She looks at me and nods. “That’s an understatement.”
“You think they came around just to check up on you?”
She gives me a knowing look. “Sure they did. And now I’m walking a fine line, failing their first spot check.
I turn off the highway and head up the street, to a cute little bistro restaurant, with little shimmery lights lining the ceiling and fascia of an outdoor patio. “I hope you’re hungry.” He says to me.
“I’m not starving yet. Why?”
“Well, I was out here the other day, because there’s this RC car store up the street, and I…um…found a little something just up the road there.” He gestures with his chin.
“You’re into RC cars? What kind?”
“All kinds, actually. Drives the horses nuts back at home.” He chuckles. “I brought my favorite one here with me, though. You remember the eighties cartoon Scooby-Doo?”
I smile at him. Could he be any more adorable? “I do.”
“I have a replica of the Mystery Machine. It’s kick ass. I run it up and down the hallways in the dorm late at night. I think my dorm mates think the building’s haunted or something.”
I have to laugh. “You are something, Gunner.”
“You want to see the little hidden gem up the street before we go to dinner?”
“Sure.” My face is alight.
“You mind if we switch places? This I gotta be in the driver’s seat for.”
“Absolutely.”
He high fives me as we switch spots, and I can’t help but smile. The muscles in my face actually hurt I’ve been smiling so much. He gets into the driver’s seat and adjusts it, while my face turns pink with embarrassment. I’m so short it’s insane. And Gunner is over six feet tall. “You ready?” he asks, lifting his brows, eyes dancing.
“I am.” I smile and nod, feeling butterflies in my stomach.
We drive further up the street, then turn a few times, and then I see a long, winding road, that disappears in certain places, and I realize what he’s going to do. He hits the gas and we start flying, going over tall hills and gunning it down the other side, feeling our stomachs rise and fall. We’re both shouting, howling and laughing, as we ride the hills in his big truck, with fantastic shocks that absorb the tiny bumps on this mostly smooth stretch of roadway.
He slows down once we get to a more level spot. “You having fun?”
“I am having the time of my life.” I say and mean it.
“Well, riding the hills is much more fun with the right music. You like heavier stuff?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever listened to it, but I’ll try.”
He selects a song and turns it up, before going back, hitting the hills again, and he’s absolutely right, the music adds to it entirely. “What is this?” I shout over the din.
“Van Halen. The song is called ‘Humans Being’.” He answers. “It’s awesome, isn’t it!”
“I love it!” I shout. He smiles, as we keep riding the hills, going back and forth. When the song changes, I look at him. “What is this one?”
“Metallica. Enter Sandman.”
I laugh, impressed. “It’s awesome, too.”
“You like the harder stuff, huh?”
“I do now.”
“I’ve converted you.” He says, grasping my hand briefly, and I look at him, realizing that I have feelings that are more than friendship for Gunner. His eyes shine in the daylight, and his curls poke out from under his hat, and I’m dying to see what he looks like without his hat on. He took it off for a brief moment when he introduced himself to mama and daddy, but I was too freaked out to get a good look at him, before he put it back on.
