driver's license // r.h.

Chapter 9

I woke up to the sound of birds chirping, and slowly sat up. A nice cool breeze hit my face and ran through my hair. I opened my eyes to see the most beautiful sunrise I had ever seen! The sky was still slightly dark, but the sun was just starting to show. The world seemed to be at peace, so I took it all in. A few moments later, Ryan sat up with me and rubbed his eyes. I looked over to see his eyes sparkling from happiness looking at the sky. "Good morning Ry," I said, giving him a big smile.
"Good morning angel," he said laughing. "I guess we fell asleep last night."
I laughed with him, "I guess so, and we fell asleep under the stars!"
"Well waking up to this view was worth it!" he says. "How about I drop you off at your hotel room so you can change and I'll meet you back at the studio and we can get a start on the day?"
"That would be great Ryan!" Together, me and Ryan packed everything up and hiked back down to his car. The sun slowly started to come up more and more colors filled the sky. Once we got in his car, we realised it wasn't even 6:00am yet! I put on a "chill vibe" playlist quietly as we talked about random things.

Once we arrived at the hotel, Ryan parked his car. "Thanks for yesterday and the ride, I had the best time!"
He smiled, "Of course, I had such a great time too!" I smile and get out of the car and he does the same. "I'll walk you in, just to make sure you get to your room okay." My heart literally melted, he is such a gentleman! Ugh, why does he do this to me? We walked to my hotel room hand in hand. I had butterflies the whole way there and could not stop smiling. "Alright, I'll see you in a little bit!" he says walking back down the hall. I closed my hotel door and flopped onto my hotel bed smiling. I replayed in my head everything that happened yesterday up until now. I took a quick shower and changed into some fresh clothes for the day.

I put on my compass necklace like always and slipped on some converse shoes. My makeup was light and my hair was natural with my signature back beanie.I grabbed my stuff and headed out of my hotel room.

As I turned the corner onto the street the studio was on, I saw Ryan by the other corner walking towards the cafe. I sped up my walking and we reached the door at the same time. He grabbed it and smiled, "After you," he said. Gosh, what a gentleman!
"Thanks!" I said walking through the doorway. We arrived at our studio and got to work recording.

After 2 hours it was a little past 8:00 and we finished recording. "Why don't we take a break and get some coffee?" he asks.
"Sure! I need breakfast anyways." We walked out of the studio and down the street to the cafe. The whole way me and Ryan held hands. I was more comfortable with it now, but it still made me so happy. We walked in the door still holding hands, but Ryan quickly dropped mine right after. I looked at his face and it was blank. I looked over to see what he was looking at, and it was just Cassidy at the counter cleaning. She didn't even see us from the angle we were at. Maybe they know each other? Ryan comes here a lot so maybe they are friends? I started walking toward the counter and Ryan followed behind me, giving a little space in between us. What was this about? When we walked over, she saw me first and gave me a huge smile, "Hey Alexis!". She looked at Ryan and blushed hard smiling at him, "Hey Babe!". Babe? BABE? Ryan has a girlfriend? My smile dropped for a few seconds, but I forced it back on, pretending to stare at the menu in the car corner so they couldn't see the tears forming in my eyes. My heart hurt so bad, it was like a stabbing pain. How could he do this to me?
"Hey..." I heard Ryan say weakly, I could feel his eyes on me.
"What can I get you guys today?". She is too nice, of course Ryan was with her. She has a pretty smile, she is always happy, she is so pretty, and she is so polite. I can't compare to her.
"Two large caramel macchiatos please..." Ryan started. I forced a big fake smile on my face, and turned to face her.
"Actually, I'll take a large black coffee today please," I said, cutting him off. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Ryan's shocked expression, which he hid quickly. He knew I always got a caramel macchiato
"Trying something new?" she asked, trying to be nice. I shrugged,
"I just feel like it today. Can I have it to go?" I reached in my wallet when Ryan's hand grabbed my wrist softly. I kept my eyes on my wallet, did he notice his GIRLFRIEND was watching us?
"I'll pay," he says softly.
"No thanks, I can pay on my own. Afterall, I am an independent woman," I said, handing Cassidy a 5 dollar bill. She took it and looked at both of us.
"So...two separate orders?"
"No-" Ryan started
"Yes please," I said louder. She nodded, and gave me my change. I rushed to the girls bathroom quickly so Ryan could not follow me. I locked the door and rested my elbows on the sink. I stared into the mirror and watched two tears trickle down my cheeks. No, you are not going to cry over a guy, I told myself. You are a strong girl Alexis. Now get out there, grab your coffee, and go! I wiped my tears, took a deep breath, and walked out of the bathroom.