“You’re an idiot,” she manages out through her laughter. The bed shakes and creaks a little, so I press my hand on her hip to get her to stop shaking.
“Shh. The walls are thin, for real. I don’t want my mom to think we’re in here doing anything.”
“Of course not.” Audrey lies on her back and looks up at my ceiling for a few quiet moments. “I really like your mom. You take after her a lot. Mannerisms and stuff. She’s nice.”
“Thanks.”
“Why did you lie about the game?”
I close my eyes and try to think of the best way to say it, but it’s hard to explain without getting too detailed, so I decide to go with, “I don’t know how she’ll react to having a game made that’s so close to real life for us. If you know what I mean.”
“Sure. I get it. And I agree that the unicorn game would make a million dollars in the app store.”
Now it’s my turn to laugh, and she has to place her hand over my mouth to keep me quiet. She’s hovering over me, our noses almost touching as she quietly speaks. “Thank you for doing this. For taking me to Ruth’s. It means a lot to me.”
I pull her fingers off my mouth and nod, curling her fist into mine and laying it on my chest. “You’re doing me a favor, too.”
“Is it safe to say we’re friends, then? I have people I like or know, but I don’t usually say I have many I would consider to be friends. But I think you and I are, yeah?”
Puckering my lips, I pull my eyebrows together. “I don’t know, man. You stuck your tongue down my throat and everything.”
“As a friend!” She whisper yells and pinches my side, making me gasp and jerk, then giggle before I man up and stop that shit.
“Alright! You stuck your tongue down my throat as a friend. Fine. Now, are you sleeping in my bed as a friend? Is this a friend snuggle here?” I motion between us.
“Yes. Now roll over that way so I can big spoon you. It’s safer like this. Plus I can pretend I’m a jetpack while we sleep. Maybe you’ll dream about being in outer space.”
I do as she says, and she wraps her arms around my middle, but I pull her hands higher. “This is the safe zone,” I tell her as seriously as possible. “I cannot be held responsible for the things my body does in the night or in the morning if your hands wander outside of the safe zone. Friends or not.”
“Jesus take the wheel. This is going to be a long night,” she pretends to cry into my back.
Then she starts making jet pack noises, and that combined with the warmth of her embrace helps lull me to sleep much faster than I care to admit.
I had snuck back out of Elliot’s room about an hour before we were supposed to be up and just rested on the couch with my eyes open, wondering what the day was going to bring. Three states are all that separates me from something life changing. I can feel it in the pit of my stomach as the rest of the people in the house begin to stir. A quick breakfast, a heartfelt goodbye, and we are on the road into the morning sunrise.
Saying goodbye to his mom was difficult for some reason. Her hug was warm and inviting, and maybe it was the way she embraced me and held me like she meant it, but I didn’t want to let go until I had to.
The mood in the car is much lighter today, and it feels like we get through Georgia rather quickly. Maybe it’s because we listen to music and don’t fight. I’m lost in thought for a while, adding license plates. Somewhere between the edge of The Peach State and South Carolina, Cline and I both fall asleep, and Elliot has to fend for himself. I wake up a couple of times when we hit the odd pot hole, and I glance up to see him focused intently on the road, so I drift back off.
Not far from my grandmother’s house, we are all awake, hopped up on sugar and hot boiled peanuts as I dole out an impossible game of Hump, Marry, and Kill.
“Cline, you’re up next. Ready?” I turn in my seat and survey his face as he groans and frowns.
“Your choices blow,” he complains.
“They are scientifically chosen. I’m not just throwing any old name out there for you to choose. Here are your choices: Matt Dylan, Dylan McDermott, Dermot Mulroney, and Rooney Mara.”
“Bite me,” he responds.
Elliot shoots me a grin and laughs silently as he grips the wheel tighter.
“Fine! Fine. Let’s do this. Anna Kendrick …” I offer.
Cline perks up. “Yeah?”
“Kendrick Lamar. Lamar Odom.”
“I hate you with the fire of a thousand suns,” Cline says.
“You flatter me so, Cline Somers. You really do.” I blow him a kiss. He, in turn, pretends to catch it and rolls down the window to throw it away.