I Choose You | ✓

Chapter 20: Out in the Wilderness

S O P H I E   W I L K I N S

"Santa Monica?" I ask with a puzzled expression. "What's in Santa Monica?"

"You'll see," he answers and raises his eyebrows.

"I can't believe I'm missing Friends to go to someplace in Santa Monica," I mutter, crossing my arms across my chest as I lean back into the seat.

"Trust me, Shortcake. You're gonna love it," he assures.

As he switches lanes, In My Blood comes on. I gasp and reach for the dial on the radio to turn the volume up.

"Oh my gosh, I love this song!" I squeal.

"Sometimes I feel like giving up, but I just can't. It isn't in my blood!" I sing loudly along to the radio. I sway back and forth, snapping and dancing to the music.

When the song finishes, I turn the radio down a bit and feel blissful as a big grin is stuck to my face. I sense Andrew's eyes burning holes through me and I turn towards him.

"What?" I frown slightly. Was there something on my face, was my hair messy?

"You have such a beautiful voice, Shortcake." I blush and mumble a thanks. "And you're so cute," he mutters and chuckles as he turns back to face the road. I look away and stare out the window as I feel my cheeks heat up.

The soft lull of the radio fills the silence that hangs in the car before I decide to break it.

"So, are we staying at a hotel?"

"Nope," he replies, popping the p. He turns off the freeway and we enter a neighborhood made up of cozy-looking houses.

"Where are we staying then? In your car?" I joke.

"Yup," he answers seriously.

My face turns pale and my eyes widen.

"Are you serious?!" I ask, my voice filled with anger and shock.

"Nah, I'm just joking," he chuckles.

"You're so gullible, Shortcake," he mocks with a giant smile in a slightly higher pitch, imitating me from before.

"Shut up," I said, chuckling as I elbow his shoulder. "Asshole," I mutter under my breath.

"What was that?" He asks with amusement.

"Nothing," I shoot back in a higher tone than normal. He chuckles and makes a few turns before we exit the cute little neighborhood and we travel down a path that's lined with tall trees. As I look out the window, all I see are trees, trees, and you guessed it, more trees.

As I look in the rear-view mirror, I see the patch of houses get smaller and smaller until it's out of sight. Now, we're just traveling down a long road that's oddly smooth with no cars in front or in back of us.

For another minute or so, we drive through the middle of nowhere before the road slowly starts to go up on an incline.

A metal railing on Andrew's side replaces the line of trees and rocky, mountain terrain replaces the trees on my side. When I look out of Andrew's window, all I see are a few houses below us and more greenery.

The road slowly starts to snake in a zig-zag formation as we drive up the mountain. Finally, Andrew speaks.

"We're staying here," he reveals. The twists and turns stop and the road straightens out again. As we turn one last corner, a beautiful wooden contemporary house reveals itself behind the cloister of trees.