Page 100 of It Couldn't Be You
“And me singing Fall Out Boy for the whole plane is a display of maturity?”
“Fall Out Boy is a display of good taste in music which can lend itself—”
“I gave you your dare.” I cocked my head to the side.
“This dare wasn’t made from a good place in your heart. I—”
“Do it now.”
Gabriel’s face was already red with embarrassment as he took in a big breath of air. He shook his head in judgment as he let out a long, loud flatulent sound. I started shaking with silent laughter as people around us started snickering and glancing around.
Gabriel then shot out of his seat and said loudly to the entire plane, “Oh, I am so sorry! Big burritos for lunch. You know how it is.”
I could hear the plane reacting to his apology as he slid down in his seat beside me. “You are a child, Emma Brown. A total child.”
“Everyone probably hates the two of us.” I sighed wistfully.
“Truth or dare?” Gabe wasted no time.
“Truth. I don’t think this plane wants to see another dare from us.” I also had access to Gabriel’s full attention for a couple of hours, I was going to use it.
“If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?” he asked quickly as if he’d been waiting for a chance to ask it.
“If I knew the answer to that…” I let my voice trail off. “I don’t know. Maybe spend the summer in New York City.”
“That’s for the summer. That’s a trip. Where would youlive?”
“I don’t think I’m looking to figure that out right now. I want to see some places first.” I was slowly realizing it was okay to not know the answer to that question yet.
“Everyone keeps asking me where I’m going to set myhome base, so I feel that. I keep thinking in terms of phases of life when everyone’s always asking about long term.”
“I was just telling Katie that there is no five year plan right now. Life has been lived on a week-by-week basis.”
“Truly, with my older siblings and even just recently from my own life, I’ve realized even with a five-year-plan, people still just take it week by week and see if that takes them where they’re aiming to be in the next five years.” Gabriel had a way of making me feel effortlessly understood.
“In the next five years, I’m aiming to be happy in my career.” A flight attendant offered us drinks. I got a fizzy ginger ale and Gabriel got a water.
“Take it week by week. And this week, you’re getting paid to visit a little beach town, so things are looking good,” Gabriel said.
“Your turn.” I took a sip.
“Truth.”
“Ifyoucould live anywhere in the world, where would it be?”
“I like your summer in New York idea.” I paused, waiting for him to continue. “I really would like to live in New York for a short time. Maybe Seattle. These are all places I could see myself being for a bit. But home base? Putting up a Christmas tree? Maybe Austin.”
“Really?” My eyes widen in surprise. Gabriel putting down roots so close to Sweet River?
“I feel like I have a whole lot of questions to answer and things to do before I’m buying a house or anything like that.” He waved his hands, as if to wave off any assumptions I might’ve been jumping to.
“Right now, we’re off to New York for the summer,” I said, feeling butterflies at the way my words made him smile.
“What would we be doing there in the summer?”
“Is that your truth question?” I peered up over the rim of my cup.
“No! Tricky, tricky. I have a question all queued up.” He wagged his finger at me. “When you first started dating Jordan, was there any other guy on your mind? What was going on?”
