As I drove further out of town and up into the hills I could sense Aston squirming in the seat next to me. “What?” I laughed, quickly glancing over him and then putting my eyes back on the road.
“You’re starting to go all axe murder/criminal on me again,” he said nervously. “Where the hell are we going?”
“Surprise,” I said. “Just sit tight, we’re almost there.”
In the darkness I squinted my eyes to see if I could see the turn-off that I was looking for. It was still pitch black, but you could tell that we were mere minutes away from sunrise.
I heard Aston yawn next to me and I prodded his shoulder gently, “Don’t doze off! Trust me, this is worth it!”
“Fine,” he whined.
Just then I saw where I was headed and sharply turned the car off the road.
“Jheeze!” he said loudly as I parked up the car.
“Come on, get out!” I ordered as I unbuckled my seat belt and got out the car.
“What the--?” asked Aston as I pushed him towards the barriers. He was cut short as he noticed where we were. You could see the lights of the city in the distance, and there was a softness to the sky as the sun started to slowly come up.
“Come on,” I said, climbing over the barrier. Silently we walked down a small path and into the trees, before coming out again at another look-out spot, away from the road.
“Jess, what is this place?” asked Aston.
“This is my favorite place in all of LA,” I smiled. “I come up here to think sometimes, or when I need some inspiration.”
“It’s amazing,” he gasped as the sun lit up the sky. We stood and watched as the sky turned all sorts of pinks and oranges. Maybe ten minutes passed, and within that short amount of time the sun rose up and we were bathed in a bright light. I could feel the exhaustion coming on, but I waited for Aston to finish enjoying the view.
“Why did you bring me here?” he asked after awhile.
“What do you mean?” I said.
“I don’t know... Just wondered why you wanted to show me this place.”
I stood and thought about it for a minute. I honestly had no idea why I’d brought him here. I just knew that he would like it and I wanted to share it with him. To answer his question I just shrugged my shoulders and said, “Don’t know, just thought you’d like it. It’s a bit different than the LA everyone is used to. The movie stars and all that. Brings it all into perspective when you realize that this place isn’t that big… I mean look, it fits into that valley.”
He just stared at me for a few seconds before turning back to the view, “You’ve grown up,” he said.
“I guess I have…” I sighed. “Ready? I’m tired…”
“Sure,” he said, following me back to the car. Again we sat in silence as I drove through the early morning streets of LA. People were just starting to come out to grab their papers, but the traffic hadn’t started yet. Aston directed me to his hotel, which wasn’t actually that far from where I was living, just on the beach.
As I pulled up I put the brake on and sat staring at Aston. “Was good to see you Ast,” I smiled, leaning over the shifter and giving him a tight squeeze. “It’s been far to long.”
“Agreed. Am I gonna get to see you again before we leave?” he asked.
“I…” I started. Did I want to commit myself to this?
“Only, you owe me an explanation,” he said sternly. It caught me by surprise.
“An explanation for what?”
“Why you quit your dream job.”
I sat and stared at him. How did he know that I wasn’t at Mosley anymore?
