Beer, Spaghetti, and Pharmaceuticals ||COMPLETED||

Eleven

Thanks so much for all the reviews, everyone. <3 Huge thanks to @ElisionEditing, as always, for helping make this story great! :)

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"Do you plan on murdering me, Mark?" Alice asked as she twirled her hair, smiling brightly at Mark. They had just driven past the outskirts of the city, venturing into the endless sea of golden canola fields glowing in the sunset. He smirked down at her, but kept his mouth shut. If she had been on a date with anyone else and they "surprised" her by taking her on a road trip out of the city, she would be terrified for her life.

"I promise I'm not going to murder you," he said. "Too many people know we are together; I would have no alibi. I'd be the number one suspect!"

"Well, I'm thankful I can depend on the law to protect me," she said, giggling back at him. She opened the windows of the truck and breathed in the fresh, clean air. Sure, she loved the city. She loved the fast paced lifestyle, the anonymity, and the endless amounts of late night food...but it was so nice to escape once in a while. To inhale air that wasn't smoggy and to remember that there are natural trees; not the trees in the city that are planted after making specific calculations to maximize their authenticity.

Mark turned up the volume on the radio; a loud, twangy country song panged Alice's ears and she scowled. "Are you ever going to get tired of listening to this garbage?"

"Are you ever going to learn to love it?" Mark asked, flashing his crooked smile. "No, sorry. I should correct that; are you ever going to learn to love it again?"

She stuck out her tongue. "Nope."

"Aww, come on," he said, nudging her shoulder. "I'll never forget you standing at the very front of the rodeo, wearing that red cowgirl hat, singing along to Toby Keith..."

She giggled. "What can I say? I've grown out of that phase of my life."

"That's a shame, because you're going to be hearing a lot more of it from now on," he laughed and turned the volume louder. She sighed and rolled her eyes, but couldn't stop from smiling to herself. Hearing a lot more of it from now on, eh?

"So, seriously, where are you taking me?" she asked, peering at her unfamiliar surroundings. They had already passed all the recognizable landmarks and the city had turned into a distant speck in the distance.

"If I tell you, it'll ruin the surprise," he said. "Don't worry, we are almost there."

She relaxed into her seat and inhaled the combination of dusty work coveralls, woodsy cheap cologne, and skunky weed. While the smell was inherently unappealing, it gave her a nostalgic comfort that gave her a sense of belonging. She craned her neck to observe the back seat and smiled. Way too many good memories took place on those seats...

He turned left onto a gravel range-road and traveled for a few more minutes before stopping. She scrunched her nose at the surroundings. All there was were some trees, a couple hay bales, and a broken picnic table that had been slowly disintegrating from the seasons. He pulled out the keys and hopped out of the truck, quickly running to her side, to open her door and hold out his hand.

"M'lady," he said, bowing his head as he delicately grabbed her hand. She laughed and hopped down the steep jump from the seat to the ground.

"I feel like I'm in a redneck fairy tale," she said with a wink. She didn't let go of his hand. "So...where are we, exactly?"

"You don't remember?"

She frowned and shook her head, hoping she wasn't going to offend him. Thankfully, he simply laughed and pulled her over to one of the oak trees. "Do you remember this?"