Chapter 4
Max
I give Lacey directions to the twenty-four hour diner we're heading to and check the radio stations for a decent song. I haven't sat in the passenger seat once in the two years I've had this car. I'll admit it feels strange.
I’ve never let anyone drive it, not even my brother, but it's worth it to see Lacey visibly relax. To see a small fraction of her fear melt away.
She slows to a stop at the light and the red reflects from her bright blond hair, glowing like a halo. It looks soft and natural. Not cheaply bleached and fried like the girls I’m used to being around.
She’s angelic.
And angels are sure as hell out of my league.
I shake my head and settle on a song by Dustin Lynch, letting his voice fill the car as he croons about cowboys and angels. I smile to myself at the irony of my thoughts aligning with the lyrics of the song and let it play. I’m no cowboy but the lyrics somehow fit.
The smooth melody fills the car.
“You like country music?” She sounds surprised.
“Sometimes. Depends what they’re singing about I guess. I’m not really into twang-y crying and banjos or anything.”
She giggles. “I’m surprised, that’s all.”
“I’m a man full of surprises.”
“You sure are.”
She begins softly singing along with the song, knowing every word. I gesture for her to take a left but remain silent, enjoying the soft sound of her. Her voice was amazing and I found myself staring at her profile, entranced.
The song ends and another that I’ve never heard starts playing. She reaches for the radio dial and skips through stations until she lands on Adele. Lacey turns up the volume and begins singing again, this time at full volume and intensity.
When that song ends she turns the volume back down to a decibel that allowed us to speak without being overpowered by the music.
“Sorry. I don’t know if you like Adele. Most guys don’t. But I love her so I guess I just got carried away.”
“Well I don’t usually admit this...but I have a few of her songs on my phone.”
This earns me another giggle and I smile victoriously at being able to draw it out of her.
“Besides I like listening to you sing. You have a beautiful voice. Like an angel.”
She blushes. “I don’t do it much anymore.”
“Sing? Why not?” I ask, gesturing ahead. “Take a right at this light.”
She switches on the blinker and lets out a sigh. “I just...don’t have time I guess.”
It was a lie. I don’t call her on it but she must’ve sensed my disbelief because she shifts in the seat uncomfortably and spares me a side glance.
“Ok...that’s not true.” She started. I fought the smile at how quickly she took back her little white lie. “I guess I stopped because...because David thought it was a waste of time. My parents thought it was a waste of time. And then I started to believe it was a waste of time too.”
I stay quiet for a while weighing what she shared with me. I could sense it took a lot for her to open up about it and I don’t want to say the wrong thing.
“Does it make you happy?”
“Yes.”
“Then there’s no way it could be a waste of time.”
Silence fills the car as she reflects on my words. The radio host chats away in the background about a concert ticket giveaway but neither of us speaks.
When the fuck did I start spouting such inspirational, Dr. Phil advice? Life was shit sometimes. Sometimes you had to do shit you didn’t want to do, or give up shit that you didn’t want to give up.
I knew that concept well. I lived it.
But I didn’t like the idea of Lacey learning that harsh lesson. I didn’t want her passion to be snuffed out by anyone. I was already silently plotting ways to coax another giggle from her or even get her to crack a small smile. It was hard to believe I felt so drawn to a girl I just officially met today.
Lacey had a quality about her that had me mesmerized, a connection I couldn’t quite explain yet and didn’t want to try. No sense in ruining it by trying to analyze it too deeply.
She asks a question but I was too lost in my thoughts to hear what she said. “Huh?”
“What Adele songs do you have on your phone?”
I pull my phone from my pocket and scroll through the music until I find the three Adele songs I downloaded from iTunes. “You ready?”
“Ready.”
I hit play on the first song. Someone Like You. She sings along once again.
“Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead.”
She finishes the last line, her eyes closed as she loses herself in the song. When the closing instrumentals end she turns back to me, blushing when she finds my eyes glued to her profile as I listen intently.
“You ready to go inside?” She asks. “I’m starving.”