"Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery."

Based off “Seasons” by The Summer Set.

It was summer - mid-August to be exact. It was a typical Saturday morning. I was still in bed underneath the covers with music playing from my iPod placed on a dock with speakers. The saturated red numbers on my alarm clock read 10:00 a.m. exactly. I was fully awake, but not ready to get up. It was nice to lay there, let the cool breeze brush up against my skin. The drapes of my window were still closed, blocking the sun rays to pour in. I sang softly to the Meg & Dia song that had come up on the shuffle.

This was all interrupted though when my best friend, Jess came in through the door with a mission - to get me out of bed ASAP. She jumped on and exclaimed,

“Get up Annabelle!”

I shook my head. “No way. I’m staying right here.”

“So you don’t want to hang out with John before the show? He’ll be so bummed out…”

Sighing I sat up and dragged my feet to my closet. Jess smiled in triumph, knowing that she won once she mentioned my boyfriend’s name. She knew I would not pass up hanging out with him. Jess, John, and the rest of the guys had been touring more often so I got less time to hang out with all of them in general. They had only been home for a little over a month and a half and they were already leaving for another tour in two days. The show they were playing that night was a local one for fans who lived around the area.

“I knew you couldn’t say no,” Jess mused.

I stuck my tongue out at her, which only made her laugh.

“Where’s John in the first place?” I asked.

“Over at Josh’s house, I think. He’ll be over here in twenty minutes.”

My eyes widen. “What! Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

“You were still in bed. Don’t freak out.  You can get ready in time.”

Scanning over my clothes, I pulled out a navy blue embroidered racerback tank and a pair of white shorts to thrown. Once I was dressed, I put on a pair of gladiator sandals and put my hair up in a high ponytail. The only make-up I applied was mascara and tinted lip balm. Jess and I headed out of my room to go downstairs once I had grabbed my shoulder-strap bag. In the kitchen, my mom was sitting at the counter going over the bills  and writing checks that were due that month. She looked up at us, smiling and greeted,

“Hey girls. What are you two up to?”

“Annabelle has a hot date with John,” Jess replied, her tone teasing.

I blushed anyway and it didn’t help that my mom went along with it too.

“Ooh, where’s John taking you on this hot date honey? You look very cute by the way.”

Oh god. I covered my face in embarrassment with my hands. My mom, Jess, and basically everyone else loved to tease me about John because I blushed so easily and they thought we were adorable when we both acted shy. Jess had even listed reasons to me one time. He was tall and I was short; he had a vibrant, outgoing personality while I was more tranquil and bubbly at the same time. Instead of answering my mom’s question, I took a seat at the dining table and pretended like I didn’t hear anything.

“It’s a surprise Mrs. Tapia. Even I don’t know where John’s taking her,” Jess answered instead.

“Oh really? Well, I be he’s trying to outdo himself then.”

“Most likely.”

Just then the doorbell rung and Jess didn’t waste the opportunity to be the one to answer it.

“Johnny-boy, you’re here! Annabelle’s in the kitchen waiting for you looking like hot stuff,” she stated out loud.

“Do you always have to do that when I come over Jess? You don’t even live here,” I heard John say to her.

“This is like my second home so I can do what I want. Anyways, get in here.”

Both John and Jess walked over to the kitchen and I felt the shyness makes it way back with the blush in my cheeks included. John smiled at me, which only made the blush deepen. He was a pink-striped muscle tank, black skinny jeans, and black scuffed lo pro Vans. He also wore a blue and pink hat with the cap flipped up, his chestnut brown hair a curly, tousled mess. He looked over at my mom, greeting,

“Hi Mrs. Tapia.”

“Hi John. Remember Annabelle’s curfew and you two have fun.”

“I will - midnight since there’s a show tonight.”

“You two should get going unless you want me to tease you guys out of love again…,” Jess trailed off.

“No way, let’s go Annabelle. I have surprise for you.”

He came over and laced his hand with mine to head out the door. We didn’t leave quick enough since we could still hear Jess say, “It better be a good surprise - not just macking!” The blush in my cheeks errupted, the crimson color all over my face. John just rolled his eyes playfully; he was used to Jess and his brother, Stephen teasing him when they got the chance. They claimed it to be “out of love” (sure). When he was sure we were alone in his car, John leaned over to kiss me. I sighed; the kiss felt nice and sweet all at once.

“Finally,” he whispered, a smile curving his small, pouted lips.

I smiled back, moving a curly strand of hair away from his face.

“So… what’s this surprise Jess kept talking about?” I asked.

