let me down slowly - wilbur soot

chapter 41- whipped

"what are you hungry for?" i ask as i drive down a few surface streets.

"uhh..." aubrey sighs. "i'm horrible at making decisions. you choose."

"no, you choose."

"i can't decide!"

"neither can i!"

"just pick somewhere! i don't care about where we go, anywhere is fine."

"well i don't care either!"

i stop at a stop sign and we both turn to each other, then burst out into a fit of laughter at the same time.

"you wanna just get mcdonalds again?" aubrey asks. "for some reason i'm craving that stupid mcflurry."

"now that you mention it, that mcflurry sounds really good," i respond. "let's pray the machine isn't broken."

i map the closest mcdonalds on my gps and we head there, getting into the drive thru line.

"what do you want?" i ask as we approach the place where you take your order.

"dessert for lunch," aubrey says with a mischievous smile. "fries and mcflurry."

"you have taste. i might just get the same."

aubrey reaches into her small backpack and gets her wallet. she starts to pull out her credit card, but i extend my hand out.

i don't mean to, but my hand grazes hers. the feeling of her cold skin against my warm hand sends shivers down my spine.

"she has you whipped, man," my subconscious tells me. "just the slight feeling of her hand against your fingertips makes your heart race? seriously?"

i groan. does that subconscious ever know when to shut up?

"let me pay," aubrey says, pulling me back into the moment.

"seriously, aubrey?" i ask with a raised eyebrow. "i don't think so."

"why not? it's gonna be like... five pounds max." she pushes my hand away, connecting our hands once again.

"you're the guest in my car. let me pay."

"well, it's not like this is a date, weirdo. i'm not your girlfriend that you should feel obligated to pay for."

my mouth forms into a straight line.

ouch.

she did not let me down slowly there.

"please, aub-dawg?"

she turns to me with wide eyes.

"not that nickname." she laughs heartily.

"like you said, it's gonna be at most five pounds. ten if you add me, too. it's alright."

"whatever." we pull up to where you give your order and i order two m&m mcflurries and two medium fries.

once we get our food, i choose a random spot in the parking lot and put the car in park.

"hope you don't mind eating in the car," i say.

"not at all," aubrey responds as she picks up her fries.

we have casual conversation while eating, talking about whatever feels right at the moment. aubrey tells me about how her streaming is going, her family, and that she's secretly always wanted to sing.

"wait... actually?" i ask after i swallow a fry. "i mean, i remember at karaoke you were pretty good. but you want to sing as a career?"

"eh, i don't know," she replies. "i don't think i'm good enough for that. singers and musicians are just people i've always admired. and i think that feeling amplified when i met you." i smile.

"maybe we can record something together one day." aubrey turns to me, her nose slightly red.

"you mean that?"

"of course."

and then we sit in my car, with cheap food in our hands and cheesy grins on both of our faces that just don't seem to go away. 

(A/N their relationship is getting somewhere...!!!! :D and HAPPY FIRST UPDATE OF 2022!! i hope this year brings you all nothing but happiness because that's what you deserve <3 anywayyy i would really appreciate it if you could vote, comment, share, and add this to your reading lists! we're so close to 100k reads [which is absolutely insane, thank you so much] and doing what i just listed ^^ would really help out :) thank you so much for reading and happy new year!)