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When George Shaw tries to find a plan for the last fifteen days to spend with his best friend, who he's had a crush on for as long as he can remember, all he needs is a map to plot out a road trip and his daily h...
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I'd slept throughout the flight, my head resting on the top of Abby's and she slept soundly in my arms. To her, this was a natural thing. We'd slept like this countless times before; to our parents, we were inseparable. However, with each year passing, our proximity gained a special meaning in my book, rendering each interaction much more worthwhile. I loved her—I loved her in a way that the word friendship didn't feel enough.
When we finally landed in Chicago, she took us to the rent-a-car store to get our car and shushed me saying she used her dad's credit card to rent when I offered to pay this time, since she already bought us the plane tickets. It seemed like Abby was keen on spending her father's wealth until he noticed his card was taken.
After we were set to go, Abby offered to drive the car this round because she slept throughout the flight. Since she made a plan herself, I accepted to ride shotgun and let her take us wherever she wanted. As we started our ride, she said our first stop was Jackson Boulevard, the official start of Route 66. This was my first time in Chicago so I was up to anything she suggested. Kidding, I would be down even if it was my umpteenth time.
I smoked a cig and rolled down the window so that she wouldn't get annoyed by the smoke. However, I figured out my theory failed when I felt her gaze on me. "I wish you'd quit that thing."
Taking an inhale, I gazed at her and turned on my side to blow the smoke out of the window before I turned back to her. "Then, we need to find another addiction." Someone who didn't smoke would never get this but your body craved for it, and honestly, I liked it. However, I loved teasing her so much.
She rolled her eyes, focused on the road, and replied, "If you don't smoke for fifteen days, I'll kiss you." I had to play her sentence several times in my mind to register. Did she just say that she would kiss me? Then, I remembered that I always teased her by saying she was the only girl I hadn't kissed in town. "You know," she said, sparing me a side glance, "for you to break your town record."
"That's very considerate of you," I replied, kind of hesitant to comment on her previous request. I didn't think she was serious about it. A short silence followed as we both didn't say anything and I just continued to smoke.
"So, what do you say?" She asked finally, her tone kind of teasing but I could also sense an awkwardness beneath it. "Will you quit?"
Throwing the remainder of my cig out, I turned at her and frowned. "Are you for real?"
"If a kiss can make you quit smoking, I'm all for it."
"Deal," I said, not wasting a second and the eagerness in my voice was so obvious that it took us both off guard. She threw me a look and I felt the need to add something that would make it less awkward. "Uh, you know, to break my record."
