Bittersweet | Simon Riley

TWENTY THREE

Belle stared at Ghost from the passenger seat as he drove down the roads of the local civilian town. She had been perfectly fine with going to the mess hall and grabbing some of the generic breakfast which they served the soldiers every morning, but Ghost had insisted on going out. And on driving. She shifted a little in the seat, slouched in an attempt to hide her slight terror at his driving skills as he once again got far too close to the car in front of them for her comfort.

"You look like you're going to throw up." Ghost commented with a little smile, his one hand on the wheel, the other resting on the center counsel as he drove. Belle gave him a short glare as he turned his head to look at her. She wanted his eyes on the road, not her. "Come on, it's red." He pointed out, the light not turning yet but Belle still gave him a look.

"How does a man like you not know how to drive?" She asked with a huff, feeling less then safe in her passenger seat. She's heard of passenger princess's before, but she felt more like a passenger prisoner with the way that Ghost was driving. In truth, he wasn't a terrible driver, but Belle liked to be a safe driver at all costs. Meanwhile, Ghost seemingly liked to drive as if he was constantly in a high speed chase, and he kept looking at her instead of the road in front of them.

"I do know how to drive." Ghost scoffed slightly but his eyes crinkled a bit to show his clear amusement at how she was acting. For her sake, he turned his attention back to the road as the light turned green and the cars started to move. He checked over his shoulder once more before shifting lanes, not liking how slow the driver in front of them was going despite the car going the marked speed limit. Belle gave him a side eye, letting him know she did not believe in his driving abilities. "I have never crashed before." He said in a lame attempt to reassure her even though he was having a fun time watching her little movements in the passenger seat whenever he got too close to another car or the curb for her liking.

"I don't believe that." Belle grumbled as she pulled on her seatbelt as if to make sure it was secure across her chest.

Ghost rolled his eyes, shifting the gears as he continued to drive down the street, weaving between the cars. Even if she didn't trust his driving abilities, he did. He'd been driving nearly all his life, and he had also driven much larger and more dangerous military vehicles. The truck he was driving was far more stable than any of those vehicles by far. "Maybe when I was a teen but," He recalled the one or two times that he had crashed in his youth but shrugged those times off.

Belle sucked in a deep breath as Ghost took a turn, taking them off the far busier street to a side street which had less traffic. She gave him a little glare at how fast he'd taken the turn. "Please use your breaks better." She told him, watching as he navigated around a truck which was parked on the side of the street. She had no idea where they were, but Ghost seemed to know the way from memory as he easily navigated the neighborhood streets.

"Don't backseat drive me." Ghost said with a little amused chuckle, glancing over at her again.

"It's passenger seat driving." Belle corrected him with a little glare as he didn't stop fully at the stop sign which was posted. She stared at him and Ghost rolled his eyes, making the truck completely stop and dramatically checking both ways. The car behind them beeped but Ghost was having too much fun terrorizing her with his driving skills.

"Don't be a smart ass." He laughed a little, taking his boot off the brake again so they could start moving again. Belle glanced out the window to the street, seeing the shops which were lining the street. It was clear they were in some sort of shopping section of whatever local town the base was nearby. Belle didn't even know that there was a shopping district close by, but she had also spent significantly less time at the base then any of the other task force members.

"You're in a good mood." Belle pointed out and Ghost shrugged as he made his way down the street, slowing to the proper speed limit because he didn't want to hit any of the shoppers who were attempting to cross the street.

"It's nice to get off base." Ghost stated as he turned on his blinker, much to Belle's relief and turned into a parking lot. She glanced at the cars which were all parked, not surprised to find that most of the cars were older models and beaten by the weather which was constantly rolling through this part of the country. It was one of the main reasons that she didn't try to buy a car, that alongside the fact that she rarely ever left the base since everything she needed was local.

"Not if I meet an untimely death." Belle commented, a little surprised by how pact the parking lot was as Ghost went down the different aisles. She glanced at the little brick building which didn't seem big enough for this many people but kept her mouth shut as Ghost searched for a parking space that would fit his truck.

"I'm not going to kill you." He chuckled, finding a spot a few rows back and pulling into it. He quickly checked to make sure he was in the lines before moving his attention back to the annoyed looking girl in his passenger seat. He had to try very hard not to let a smile cross his face at her lack of joy. "Don't look at me like that." Ghost chuckled despite his attempt to keep himself sounding neutral. She continued to give him a look, not bothering to hide her dislike of his driving skills. "We're here. And you didn't die, you should be happy." He chuckled as he opened his door, getting out of the truck and being met with the chilly autumn air.

Belle climbed out of the truck, making sure her sweatshirt was wrapped warmly around her as her boots hit the muddy ground. She gave Ghost a little look at the unpaved parking lot and Ghost shrugged in response, nodding towards the door as a way of telling her to hurry up. She shut the door and moved across the ground to stand by his side before they started walking. "I'm going to start telling people that you kidnapped me." Belle informed Ghost who scoffed a little at the idea of her even doing so.

"Don't." He chuckled, already thinking about how poorly that could end. It wasn't exactly something hard to believe with how much of a physical strength imbalance there was between the two of them. The walked up the steps and Belle made sure to stomp the excess mud off her boots, looking expectantly for Ghost to do the same thing. He rolled his eyes but did it, just to make her happy. "They'll believe you." He said and pulled the door open, his hand finding her back as she passed by him. He easily guided her through the doorway and towards the hostess stand where a waitress was standing. "Just the two of us." Ghost said with a little nod and the hostess wrote something before looking back up.

"Follow me." She instructed and Ghost gave Belle a gentle push so she could follow after the waitress first. Belle glanced over her shoulder as they walked through the already filled tables where families had clearly come to get breakfast for the day due to the fact that it was the weekend, so kids weren't in school.

"I'm going to tell her." Belle whispered to Ghost who gave her a look, his hand going back to waist to keep her moving after the waitress who was leading them to an open booth across the diner. She gave him a little grin and Ghost leaned close.

"Please don't." Ghost whispered, his breath hot on her skin and Belle ignored how the closeness made her shiver slightly.

"I should." Belle recovered quickly, whispering back again as the waitress waved off another table who was clearly trying to get her attention. They reached the table, and Belle was quick to slip into the seat, Ghost moving to the other side across from her, his hands resting on the table. "It would be funny." She stated and Ghost raised his eyebrows a little.

"I wouldn't find it funny." Ghost pointed out and Belle shrugged a little. She didn't get the chance to respond to that as the waitress dropped two menus on the table, clicking her pen open and looking at the two.

"Anything to drink?" The woman asked, looking from Belle then to Ghost, clearly having her hands full of how busy the little diner was.

"Water please." Belle said, trying to make the waitress's job easy. She scribbled that down before looking to Ghost.

"Tea." Ghost nodded.

"Tea?" Belle repeated with a little scoff, clearly amused as the waitress walked off to go grab their drinks.

"I'm ignoring you." Ghost informed Belle as he picked up the menu, flipping it to a random page so he wouldn't have to listen to her make fun of him for ordering the most basic thing ever. As if ordering a water wasn't nearly as bad, just as simple and basic.

"You're no fun." Belle laughed a little, grabbing her menu and opening it as well to try and find something to eat.