"He started!"
A soft chuckle escaped Valeria as she watched Nico’s reaction, the woman stretching both of her arms in the direction of Ari, just as the man flipped her the bird in response.
"I trust it to you then Val. Send me to valhalla once Day drifts us downhill."
"Sure, I'll even include a funeral pyre if the car doesn’t blow up after going over the guard rails~"
Thankfully for all the joking that was done it seemed that Dayeon would make good on her promise, the blue Mustang being the first to leave the rental parking lot with the duo—and not even a tire screech was heard as they pulled out and onto the road.
"Unlikely, but we'll give it a go." The response had been expected, after all she knew how terrible his own insomnia could be at times, but at the very least it sounded like he’d give it a try so she decided to not press the matter further.
"Wanna hook up your phone and throw on some tunes?"
"Of course, otherwise I’d be a terrible copilot."
She hadn’t missed the faint smile that tugged at the corner of his lips as he stared at the steering wheel, his hands running over it before one finally moved to the ignition with a pleased smirk. A light giggle escaped the girl then, the sound of the Mustang enough to melt away a bit of the tension she felt on her own shoulders, before she fiddled with the settings of her phone to pair it up with the vehicle as Ari followed behind the blue Mustang.
"Let’s see… what to play, what to play…" She could feel the faster than usual heartbeats within her chest, almost hyper aware of the private space they were now sharing as her eyes scrolled over a never ending list of songs within her Spotify favorites.
"Hmm, oh, I guess this one would be good for a radio playlist."
As they pulled to the first red light Ari had finally found the button to retract the canvas top of the vehicle, allowing the cool island air to envelop them, the familiar scent of the salt in the wind bringing back old memories for the blonde of her own native island.
Sunroof began playing on the speakers just as the Mustang was set into motion once more, sunkissed strands of hair flickering and dancing in the air as they cruised along the road to their destination.
The only sound to accompany the roar of the engine were the tunes that cycled through the speakers from the
auto generated radio that Spotify had created from her initial song choice. Usually the girl would’ve found herself singing along to most of the known songs as they played, instead she’d found herself tongue-tied and quiet as Val chose to focus on the playlist displayed on her phone screen. The sudden roar of the blue Mustang caught her attention then, looking up to see Dayeon pull away from them before disappearing.
"I hope they're okay…?"
It was a poor attempt at some form of small talk, a side glance given to the man beside her as she spoke, before soon shifting to the sugarcane fields to her right after noticing the tension along his jaw. A few taps on the screen of her device had it switch to video, the girl taking a few moments to record the passing fields for a friend—but also as an excuse to do something, anything, that would occupy her attention and distract her front he growing nervousness that continued to well up within her chest.
"Hey," She’d been visibly startled when Ari finally chose to break the silence between them next, barely managing to stop the recording on her phone before the device tumbled onto her lap as it slipped through her fingers.
"Y-Yeah?" The blonde mentally kicked herself as her voice squeaked right out of her mouth, feeling the way her cheeks began to burn in embarrassment just as her eyes shifted back to look at the man once more.
"Are we okay?"
With that single question he’d chosen to address the elephant in the backseat head-on, refusing to skirt around the topic with the usual song and dance they had seemingly fallen into since their first meeting in New York.
"I t-think so…?" She wished her voice carried her usual confidence, instead it faltered before her gaze turned away once more—fingers now quietly fiddling with the hem of her jacket and the pull tab of its zipper as the radio shifted and
Stay began to play.
What was okay for them? Was it the way they’d been pretending as if neither had feelings for the other ever since their Summerfest had come to an end? How she’d often send him songs not only because the girl thought he’d like them, but also because it was a way to share all the emotions swirling within her that were often left unsaid? Or perhaps the way they’d often steal glances and touches from one another, seeking that physical comfort in varying amounts?
"I still care about you," That much was true, her feelings were still there and present. They hadn't evaporated during Lübeck, hadn’t lessened either with each passing day… they were out front and center now, and she didn’t know what to do with them.
"... what about you?"
