Infinity and Beyond

14 - Make It Count

Emily

There could have been a better start to the next day. I woke up to Ashton kicking me as he fidgeted and when I nudged him in protest he moaned at me for waking him up. Once he'd got over his annoyance and I was still holding onto mine we got dressed and headed off somewhere to find breakfast. After this we had the last two hour drive before we got to Cairns which wouldn't usually be my preferred thing to do first thing in the morning, especially when we were too tired to have any of the fun we did the day before. Ashton was driving again and I was staring out the window with my head pressed against it, trying not to fall asleep and wincing whenever we hit a bump and my head slammed against the glass. But at least it gave me the chance to let go of my irritation towards my rude awakening that morning, rather than doing my usual of holding onto a grudge for hours until Ashton finally asked what he'd done, laughed when I explained and then apologised.

By the time we finished the drive, though, we were in much lighter spirits and both feeling much more awake. We walked around the town for a little while at first, to stretch our legs and get some fresh air, and wound up in a small, quaint cafe.

"I'm just gonna head to the loo, can you get a table?" I requested to Ashton when we walked in and decided to stay for a drink (and no doubt slice of cake). He nodded so I let go of his hand and headed off in the direction the toilets were. When I came back he was sat at a table for two by the window, reading down a small laminated menu.

"Find anything nice?" I asked him as I sat down in the chair opposite.

"They have Reese's pieces milkshake," he told me in disbelief. "Can you believe that? Reese's pieces. In milkshake form. It's like...that's the work of a genius."

"I don't know what you class as a genius, but I don't think it takes one to put some chocolate in a blender with milk and ice cream," I chuckled. "I'm not sure I've ever really had Reese's pieces before."

"You haven't?" he remarked in shock and I shook my head. "Well then today's your lucky day, because you're going to try some in a milkshake." He put his hand up to catch the attention of a passing waitress and ordered one with two straws. When it came only a few minutes later he passed it straight to me to take a few sips. I did so and, with his eyes watching me intently, I purposely took my time making a judgement.

"So? Do you like it?" he asked when his patience had run out. I pretended to be lost in thought then picked up a menu and inspected it before standing up and walking over to the counter. When I returned Ashton raised his eyebrows to question me again. "Well?"

"I think I'm gonna have a mint Aero milkshake instead," I answered simply.

"What? You don't like it?" he gasped as if I'd just committed a crime.

"No, I do, it's just...I don't know, kind of sickly? Like, there's no way I can drink half of that. It's too much. But I'm not objected to it," I explained and he seemed to consider it like he was debating if it was a valid reason. He shrugged, though, and carried on sipping it through his own straw, so I guessed it was. I took sips from it too while I waited for my own to come, although Ashton objected to this somewhat strongly.

"Hey, you ordered your own! You don't need to drink anymore of mine," he complained, though he did so with a giggle.

"But mine isn't here yet, and besides, you can have some of it," I promised him and he smiled and nodded. With one hand he took hold of mine across the table, and with the other he pulled his phone out his pocket and started taking photos of me.

"Smile!" he encouraged me as I gave him a blank, unimpressed look.

"Why are you even taking photos of me? There's nothing interesting happening right now," I said.