Were's the Love?

Chapter 36: Tasting the Wind and Going to Neverland

"Where are we going, Allison?" Jason asks, jumping in his seat as turns his attention from the car window to me.

"It's a surprise," I chuckle and adjust my grip on the steering wheel.

This is the first time I've actually driven with Jason in the car and, I have to admit, I am not disappointed with Jason's reactions. We've only been on the road for about twenty minutes, but he's pointed out at least a dozen different things outside and I'm pretty sure he's one step away from rolling down the window, sticking his head out, and tasting the 70 mile per hour wind whipping by us.

Which would be as stupid as it would be hilarious.

It's freezing out and the last thing I need is for Jason to get sick on his birthday. I have special plans for us today and that is not one of them. Even if watching him hang his head out the window with his tongue flapping around in the wind would be amusing.

I know. I'm thinking of him as too much of a dog, but that's exactly what he's acting like. From the moment I grabbed the keys and told him to get in the car, he's been jumping around like an excited puppy. It's ridiculous, yet kind of cute that he's so easily thrilled by things like a short road trip to an undisclosed location. At least I know I don't have to do anything spectacular to make him happy. Just offer him a ride in the car somewhere and he'll be smiling like a little kid with an ice cream cone.

"Look!" Jason yelps, his finger pressed against the glass as some old car drives by, "It's a 1973 AMC Javelin! Isn't it beautiful?"

"It's nice," I smile, "I didn't know you knew anything about classic cars."

"Oh, yeah!" He grins, "My grandpa Frank, my dad's dad, was a mechanic. After he sold his garage and retired, he started buying old, beat-up cars and fixed them up. I helped him a few times in high school and he taught me a lot about classic cars. It was great! He actually had a car exactly like the one that just passed us, but it was metallic blue instead of red! That's why I recognized it."

"That's nice."

The rest of the drive is fairly quiet, aside from Jason's outbursts whenever he spots something he thinks is interesting. It's weird. A few months ago, his random ramblings would have annoyed the shit out of me, but now I find it kind of sweet. He's such an excitable person and, every time he notices something, his excitement rubs off on me.

Not that I'm going to start jumping up and down because some bird just shit on my windshield, but I smile. That's something, right? Before I was with Jason, I didn't do that often. I had a permanent resting bitch face and, honestly, when he's not around, I still do. But, when he's beside me, I can't help myself. All the goofy little things that he does just make me happy.

That's why I wanted to do something special for his birthday. It's the first one we get to spend together and I want to make sure that it's memorable. I don't know how many more we'll have as a couple, but I'm actually hopeful that it's more than two. I realized something over the last two weeks. I like him. I like him a lot and I'm pretty sure that if things continue as they have been, I'm going to fall for him, whether I want to or not.

I knew from the moment I overheard him talking to my parents a couple weeks ago, I had lost. To be honest, I was already losing to him long before that, but it was the proclamation of his undying love for me that really did me in. My stupid instincts were already telling me to accept Jason as my one and only mate and I was having trouble fighting them. I didn't realize it at first because I was too blinded by my dislike of this whole stupid mate drawing and the fact that I didn't get to choose him, but he's a really great guy. He's nothing like any of the other men that I've been with and that's a good thing. Those guys were assholes.