Her Road|Book 2|

Day 37|III

We cruised down the streets of Ridgeway, past the now not so floating welcome sign and out of town. I probably should've been worried that we were heading out of town but being next to Harry messed my brain up.

A mixture of Willow Smith, Cannons, the Weeknd and Chase Atlantic played as we drove in his lime Ford hatch. It wasn't as dramatic as the Demon but I actually liked that he brought his own car. I had never been in it and the fact that Annabeth, our friends and Jessica had been was a little annoyance of mine.

We sat in comfortable silence but I couldn't help but glance at him. He seemed different, confident even. Maybe something had changed.

I was surprised the road was so busy too. It wasn't big city traffic, mind you, but there was constantly a car in sight. A lot for back country. The glint of headlights behind us as we drove.

"I was worried you'd be afraid of me." His voice pierced the music. My heart momentarily stopped as I turned my body to face him. He peered down at me.

"How do you always know what I'm thinking? Huh?" If he wasn't driving, I'd make him kiss me. How'd he know my exact insecurity?

His eyes caught mine as he smiled. "Maybe we just think alike. Ever thought about that?"

Then his face completely turned towards me, away from the road. I couldn't help but take in everything. His eyes, nose, lips, jaw, hair. I really missed him. I was glad he was okay.

"Should I be worried you're taking me out of town?" I returned my gaze to his eyes, looking up to them. I had a sudden flashback to a Tiktok about doe eyes.

His eyes returned to the road but he shifted slightly in his seat. "You'll see. It's a surprise."

Almost an hour since we left Annabeth's, the glow of another filled the night sky. I had trouble guessing what exactly we were driving to but I could guess this was it.

"What is this place?" I asked as he turned down the road leading to it.

Massive things that suspiciously looked like stands ran for what looked like miles. A black tripod sort of building stood at the closest end with a row of windows piercing near the top. Near the bottom two massive gaping squares led to someplace I couldn't see. All around the building was parking for hundreds of cars. I wasn't an expert on cars unfortunately but I could see jdm, muscle, pickups with trailers and cars like Harry's. Even behind us, cars followed to pull in.

I had an idea of what the place was but it was confirmed when I saw two straight lines of cars, some with chutes on the trunk.

I turned to Harry who was already watching me. "Is this a drag strip?"

He nodded and then came around to help me out. It definitely wasn't what I was expecting. Then again, I wasn't expecting a date with Harry and even if I went on a date with him, I wasn't expecting a normal place like a restaurant. Still, I felt uneasy as I looked around. People of all ages including some from the cars that pulled in with us miled around. Occasionally, individual roars would light up the night, the sound of cars racing down the strip.

Drag strips were my brother's thing. He would hog the TV and watch those shows of classic cars street racing. It looked interesting but I never took much interest in it. Until now.

"Let's get something to eat before we do anything." Harry's hand wrapped around mine and dragged me along. My eyes stared down at our hands, the simple gesture completely alien to the profile I built for Harry.

He pulled me to the dozens of food trucks. "You hungry?"

Harry bought everything that I wanted and more. I'm talking corndogs, hotdogs, popcorn, sweets of every kind and two massive cups of sodas of our choice. I didn't understand how Harry was just giving money indiscriminately but it was almost like he wasn't paying the full amount. A few times I actually caught the price for certain things, I knew he wasn't giving that amount but he just kept on handing me stuff until both our arms were full. The owners behind the counters smiled.