Present
Rose sat in the back of the Uber, and she rested her head against the glass.
She let her mind wander back to the first time she ever saw Lannan.
Past
The day was like any other. Rose had been rushing around and trying to get things done, and she had found herself at the grocery store, staring impatiently at a can of tomato sauce on the top shelf. She tried talking herself up on how she was going to get it down.
She felt the heat of someone reaching around her. Spinning around, she found herself staring at the most beautiful honey brown eyes she'd ever seen.
"Is this the one you wanted?" The man asked, holding out the can.
"Yes, thank you so much," she paused, realizing she didn't know his name.
"Lannan. You?"
"I'm Rose," she shyly tucked a lock of her brown hair behind her ear.
"Well, Rose, what do you say, a favor for a favor?" he said with a smirk and just like that, she knew nothing would ever be the same.
They spent the rest of that day in a small local restaurant. Making their drinks last as long as possible, eating both lunch and dinner.
The two of them took up a table for six hours until the restaurant closed, then they stumbled into the street laughing about something Lannan said to her.
The sun was beginning to set, casting a golden glow across Lannan's face and Rose couldn't help but pull out her phone and snap a picture. He kissed her for the first time under an acacia tree and walked her to her car with his hand on the small of her back.
As soon as she got home, she sent him the picture with a heart, and immediately was rewarded by a goofy selfie.
Lannan: I had an amazing time with you.
Rose: So when are you taking me out again? ;)
Lannan: Rose, I will take you out whenever you want to go.
Rose: How about you come over tomorrow night? I'll make dinner. 6:30pm okay with you?
Lannan: I'll be there. Goodnight, Rose.
Rose: Goodnight, Lannan. I'm glad we met today.
Lannan: Me too.
Present
Rose unlocked her phone and opened twitter, deactivating her public profile, then moving to instagram and deleting that as well.
She knew that Lannan's fans would have questions, as they were never quiet with their relationship; answering them would just be too much. Being in the public eye had never been something she wanted, but rather something she went along with to make Lannan happy.
At that first dinner she had made for the two of them, he had cautiously approached the subject of his job.
Past
The doorbell rang as Rose's fire alarm went off. She knew that the bread in the oven was a lost cause.
She rushed to the door to open it and ran back to the oven while Lannan cautiously stuck his head in her front door and sniffed the air.
"Rose? You okay in here?" He caught a glimpse of Rose in the kitchen.
Her hair was all over the place and what appeared to be sauce on her cheek as she lifted the bread out of the oven and directly into the sink.
He'd never seen anyone look more beautiful than she did in that moment.
Later on, he'd swear that was the moment he fell in love with her. That was the story he told at parties and when she met his family.
"Sorry sorry sorry," she said, stirring the sauce and noodles, "I burned the bread, I just wanted this to be perfect."
"Rose, sweetheart," he gently spun her around and used his thumb to wipe the sauce off her cheek, "Being with you is perfect."
Rose felt herself relax in his arms and took a deep breath before pecking him on the lips and wiggling out of his arms to serve the simple pasta dish.
"Lan, can I call you Lan? Yeah, I really like that. Anyways, can you grab wine glasses out of that cabinet for me?"
Rose carried the plates of pasta to the table and Lannan obliged, setting the glasses down so she could pour the wine and sit across from him.
"Enjoy," she smiled sweetly, watching as he tasted the food, "I'll be honest this is the only dish I know how to make."
"You make it very good, though," he said, looking at the high ceilings of her well decorated apartment, "So what do you do for a living? This place is incredible."
"I actually work at a nonprofit for orphaned children. I inherited money when my grandmother died, which enables me to do the work I love without needing too much of a paycheck. What about you?"
He chuckled and said, "Well, your job sounds so noble. Mine's a bit shit if we're being honest."
"It can't be that bad, can it?"
"I'm actually a YouTuber. I upload gaming content and reaction videos."
"Oh yeah?" she rested her hand on her chin and gazed at him, listening intently.
"Yeah, I used to do construction but honestly, it just wasn't for me. I also am halfway to a pilot's license but that turned out not to be for me too."
A grin lit up her face as she said, "So I don't suppose I could get you to show me your channel, could I?'
"Oh, I don't know about that, Rose."
"Pleeeeeeasseeeeeeee," she pouted out her bottom lip while reaching for the remote for her smart tv, "You know you can't resist this look."
He shook his head, hoping she couldn't see just how true that was.
"Fine, fine, the channel name is, uh, Lazarbeam. But-" he reached for the remote, "If I show you, you have to promise me that when we get together, you'll do a girlfriend Q&A for the channel."
"Oh so we're getting together, hmm?" she said with a twinkle in her eyes.
"God," he turned to her and smiled, "I sure hope so."
Present
"Are you okay?" the uber driver asked, looking in his rearview at the crying girl in his backseat.
"I'll be fine once I get away from here." She tucked her phone in her pocket and wiped her tears.
She had a long journey ahead of her, after all.
