It all Comes in Waves: The Solitary Joy of the Ocean

Chapter 12

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Rowan and I were riding in the back of Matt's car, Him and Este in the front. The sunrise was just finishing, the air not hot just yet, so the roof was up on the car. Este had her head leaned against the window, probably sleeping, Matt's hand resting on her leg as he drove.

I was sitting criss-cross in the backseat playing Uno with Rowan. And winning. This was my first time playing this game, and I think it's my favorite.

The cards we placed down in the middle seat as we played kept sliding as the car moved. When the car turned, the cards would sometimes slide to the floor right when one of us was about to place down a card. It was slightly aggravating, but the satisfaction of me winning made up for it. I can't imagine how Rowan feels right now.

Eventually, I placed down my last card after calling 'Uno' earlier, winning again, then Matt turned the wheel a hard right, causing all the cards to slip onto the floor another time. Rowan dropped his cards with an annoyed look on his face.

"Alright, I need to take a minute after that." He grumbled. I laughed at him.

"Chill dude, it's just Uno." Matt said from the driver seat.

"Well, if you didn't take turns going a hundred."

"How many times did you win, Eileen?" Matt asked, looking at me through the rear view mirror.

"Four." I grinned. Matt snickered.

Rowan looked over to me again, and smiled. "How are you just good at everything?"

"What am I best at?" I teased back.

Rowan mouthed, 'Kissing,' and I giggled at him again.

After about forty minutes of driving, Este finally woke up.

"What'd I miss?" She asked while stretching.

"Rowan raging at Uno." Matt said.

"I was not." Rowan called.

Este snickered. "He so was."

Este reached her hand in the console to find the aux cord. She plugged up her phone and started playing music. Her beach playlist, it sounds like.

"Man, I love this song." Matt said, turning the volume up a little.

The two of them sang along to the song playing while me and Rowan thumb wrestled. His hand was bigger than mine of course, so he won every time. We played rock, paper, scissors a few times too.

Later we decided we were getting hungry, so Este passed around the snack bag she packed. Matt made fun of her for bringing it earlier, but I could tell he was thankful for it now.

When the bag passed to me, I picked a rice krispies treat. Rowan got a small bag of chips. He offered me a couple, which I accepted.

My feet were next to me, my knees to my chest, I was sort of sitting curled up, sort of lying down. My head was leaning against the window and I watched everything we passed. I decided I really liked palm trees.