The Safety Pin Affair

e l e v e n - you are a great guy

it's not that hard to figure out,
you're crazy and
i'm crazy about y o u . . .

▪️▫️▪️

As fast as it came, Thanksgiving is now just another day in the past. We're all back at school, trying to keep our focus but it's kind of hard when you're a senior and Christmas vacation is right around the corner.

The good thing is this week back at school went by fast. It's Friday night now and as promised from last weekend, I'm going out with Josh. He only said something about getting food, but he wasn't specific. So I pretty much have no idea what he's got planned.

My parents are out to dinner which is great because now I don't have to deal with them pestering me about Josh every three seconds. I've been home alone for a little while, patiently waiting in my kitchen until Josh picks me up. Although I don't really think I'd say patiently because I'm a hungry teenage girl. And hungry teenage girls are the complete opposite of patient.

I hummed to myself in the quiet of my kitchen, looking around aimlessly. It's about 7 o'clock now and he said he was coming 10 minutes ago. I'm not going to complain that he's late though because maybe something came up. As long as he lets me know what's going on.

Just then, my phone vibrated with a new text. I picked it up off the counter as my eyes scanned the screen.

Josh: Hey I'm sorry, I'm on my way now for real

I smiled small and sent an "okay" back. A few minutes later, I got a text that said he was here, so I turned out the light in the kitchen and headed to the front of the house. The cold hit me right away as I opened the front door, causing me to shiver instantly.

"Fuck," I muttered, crossing my arms to keep warm while I quickly walked to Josh's car at the curb. "Hey," I greeted him once I got in.

"Hi," he smiled at me. "Sorry again. My mom was bugging me about random shit."

"That's okay," I shrugged, buckling my seat belt.

"I hope you're hungry because the sole purpose of this date is the dinner," he explained as he started heading out of our town.

"I'm not even going to argue with you about this 'date' talk anymore," I chuckled, shaking my head.

"Good. That was my point," he said proudly. I could see him grinning out of the corner of my eye, but I kept my gaze out the window as I bit back my smile.

We small-talked for the rest of the car ride, the conversation coming easily between the two of us. It's completely dark outside now and I don't really know where we are, but I'm assuming Josh is keeping it a surprise because he hasn't mentioned anything about where he's taking me. All I know is that there will be food there, and that's enough to keep me happy.

He's been driving on the same main road for a little while now, and suddenly he turned his blinker on and turned into a parking lot. In the middle of the parking lot is a building with cars parked all around it, facing it. I spun in my seat to see if there was a sign out front I missed, and sure enough there is.

In retro, neon style by the street is a sign that glows with the words Dax's Drive-In.

"A drive-in?" I asked, a smile coming onto my face. "Aren't those really meant for the summertime?"