It was a beautiful day for a road trip. Not that there was much of interest to see along the stretch of highway they were now on – a billboard here or there, a sign advertising where to tune in during a weather emergency, some trees. But it was sunny and bright.

It was still early enough for Jaejoong to be psyched about the drive.

“Thirty minutes down, four hundred and fifty to go,” he announced, looking at his watch.

“Thanks for that piece of uplifting information,” Dara said dolefully, flicking a piece of gray carpet fuzz from her leg and taking a sip of water. “So, is this your mom’s car?” she asked, cracking open the window a few inches.

“No. It’s all mine,” Jaejoong said proudly. The day he’d bought the car had been one of the best days of his life. “My mom and dad wanted to pay half of it but I declined. I want to be the one responsible for this. That’s why I worked so much this summer. I’ll be making payments until I’m thirty.”

Dara smiled. “Well, it’s really nice.” She took out one of the magazines she’d stuck in her tote bag and began flipping through it absently.

The two of them hadn’t talked much since they pulled out of Dara’s driveway. Jeajoong felt a little uncomfortable. He wanted to make a good impression on Dara.

“You must be excited to see Kris,” Jaejoong said after a few minutes.

“Yeah.” That same upturned-corner smile from before in the kitchen lit up her face. “I am.”

“Good. That’s good. Because I know he’s really psyched to see you too.” At least, Jaejoong assumed he was. He’d only spoken with Kris a couple of times since he’d left for Shore Haven at the end of June. He’d sounded really good – he’d met a lot of people, entered a local boogie boarding competition, gone to some parties.

Jaejoong wondered how his brother could stand to be away from Dara all summer. He didn’t think he couldn’t do that if he had a serious girlfriend. He wasn’t the clingy type, that’s for sure. He just needed to see her from time to time. He wouldn’t want to let her experience a day without him. But Kris was just different. Most people who knew both of them thought that he was the bad boy and Kris was the nicer ladies’ man. But that too was just the impressions other had about them. Sure, Kris was always friendly with the ladies. But so was he. He wasn’t just the type to mix friendliness with flirting.

They were just different like that.

He glanced over at Dara and tried to think of something else to say. Why did he feel so fidgety? SO nervous and inept? He gripped the steering wheel.

One thing always could make him relax. Music. Jaejoong had a huge collection of CDs at home, everything from the local to international artists of different genre. He liked basically everything but classical, and he wasn’t even opposed to that.

They didn’t need to talk with the stereo on. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? He his player, leaned back and smiled. This was better than figuring out how to talk to Dara.

There was no reason to be nervous.

This was going to be the best two weeks of the year.

The beach. Girls. His brother. Girls. Simmer. Girls. And a beautiful (sure, she was taken, but still) girl by his side, her hair flying crazily in the summer wind. All set to a terrific musical backdrop in his head.

It didn’t get much better than this.

**

Could it possibly get any worse? Dara flipped the pages of the magazine quickly, barely bothering to read the words that danced before her eyes.

Then the song got louder. If you could even call it a song. Dara  had tried to drown out the sound, the disharmony, but it was getting close to impossible.

Dara flipped the pages faster and faster. She began to guzzle the mineral water. She’d like Jaejoong from the moment she’d met him: polite, intelligent, and nice. Not to mention insanely good-looking (not that she’d noticed or anything). But that was before he began to play the steering wheel as if he were nine and it was his first drum set.

Jaejoong drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “Ba, ba, b aba ba, b aba ba, ba, ba!” he sang to himself. “Yeah, yeah, uh-uhuh, uh-huh wow! Fanstastic baby!” His head swayed with the beat.

Dara tried to block him out. She was usually pretty good at doing that when something bugged her. Like her sister. Or her professors. A few minutes of drumming elapsed.

“Are you always so adept with words?” Dara asked wryly, raising her voice slightly. But Jaejoong was so wrapped up in the song (which by the way was blaring) that he didn’t hear a word Dara said.

Back to the magazine. Is he the right guy for you? Find out inside! Dara chuckled to herself. It was funny how life was…how obvious that some people were meant to be together, while others just simply…weren’t. She got out her pen and began circling the letters.

How does he feel about your relationship? Dara paused. A.  He’s into me – but a little gun-shy. B. My guy is definitely ready for commitment. C. Relationship? What relationship? Definitely B. Dara wanted a person she could be with, share things with, a boyfriend she could count on. And Kris was all that and more.

What interests do the two of you share? A. Some – but we each have our own interests. B. Everything. We love to hang out together – we’re really good friends. C. Does the X-files count?

Dara chewed the end of her pen. A? B? To be honest, she wasn’t completely sure what interested Kris besides her. The two month they’d spent together before he left for the shore had been incredible – she’d never had a serious boyfriend before, and Kris was so attentive and loving, she never wanted it to end. And ever since they’d parted, she’d gone over every last word, last look, last text message, last thought, hungry for some new experiences to share together.

Her friend CL had been a bit of downer about the relationship. “You need to slow things down, Dara,” she’d advised.

“But he’s so incredible,” Dara had swooned.

“You think that now,” CL warned. “But give it time. Get to know this guy. Cute and handsome does not a relationship make.”

Dara smiled to herself. CL could be a pain, but she was always looking out for Dara’s best interests. And she was wrong about