Too Early for This

The apartment is still dark when the two of you finally manage to drag yourselves out the door.

It’s barely after 5:30 AM, the sky outside still tinted deep blue while the world feels half asleep around you. Jane walks beside you carrying an oversized tote bag over one shoulder and a coffee tumbler in the other hand, her hoodie sleeves pulled over her hands while she yawns for what feels like the tenth time already.

“You know,” she mumbles tiredly as you unlock the car, “this sounded way more romantic when we planned it.”

You laugh softly.

“The beach still sounds romantic.”

“At noon? Absolutely.” She slides into the passenger seat dramatically. “At five in the morning? I’m basically fighting for my life right now.”

You grin while starting the car.

“Good thing you’re cute.”

“That’s the only thing carrying me right now.”

The heater hums quietly as you pull out onto the empty streets, headlights reflecting against still-wet pavement from rain overnight. For a while, neither of you says much. Jane curls sideways in the passenger seat, half awake, one hand lazily resting against your arm while soft music plays low through the speakers.

Then her stomach growls loud enough to break the silence.

You glance over immediately.

“No way.”

“Oh my god, shut up,” she laughs, hiding her face inside her hoodie sleeve. “I’m starving.”

“There’s a diner up ahead.”

Her eyes light up instantly.

“Oh thank god.”

A few minutes later, the two of you are sitting inside a tiny roadside diner lit by warm yellow lights while coffee brews somewhere behind the counter. The smell of pancakes, bacon, and fresh coffee fills the air, immediately making both of you feel more alive.

Jane sits across from you in the booth with messy hair and sleepy eyes, wrapped in your hoodie while holding a coffee mug with both hands.

“You look exhausted,” you tease.

“So do you.”

“Yeah, but I look exhausted in a masculine and mysterious way.”

She snorts laughing immediately.

“No,” she says, pointing at you. “You look like you got hit by a truck.”

“Wow.”

“You’ll recover.”

The waitress drops off your food a few minutes later, and suddenly the mood at the table improves dramatically.

“Okay,” Jane says after taking her first bite. “Everything is better now.”

You smile while taking a sip of your drink.

A second later, she reaches across the table and steals your coffee without asking.

You narrow your eyes.

“You literally ordered your own.”

“I know,” she says casually before taking a sip anyway. “Yours tastes better.”

“That makes zero sense.”

“It makes perfect sense.”

She pushes your cup back toward you with a smug little grin before going back to her breakfast like nothing happened.

God, you love this girl.

By the time the two of you finally leave the diner, the sun is slowly starting to rise. Pale orange light stretches across the horizon while the roads begin waking up around you.

The second you get back in the car, Jane reaches for your phone connected to the aux cord.

“My turn,” she announces.

“Oh no.” you chuckle.

“Oh yes.”

Within minutes, she’s built the most aggressively mixed playlist imaginable.

Country music, Pop-punk, Early 2010s throwbacks.

Songs neither of you have heard in years somehow appearing back-to-back.

“This playlist is emotional whiplash,” you laugh while driving.

“It’s art.”

“You went from sad country breakup songs to One Direction in under three minutes.”

“And yet you’re still singing along.”

Unfortunately, she’s right.

By the third song, both of you are loudly singing together with absolutely no shame left whatsoever.

At one point, Jane laughs so hard during one of your off-key notes that she nearly spills her drink all over herself.

“Oh my god,” she wheezes. “Please never sing that loudly again.”

“You started it.”

“I regret everything.”

Still smiling, she reaches over afterward and rests her hand comfortably against your thigh while you drive. The touch is casual, Natural, and Comfortable in the way only long-term affection can be. And honestly, that simple little gesture somehow makes the entire drive feel warmer.

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You and Jane settled naturally into the road trip together:

Relationship Status: +1%

Boyfriend Points Gained: +1

The sleepy diner stop, shared music, and comfortable affection during the drive make the trip start feeling less like a vacation and more like a memory Jane already knows she’s going to miss later.

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