Aster and The Leopards

No proof, one touch

Road trip time! I've always loved the spontaneity of unplanned road trips, so here we go. Hope you enjoy it.

***

The New York lights in the rearview mirror were prettier than Aster had anticipated. It had been almost two years since she found herself behind the wheel for the last time, but it felt right, with Maxine's face pressed against her shoulder and a delicate guitarist hand almost touching her leg. "Please get me some coffee," Maxine slurred against her shirt, not for the first time since they got into the car, and Aster tried not to smile as she found herself on a McDonalds' drive-thru.

Dinner went well enough, with Maxine and Tom bonding over 80s music and Cats (the musical), while Aster watched them with amusement and sometimes let out confused remarks that made Maxine throw her head back laughing. Austin seemed just as confused as Aster, but not for the same reasons.

"There you go," Aster whispered, placing the hot cup of espresso in front of Maxine's face, waiting for her to wake up to the harsh scent.

"You're an angel, I swear," the other girl said while opening her eyes and practically patting her way around the cup like a blind cat.

"Coffee at midnight, that's a new low even for us."

"Can you drive, though? Aren't you too tired? I didn't anticipate Tom being... nice. And keeping us for so long." Maxine straightened herself and started blowing on the edge of her cup.

"I can, don't worry. And uh... you didn't anticipate Tom, point-blank. Let's be honest," Aster answered, a playful smile on her lips as Maxine shifted with discomfort.

"It's not my fault Austin deliberately deceived me. He told me he had a girlfriend. He didn't even trick me with lover or partner, he said 'girlfriend', the asshole."

"You'd see through him using the word partner immediately, Maxine. The poor boy would have had to come out via text."

"I mean, yes. But still."

Silence fell over them as Aster exited the drive-thru and took a turn to hit the road. The talk was hanging over their heads and she still did not know what to do about it. Her heart was clenching in a way that told her she was ready to do whatever Maxine asked her to.

"So... you want me to sign an NDA," Aster stated with her eyes on the asphalt, everything but the girl beside her threatening to slip into the darkness.

"Yes. Does that bother you?"

Suddenly, Maxine's posture was straight and rigid, so different from the pliant warm bundle of limbs pressed against Aster's side minutes before.

"I'm not gonna lie. It does, even though I understand where you're coming from." The slice of silence that followed lasted for a minute, but it was deafening. "Does everyone in your life sign one of these?"

"Yes." Maxine seemed nervous.

"You can't actually trust me if I'm under a legal threat to be loyal, can you?" Aster smiled weakly in Maxine's direction but did not meet her eyes. Instead of burying her face on Aster's shoulder like before, the girl pressed her head against the chilly window and remained silent for half an hour before her drowsiness caught up to her despite the caffeine. Aster was left wondering what that lack of response meant.

***

It did not take more than four hours for them to realize that traveling at night wasn't the greatest idea Aster's ever had, nor was embarking on a road trip with a week to spare. Instead of being rightfully pissed off by that, Maxine seemed thrilled at the idea of throwing herself on a less than luxurious bed in a two-stars roadside hotel. She texted her security team, warning them they'd be calling it quits for the night.