Even with the knowledge that I will drive the car back to town, my legs drag behind me from the front door of the cabin all the way to the driver's seat of the car. After being here for just one day I never want to leave.
"Are you ready?"
"No, but it's time to face reality and the smog that comes with living in a city."
Wordlessly he nods his head, unsure of how to respond.
Starting the car, the engine's purr cuts through the serenity of the surrounding area, blurring out all the other noises until its rumble is all we can hear. Gone are the birds, leaves rubbing against each other, water rippling, and branches crunching.
"Do you remember how to reverse?"
"Yes, go all the way to the right and down."
Without another word, I start the car and reverse back out of the trail and onto the main road I was on more than ten hours ago.
"What was your favorite part of the day?" He asks.
"Definitely sitting under the tree with a book in my hand and the sun's glare reflecting off the water to give me enough light to see all the words. It was perfect. The weather was nice and nature itself was- was so different from what I'm used to. It was a really great change, even if it was only for a day. What was your favorite part?"
"When we didn't die from your drift."
When he sees my face, he gets serious.
"Honestly though, I was- am very impressed with how fast you were able to learn manual and maneuver drifting, especially in such a fast car and very short learning time. It was very interesting to see how you could take what I taught you and apply it correctly a few moments later."
"Thank you. I have always been a fast learner. But I have to tell you something," peeking at him for a moment I continue, "I have always wanted to drive a fast car and drift so I watched videos and looked on websites, but I had never actually done it, unless you count acting out "Fast and Furious" as driving.
"No, I refuse to count that as driving. Unless you are in the driver's seat holding the wheel and shifting gears, you are not driving a manual car."
With a quick "fair enough" from me the car gets silent again. The silence, however, isn't one that is uncomfortable. It's just the opposite. It's the silence you have when two people just spent the whole day together and moved from being mildly-hostile acquaintances to, dare I say it, friends.
This time when we go down the road it's not at groundbreaking speed, but one more fit for the darkness of the night and a long day under the sunrays.
The more we head north, the more the city starts to appear until all the blurs of green from the trees disappear and are replaced with the boring typical colors of red and beige. Being Friday night, college students are driving or walking around the city, some heading to clubs, and others going out to dinners with their romantic partners. There's a young child I take particular notice of. He stands outside of an ice cream shop, holding his mom's hand while trying to pry her eyes away from her phone. The sight makes my chest ache. People never take a moment to get away from all of the technology society pushes on us and, as a result, we are taken away from those that we love the most. Today showed me that even if you don't love the person you are with, having someone's company should never be taken for granted because life is too short to miss any adventures that come your way.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I'm twenty-four years old and have never done anything like what I did today. I love a good thrill and going on adventures and feeling a spike in my adrenaline that makes me shake and wish that moment would never end. People never see what is right in front of them because they are so consumed in their lives, but if they just take a moment to step back, like I did today, they would find a trail, similar to ours, or meet a guy with a really fast car to take you drifting. Really, I'm really just thinking about how grateful I am that I woke you up this morning and the day turned out like this. So, thank you for showing me your secret spot and teaching me to drive and drift your car."
"Don't thank me for something you made happen. If you never tried to wake me up this morning or never had the courage to get in my car and refuse to leave after I kicked you out, today wouldn't have happened. This was all you. You said what you wanted to do and you went out to get it. I'm glad you enjoyed the adventure and driving. If I ever need anyone to take me grocery shopping or to give me a lift home from a club, I will give you a call."
The apartment building comes up then, it's generic tan coloring and full parking lot filling the windshield. I sigh. Home sweet home.
Choosing a safe spot where I know his car will not get hit, I pull in and shut the car off. Without the engine's noise, we are plunged into silence.
"I should get going. It's getting late and after the eventful day I just had, I'm ready to curl up with a good book and pass out for the rest of the night. I know I'm not supposed to thank you, but thank you for today. It was a lot of fun and just the thing I needed to break my routine up a bit."
"I agree. Maybe we can do this every Friday to make a new routine."
"I would like that. See you around, neighbor."
Opening the driver's side door, I step out and walk to the front door of the building. The doors open allowing a cool breeze, opposite of spring's warm one, to come rushing out and smacking me in the face. I shiver and walk in.
Similar to this morning, I walk up the flight of stairs, but this time there is no guy laying on the stairs sleeping and I'm not still wondering about that dream from last night. Whatever it means, I'll be okay with it. After spending time with Damon, I'm not so worried about why he was in my dream or how his light eyes became a solace in the dark. In a way, and this is most likely too fast, I trust him. He could've done anything with me or to me, but instead, he showed me how to have a good time and based activities on my interests, like reading under the weeping willow and talking with our feet in the lake.
Stepping out of the stairwell, I walk down the short hallway to my door. Taking out my key, I insert it into the lock and smile when I hear the "click" of the bolt moving out of the door. After such a long day all I want to do is take a warm shower, eat a little dinner, and read until my eyes droop closed.
First, dinner. Putting on the same playlist that I made years ago, I open the pantry and take out some quality ramen that is my food lifeline since I live alone and failed to learn how to cook. Grabbing a microwaveable bowl from the cabinet, I put warm water in, the noodles, after breaking them up, and the seasoning before popping it in the microwave for three minutes. During that time, I pour myself a glass of water, debate on whether to use a spoon or fork, the fork winning, and open my book on the page where I left off last night. Hearing the beep, I get the bowl, place it on the table, and drop an ice cube inside to make it cool down faster. Three pages later, I place the bowl in the sink to wash tomorrow and go to my bedroom to get pajamas.
With sweatpants, a long-sleeved shirt, and knee-high socks in hand, I go to the bathroom and turn the water on two notches down from burning-your-skin-off. With the heat soothing my body, I grow tired and speed up the process of cleaning my hair and body to get to bed as soon as possible. Four minutes later, my hair is brushed and the towel absorbed most of the water droplets from my body. Deciding to leave the clothes on the floor for tomorrow, I quickly get dressed, grab my book from the kitchen table, and head back to my room where my bed is calling my name. Only one page in, my eyelids droop dangerously low and I know that soon enough I will be out like a light, and today will become a delightful memory.