CONSUME

[09] do it better

***

kameron springfield

In silence we were sat as my fingers with short, pink painted fingernails wrapped around the black leather steering wheel of my car. We've been driving for only three of the fifteen minutes it takes to get home, yet I felt as though this vehicle has been going forever. 

Braking at a red traffic light, the warmth of the sun let broken luminosity into the dark colored interior of the car. Yellow and orange hues danced on my brown skin. For a second, I looked to my right, wanting to see how the sun's pigment tinted Axel's skin. 

As suspected, his tan skin had a golden light cast upon it. It blended seamlessly with his natural tone, making him appear as though he were glowing. It was an interesting sight, his blue eyes seeming nearly transparent from the brightness of the hot sun. It's as though the ice in his irises were melting.

"What?" He said, turning his head and feeling my gaze. 

"What?" I said. "I'm checking the mirror." 

"Yeah, okay." He said sarcastically.

"You don't believe me?" I turned my cheek to him with attitude, looking at the cars ahead of me. The light turned green, and so I drove. 

"I didn't say that." He replied. 

"But you sounded like it."

"Well, you heard wrong." 

"I didn't." I pursed my lips that were glazed with lipgloss. "I'm never wrong."

I didn't look, but I felt like Axel might have smiled. As a silence came over the two of us once again, I thought back to my conversation with Noah at lunch earlier. I may as well ask him now, right?

"So..." I began. "I-I... There's this thing over the weekend." I started. Keeping my eyes on the road, I hesitated but still pushed myself to say it. "It's Noah's idea-- It's dumb, really... But..." I pursed my lips, sighing. Why is this so hard for me, and why does it somehow feel like so much more than just an invitation to a trip? "We're doing this camping trip-- or, it's more of a cabin. We're renting a house and stuff, so... Well, Noah wanted me to invite you."

"Me?"

"I-I mean, you and Aidan. And Austin too. Not just you, obviously."

"Right," He chuckled. "Obviously."

I licked my bottom lip, tasting the strawberry makeup on it. "So?"

"So?" He mimicked. 

"So, are you going to come?" 

"Don't know. I'll ask them." He referred to his brothers. That makes sense-- that he'd ask them. I'm not sure why I expected him to have an answer right now. Gosh, I'm really losing my mind. As a typically organized person, I feel as though everything including my speech is disoriented around him lately.

Axel's voice caught me again.

"You're going to the game tonight?" He changed the topic.

I was silent, then replied. "Yeah. With Noah and those other girls." 

He was quiet now, having nothing to say. After a few seconds passed, and then a minute, I spoke again. "Are you going?"