In Chambers, we visited the Hubbell Trading Post, where she was gushing over, and it was indeed outstanding among all the monuments we'd been to. It was just so Route 66, and you could feel yourself immediately in those times. We wandered about the city, entering the old houses, and taking lovely pictures before the doors. The walls of the houses were of stones, which made them look ancient and sophisticated in a way.

Inside, the decoration was colorful with a variety of frames on the walls and Najavo rugs everywhere. There was also a small bookshelf on the corner with lots of books that I didn't bother to check the content of. The aura of the place immediately lifted my spirits, and the smile formed on Abby's lips, it had the same effect on her.

"Rugs are so beautiful," she commented, gingerly brushing her hand against one of them. "So colorful, aren't they?"

"Yeah."

We bought some snacks and a bottle of cheap white wine before we hopped back to the car. A few miles later, the hills called Painted Desert emerged in the view. They were wonderful with their color scheme—from white to red, they contained lots of colors horizontally. We decided to stop at a place where we could gaze at the scenery and take the stuff we purchased earlier, making ourselves comfortable on the bonnet.

As I filled wine to the spare solo cups, she tore the package of Ruffles and stuffed her mouth. "Chips and wine, a weird combination." I handed her the cup and grabbed a bar of chocolate instead. We weren't having the healthiest lunch but as long as it stuffed my stomach, I didn't really mind.

"It looks like a rainbow desert, doesn't it?" I nodded, taking a sip from my cup. "I think it's clay that makes it alter. And maybe some natural disasters." I watched her from the tail of my eye to see that she was truly contemplating what may have caused this alternating structure.

"No expert at that stuff, you know."

"Me neither," she said, smiling at me. "But it's fun to consider." She suddenly grabbed my chocolate and took a bite. "It tastes exotic after too much salt." Then, she gave it back to me. "I should start on a healthy diet when we get back."

"You look fit," I said reassuringly. "Don't worry about it." As she took a sip from the cup, I added, "Will you be okay to drive? I can manage the rest if you like."

"A cup of wine won't make me dizzy," she replied, throwing me a look. I just shrugged my shoulders. She wasn't that lightheaded but sometimes she got drunk too soon. "I'm fine," she repeated, seeing the doubtful expression on my face. "If I feel funny, I'll let you drive."

After taking a few pictures of that wonderful landscape, we set off to Winslow. When the sign appeared, it reminded me of the Eagles song. "Well, I'm standing on a corner," I hummed, "in Winslow, Arizona, and such a fine sight to see."

"What song is that?" Abby asked, suddenly interested.

"Take It Easy by Eagles," I replied. "Winslow reminded me of it." I've got seven women on my mind—four that wanna own me, two that wanna stone me, one says she's a friend of mine. She was beyond a friend after all. Calling her my girlfriend was still beyond my imagination, and maybe a far thought for the time being.

By the time we visited the open-air church in Winslow, it was nearing five in the afternoon. We still had a long way to go but not enough time. I didn't want to be exhausted—well, I was feeling too much adrenaline to be exhausted—so we would both be in our best mood when we talked about last night.

It surprised me to hear her announce that we would visit Meteor City and then straight head to Flagstaff, the biggest city in the Arizona region of Route 66 and where we were going to spend the night. Meteor City was a short drive, about 25 minutes.

We bought tickets for the Rim tour and a tour guide showed us around the meteor crater, told us about its history, and let us take some photos in the area. It was fascinating, by all means, and made us recall that life was beyond Earth, and even question the possibility of other species in the universe. Abby said she believed they existed. "Why not?" She said, looking at me. "They are probably watching us down and laughing at us."

I also believed in their existence but relied on that they had much better things to do than laugh at us from the other side of the universe. Afterward, we visited the gift shop and the small museum inside the complex. Abby looked quite lively during the visit, shooting some questions at the tour guide. That made me gaze at him differently—he was probably a few years older than us and the way he answered every freaking question she asked sort of irritated me.

By the end of the tour, he stood there and chatted with Abby, ignoring the rest of us. Other people didn't seem to mind, for they were focused on which keychain to buy or so, but I was immensely bothered. "Abby," I called for her, a hint of annoyance in my voice that couldn't be helped. "We should go."

Absentmindedly, she nodded and talked a bit more before she excused herself. "What was that?" I asked when we walked back to our car in the parking lot.

Her eyebrows knitted in confusion. "What do you mean? Kyle?"

"Is it his name?" I asked; they even exchanged names.

"Yes," she said quite calmly.

When I suddenly paced my steps and claimed the driver's seat, she didn't say anything but quietly swung the passenger door. After she settled in her seat, I started the engine. As it roared, that provided me a couple of minutes of silence to collect myself.

