Impressed

Gunner sucked on the straw and paused to grin a little at Bree. How they met? "Really?" 

Seeing they were enjoying themselves, JT exited quietly, deciding to come back a little later. Maybe...just maybe his efforts wouldn't be wasted. Only time would tell.

Gunner held the cup clumsily between his hands, but at least he could drink through the straw without help, and that was much more enjoyable than being spoon-fed. He took another sip and let his tongue absorb the taste of the rootbeer and vanilla ice cream. A foggy image flashed in his mind. A table. In some kind of restaurant. No... yes. An ice cream shop. 

Without even realizing it, he stopped drinking as his eyes took on a faraway look, caught in a stare at nothingness. The image in his mind was so vague. So... far away. Then he saw a face. Her face. 

"You ordered a sundae without the sundae," he whispered. "I... I had to convince the grouchy waitress to bring you the toppings without the ice cream." 

He blinked and looked over at her, forgetting all about his float. "Bree..." His gaze was flooded with recognition mixed with a wave of emotions. One by one, he saw their moments flash by in his mind like a movie. He saw her virtually saving him from Northside... rescuing her... being in jail... feeling so lonely without her... smiling... laughing... proposing to her on that stupid camping trip... everything. And Brookshire. 

A tear escaped and trickled down the side of his face. "I remember everything," he choked. "Oh Bree... I'm so sorry you've been put through all this." Another tear came, and another. "I love you so much," he whispered. "Are... are we okay?" 


Zan wasn't Destiny's boyfriend? Eli had apparently judged that one wrong. Wait... she just thought so? He grinned a little. Maybe he wasn't wrong - maybe he'd just jumped the gun. He said nothing more and just kept watching until Ryan pulled up. Smiling at her, he nodded. "You guys looked great. You pulled some pretty fancy moves out there." And he couldn't be more proud that she was back in her car, back in the dessert, and back to the high speeds. 

It didn't take long for the others to come back, too. Hunter parked and got out, going straight to Ryan with a wide smile. "I'm glad you called it - otherwise I think we woulda been out there all day." He took her under an arm and jostled her teasingly. "You... were awesome. I'm telling ya... I'm not sure I wanna try racing against you again." 

"And now I remember why I keep losing." Zan rolled his eyes but he was smiling anyway. Hunter and Ryan might be better drivers, but he'd just had a blast out here today, not just from going fast, but from working as a team with the others. He ambled over to Destiny, his eyes twinkling. "And you... are definitely going to watch me when I actually race so you can start giving me some pointers. I'm pretty impressed with your insights."

"Hey! Where'd y'all go?!" Jett ambled into the group, interrupting, but grinning from ear to ear. 

Zan turned around. "And you! Where the heck did that driving come from?"

Jett shrugged. "I dunno. I just started turning the steering wheel."

Hunter joined in, still keeping Ryan close. "Why aren't you in the newbie races?"

"I..." Jett shrugged again. "Don't have a car."

"Well why didn't you say you could drive like that?" Zan questioned.

"'Cause... nobody ever asked?" Jett caught Destiny's eye and his smile widened. "Either that or I just never had a pretty enough audience."


Hal inwardly rolled his eyes at himself. There he went again, making things awkward. You'd think by now he would be past all that. As Sam told him to get comfortable too, he swallowed his nerves and chuckled. Slipping an arm around her, he held her a little closer. "Oh I'm comfortable," he assured.

He stretched out his leg to bring another chair closer to put his feet up on it, and settled back a bit more, leaning his head back to look up at the sky. "The only thing that would make this place nicer is being able to see more stars. I can sometimes pretend the city lights don't exist, and that helps." He paused. "Good company helps too," he mused.

Falling quiet, he let his fingers toy with hers in his lap, just running his fingertips along her knuckles. As the peacefulness continued on, he shifted a little to kiss the top of her head. Lingering, he moved down a little more until his breath was on the back of her neck, and he gave her a soft kiss there too.