It's a quiet ride down to the parking garage, with only elevator music to fill the silence. I unlock the car and we get in. I have a feeling it will be a quiet drive to my house as well, but at least we have the radio playing music for background noise.
"Do you like Becky?" Bianca asks, staring out the passenger window. Really? That's the question that breaks the silence? I don't know which I dislike more, talking about Becky with Bianca or the endless silence I was becoming accustomed to.
I think a minute before answering. On the one hand, yes I do. I liked her a lot at one point. She has an incredible way of surprising me. Like she did during Romeo and Jules, and when we worked together for the fundraiser, and especially with that email she sent me. When I first met her I thought I knew exactly who she was but she is constantly proving me wrong. And she has this enthusiasm for life, she's so positive and hopeful all the time. She really is great, and even though we didn't work out the first time, I definitely see why the attraction was there. But on the other hand, that's all in the past. Becky and I had our chance and it didn't work out. Sure, we're friends now but I don't know if I see it progressing anywhere past that again. After she broke my heart, I don't feel like I can fully trust her anymore.
After that long pause, I finally answer, "I used to, but we're just friends now." I think that's the most accurate way I can describe it to Bianca. She nods at that but doesn't say anything. After a few more minutes I decide that it's my turn to ask a question, "Are you going to break up with Drew?" That question has been on my mind non-stop since I left my house with Bianca yesterday.
She looks a little caught off guard by that question but answers anyway, "I'm not sure." Well that wasn't the answer I was looking for. I wish I knew which way she was leaning. Knowing that it's a touchy subject, I decide not to press her about it.
"Well if things work out between you two, I'll bring your bag by the house later so you can stay the rest of the weekend," I offer. I didn't know what else to say. I'm hoping things don't work out but I definitely can't say that.
Two songs play on the radio before Bianca speaks up, "I have an idea," she says perking up. She turns toward me and says, "How about we blow off Drew and Becky, drive down to Niagara Falls, and spend the day?" I take my eyes off the road to look at her to see whether she's serious or not. She looks eager and hopeful that I'll say yes, I can tell she thinks this is a great idea.
I'm not quite sold on the idea, "Bee, you can't run away from your problems."
"I'm not running away, I'm postponing," she responds. She reaches out and tugs on my arm causing me to look over at her again, "Come on Adam, it's less than two hours away," she says trying to convince me. She's cute when she's pleading, her eyes get puppy dog-ish and her lips form a small pout.
She's going to win so I might as well give in now, "Alright, just let me text Becky to cancel." This could actually be really fun, a spontaneous trip with a girl I like and no one around to ruin it.
"Already did," Bianca says waving my phone with a victorious smile on her face. How did she get that out of my pocket?
"Oh, so you just knew I'd go along with this?" I ask.
"Yup," she says confidently and hands me my phone back.
…..
Bianca's POV
It was surprisingly easy to convince Adam to spend the day with me. Even though he acts reluctant, I know he's just as happy about this as I am, I can see it on his face. He looks relaxed and content, sometimes I catch him glancing over at me and I smile back.
"If we're going to do a road trip, we're going to need snacks," Adam says pulling off into a gas station. "I need to fill up the tank. You want to get the food?" Adam asks, taking out $20 and handing it to me.
"Sure, want anything in particular?" I ask, taking the money.
"Nah, just get what you like," Adam says.
"Okay," I say turning around to head into the convenience store. I walk down the aisles grabbing a bag of skittles, lays potato chips, pretzels, white cheddar popcorn, and two 32 ounce cokes.
"That'll be $18.92," the man behind the cash register says. I hand over the money, take the change, and walk back to the car. Adam is already in the driver seat waiting. He starts the car, turns up the radio, and pulls onto the freeway.
We're cruising fast, windows rolled down, and Adam's singing along with a song on the radio that I've never heard before,
"She's cold and she's cruel
But she knows what she's doin'
She pushed me in the pool
At our last school reunion
She laughs at my dreams
But I dream about her laughter
Strange as it seems
She's the one I'm after,"
He takes a handful of popcorn and stops singing long enough to chew the food in his mouth. He finishes eating in time to join in for the second chorus,
"'cause she's bittersweet
She knocks me off of my feet
And I can't help myself
I don't want anyone else
She's a mystery
She's too much for me
But I keep comin' back for more
She's just the girl I'm lookin' for," (Just the Girl by The Click Five)
The song ends and commercials come on, so Adam turns down the radio. "I didn't know you could sing," I say amused by his performance.
"Everyone can sing," he replies humbly.
"I meant, I didn't know you could sing well," I clarify. He's full of surprises. What else can he do that I don't know about?
"Thanks, when I make it big I'll be sure to send you tickets to my concerts," Adam jokes.
"Front row?" I ask, playing along.
"Of course," he says with a sideways grin.
"And backstage passes?" I ask.
"For you, anything," Adam promises. Anything? I like the sound of that. I love this moment we're having in the car, it's simple and easy imagining Adam and I in the future, even if it is farfetched. Whether he's famous or not, successful or mediocre, rich or poor, I want to be there for him, with him. Weird, that sounded too much like wedding vows.
