The Story Of Us

Ch 2 - Drive-In

“Why, won’t this stupid blanket lay flat?!”  I had been crawling around the back of Caleb’s truck for 15 minutes trying to make it into a half decent bed. So far, not working.

“No wonder they call you Madonna, it doesn’t have to be perfect Sarah.” Colin gave me one of those watery grins; I could tell he’d been drinking again.

“If you can make it look any better, you fix it!” I shot him a glare and stomped off towards the snack shack.  As soon as I opened the door I was engulfed by the smell of greasy French fries and popcorn; tonight would be awesome.  I found Caleb at the candy counter trying to decide between a jumbo bag of skittles or M&Ms.

                “Staring absently at too bags of processed sugar isn’t healthy.” I leaned on the counter beside him.

                He smiled up at me and held out the bags. “I can never decide,” he says holding them out helplessly, and I tried not to laugh.

“Tell ya what,” I say with what I hoped was a serious expression. “I’ll get the M&Ms, and you take the skittles.” I take the bag. “Then when we get sick of them, we’ll switch.”

He nods and takes the bag from me. “Okay, but I’ll buy them for you don’t worry.” And he walks to the cash register.  I smile and walk back into the chilly night; I swear I will never understand that boy’s mind.

I walk back down the hill and find the blanket lying perfectly in the back of the old pickup truck; I sigh and sit on the edge of the tailgate with Kelcie.

“Where’d Colin go?” I ask.

She gestures to the car a few feet away from us, and there’s Colin helping a little boy put his lawn chair together.  “Trying to make the world a better place, starting with the children of tomorrow.” She says in her best Colin impersonation.

I laugh and nudge her with my elbow, “you should be a comedian.”

She jumps down, and attempts to curtsy, “thank you, thank you, I’ll be here all night.”  We lose our selves in laughter until the guys walk up to the truck.

“What’s so funny?” Colin inquires.

“Just you, sweetie.” Kelcie pats him on the head. I can tell he’s confused but he says nothing. Caleb tosses me my M&M bag and we all climb into the back of the truck just as the opening previews start.

Kelcie sat beside me in the middle, with Colin on her right, and Caleb on my left. It was unusually cold for June, and I rubbed my arms to rid them of the goose bumps forming.

“I’m freezing!” I complained in the darkness.

“Shhhhh!” Colin hissed, “The movie is starting.”

“Come here, Sarah.” Caleb whispered, I could faintly see the outline of his open arms. I snuggled into his side and he draped his arm around me.

I sighed into his warmth. “Thanks Caleb.”

“Mhmm.” He mumbled and rested his chin on my head.

He was so warm, and I was grateful. But I couldn’t shake this feeling I got deep in my chest, I wasn’t sure what it was, but it was like this longing to be closer to him. I knew I should pull away, I mean this was Caleb. But I didn’t even make it through the opening credits, before I fell asleep breathing in his scent.

Kelcie’s POV

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 I move uncomfortably in the back of the truck, and struggle to free myself from underneath the huge duvet. All I can hear if the faint sound of Sarah’s snoring in my ear.

“Here, let me help.” Colin fumbles with the blanket for a moment and finally we both escape from underneath its weight. We hop out of the truck and Colin stumbles into the side.

“Why’d you start drinking again?” I wonder out loud as I catch his arm, to stop him from falling.

He looks at me confused, “What are you talking about? I haven’t drank in 3 months.”

“Then why are you stumbling and slurring your words?” I inquire.

“Bad cough medicine.” He states matter-of-factly.

I sigh and shake my head. “Colin, nobody’s perfect.  You don’t have to lie to me just because you messed up this once. I’m your friend, and I wanna help. But you gotta let me.”

He smiles at me and pulls something out of his pocket. “I appreciate the concern Kels, but I’m serious. I had an allergic reaction to some cough medicine and the Dr. Gave me something to reverse it, but it has some goofy side effects that come and go.”  He hands me his hospital bracelet, and it was indeed issued for earlier today.

Oops.

“Oh.” I say, “Sorry.”

He smiles again. “Not a problem, it’s nice to know someone cares.”

I smile back. “Of course I care! Wait, then why’d you come if you’re really sick?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “So I could see you.”

“Oh.” Very intelligent response Kelcie. Good job, just great. I rub my arms absently trying to think of something to say.

“Are you cold?” He asks putting his arm around me. “We could go back under the blanket.”

I glance over to the bed of the truck, Caleb still had Sarah clutched in his arms, and they were both fast asleep. Interesting. I couldn’t help but wonder what was actually going on between those two all of the sudden. Or maybe it wasn’t that sudden, maybe none of us noticed it before. I shake my head and look away. “No, I don’t wanna wake those two up.”

He nods and guides me toward the front of the truck. “Sit in the cab with me then? ˝ I hesitate and he pretends to pout.  ̋Pleeeease? ˝ I laugh and get into the passenger side of the cab.

We sit in silence for what seems like forever and I glance over at him.  ̋You know you have to turn the truck on to get any heat right? ˝

˝Oh, right. ˝ He fumbles with the keys and finally starts the engine. Heat blasts from every vent, and I shiver at the sudden temperature change. I reach over and turn the radio on, and Thompson Square begins playing softly through the truck.

˝Aw, ˝ I smile.  ˝I love this song! ˝

˝Really?   ̋

I nod and begin singing along with the radio.

̋Oh, but you were so shy, and so was I, maybe that’s why it was so hard to believe,

When you smiled and said to me, are you gonna kiss me or not?

Are we gonna do this or what?

I think you know I like you a lot, but you’re about to miss your shot.

Are you gonna kiss me or not... ˝

At that moment I opened my eyes to see Colin only centimetres away from me; slowly he bent his head forward, and kissed me gently. When I didn’t pull away he kissed me long and hard, and when I came up for air I was dizzy and confused.

Collin just kissed me.

I kissed him back.

I kissed Collin. COLLIN!

I glanced up at Collin he had a faint smile on his lips, the lips I just kissed, and I swear his eyes were dancing. ˝Umm, I, uh... ˝ I stammer stupidly, and I wondered what my expression looked like to him.

˝Shh, ̋ he says.  ̋Lets not talk about it right now, let’s just go with the flow.˝ He holds his arm out, to this day I’ll never understand why I gave in so easily, and I cuddle into his side.

We just sit there silently. I was surprised it wasn’t awkward, it was oddly comfortable. I stared straight into the night and tried to drown out the sound of the Hollywood screams coming from the movie behind us.  The last thing I remember before my world faded to black was the steady sound of Collins breathing.