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Karl and I set off for the hotel at 7:00 pm. When he picked me up at my house, he was super prepared for the ride, even though it was only one and a half hours.

I slipped into the passenger seat, running my fingers along the cool dashboard of his Tesla. I still wasn't quite used to this bougie lifestyle, so I practically drooled over any nice thing Karl showed me.

I was dressed in pajamas because when we arrived to the hotel I was probably just gonna crash in my room. I turned to Karl who looked surprisingly energetic, most likely because he downed a monster energy before picking me up. I caught him look me up and down before meeting my eyes and grinning.

"You ready?" He asked.

"I'm ready."

"Great! Soooo I have some stuff for the ride. I didn't know what kind of sandwich you like so I made a turkey and cheese, pb&j and a peanut butter fluff. You can have your pick..." he reached back into the second row of seating where he had a tiny insulated lunchbox. He pulled out multiple sandwiches and piled them into my lap with a shrug. "I also figure we can play some car games on the ride there."

"Karl, this sounds great and all, but why did you do this much for a short car ride?"

"Because it's with you."

——————

We hit the road, and surprisingly there was no traffic. Almost no one was even driving which felt odd but peaceful. I took advantage of the luxury car and reclined my seat back with my legs up on the dashboard. Karl's concentration when he was driving was simply adorable, with both hands gripping the wheel and his beautiful side profile visible to me.

I broke off pieces of my gourmet sandwich and popped them into my mouth, chewing slow and trying not to make crumbs all over the car. "Y'know, I've really only known you for a few months but it feels like so much longer. Tell me about how you got here," I asked, genuinely wondering about his rise to success.

He shot me a quick glance and hummed for a few seconds before answering. "Oh goodness where do I start? Well the short story is that I had a friend who worked with Jimmy. He said he could get me an interview and I took the opportunity even though it pretty much meant risking finishing school to travel to. I got the job and moved here, then edited and filmed for the team. Me and Chris grew close and now look at me. I've got everything I ever wanted. You're what made it a dream."

I looked at him with puppy eyes and a sweet smile. It's unbelievable the effect some people have on your life and you don't even realize. The past few months with Karl and my new friends was pure bliss and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. This new life was my world.

"Is it my turn to ask a question?" Asked Karl as he also nibbled on his sandwich. I nodded for him to continue. "Do you like me?" I nearly spit out my mouthful of food.

"Fuck you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means I'm not answering that, nimrod."

My lips curled into a smile and I gave Karl a knowing look because the answer to that question was obvious. He grinned too, readjusting his gaze back to the road. His grin stayed as we sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

Karl's car had multicolored LED lights that turned on to illuminate the bottom of the car into a whirl of shades. It was currently on blue, and brighter than ever since the sun was down. I curled up into the wide seat and reclined it further.

Karl set his hand down onto the center console and started to hum a very quite tune. I reached my hand up as well and linked our pinkies together. I closed my eyes until I felt myself slipping out of consciousness.