Can't Afford Mistakes.

Chapter Twenty-one

**THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SEXUAL CONTENT, READ DISCRETION IS ADVISED**

Arabella.

Trees and houses blur as we pass. My mind travels back to this morning in the bathroom. Shivers rush down my spine as I think of my parents voices. Brett must've taken notice of my state because he turns down the music and takes my hand.

"A penny for your thoughts," Brett says as he brings the back of my hand to his lips.

I look over at Brett with a faint smile. His dirty blonde hair flies in the wind. I glance down at our hands. Brett's long fingers intertwine with my small ones perfectly. I look back to the trees and rest my head against the window.  

"I'm just thining about how much everything has changed in the span of four days," I say with an exhausted sigh.

"All for the better right," Brett asks never taking his eyes off the road.

"Mostly," I say rolling my head to face him,

"Well we're not going to worry about anything today, okay," Brett says looking at me before sending me a wink that makes me smile. 

"Okay," I smile turning the music back up. 

Logic comes through the car speakers as I look back towards the woods. We ride in a comfortable silence for hours until I finally question where we're going.

"Somewhere you've never been," Brett says with a devilish smirk on his face.

"Oh lord," I mumble under my breath.

"Heard that," Brett says never taking his eyes off the road.

I turn my head towards Brett and smile. I look back out the window and watch as the tall oak trees start to disappear and become replaced with equally tall pine trees. I look at the time on the center console and see it's already 2 in the afternoon.

"We've been on the road for over 3 hours. Can we stop and get something to eat," I beg as my stomach growls.

"Sure, but we're almost to where we're staying," Brett says as he signals to turn off the interstate. Brett rolls down the windows. A sea salt smell floods into my nostrils.

"It's so weird how there's only pine trees here," I say a little more to myself than to Brett.

"That tends to happen when you get close to The ocean, Arabella," Brett says as if it was obvious.

"Brett, you did not," I say in disbelief and excitement.

"Shit," he says with disappointment on his face, "I gave it away."

I unbuckle my seat belt to lean out the window. The salty air pours into my lungs as I inhale. I close my eyes as I try to memorize the feelings of the wind blowing through my hair and the smell of the sea salt. I'm pulled back to reality when Brett pulls me back into the vehicle by my belt.

"I get that you're exited," Brett says calmly, "but I don't want to get a ticket."

"Right," I respond as I buckle my seat belt.

We ride in silence for a while longer until Brett pulls into a small gravel driveway. The horses across the street become smaller in the rearview mirror until they're tiny dots. The future we travel down the driveway, the vegetation becomes less dense until there are sand dunes aurrounding us.

"You're quite, why," Brett ask as he takes his eyes off the road.

"It is mind blowing to me that just within a few miles that the land can change so much," I whisper. I look over at Brett whose turned his attention back to the road ahead of us. A smug look crosses his face and I can't help but laugh to myself. It is amazing how the same person who can get on my every nerve could make me so happy.