He smirked. “You’re going to have to wait. Plus, I’m putting a blindfold over your eyes.”

“Aw, come on John. I don’t even get a hint?”

He shook his head. “Be patient, it’ll be worth it.”

I sat back in the passenger seat and crossed my arms over my chest. “Uh huh…”

He pecked my lips before he pulled out the red blindfold from the glove compartment to place it over my eyes.

“No peeking,” he reminded me.

He drove for approximately twenty minutes and the only senses I could depend on at the moment were my scent and hearing. The windows were rolled up; the air conditioning was on. Music played from the speakers and John held onto my hand. It made me anxious not knowing where we were going, but I didn’t want to spoil the surprise just because I couldn’t wait until we got to our destination. When the car came to a complete stop and I heard the click of John’s seat belt, I unbuckled my own. His car door opened and closed, signifying he had gotten out. I then heard my door open, John grabbing both my hands so I could step out. He guided me towards something and I didn’t note where to until we had stepped inside a building, the chime of the bell signaling our entrance.

“Any guesses to where we are?” he asked, his breathe on the shell of my ear.

A sweet smell infiltrated my lungs that was like butter and sugar all at once. We were in some sort of cafe, but I couldn’t tell which kind. I shook my head and then he pulled off the blindfold from my eyes. It ended up being a cupcake cafe - assortments of cupcakes were behind glass displays with various decorations on them. The architecture of the place resembled a fairy tale-like theme, especially with the vivacious colors. A big smile tugged at the corners of my lips when I looked up at John and stood on my tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

“Pick anything you want. We’re going to take them to go. I have another surprise for you,” he informed me.

This time I kissed him on the lips before I tugged at his hand to go towards the counter to pick a pastry out. I chose two fudge brownie cupcakes that had bite-size Reese’s peanut butter cups in the middle. John got two vanilla and chocolate swirl cupcakes with fudge icing. After paying for them, John placed the blindfold over my eyes again in the car for the next surprise.

It definitely was worth the surprise. He had taken me to the park and underneath a shaded tree a picnic was set up. Red-checkered blanket and woven picnic basket included. We sat down and John took out the food from the basket - turkey sandwiches, Sun chips, fresh strawberries, sharp cheddar cheese on crackers and raspberry iced tea.

“Did you do all this by yourself?” I wondered.

“Stephen helped me set up while Josh helped making the lunch.”

I grinned. “You put a lot of thought into this.”

He grinned back. “I wanted to make sure things were perfect, especially since I’ll be leaving for tour. I just want to spend as much time with you as I can today.”

It was sweet to hear him say those words and all I could come up with to say back was,

“Well, this is perfect. I like having you to myself right now.”

He smiled and leaned over to kiss me the same way he had at my house. “That’s good to hear.”

Every minute spent was not wasted. We talked and laughed as we ate our lunch on the blanket. I stayed close by John’s side, his body heat sending a tingling sensation across my skin. I wanted to remember every part of this, any little detail that would sponge up in my memory for future daydreaming. The way he smiled, how his lips literally tasted sugary-sweet with each kiss and the musky, light scent of his clothes that permeated onto mine. It was those little things that meant so much to me. The ones that kept me going when I wouldn’t see him for a long period of time as he toured the country.

Phone calls and text messages are never enough. I would miss being in his arms laying in my bed late at night. And the way his voice sounded as he’d whisper against my ear. But I knew he was doing something he loved and I supported that all the way through. Relationships have their sacrifices; this was mine. I knew he would do the same for me.

Once the food was done with only crumbs left on the Styrofoam plates, we cleaned up to go back to the car. We were heading to the venue where the band would be playing at. Each opportunity I would get I’d hold his hand and kiss him spontaneously. He’d do the same, nuzzling his nose against the crook of my neck as he left chaste kisses. Everybody else in the was already at the venue, setting up their equipment on stage.

John and I stood by a wall covered with dozens of stickers and flyers. I had my arms wrapped around his neck as he held onto my waist. I kissed him before I whispered,

“I love you John.”

Neither one of us had officially said the three words, but we were aware of the strong feelings that existed between us. Now I felt it was time to acknowledge it by saying those words to him because they were true.  The timing was right.

He whispered back, “I love you too, Annabelle.”

We smiled at each other bashfully, kissing once more before John had to get ready for the show.

“You’ll be watching, right?” he questioned.

“I always do silly,” I replied. “Go get them tiger.”

The smile he gave me was so infectious that it caused me to smile back in the same way. I couldn’t have been more happier. This felt right - it’s love and it’s real. It would only get better as time went on. That was for sure.