“This is beautiful,” she said through a breath, taking in the scenery. They sat together, shoulder to shoulder, and for a moment they enjoyed a comfortable silence between them.

Soon enough though, they were discussing the band, what they’ve written so far, the success of Everything, and what Evan’s plans for Friday might be.

They’d come to the conclusion that it was most likely a show, and this ignited anxiety within Jane. Shooting a video was one thing, but performing in front of a crowd again was a whole different animal, one she wasn’t sure she was ready to face yet. But on this perfect outing with Rob, she wasn’t going spiral. She could do that on her own time.

Their two weeks would be ending shortly, and Jane wanted every moment moving forward with Rob to be as perfect as humanly possible. 

“I can’t imagine how much you’re missing Elle,” Jane sighed, turning to him with a sympathetic smile. “I miss my cat a lot, and he’s not even human,” she laughed. 

“With these checks coming in, I think I’m going to do some renovations on my house. The kitchen and the bathrooms could use an update, and the backyard is kind of a wreck. I wanna make a big garden, one I could tinker with all day long.” She smiled at the thought, her messing with plants in the sun with a cigarette dangling from her lips. All of this, of course, would be once she caught up on her bills, but Rob didn’t need to know that part.

She grabbed two cigarettes from her pack, handing one to Rob and eventually the lighter once she lit her’s. 

Jane knew that the checks that the band was now receiving were probably nothing compared to what he’d made with MAE, but she wanted to know what he’d be up to once they were done in Orange County. Who knows? Maybe Jane could come to visit; she could make the drive in the Bronco. Then again, Rob had Elle to worry about when he was home. And [i]Mae[/i]. Jane would die happy if she never had to meet her. 

Maybe instead, Rob could visit her in Crescent City. They could hit her favorite restaurants, take the surfboards out, go to her favorite spot on the beach to watch the stars. 

She was getting ahead of herself. Per usual. It wasn’t even clear what all of this meant for them. Yes, they still loved each other. Yes, they were on a date. But this could be over as soon as they left the house and went their separate ways. And due to the messiness of their break up, Jane wanted to play it cool. The last thing she wanted to do was scare Rob away. 

Jane exhaled a cloud of smoke and cleared her throat. “So, what are your plans for when you get home?”