Track season ended, as did my favorite bus trips with him. The end of the school year was almost here. Reed and I joked that we wouldn’t be spending this summer working at the aquatics center. The thought of seeing Tyler’s face again made my gut recoil, and I know Reed would punch him on sight. I had decided to take a job at the MicNic burger, mostly because I liked the novelty of wearing roller skates, which the wait staff got to. Plus, I got a little thrill out of bringing my dad home free cheeseburgers from time to time.
My birthday was coming up, and I was nervous about Reed’s plans. He was taking me out Friday after school and gave me specific instructions. So specific, they came with a list. He said he was making up for the date that never was, the one he had planned to take me on before Tatum ruined us the first time.
I checked my backpack Thursday night to make sure I had everything Reed asked for: a full change of clothes, sweatpants and sweatshirt, tooth brush, my favorite songs on my iPod, a flashlight and an orange crayon. The list was strange, I thought, but I was game. I was dying to know his plans.
I met Reed at his Jeep when school let out, since he had picked me up that morning. I tossed my school bag in the back and pulled the special pack to the front seat with me. Almost giddy, Reed leapt into the seat next to me and buckled up before nearly peeling out of the student parking lot.
“So, where is this mystery date?” I asked, so curious.
“No, no… all will reveal itself,” he was smug and knowing, teasing me and enjoying it.
We were on our desert highway for almost an hour heading south before we linked in with the Interstate and just kept on going. When I realized we were travelling far, I got a little worried. I hadn’t prepped a way to spend the late evening hours with Reed, and I wasn’t sure what time my parents expected me to be home.
“Reed, maybe I should call my dad? I think he was thinking I’d be home by 9 or something?” I said awkwardly.
Reed just shot me a huge grin, his green eyes lit by his deep dimples. “Not a problem, already got it worked out,” he smiled. “See… you’re spending the night at Sarah’s tonight. She worked this whole thing out with me.”
My mouth was open as I stared at him. Was I really spending the night with Sarah? I didn’t think that was the case, but I was a bit thrown off my game by not being in control of my own destiny.
We drove for more than an hour south to the outskirts of Tucson before Reed exited on a side road and started to wind through the cactus-dotted desert hills outside the city. His Jeep climbed the mountains quickly and I could tell we were gaining altitude when I looked back to see the sun barely kissing the horizon and the lights of Tucson starting to glimmer a bit on the desert floor.
Twilight was setting in when Reed finally pulled off onto a dirt road and wound through a pine forest grove. It always amazed me that you could climb the desert mountains and find a forest revealed.
He stopped his Jeep and hopped out with gusto, pulling a large pack from his Jeep back and started to set up a tent. Oh my god, we were camping! I had never been camping, ever!
I sat there watching him, grinning like a child, until he startled me with his voice. “Are you just going to sit there, or are you going to help me set up camp,” he teased, the rods for the tent flinging in every which direction.
“Oh! Yes, sorry. I was just taking it in,” I grinned, ear-to-ear. Reed dropped the tent pieces for a minute and lifted me up, looking at my face as his spun me around slowly.
“Happy birthday, Nolan!” he was proud of himself. He did good, and he knew it.
We had the tent set in a few minutes and Reed was already working to get a fire going and setting up our site a little. I was just sitting on his sleeping bag that he had laid out for me, holding my backpack and watching him in wonder.
“What’s up?” he smiled at me, wanting to know my thoughts.
“I was just thinkin’,” I smiled.
“Yeah, I get that,” he rolled his eyes. “Whatcha thinking?”
“Well, I get the clothes, and the toothbrush. And the flashlight?” I furrowed my brow a little.
“OH, yeah. Thanks! I’ll need that. I don’t have one of those,” he grinned, grabbing the light from my backpack and pushing it in his back pocket.
“But, why my music?” I asked.
Reed stopped what he was doing and reached for my hand, pulling me into him tightly, kissing my lips lightly. “Duh, so I can dance with you under the stars,” he shook his head like I was slow for not getting it, always teasing me.
“OK, OK. But…orange crayon?” I pulled it out of the bottom of my backpack and held it up and Reed just started laughing, so hard he had to hold his knees to catch his breath.