What We Were

Chapter 3: Part 3

- (Noah’s point of view)-

I let Jules drive to a nearby parking lot as I got started on those burgers. “OH MY F***ING GOSH! Bacon…they have Bacon. I honestly think I’m in love.” Jules almost choked on her burger when I said that. She looked at me in surprise.

“With the Bacon of course…Jesus what did you think?” She punched my arm gently and we continued eating. I turned on the radio to some song about tanning in a speedo and animal print pants. I don’t know, but Jules was mouthing out the words. She was so hot without even trying.  There she was chewing a bacon burger, singing along to a song about being sexy. What doesn’t turn you on about that statement?

When we were stuffed, she pulled us out of the lot and started driving to the highway to the 610 loop as the city lights began twinkling alongside the road. The sun was down and the night took over us and our world like a black blanket. She rolled the windows down as we let the wind blow against us going 75 mph. The wind was blowing through Jules’ hair. The city lights twinkled and made her glow. It was incredible. But she then caught me staring at her and smiled. “Were you staring at me? Because if you were that would be ok. You know it wouldn’t be the first time.”

I laughed. She made me remember back when we were in her parents’ room talking and laughing and just being silly. That’s something I loved about Jules, not matter what I could always be myself around her. I just shrugged and smiled at her. I couldn’t help it, she just made me happy. She made me feel like going through the shitty parts of life was worth it. It was worth it to go through complete bullshit in your life, in exchange of the moments like this. Then as if on cue, “Hall of Fame” came on the radio and she cranked it up. I was singing along with her, bobbing our heads the rhythm. As soon as the chorus came on we both screamed at the top of our lungs. Even though we were both completely off key, it was a truly beautiful moment. It felt like for just a second Jules and I were free.

After a couple of minutes of songs like that we got a little tired and pulled off into a drive-in. “What’s the movie?” I asked curiously.

“Up!” she replied enthusiastically.

“Up?”

“Yeah! It’s a classic!”

We got out of the car and she set out a blanket in the bed of her dad’s truck along with a few fluffy pillows. As she got in, she patted the space next to her where I was supposed to sit. “Is this all for me?”

“All of what?”

“This…the burgers, the singing, the driving around and being silly. Was this whole adventure for me?”

“Of course! I figured, I should make it up to you somehow so...I thought why not just go have some fun. And in order to have any fun, you would need to be present of course.”

 I just smiled to myself as I entered the bed of the truck and got comfortable in the warm blankets, though it was freezing, being close to her was all I needed.

By the end of the movie I was pretty tired. Besides it was, “Up” I mean it was a kid’s movie. Personally I would’ve appreciated something with guns or action or anything with Jennifer Lawrence. I looked over at Jules, and I saw something I wasn’t expecting. She was crying. Straight up crying. “Jules are…are you?”

“NO Goddamit!! I’m not crying...It’s just that I can’t believe Ellie died like that!”

By that time on it was just a bunch of sobbing and wailing. I tried to understand what it was she was trying to say, but it was mostly just a lot of crying.

“Hey, Shh Shh Shh, it’ll be ok!” I held her against my chest as she started to calm down a little more. “It’s okay! Really, they don’t tell you this but in the end she comes back to life and they live together with Russell and Kevin and Dick…”

“Doug.”

“Doug!”

She laughed and so did I. For a while we just sat there, wrapped in each other’s warmth.

“Well I don’t know about you, but I’m cold and tired. How ‘bout we head home. You look exhausted.”

She said playfully messing up my hair. I grabbed her hand intercepting her fingers and crossing them with mine. When she tried her other hand I grabbed it too and flipped her to her back. I pinned her down to the blankets of the truck and started to tickle her. Now, when I tickled her she let out such a blood curdling laugh or cry or yelp whatever you wanna call it, that the local police sheriff came up to our car.

He waddled over to us as fast as his fat little legs could carry him. Inhaling a donut and finishing his coffee, he licked his fingers and shuffled over. “HEY! WHAT’S GOING ON OVER THERE?” he barked in a heavy Texan accent.  He flashed a light in our faces. “Nothing officer.” I said “We were just playing around.” I replied jokingly.

“I don’t believe I was talking to you boy. Now mam’ are you alright? Was this boy trying to be sexually inappropriate with you mam’? Did he come at you in any harmful way?”

People from all over the lot started to stare and whisper.

“Officer I’m fine! Really, no harm done. Just messing around, we should be getting home anyway, it’s getting pretty late.”

“Are you sure mam’ because I have no problem in locking him up for you if you feel that he…”

“Thank you so much for your concern, but really I’m absolutely fine! Now if it’s alright with you, we have to be heading home sir. Thank you again, Goodnight.”

“Alright mam’, have a good evening, and if I were you I would be more careful about what you do, boy, or you’ll have me to deal with.” He grunted as he stumbled away but not before shoving me hard in the chest.

I grit my teeth and walked back around the car I slammed the door shut and angrily tried to buckle my seatbelt for another twenty minutes. I slumped in my seat as Julie turned up the radio to relieve some of the tension. When we got off the highway, we got out on exit 34.  I was just ready to go home and forget about the jackass officer that basically asked if I had raped Julie in front of the entire drive-in. It was fucking emabarassing. Then I got a tingly feeling in the pit of my stomach and I immediately started to involuntarily blush. I could feel my cheeks getting hotter and my palms become sweaty.  Jules had my hand in hers and intertwined them together. Now instead of wanting to get home, I just wanted to stay in this car listening to this song with this girl for hours. Funny how one little touch changes your mind so quickly.