When We Met

Forty Three

|Martin|

The sun is fast asleep and here we are, throwing our bags in the back seat of my car and using Cheryl's flashlight as our tiny source of illumination. The street lights make this task a bit easier than I thought and the excitement of getting out of this claustrophobic town is evident as Cheryl hops her way around her apartment. She looks adorable, as always, and I wanna kill myself for not planning this outing earlier.

Madeline is fast asleep in the spare bedroom. Cheryl talked her into staying here for the weekend instead of traveling to her parents' house alone. Their friendship amazes me every single time. It is highly appreciable how they both support each other endlessly and at the same time, talk each other out of things that might cause any kind of hindrance in any way. I've never had a friendship remotely closer to theirs with anyone. Jace was a good friend, yes. But he was too quick to mess things up for good. What he did with Deb was the last straw he could pull.

Cheryl checks on Madeline as I grab a few bottles of water and lock the balcony door. It's still dark outside but I can see a slight glimmer of sunlight extending from the horizon. I never was a morning person, I preferred staying late at night and spending the entire morning sleeping without a care in the world. The only times when I woke up early in the morning were when I couldn't sleep and hence, that drove me out of my house for a run. Cheryl Donovan has flipped my world upside down with an annoying sound of her morning alarm and I would do nothing to alter that.

"She woke up briefly to ask me to tell you to have fun." Cheryl says with a hint of laughter evident in her voice. I roll my eyes at that. Madeline Parker is a whirlwind sensation in our lives.

"Well, I know I'll have a lot of fun." I wink at her and this time, she rolls her eyes.

We settle down in the car, with her behind the wheel for some reason that involved her bullying me into letting her drive. There is a victorious grin on her face as she turns the key and puts the car in reverse to get out of the driveway. I must say, the fact that I'm allowing her to drive my car says a lot about our relationship. Back in times, I wouldn't even let a fly come near my car. That's how possessive I was, but somehow, I trust Cheryl enough to know that my giant baby is safe in her hands.

"I'm gonna put on some music." My girlfriend says out loud and switches on the music player.

The sound of electric guitar booms through the speakers and I groan.

"What is your obsession with this Mendes guy?!" I ask and turn sideways to look at her. Her smirk is wide enough for me to notice and she's humming along with the tune.

"His name is Shawn Mendes and he's a charmer." She says and I make a face. I don't understand why she has a thing for extra tall guys playing guitar and singing to a crowd. I mean, Cheryl would look like a Lilliputian in front of him, while she looks extremely adorable when standing next to me. We definitely make a better couple. We align well with–

"If you are coming up with mental comparisons right now, I suggest you talk yourself out of it. I love him for his music and his personality. But I'm with you, and it's seriously stupid and childish for you to feel all possessive and shit. He's a celebrity, Martin. It's not like he's gonna come knocking at our doors and sweep me off my feet." She laughs and I huff like a kid. She's right though. But I will never say it out loud. Never in a lifetime.

"Whatever."

Cheryl chuckles again and her fingers gently caress my thigh before interlinking themselves with mine. The action puts a smile on my face and I squeeze her hand back. Her hair is pulled together in a high ponytail and she has her glasses perched upon her cute little nose, with absolutely no hint of makeup. There is a natural glow on her face that makes her cheeks blush red like tiny apples. Her eyes crinkle at the corners as she sings along with that Mendes guy in a pitch that is disturbing yet adorable to my ears. I can't find the will to tell her that she's a really bad singer. And somehow, her off tune melodies are like the only celestial music to my ears; I would never trade that for anything else.

The sun is up now but the roads are still deserted. It's a good thing that I let Cheryl talk me into waking up early. We would never have made it in time because of all the road traffic and shit.

"You can thank me for making you wake up super early."

She can read my mind, I'm telling you.

"You're welcome." I wink.

"You are unbelievable."

"So I've been told."

She stops the car at the traffic light and I look at her with confusion written all over my face.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"What?"

"It's an empty road. You don't have to stop at every signal."

"Are you asking me to break traffic rules just because there are no other cars on the road? Tell me one thing. Would you not run a race if there are no competitors?"

"Um, yeah. I'll be the winner anyway, what's the point in tiring my body? Plus, if there are no competitors, it's not a race." I reason.

"Whatever. I'm not breaking rules just because no one's watching."

"Oh really? How about this?" I poke her waist continuously and she bursts out laughing and wriggles under my touch. I unbuckle her seatbelt and pull her on my lap as she yelps.

"What the heck are you doing?!" She squeals. "The driver's seat is empty!"

"Empty is good." I nudge her nose with mine and kiss her gently. She gives in quickly and we keep on kissing till we hear a loud honk. Cheryl jumps up and lands back on her seat. Her face is flushed and her lips are swollen. I bet mine are as well.

The rest of the drive involves comfortable small talk and stupid car games that Cheryl comes up with just to annoy the shit out of me. I play along because she just looks simply adorable with her crinkled nose and heart warming smile. It's the best sight in the entire world; better than the view from the top of the Eiffel, I bet.

We reach the woody arena in the next two hours and the change in the environment makes Cheryl gasp audibly.

"This is so beautiful." She says as she gapes at the sun peeping through the criss cross of bright green leaves.

"I know. I used to stay here all the time." I smile at the thought of my rare happy childhood memories.

"I can't possibly imagine what made you abandon this heavenly place."

The moment she says this, my smile fades away.

Cheryl, you don't want to know the answer to that.

*****