowers of yellow, white, purple, and blue fill the meadow we’re parked in.

“I don’t even know where to look, everything is so beautiful.” She pushes the door open and steps out into the tall grass. “Whose land is this? Are we trespassing?”

“It’s a buddy of mine’s land.” But I’d risk arrest to see her like this. She doesn’t look like a city girl from Southern California right now; she looks like someone who belongs in the spectacular beauty of a field of wildflowers.

---