5: Hitting The Road

With each day that past by, I could feel the weight on my shoulders slowly lift away. The sun was brighter, flowers were more vibrant and most of all, I was smiling. Really smiling.

Mike and I had ironed out our “story” to make it more believable. I knew Steve could see straight through me, so I had to put on my best Oscar-winning performance. We figured sharing short, sweet kisses in front of the family would be the best course of action. Well I guess I should say he figured that would be best. Thinking about his lips on mine, I easily agreed.

The family reunion was going to be at a waterfront resort just south of Kelowna in British Columbia on Lake Okanagan. There were so many different things planned for the weekend, that I wasn’t stressing out about being in the same building as Steve anymore. If he was doing one thing, I would just simply go do something else. Easy philosophy. Mike and I convinced Brooks to hire a tattoo artist to come to the resort one day so we could all get tattoos. Brooks won’t let a needle touch him, but Mike and I were excited and would discuss ideas to one another via emails.

I left work at noon and began my trek down to SeaTac airport to pick up Mike and Brooks. Brooks thought it would be fun to drive to Kelowna, because it had been a long time since he’s been on a roadtrip, and six hours on the road sounded like fun. I didn’t mind at all, it actually did sound like it would be a fun time. Mike had emailed us telling us he would bring MadLibs.

I got to the airport around 12:45 that afternoon and walked in to see Mike sitting in baggage claim waiting for me. I walked up to him and kicked his shoe to take his attention away from his iPod. He instantly stood up and wrapped his arms around me. “Hi girlfriend,” he smiled as he kept a grip on me, but pulled away to look in my eyes.

“Hi boyfriend,” I blushed just as he leaned down and planted a kiss on my lips. I inhaled deeply, desperately wanting to deepen it, but knew not to considering our surroundings.

“What time does Brooks get in?” He asked dropping small kisses along my jaw line. Wait. Where am I?

“Uh, 1:30.”

“Wanna grab some coffee then?” He pulled away and I nodded my head. He grabbed my hand, and then pulled his suitcase behind him with his other hand. I walked slightly behind him, making it look like he was dragging two things behind him. What the hell was going on?   

We sat down at a Tully’s on the main level of the airport and sipped on our coffees. I was bouncing my leg nervously, well mainly excited to see Brooks and hit the road. Mike’s hand landed on my bare knee and he laughed. I stopped moving my leg and looked over at him. “Nervous?”

“Excited.”

“Really? I just thought, with this being his family and all you would be nervous.”

“Well yeah maybe, but I always get excited when I see Brooks.”

“You know, I have no idea how you guys met. So how did it happen?”

“I was in a sporting goods store with my brother at the end of my junior year of high school. I see this guy in the hockey section, which is tiny mind you, with this mo-hawk. So I ventured over there, intrigued, and picked up what I guess was a four hundred-dollar stick. He kind of yelled at me to be careful with it, and we just started talking. I admitted I didn’t know much about hockey, and it was his mo-hawk that pulled me in.”

“Wait, let me get this straight . . . Brooks had a mo-hawk?”

“Yeah, it was green.”

“Oh wow!” Mike laughed and we fell into a comfortable silence. I was checking my phone every few minutes, waiting until it said 1:30. Mike scooted his chair next to mine and threw his arm over my shoulders. “You’re pretty impatient there, miss.”

When I turned my head to look at him, he was looking at my lips. “Why are you kissing me?”

“Because I like to. All I’ve thought about since Brooks’ birthday was kissing you.”

“Why though?” I asked. his eyes fluttering back to my lips.

“Because I like you,” he smiled as he leaned forward and kissed me again. I was still so confused though. Was this still acting or was this real? Just as I felt his tongue drag along my bottom lip my phone rang. I pulled away and snatched it up quickly. “Hello?”

“I’m here!” Brooks sung rather loudly.

“We’ll meet you in baggage claim.” I hung up my phone and laced my fingers with Mike’s as I was now the one dragging him behind me.

