Ours

Epilogue- Saying Goodbye

"You have to text me, you know," Taren tells me, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed. I glance up at him as I shove more and more clothes into my bag. "You've got to keep me up to date on all the details," 

"What details?" I scoff, struggling to pull the zipper closed. 

"Please, Micheal." Taren says, "You and Alex are going to spend the entire summer break together in a car... without any details?" 

"Get your mind out of the gutter," I reprimand him, finally pulling the zipper enough to close the bag. "But to answer your question, yes, I will text you. Maybe not the 'details', as you put it, but I do have your number just in case anything goes off the rails." 

"I better get details," Taren says in a mock-serious tone. I smile at him as I sling my bag over my shoulder. 

"I'll see you next year, Taren," I say, extending my hand to him. He shakes it politely, a smirk resting comfortably on his face. 

"See you, Micheal,"

Alexander hadn't been bluffing when he'd said he wanted to go places with me. As soon as we got back to my dorm that night, he had started talking about road trips and summer plans and, once I realized he was serious, I agreed. I wasn't going to go home for the summer, that much was for sure. Spending that time on the road, seeing as much as we could together, sounded like an incredible idea. 

Alexander meets me at the steps of the dormitory, his hands slung comfortably in his pockets. Once he sees me, he bounds up the stairs, grabbing one of my hands and pulling me along. 

The sun warms our backs as we head across campus towards his car, but something bothers me from my conversation with Taren. I look at Alexander, the question forming in my mind. 

"What's up?" Alexander asks casually. 

"I'm the only one to call you Alexander, aren't I?" I see Alexander think it over in his head before he nods. "Why is that?" 

"Well, you're the one who calls me that, aren't you? Why do you do that?" He counters. 

"I guess it's because you introduced yourself as Alexander. But, why did you never correct me?"

Alexander shrugs before squeezing my hand gently. "Maybe I just liked hearing you say it," I smile as we reach the parking lot, and Alexander reaches into his pocket to pull out the keys. "You have everything?" He asks. 

I quickly go through a mental checklist before I nod. "Do you?"

"Keys? Check. Map? Check." Alexander lifts my bag into the trunk, closing it with a thunk. "Food? Check. Incredibly outstanding, unbelievably unbeatable boyfriend?" Alexander turns to me, his eyes shining. "Check." 

I shove his arm lightly before climbing into the passenger seat, a smile on my face. Alexander grabs my hand again over the centre console. I look down at it, then at the road before us. 

"Let's go, then."