Page 76 of Our Final Encore

“Hey, I’m outside.”

Sighing, I close my laptop and push it aside. “You want to come in?”

“Nah, why don’t you come out?” I can picture the sarcastic smile on his face.

“Really? You’re gonna make the pregnant lady get out of bed?” I roll my eyes. The last thing I feel like doing is moving from this spot.

“I have a surprise.”

Finally I give up, and then change out of my pajama pants and into some jean shorts. I may feel like a slob, but I don’t necessarily want to look like one.

When I walk outside, he’s leaning against his van in my driveway. His hair looks freshly washed, pushed back out of his tan, freckled face, and he’s wearing a white v-neck with black jeans. His arms are crossed, highlighting the biceps that have definitely gotten even bigger since he started this construction job.

When he pushes the hair out of his face, his t-shirt rises up just enough to reveal a sliver of his toned stomach and his plaid boxers. It’s probably just my raging hormones speaking, but he looks freaking hot.

“This better be good, you made me put real pants on,” I say as I approach him.

He smiles, rubbing the slight stubble on his chin. “We’re going on an adventure.”

One brow lifts as I cock my head. “An adventure? If there’s no food involved I’m not interested. I was planning to order pizza and wallow in my insecurities for the rest of the evening.”

He shakes his head. “It’s a job, Opal. And you didn’t seem particularly happy there anyway. Stop beating yourself up, please?”

I know he’s right, I’ve complained about my job to him at least once. But it’s not even the job itself I’m upset about, it’s the fact that I feel so lost in life. “So, that means no pizza?”

“We can get whatever you want to eat, but the rest of the trip is a surprise.” His eyes flick down my body. “You’re gonna need shoes though, and maybe an extra pair of clothes.”

“Clothes?” I cross my arms.

“Just trust me.” He smiles, raking a hand through his hair. “Please?”

Sighing, I turn around and head back into the house. A few minutes later I come back out, with sandals on my feet and an extra set of clothing in a tote bag. Part of me wants to say no to whatever this is, but another part of me is just hoping it’ll take my mind off of the day’s events. I suppose it’ll be better than sitting alone in my room, anyway.

I sit in the passenger’s seat, setting my bag of stuff next to my feet. “So are you gonna tell me where we’re going now?”

“Nah, I told you it’s a surprise. You’ll see when we get there.”

About an hour into our so-called adventure, we stop at a diner in a small town I’ve never heard of. It’s mostly empty, aside from us and the few employees behind the counter. I order pancakes and sausage, because I can’t resist breakfast food from a place like this even if it’s 7:00 pm.

“I’ll be right back,” he says after we place our orders. He walks over to the jukebox sitting in the corner of the restaurant. It’s one of the newer ones with a touchscreen and everything.

As he’s walking back, an Owl City song I instantly recognize begins softly floating through the speakers.

“I love this song,” I say. “I haven’t heard it in forever.”

He smiles as he sits back down across from me. “I know. He was your favorite artist when I first met you.”

The memory of sitting with Alex in the dark, listening to him sing to me for the first time flickers through my mind like a movie. It’s not something I’d thought about in a long time.

I’m surprised that he remembers the small detail. It gives me a funny feeling, knowing that he still thinks about things like that.

“Well, he is a musical genius. You can’t tell me Ocean Eyes isn’t one of the best albums of all time.”

He grins before taking a sip of his sweet tea. “I don’t know about that, but it’s definitely listenable.”

I mockingly gasp. “Take it back!”

“Alright, fine. It’s pretty good.”

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