11.26.2019

You would think Nick would want to leave early to get home as soon as possible, instead he chose to wait to leave at the very last moment. It's almost 11AM when he finally shows to pick me up. He helps me place the little amount of luggage I have into the trunk of his Mercedes and soon we're both off on this unexpected and awkward road trip.

I have always been content with silence. But today, it is exceptionally uncomfortable. I try to look out the window as we drive through the streets to get onto the highway. It seems neither of us has anything to talk about so the quiet air stretches on for what feels like an eternity until Nick finally speaks up.

"Can you grab me those crisps from the back?"

My eyes shift to him and then to the back seat where there is an entire shopping bag filled with snacks. I reach for it and manage to pull out a large bag of Salt and Vinegar chips.

At least he has good taste.

He mumbles a quick thank you before ripping the bag open and munching on the crisps while he drives.

"I'm thirsty. Hand me a soda, Melody. It's in the glove compartment," he asks a few minutes later.

"Is this why you offered to drive me? So you could have someone to hand you snacks?" I ask, leaning over to grab a can of coke.

He gasps dramatically. "Is that what you think of me? Obviously, it's because I didn't want to be bored by myself," he jokes.

"Funny," I humph.

"Grab something for yourself. There's enough for the both of us." He nods his head towards the back.

"I'm good. Thanks."

"Come on," he reaches for the snacks and after a few attempts of smacking his hand around on the seat, finally grabs the bag. "Here. Pick your poison," he offers, setting the bag on my lap, his eyes never leaving the road.

I look at the assortment of snacks inside, unable to decide what to eat and finally pull out a pack of MnM's.

Thankfully, Nick uses this time to connect his phone to the car and play some music. At first, I don't recognize the song but when it finally reaches the chorus, I realize he put on the song Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift. Needless to say, his choice has me startled, to say the least.

"Seriously? Taylor Swift?" I exclaim, surprised.

"What? She makes me feel things," he answers defensively.

I can't fight the smile that makes its way onto my face while I attempt to roll my eyes. When the song ends, it is followed by Young and Beautiful, surprising me yet again.

"Come on. First Taylor Swift and now Lana Del Rey?"

"She makes me feel things," he shrugs.

After that, Katy Perry's Firework comes on.

"Let me guess, she also makes you feel things?" I look at him with a raised brow, a tug of smile playing on my lips.

"No. This is just a fun song," he grins at me.

"You are so not what I expected," I muse.

"Really? And what did you expect?"

"I don't know. Rap songs that disrespect women," I shrug.

"Hey, I think women are beautiful. They deserve nothing but love and respect. I don't know what would give you that idea."

"Is that what you do with all the girls you hang out with? Respect them?"

"Yeah, why do you think they all want a piece of this," he smirks while gesturing to himself.

"Oh, my God," I mouth while rolling my eyes and turn my head to look out the window.

I watch him grin in my peripheral vision but focus on the fields stretching all the way to the horizon, finally finding comfort in the silence. The sun shies away behind thick clouds. Winter has not been kind to the trees lining the highway. They lay barren as we swish past beside them.

"There's a great sushi restaurant up here. We should stop there for lunch," Nick announces after a little while, distracting me from the scenic visuals.

"What? You've been snacking ever since we got in the car," I exclaim.

"Driving makes me hungry," he states matter-of-factly.

"Aren't we already pretty late?" I point out.

"What are you gonna do by getting there early?"

He made a fair point. Harry wasn't going to get there any sooner before the party, so my only reason to get there early was also gone.

"I have no intention of getting there before I absolutely have to," he adds.

"Why? Don't you like going home?" Curiosity gets the best of me.

"Home? Yes. Irene's tacky Thanksgiving "gala", not so much," he makes air quotes around the word gala.

I can't help but laugh at his words, making him stare at me in disbelief.

"You can't possibly tell me you enjoy that nonsense," he turns his eyes back to the road.

"No, no," I quiet down for a second. "I'm just glad somebody agrees it's tacky," I burst out into laughter again but this time he joins me.

Soon enough, we stop in front of a sushi restaurant. The interior gives off subtle Japanese vibes and mellow music plays in the background. Nick leads us to a booth in the corner. The waiter places a menu in front of each of us and leaves to let us decide.

I glance at the card, giving it a quick look. A few of the words jump out at me. Sashimi. Nagiri. California Roll. I'm smart enough to know I have no clue what these words mean so I let Nick decide and order for the both of us.

"We will take the sushi platter," he informs the waiter.

"Anything to drink, sir?"

"Just water."

"And what about you, ma'am?" The waiter shifts his direction to me.

"I'll take a lemonade. Thanks."

He smiles at us and walks away, returning a few minutes later with a large platter covered with various colors and shapes of sushi. Nick takes the time to name every different kind, shoving a few into his mouth while going through his long list.

"Come on, you've got to try one," he nudges when he notices he is the only one eating.

"I tried the cooked one once and hated it. You can't convince me I will enjoy the actual thing."

"That's a disrespect to sushi. Now you have to try it."

He stares me down and I finally give in. Picking up the chopsticks, I grab the one he had called Maki. It seems to have the least amount of fish and that's what invites me in.

My mouth is physically repulsed by the taste. I groan in disgust as I chew through it, subduing the need to gag.

"That was the worst thing I've ever had in my entire life," I say after painfully swallowing the whole thing.

"Oh, come on. It couldn't have been that bad," he scoffs.

"I've decided sushi is an acquired taste," I wipe my mouth with the napkin. "I just haven't acquired it yet. Nor do I ever want to," I gulp my drink down to erase the lingering flavor from my mouth.

"Alright, at least order something else then," he offers.

"No. I'm good." I'm convinced nothing in this place is made for my taste-buds.

"Please? Try the dumplings. I'll just feel bad if you don't eat," he pleads. His piercing blue eyes easily win me over.

"Fine," I sigh in defeat.

The dumplings are surprisingly tasty and I manage to clean my plate. Nick asks to take the leftover sushi to-go and we're back in the car after he has paid the bill.

"My turn on the aux cord," I declare, reaching forward to grab it before Nick does.

Both of our hands reach for it at the same time. Sparks fly all the way over to my recently filled stomach, making me pull my hand away. Blood rushes to my cheeks when I look up to see his intense stare. Our eyes meet only for a few seconds, but the world seems to slow down in those short moments.

He clears his throat, bringing the world back to normal again. "Here," he hands me the cable.

I carefully take it from his hand, making sure I don't accidentally touch him again. After listening to Nick's playlist full of peppy pop songs, I put on my favorite album of Linkin' Park to cleanse my ears.

"Is this what you listen to? This is just noise," Nick finally speaks up a couple of minutes into the song.

"What can I say? It makes me feel things," I grin, making him shake his head in amusement.