"Did I mention how cute you become when you're jealous?"

I immediately looked at her to see her face break into a smile. "I'm not jealous." My face flushed in embarrassment.

"Hmm." I just pressed the accelerator. The faster we arrived in Flagstaff the better. I wanted to change the topic. "Kyle is Loraine's brother," she suddenly started. "I knew him from her social media and I asked him about her."

"Loraine? From River High?"

"Her," she replied. "I didn't know her brother worked there. I don't know what you think of me but that's what we were talking about. I was going to mention there but you seemed like you could punch him any minute."

"I thought," I murmured, my gaze on road, "he was hitting on you."

"Hmm." When I stole another glance, I saw her biting her bottom lip. We talked no more, and I started the radio to spread the tense air. It wasn't actually tense, but I was, for each moment we were getting closer to the breaking point. I was no longer going to hold it back. I was finally going to tell her. I love you, Abby.

"George." For a moment, I thought I said it out loud. "If you're not ready to talk, it's okay." I sighed with relief, throwing her a soft grin.

"No, I want to—we need to." She nodded, relieved that I was cooperating. "We can't kiss and not tell."

"Let's talk here, then," she said softly.

"We almost arrived." We only had a few miles left and I wasn't going to confess here, in a car, just like that. My father's advice rang in my ears but after days of planning and daydreaming, I wasn't going to do that.

In Flagstaff, we found a decent motel to spend the night. Abby said she wanted to take a shower before we headed out for dinner. She probably believed we were going to discuss it over dinner but I had entirely different plans. I first had to borrow a cassette player.

After booking a room, we climbed upstairs and entered in. It was relatively small, but still in good condition. Abby checked the towels and then, sauntered into the bathroom. Contemplating over what I was going to do next, I decided to head downstairs and ask the receptionist about a cassette player.

There was a young guy standing, around my age, and he was scrolling down in his phone with a goofy smile on his face. As I rang the bell, he jolted awake and looked up at me in surprise. "Hey," I said smilingly. "Is there a chance you've got a cassette player?"

It took him a few minutes to register my words, apparently, but he shook his head no at last. No, I had to find one. "Do you know anywhere I can find one?"

"I have an antique store nearby—but they wouldn't let you borrow."

"It's important," I tried desperately. "I need to find a cassette player."

My despair seemed to affect his decision because he paused for a while, but the time was passing by and I wanted to be back in the room before Abby got out of the bathroom to avoid any suspicions. "I think I know where to find one...let me check." He disappeared behind the door, leaving me alone in the hall for a while.

The time was ticking, and my heart was picking up with anticipation. I really hoped he would find one and lend me, or my plan was ruined. A few minutes passed and he emerged from the door with an old cassette player in his hands. He shot me a triumphant smile as he set it on the desk and said, "It's my dad's. Well, it's precious and he'd better not learn about this, okay?" I nodded hearteningly. "When can you return it?"

"Tonight," I replied eagerly.

"Okay, I'll be awake."

"Thanks a bunch," I said, taking it. "You're doing me such a favor." I climbed the stairs back, carrying the player carefully. The sound of running water soothed my nerves, and I hastily hid the thing inside the wardrobe in the corner of the room.

I was trying to calm my breathing when Abby went out with a towel wrapped around her torso, her hair still wet and straight and her skin glowing. I wasn't ready for this, and the room immediately went up in flames. I had to keep my natural reaction in control. She must have noticed my gaze that she immediately explains, "I forgot to grab clothes." Then, she kneels down in front of her bag and looks for some stuff to wear. "What are we eating?"

"Uh." I wasn't really thinking straight so I tore my gaze away to think reasonably. "I think we can find somewhere decent as we walk around." I tried not to gaze in her direction as she picked an outfit and entered back to the bathroom. I lay back on the bed with a sigh, shutting my eyes firmly.

Abby was dressed in a beautiful summer dress. It was bright red, contrasting with her pale skin. She threw me a look as we went out, now her hair in a loose bun. She also did some makeup it seemed; her lipstick matched her dress. "I'm ready," she announced and that was when it dawned on me, that I'd been watching her all along.

Clearing my throat, I visited the bathroom this time, taking a quick shower and pulling some pants and a shirt on. I smoothened my hair with the help of my hand and a hairdryer. When I looked in the mirror, there wasn't a tired boy before me anymore. He rather looked handsome—someone who could nail tonight. Yes, George, you got this.