Adam reaches into the bag of skittles and tosses a green skittle into the air, catching it in his mouth. "How'd you do that?" I ask sounding impressed, especially because he managed that while driving.
"Easy," he says demonstrating again.
"Show off," I say, picking up a skittle and trying myself. The skittle fell and bounced off my cheek which caused Adam to stifle a laugh. "Hey, don't laugh at me," I say while gently punching him in the shoulder.
"I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at the skittle," he says still chuckling. I cross my arms and glare at him, I'm not really mad but he doesn't know that. He looks over at me and I raise an eyebrow at him, daring him to laugh again. He doesn't seem to notice my attempt at an angry face, "Here, let me teach you," Adam says grabbing another skittle, "The key is to keep your eyes on the skittle," and he tosses the skittle in the air and catches it effortlessly, "See?" He says chewing.
"Right, I can do that," I say trying and failing again, this time with the skittle bouncing off my chin, "Your advice didn't work," I say fake pouting.
"Open your mouth more," Adam suggests.
"Third times the charm," I say tossing another skittle in the air and finally catching it in my mouth, "Yes! I did it!" I say enthusiastically.
"Awesome!" Adam says holding his hand up for a high five. I slap his hand but instead of pulling away his hand wraps around mine, and we're doing a hand-hug type of thing. His hand feels calloused and warm, and as awkward as this should be, it feels comforting. After a second he let's go, which in my opinion is too soon, and smiles at me, "I guess I'm a pretty sweet teacher," he says boasting.
"You're alright," I say with a playful wink.
After another 30 minutes, some playful skittle throwing, and one bathroom break, we finally arrive at Niagara Falls and it looks as breathtaking as I thought it would.
We both get out of the car and walk toward the viewing point. It looks unbelievable, with a serene plateau on the top and a white wall of water crashing down at the bottom. I can hear the tides churning at the bottom from the constant pounding coming from the water above. A light breeze blows by and I feel mist hitting me from the falls, cool and refreshing. I look over at Adam and he looks just as amazed as I do, with his mouth slightly gaping. Taking in the moment, we stand there for a few minutes just gazing at the falls.
Adam speaks first, "This is… Wow, this is…"
"Yeah," I say, understanding his sentiment. There are probably many words to describe the falls, but I am not a poet and neither is Adam. He looks over and smiles. This is an incredible sight, and I couldn't be happier that I'm sharing this moment with Adam. "Come on, let's get a picture together" I say tugging on his hand, "I want to remember this moment" I say arranging us in front of the falls and pulling out my iPhone.
"Here let me take that for you," a stranger offers. I hand him my phone and step back next to Adam. Adam casually puts his arm around my shoulder and pulls me a little closer.
"Cheese," the stranger says, taking a few pictures and handing my phone back to me.
"Thanks," Adam says politely. The stranger gives us a friendly smile and walks away toward a group of people. "How'd they turn out?" Adam asks.
I flip through the pictures. The first one is nice, with Adam and I both smiling and the falls perfectly behind us on the right. In the second one, Adam has his hand above my head holding up bunny ears and he's sticking his tongue out. What a goof. In the last one Adam isn't looking at the camera, instead he's looking down at me, his smile still evident. I find myself smiling while looking at the picture, this one is definitely my favorite. "They turned out good," I say while sliding my phone back into my pocket.
"You're not going to show me?" Adam complains.
"Maybe later," I respond, "Oh and real funny with the bunny ears," I say smacking him in the stomach.
He laughs, "Ouch," he says pretending to be hurt after I hit him, "Note to self, Bianca doesn't like bunny ears," he jokingly says to himself. I just roll my eyes.
"So now that we're here, what do you want to do?" I ask. I hadn't really thought that part through when I suggested this trip but there has to be plenty to do around here.
"Want to take a tour? Maybe get a closer look at the falls?" Adam suggests.
"Yeah, let's do it," I say. I reach down and grab Adam's hand, pulling him along behind me as we walk toward the visitors building. We enter the building and I reluctantly drop his hand as we approach the front desk.
"How can I help you today?" Asks the perky receptionist behind the counter.
"We'd like two tickets for a boat tour," Adam answers.
"Would that be for 12:30 or 1:45?" The lady asks.
"What time is it now?" I ask.
"Its 12:05," the woman says, "It's a bit of a hike down to the docks but if you leave now you could make the 12:30."
Adam looks at me, letting me choose, "12:30 works," I decide.
"Great," the woman says turning her attention to her computer screen and typing away, "That'll be $68."
I reach into my purse to fish out my wallet but Adam stops me, "My treat Bee," he says handing his credit card over to the woman.
"I can pay you back," I say not entirely comfortable that he just paid for my ticket. Buying me little things is one thing but letting him pay for something expensive seems a little gold digger-ish of me.
"Don't worry about it," he says brushing off my offer, "You can pay for our next road trip." I bite my lip to prevent a huge smile from spilling onto my face. I absolutely love that he wants there to be another trip, just the two of us.
A/N: I don't know if I'm supposed to say this or not, but I don't own the song and it's contents belong to the band etc. Also, review please! Where do u want to/see this going.