Fried Burrito

t h i R T e e n

6 rolled around quickly and things seemed to have a great start. All my brothers were conveniently out of the house, which meant no awkward interruptions plus my friends were busy with their lives so that meant they wouldn't pester me with additional scenarios that could distract me.

The doorbell had finally rung after what felt like years. I opened the door and felt my heart drop at the sight of Jace in my doorway.

"Hi," I breathed out softly. "Are you ready?"

"Yes and no. You didn't really tell me where we were going so I had to wreck my brain horribly on deciding what to wear for you."

"Don't worry about that, soon enough you won't have to worry about wearing any clothes with me."

Jace's face brightened at my sudden burst of boldness with him before unleashing that beautiful smile of his.

"So, what are we doing tonight?"

"You'll see when we get there." I winked. "I planned everything out... I'll drive." I said while snatching Jace's keys from his hands.

He didn't seem to mind my authoritative notions for the drive over to Carson's beach house, which was the destination of our 48-hour date.

"What kind of music do you listen to?" Jace asked out of the blue.

"Hm," I thought for a minute. "A good mix of everything... Except for country. I don't think anyone listens to country though."

"Hey! Plenty of people listen to country music in their free time!"

"Oh no," I stole a glance at him from the driver's seat and saw that he was sitting defensively. "Don't tell me you actually like country music!"

"I don't like it!" he retorted. "I love it."

My laughter was too much to hold in as I imagined Jace singing along at the top of his lungs to country music. He truly was full of surprises.

"I would have never pegged you as a country music lover," I said, once my laughter subsided.

"Well I never would have pegged you for a-" he paused to pick up my phone and check the music that was playing. "R&B lover."

"For your information, I have not met a single person who isn't in love with R&B! The music is so soulful and edgy, all at the same time, it's amazing."

"How?"

"I don't know. It just has so many sides to the genre and all of those ideas mean something different every time. The melodies many R&B artists just have the power to make my heart feel whole and don't even get me started on the lyrics!"

The car got silent -- aside from the faint sound of my music -- and things felt weird. I looked over at Jace to see that he was staring at me with a weird look on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"You're so beautiful Caden, did you know that?"

"Yes, I did... thank you."

"You're the first girl in a while to say that they know that they're beautiful so openly."

"Well, I must be since I have the ability to attract so many guys with a simple picture," I sighed.

"Yes, I've noticed that. I may not know you well but I can tell that you have a lot to offer."

"Thank you."

Jace nodded in response and became silent for a few moments of the drive that was beginning to feel like an eternity. It looked like he was deep in thought.