September

7 0 0
                                    

Lights illuminated the dirt road as the Durango bounced further down the coarsely paved road till the vehicle made a resounding jerk as the group bounced over a pothole onto the dirt road. No one seemed to mind the vehicle jostling. The sound of their voices carried over the noise of the road somewhere between the blaring music that radiated from the SUV's radio. Selene had the radio blasting; her hands were comfortably wrapped around the steering wheel.

"An American! An American! She's-!" Loud music barked obnoxiously from the radio. A few voices chanted in unison with the song to the tune of Selene's radio. Beside her, also in the front seat, Cameron was bobbing her head to the music as they drove into the thicker part of the forest. The night air was dry, free of any prior downpour and everyone was enjoying the good weather. Selene was especially enjoying the hell out of it. No slick roads! Nadda!

Even as Selene adjusted in the driver seat, she couldn't resist the urge to peek back behind her, "Hey Bea, do you know who's at the pre-graduation party?"

Derek rocked out of his air guitar to the music, unaware as he sat next to Bea, rocking his head back and forth violently. "AMERICAN!" He screamed airily, so it wasn't too loud.

Beatrice glanced at her phone, obviously annoyed by Derek, but she kept checking. "Hold on."

Selene laughed. She peeked back to Bea again as her eyes gleamed bright with excitement. She leaned back in the seat, letting her phone slide between her legs so she was able to contort herself around enough to peek into the rear bench of the Durango. Cameron tentatively reached over to grasp the steering wheel before whispering something that Selene barely heard.

The roar of the music made it hard to listen to anyone. Blazing through the road, Selene's Durango jostled as the road became harder to navigate at her current speed. She aptly took her foot off the gas in hopes to ease the bouncing so Cameron didn't get car sick.

Sarah punched Derek in the arm. "Dork," she grumbled, but she wasn't genuinely that bothered by it. She looked at Selene. "Jack might be there. You realize he's in love with you, right?" she teased.

Lex scoffed. "Poor kid."

Selene looked at her as her expression tried to harden, but she couldn't keep the expression. "Don't torment me with the idea. He's just shy." She didn't want to believe it, nor was she romantically interested in him.

Cameron scoffed, whooping as she choked on the lyrics she was singing.

"Guys!" Selene bemoaned dramatically over their teasing, struggling to get them to stop. "I'm telling you, it's not like that! Seriously!" Selene took a tentative breath before refocusing on the road, turning her focus back on her driving before she hit the brakes and slowed around a large pothole. Glancing down, she checked the directions from her phone as Cami centered it over the dash in its holder. She glanced at the map once more then back to the single-lane dirt road. Watching for deer.

"Or do you still have the hots for Dean and his rugged looks?" Derek stopped, leaning forward to look at her. "Oh, Dean!" He batted his eyelashes dramatically, before bursting into laughter, flinging himself back against his seat.

"Hey, Dean is pretty hot," Cameron raised a brow as she hardly noticed Selene grip the steering wheel tighten for a moment at Derek's teasing before letting her hands slide from her usual ten-and-two position. "I somewhat wish he-"

Selene blushed hard, going quiet after hearing them all. Yeah, but Dean was older than all of them. He only came to college because his job was paying for his training so he could be re-certified as a computer technician, but damn he was handsome.

Lex rolled his eyes. "Is there something wired in women to make them chase the bad boys?"

"Yeah," Derek laughed, "because all the good girls like bad boys." He snorted, laughing at his remark.

American BeautyWhere stories live. Discover now