After the safari adventure, we found a place to change our clothes so we were definitely drier on our way off to Oatman, our wet clothes spread over the back seat. The kiss was definitely keeping my mind busy with a goofy grin on my face. Would it always be like this? Whenever she kissed me, was I going to melt down?

"George, the road is twisty. Be careful."

"I am," I replied to reassure her. I braked a little and swerved the road. "Abby."

"Yes?" She said, a taint of curiosity in her tone.

"You're the most gorgeous girl I've ever met and I always wanted to say this to you without sounding like a pervert."

That made her chuckle at first, tilting her head back. "You're so sweet, George, you know that, right? I mean, you've got a soft teddy bear inside that hard body."

I would have minded being called a teddy bear if she didn't say I had a hard body. "Workout works then," I replied. Because of her slip of tongue, if that was so, she suddenly blushed as if she was busted. "If you want, you can take a closer look."

"Maybe later."

Her response took me off guard. When I peeked at her, I figured she was aware of her triumph. Our days were passing by with new ways to surprise each other and she never failed to do so. The Abby who blushed at one glance was gone now, and that was just tempting me more.

Oatman was a ghost town. I would totally skip but Abby usually liked to visit such places for their history. "Do you want to stop here?" I asked just in case she didn't find Oatman one of those places worth a visit.

She slightly lifted her head from the screen and nodded me softly. "Do you know the story of Oatman?" I didn't need to answer to that, for she was eager to tell a story and I surely didn't know it. "It was named in the honor of a girl called Olive Oatman. This girl's family was killed in 1851 by Native Americans and, her sister and she were captured and enslaved by them. A year later, they were sold to the Mojave Indians. For four years, they stayed there and her sister died of starvation." Then, she showed me a picture of a woman whose chin had strange tattoos. "That tattoo was made by the Mojave people. It means that she belongs to that tribe and she should have a good afterlife. Olive didn't speak ill of that Indians, and said they took good care of her. But some suspect she was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome so she wasn't too objective over that matter."

"Poor girl," I replied. "We should definitely visit Oatman, then." Though she seemed still bitter over the subject, a content smile spread over her lips as I took a turn into the ghost town. As we walked down in the streets of this abandoned town, I learned that this town was famous for gold-mining. It didn't last long, though.

After Abby took some pictures in the place, we continued to Topock. "George, there is a bridge called London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, which is around forty minutes away from here. It looks pretty good, and even better at night. Would you want to visit?"

"So, it can't be so far from Needles?"

"Let me check," she said. "Forty-five minutes."

"Then, what about settling in a hotel in Needles and have a night drive to this bridge? You said it looks even better at night so."

Her eyes sparked at the idea. "Sounds fab! Are you okay with it, though? I can drive."

"That'd be good if you want," I replied. I'd probably be too exhausted to drive at night. "It will take us around three hours in total. We can be back by midnight."

So, we continued to Topock, the last town of Arizona before the Colorado River. I remembered crossing this river several times with my parents. When you are a kid, you don't take notice of your surroundings that much, buried in your own world. But now, as the scenery stood before me, I couldn't help but take it in. The river flew in between the deserted mountains, coloring the dull colors of the flora into something much more delight to watch. For the first time, instead of capturing a shot into a machine, I carved the amazing view before me into my brain, pixels by pixels, to remember later.

By the end of the bridge, we were in a new state: California. We were getting closer to home. "California here we come!"

"We'll cross the state again at night, chill."

"I know, but you don't understand! We fucking arrived in California—we are home." I laughed at her enthusiasm but I was sort of having an inner crisis by how close it was for her departure as well. If I was someone brave, I'd ask her to ditch the internship at least, to stay here for a month more so that we didn't end even before we started. But being me, George Shaw, I would never do that to Abby.

Around fifteen minutes later, we were in Needles. By that time, it was seven in the evening. The best option was a motel called Bullet Inn. We first booked a room there. The temperature was really high though it hit nighttime so we decided to change into thinner outfits.

"I'll take the bathroom first," I said, finding the thinnest t-shirt inside my bag. She already perched on the bed with her legs crossed, giving me an airy nod as she looked at her phone in full interest. I headed into the bathroom and took off my t-shirt. Washing my face with cold water, I took a deep breath and looked up in the mirror. You're slowly killing me, Abby.