Walking out, I felt much more confident. Abby was waiting for me on the bed and her eyes shone as she noticed me. Gosh, looking into her bright blue eyes changed my mind altogether. If I told her now, we could go have our first date together—dressed well, feeling awesome. So, I opened the wardrobe and took the old cassette player out, and set it on the bed. Abby didn't ask what it was when I unzipped the front of my bag and looked for the mixtape. Not there, I probably put it in the back. I looked through my unfolded clothes but no—it wasn't there. Did I drop it at the hotel? Where was it?

"George," Abby said behind me. I immediately turned back in embarrassment. Where was this damned tape? Suddenly she raised her right hand and I spotted it—the tape. "Are you looking for this?"

"What—how?" Did she listen to it? Did she know about it? "Did you listen to it?"

"No," she said quickly. "I found it this morning in your bag when I was looking for a cardigan. And I remembered it was in your drawer...it's my birthday gift, right?"

"Yes, but I want to play it now," I said, approaching to grab it from her hand but she was faster to pull it away behind her back. I frowned. "Abby." Her eyes were looking at me with a different light as if she...she knew.

"I want to hear you say it."

"You listened," I said in disbelief. Standing up, I walked back and forth in the room. Abby knew. She knew my feelings, my thoughts but she didn't tell me anything. How long?

"I listened to it this morning," she suddenly admitted. "I wondered what it was but I didn't expect to..." I met her gaze to see that she was genuine. "I still don't believe it, George, and I won't believe it until you say it—here and looking in my eyes."

Plopping beside her on the bed, I murmured, "I planned it so differently." She approached to take my hand. "Does it even matter now?" Her eyes were full of tears when I gazed at her. If she wanted to hear it from me, I was going to say it. "I don't remember the first time it happened. You know, I liked your laugh, your hair, your eyes but I didn't know what it meant. You're my best friend and I thought it was what made me like you. But things started to change as we grow up, and when you hugged me, it made me feel...giddy inside. It was strange. I didn't feel that when a guy friend hugged me."

She squeezed my hand to urge me to go on. This was entirely different from all those poetic words I'd recorded on the tape.

"Do you remember the homecoming in freshmen year?" She slowly nodded. "Our dance was when I decided that I liked you. I mean, up to that point, I actually knew but I didn't want to admit it. It felt forbidden. You're my best friend. Then, I did stupid things to hide it—many of them actually. But I still liked you, Abby, at the end of the day. I couldn't stop that. Your smile was my only cure."

I lifted up my gaze at her. She looked astonished. "I like you so much, Abby Whittaker. I actually planned this trip to tell you about my feelings before you leave. I just—" I only noticed I had been crying when she touched my cheek to wipe them off. "I love you."

She let out a chuckle, then another, and another. I thought, for a moment, that she was going to say I was a fool, before she threw herself on me, causing us to lay down on the bed with her hovering above me. Our chests were going up and down together, as she propped herself by her arms on my sides. "You love me," she whispered, holding my gaze. Her eyes were gliding with surprise as her voice held a disbelieving tone.

"I love you," I repeated firmly.

Suddenly she pulled back. I wasn't really sure what she was feeling. Maybe she was overwhelmed—though she already listened to the tape beforehand. I didn't understand how I caught her off guard like this. As she got up, I followed her incredulously, trying to calculate her next move.

Abby turned around and met my gaze once again. "I can't believe it."

I approached her and wrapped my arms around her waist, bringing our faces closer. "But that's the truth," I murmured against her lips. She didn't pull back but placed her hands on my shoulders. I took her right hand and pressed it against my left side of the chest. "Do you now?" It was impossible for her not to feel my heartbeat—it was the mere proof of what I had felt.

Her hand lingered there, her palm spread over my heart, and she tilted her head slightly to meet my gaze in tears. She looked so beautiful, and I didn't need to hold back now. She knew; she fucking knew.

Time blurred like glass stained in the wake of a breath. She was a moment faster or a moment slower, it didn't matter at that sliver of time. Our eyes met first, then our lips; our chests pressed flush together as our arms snaked around each other as though they knew their path pretty well. I kissed her long, maybe for hours, maybe for years—maybe just a moment. It didn't matter.

But when we pulled back, she made a crackling sound first and soon broke into laughter. "You look like a clown," she said, probably meaning my lips were now stained with her red lipstick. She was no different but if possible, she looked even prettier. I didn't voice it though; I just kissed her again.

***

Hi!

George has finally confessed (or was forced to do so.) Well, the secret is out so it doesn't matter. How did you find it? 😉 Did it happen in the way you expected or not?

Thank you so much for all the reads (!!!), votes, and comments. This story is my baby, and I feel so happy when you share the same interest. 💖

❤️

Please don't forget to vote and tell me your thoughts! 💕 Constructive criticism is always welcome. 🥰

Love you all,

Sev xx