We stood in baggage claim, just in front of the escalators, and I squeezed the hell out of Mike's hand when I saw his feet, then legs, then upper body appear. I let go of Mike's hand when he saw us and smiled. I allowed him to move out of the way of people behind him on the escalator before jumping on him. "I missed you," I mumbled as he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"I missed you too. Are you excited?" I crawled off his body and nodded my head like a little girl.

"Well then, after I grab my bag we can hit the road."





"Cell phones, please," Brooks smiled from next to me in my car. This was something I was use to from him. Since this was considered a 'vacation' and not a 'visit' no cell phones were allowed. I grabbed my phone from between my legs and handed it over to him. Mike handed him his cell phone from the back and with one fluid motion, Brooks' window was down and our cell phones went flying out on to Interstate 5 all while going seventy miles per hour. "WHAT THE HELL?!" I yelled as I nearly crashed my car looking over my shoulder just in time to see three black phones explode upon hitting the asphalt.

"What is wrong with you?" I yelled at Brooks who wouldn't wipe the smile off of his face.

"I've always wanted to do that." I looked in the rearview mirror at Mike, his mouth hung open in shock.

"Why though? What if we need to call someone?"

"Because last time we were on vacation you stole your phone out of my bag. No technology this weekend, we are going to enjoy each other's company. Why do you think the stress level of America has skyrocketed since the cell phone was invented? No one can fully relax when they have one. Anyways, if we need to call someone there are payphones you know. I have a lot of change with me."

"I can't believe you. I can't believe you did that."

After an hour had past on the road, Brooks attempted to start a conversation but I wanted nothing to do with it, I was still fuming from my shattered cell phone sixty miles back.

"I'm hungry," Mike muttered from the back seat. It was at that moment that my stomach grumbled and I realized I had nothing to eat so far in the day. I pulled off at the next off ramp and there were three gas stations, a Denny's and another diner across the street from it. That was it. "Which one guys?" They both looked at Denny's and then pointed to the other diner.

"Babe, stop, listen to me. I'm sorry okay? You know I'll get you a new one as soon as we are back in Seattle. Don't be mad. Trust me, you'll enjoy yourself a lot more now that you don't have a phone," Brooks attempted to smile when we got out of my car and made our way to the front door. I stopped walking and motioned for Mike to go in.

"You didn't have to throw it out the window though."

"Yeah I did, otherwise you would find it anyways. Look if you're that mad about it, we'll stop at the next T-Mobile store and get you a new one, okay?" He reached out and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in to him.

"No, it's fine. I just can't believe you did that. That was so out of character for you." I dug my face in to his chest and breathed in his scent. Immediately feeling relaxed and once again excited for the weekend.

"So one more thing, what's up with you and Mike?" I pulled away from his chest to look up in to his eyes.

"He's my boyfriend, remember? This was you're idea."

"But you were holding hands at the airport."

"Practice makes perfect," I laughed as I leaned up and placed a kiss on his cheek before releasing myself from his body and headed in to the diner.





Once we were in Canada it was really sinking in. I was almost panicky thinking about it. Why the hell was I going to Steve's family reunion again? Oh right, Brooks invited me. I looked over at him now in the driver's seat and he was humming along to the music with just enough of a smile to see a hint of his dimples. My eyes rolled over his shaved head, probably the best thing he's ever done with his hair, and I smiled just as he glanced over at me. "What?" He asked laughing.

"Nothing. I was just checking you out," I laughed and glanced over my shoulder to see Mike fast asleep, laying down on the back seat.

"How come the only time you check me out is when I can't give you my full attention? Why can't you check me out when I come out of the shower or something?"

"I've seen that body of yours, it's nothing to drool over."

"Well it's a hell of a lot better than softy in the back seat." I began to laugh again and glanced back at Mike once again. He still has his baby fat, but he's only 23, he still has plenty of time to firm up.

"Do you like him?" Brooks asked, instantly getting serious.

"I don't know. He's a lot of fun. He's a lot different from you though, that's something I have to get use to." A smiled appeared on Brooks' face, one I don't think I have ever seen before. It was a mixture of pride and something else, I just wouldn't put my finger on it. I raised an eyebrow at him, wondering what I said that would make him smile like that. He wouldn't look at me though, he kept his eyes trained on the road, and that smile on his face.