The Jonas Brothers pounding through the speakers while Sarah and I jumped around the basement getting out all of the teenage angst as the reality of going back to school crept closer. The faint default ringtone was just loud enough for Sarah to notice and turn off the music. I frantically searched for my phone until Sarah gestured that it was in my back pocket. I looked down to see that it was him. My heart started racing and I thought, what could he want right now? Why is he calling if we just saw each other a few hours ago? I locked eyes with Sarah and I could tell she was trying to eavesdrop on what he was saying. I didn’t know how to answer his question but I figured, if I left  Sarah's right now and go straight there I can be at his house by 11:26 and that means I have to leave at 11:50 which means I have to say goodbye at 11:46 so I have 20 minutes. 20 minutes isn't enough time. I want more time.

“Sure. I’ll be there in a couple minutes,” I tried to keep him from hearing my trembling voice. I looked at Sarah and shrugged. She smiled and tossed me my coat flashing me with her small warm smile.
“I am expecting you to be here tomorrow morning for breakfast and details.” She glared at me, all-knowing, from the basement stairs.

I sprinted to my car and started making the drive. The four minute drive to his house felt like four hundred. The same drive I had taken every day that summer to get mounds of pancakes and countless glasses of apple juice from the dinner across the street. The same curve to the left. The same speed bump after the right turn that always made me feel like I was flying, just like he did. Every stop light my fingers grew white and lost feeling from gripping the wheel. My right tire hit the curb as I parked and made the same screech I was making in my head.

I sat for a minute trying to compose my nervous shaky hands while thinking about everything we had gone through together. The late night movie cuddles that resulted in both of us falling asleep and staying out past curfew, the long road trips to go visit his brother at college, the times he would grab my hand when we would go down rollercoasters. Knowing that it would all be over in a couple of days when he would leave for college. By the time I spaced out on the stuffed cat that sat on my dashboard, the one with two whiskers on one side and four on the other, his porch light came on. I adjusted the air conditioning so that it was blowing at high speed because he was never comfortable until it felt like the cool breeze on a fall day.

I heard the footsteps inching closer and closer and with every step, my heartbeat sounded like a broken muffler on an old car. The windows ready to shatter from the reverberation. As he reached for the door handle, I gasped for air knowing this would be the moment. The moment where he would decide the course of what felt like our entire lives. He sat down, closed the door, and with one simple word he took my breath away,
“Hi” His smile made me fall for him even more, made my heart soar.
“Wanna drive or stay here?” I asked.
“Whatever. Wherever. As long as it’s with you.” He smiled even more, making the dimple on his cheek stand out.
We sat and bickered like an old married couple that couldn’t decide where to go for dinner. Travis could never make up his mind when it came to a plan. He never wanted to make the choice, any choice for that matter. Finally, I turned off the radio, pushed back my chair, and turned towards him. It’s 11:32 I have 13 minutes. That’s not enough time.
He paused and stared out the window. I could tell he was overthinking. Overthinking how the distance would tear us apart.
“Travis,” I said reaching my hand to his shoulder. I could tell I startled him and made him lose his train of thought but I couldn’t tell if that was good or bad.
“I just wanted to be with you. We won’t get much time like this anymore. Just you and me time. I want more of this but we don’t have the time. I leave in a couple days and we just don’t have time.” He reached his hand towards mine, scared, and pulled away at the last second. Slowly turned his head towards me and looked deep into my eyes. I felt like he could hear my thoughts. He sighed.
“I just want more time.” as he stared in his lap and held back his tears.
I swallowed my fear of confronting problems and said what we were both thinking.
“We don’t have more. This is it, Travis. So what are we doing?” He tilted his head to the right, his eyes streetlight made his eyes sparkle and something sparked in his mind.
“I’ll be right back. Wait for me.” He got out of the car and ran back inside. What could he possibly be doing right now? It's 11:36. We don’t have time to waste. I need to leave soon.

After a couple long and agonizing seconds he came back with enough blankets and pillows to cover the yard. He started laying them out and testing them to see if there was enough padding to not feel the dew droplets on the cold grass. He turned to the car, smiled, and threw his arms up like we were in an 80’s romantic comedy and he had just got the girl. Little did he know, he already had her.

It’s 11:46. We have to say goodbye. I need more time. Mom’s probably asleep by now anyway. I’ll just say I lost track of time. I need more time. I turned off the car and opened the door. With every step toward him, I felt safer. I leaped into his arms and felt his warm embrace. We sat and watched the night sky sparkle with shooting stars and the moon shining behind the clouds. . We were going to get as much time as we needed. That’s when I knew everything was going to be okay.