Fix me

Chapter 16

Song on the side of the song on the radio mentioned..........................................................................................................................  

Chapter 16

It turned out, Hunter, in fact, did know how to drive the Buick. And, just as he had promised, it drove perfectly. The inside of the vehicle looked like it had never left the 60's. The cream colored leather seats were surprisingly comfortable, and there was a lot of room for me to stretch my feet. The steering wheel, big and thin, seemed like an extension of Hunter's arm by the smooth way he controlled it. I barley recognized the all the gauges and controls of the vehicle, they were so different than what I was used to. The low console made it so that we were sitting abnormally close, nothing in between to separate us.  

At first, we began to talk about small, harmless subjects. The chemistry project, how Hunter's family were doing, his basketball games (he had one this Friday and had asked me to come).  However, after he hit the I-53, silence surrounded us, the things we wanted to say, but couldn't, hovering in the air between us. This kiss was included in those unspoken words, weighing heavily on both of us. It was as if it was a thin line attaching us together, and soon, it would snap.

I realized then that I had no idea where we were going. And I didn't care. It was a Monday afternoon, a school night nonetheless, and I was in a car with a boy driving somewhere unknown without my dad knowing. Before I could stop myself, I began to smile, and then that smile turned into a grin, which turned into a full out laugh.

Hunter looked at me as if I had gone nuts, but I didn't care. For once, I was doing something incredibly, unbelievably, normal. A teenage girl out with a boy. It was so simple yet so astonishing.

"What is it?" Hunter asked, but I just smiled and shook my head, knowing he wouldn't understand. Or maybe he would. Either way, I rolled down my window and let the wind kiss my face, blowing my hair behind me, tangling it. I threw my head back and closed my eyes. Maybe I was crazy. Maybe I had finally crossed that thin line between sanity and insanity, but, at that moment, I didn't care. I welcomed it.

The sudden blare of the radio startled me, but I didn't let it show. I listened to Hunter fiddle with the stations and finally settled on a Keane song. The lyrics flowed around me until I was almost swimming in them. I felt fingers curl around mine until they were entwined, making my heart race. And, right then, Jeremy, my mother, Vanessa, school, my dad, everything disappeared and I was just . . . here. And Hunter was with me. And that was all that mattered.

I moved the muscles in my fingers, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. He returned it, starting to sing along with the radio in a low hum, his voice vibrating around the car. I opened my eyes and looked at him. His eyes were focused on the road, his lips moving in time with the lyrics. He was beautiful in a relaxing sort of way, one hand resting on the top of the steering wheel, his figure leaning back with his head titled. His jaw was square and muscular and I wanted to run my fingers along it. His shirt was flying against his chest from the wind, ruffling and showing the contours of his body.

His thumb caressed the side of my hand, making goose bumps run up my arms. I shivered and he looked over at me. When our eyes met, he stopped singing and his lips lifted slightly at the corners, smiling in a way I have never seen before. His eyes sparkled and his hair was wild. He released my hand and brought his up to my face, brushing my cheek with the back of his fingers.

He didn't say anything and neither did I. It was one of those times where no words were needed. Where everything hung in the air between us, unspoken, but heard. It couldn't have been for more than 4 seconds, but it might as well have been a lifetime for all I had seen passing through those chocolate eyes.