89 — “Where you belong”

The journey was very smooth, but as Jasper had already said, his town is really in the countryside. The hours we spent on the road were long, but with the music on the radio and our silly banter, the time passed so quickly that I hardly noticed.

As we drove further into the interior of the state, the denser the pine forest became. I felt anxious about being swallowed up by the green landscape, but whenever uncertainty took over my mind, I would look at Jasper, his serene countenance, his silly smile that he always gave when he noticed my eyes on him.

And every time our gazes met, butterflies danced in my stomach.

"We're almost there..." He says, catching my eye, but he keeps his eyes fixed on the road and his hands firmly on the steering wheel, "Keep looking, Reddy... you're about to see the biggest, most beautiful lake of your life."

Anticipation burns in me and, as he opens the roof of the car, the wind starts to ruffle my hair. I lean over the door, my eyes fixed on the horizon...