After putting the other one on, I went out of the bathroom to announce her that she could use it. However, the view in front of me caused me to freeze in shock. She was fishing for something in her bag, totally unaware of my presence, with her t-shirt off. I'd seen her like that before, but in this setting. We were alone.

My words died on me when she looked up at me. Contrary to my belief, she didn't cover herself with a t-shirt, though she finally decided on one. "Why are you standing there?" She asked finally, chuckling.

"I—you can use the bathroom."

Her lips tilted at my faltering. Damn, she was teasing me again. "Okay." Then, she rose up from the bed and walked toward me. The closer she came the hotter I'd felt and the harder it became to control myself. Her arm bumped against mine as she passed by me to enter. When the door was shut, I regained my breath. This trip was truly testing my patience out in every way possible.

Once she was out of the bathroom again, she was carrying that amused grin on her face. When our eyes met, she started laughing out of blue. "What?" I asked, not relating to her sense of humor at the moment. I literally meditated to calm my senses while she was inside.

"It's just funny to see the effect I have on you."

"Does that mean," I said, pulling her onto the bed and quickly sliding her beneath me as I hovered over her face, "that I don't have an effect on you?" With my sudden action, she looked quite flabbergasted, her eyes lingering on my lips. When she didn't make a sound, I brushed my nose against hers tantalizingly. She smelled of peaches. Being so close to her made my head spin and my heart pound against my chest. Abby was the epitome of living. It was only those moments of her presence that made me feel my heart.

Her hand snaked over my neck and pulled me down. I reached the euphoria at the taste of her lips, soft and sweet, and what had started slow grew impatient and swift. I kissed her like it was our last, like the time was running out. My mind was suddenly in favor of my instincts, my hands moving south through her chest. Her lack of rejection encouraged me to go on, gradually sliding downward until I touched her waistband.

Abby suddenly broke the kiss, flinching under my touch and pulled back alarmed. "Sorry," I mumbled quickly, afraid of offending her. "I—"

"I'm on my period," she mumbled back.

"Oh."

"Hmm."

The silence sank in for a while, as I was trying to come up with a smart subject. When her stomach suddenly growled, the universe had served me the right topic itself: "Are you hungry?"

She softly nodded, getting up from the bed. When she extended her hand out, I firmly gripped it and pulled myself up as well. We went in a meat restaurant for dinner. I was still not over it. When was her period going to end? This wasn't a question I could ask but I totally forgot that she was in that time of the month. Gosh.

"I panicked," she suddenly said, holding my gaze. "I'm sorry." I didn't ask what she referred to because it was pretty obvious. Discussing this matter on dinner table was sort of strange but I didn't state that. I was as embarrassed as her for forgetting her situation and stepping further than I should have.

"I'm sorry too," I murmured under my breath. "I totally forgot." She suddenly took my hand and drew circles with her thumb over my palm. Her gesture soothed my anxiety and I offered her a wide grin. "Should we head to London Bridge?"

"Let's go!"

Abby took the driver's seat. I made sure she felt fine before we set off. It took even less than forty minutes to arrive in Lake Havasu City. The bridge stood before us, lighted by fluorescent lights and it really looked wonderful at night as Abby mentioned. It was worth taking photos. We parked near the entrance of the bridge, for it could be also passed on foot, and I grabbed my camera with me.

"I love this," Abby whispered, looking around us with those interested eyes I'd fallen in love with. I held her hand as we walked, feeling like a couple for the first time. It was still early to think about that, when the confession was fresh and we first needed to enjoy this solitude.

"Stand there," I suddenly said, as I caught a good angle behind Abby. Her hair was blowing with the breeze and her face illuminated by the lights all around us. It was as though she completed the scenery or she existed within it all along; as if she had a power to beautify every land she stepped on and everything she touched upon. I raised the lens and tried a few shots to do this view justice.

"Come here," she yelled, pushing a few curls that fought against the breeze. Hanging the camera on my neck, I obeyed her order and walked toward her. "Do you know what a girl's biggest dream is?"

"What?"

"To be kissed by her Prince Charming under the stars."

When I made her wish come true, she smiled against my lips. Little did she know my dream was to be hers—forever.

***

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