Chapter 3 The Carpool Karaoke

• [ K A R A ]
• "So, this is your first time in Hawaii, right Kara?"
• Peter was making small talk as the four of us sat together for lunch later that day. It was supposed to be a friendly get-to-know-you kind of event.
• "Yes," I replied shortly. I was always awkward with these kinds of things.
• "Well, you're gonna have so much fun, what do you like to do?"
• "I don't know,” I shrugged. “Read books, watch movies, maybe do some writing…"
• "Oh, Kara is a fantastic writer, she got a full ride to study writing in Columbia," Lacey exclaimed proudly.
• "That's fantastic, good for you," Peter said, and I smiled politely back at him.
• As all of this was happening, Ryder was sitting in front of me, not giving much thought to this conversation. He was busily typing on his phone.
• "What about you Ryder? Are you going to college in the state or…?" Lacey turned to Ryder but he did not respond, still busy on his phone.
• Peter kicked Ryder's feet under the table. He looked up in shock, and I found it amusing.
• "Ry has decided that he will not be going to college. He graduated last year and for the past year, he's been training professionally to be a pro surfer. He actually just got a contract with Quiksilver and Volcom, he's going pro now," Peter explained.
• "Oh, that sounds exciting," Lacey responded.
• "Yeah, he'd be going on a world tour for surfing, starting this September. He'll be gone for at least three years,"
• "Well, congratulations Ryder, you're gonna go out there and see the world, I am excited for you," Lacey beamed at Ryder. Ryder smiled and gave her a polite nod.
• "But, I still think that a man needs an education, you know, especially in this era. I mean, surfing's not gonna last forever—" Peter rambled on and Ryder cut him off suddenly.
• "Dad. I'mma go outside for a bit, okay?” he said as he stood up abruptly. I sensed that he did not like where this conversation was going.
• “Where are you going?” Peter asked.
• “To the beach maybe, and meet some friends,"
• "Oh, okay... well... oh, Ry! Take Kara with you!" Peter said suddenly, and I almost choked on my asparagus.
• "Oh, that'd be nice won't it, Kar? Ryder can show you around the island," Lacey added.
• Ryder looked at me, who again had lost my ability to speak.
• "Sure, let's go," he gave me a quick nod.
• It seemed like everyone had made this decision for me, so the only thing I could do was follow it. Without saying a word, I slowly got up from my seat and went to follow Ryder. But as I was doing that, for some unknown reason, I felt a knot in my stomach.
• That’s weird.
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• I followed Ryder out of the kitchen as he grabbed a T-shirt from the sofa and quickly slipped it on. It was weird, but I never knew that watching someone put a shirt on could look this sexy.
• Ryder didn’t say one word to me and kept on walking, so I kept walking too. Outside of the house, Ryder jumped into his truck in one swift move. Once inside, he grabbed a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses from the dashboard before putting it on.
• Oh dang. How can a guy be this cool?
• Quietly, I followed him into the truck, struggling to get on. Yes, I'm not the most graceful of creatures, I sighed to myself.
• Moments later, Ryder started the engine and the truck pulled out of the driveway. Ryder's right hand was on the wheel and his left one was hanging by the car’s window. I found myself looking at him and I wondered what the tattoos on his arms meant, maybe someday I'd ask him about it.
• Ryder then caught me staring at him for a second too long. Letting out a chuckle, he said, "Wanna tell me why you're staring at my face?"
• I lit up in embarrassment and quickly turned away.
• "Uh sorry. I wasn't..." that was all that I could muster out.
• What is wrong with you? Darn girl, be cool!
• Normally, I wasn’t like this around guys. In fact, I never paid attention to any of them. Why was this one so different? Why was I so nervous around him and I couldn't speak, like English wasn't my first language anymore?
• I decided to turn my head to face the side window, to avoid looking at Ryder. But after a few moments, I noticed that he was looking at me.
• "What are you looking at?" I asked, trying to stay cool.
• "You. You're beautiful," he said it as if he was just commenting on the weather.
• Woah, woah, woah!
• Okay, I was not prepared for such an answer. I struggled to hide my cheeks from blushing and shuffled uncomfortably in my seat.
• "Hey— Ry, uh, do you have music or something?" I quickly changed the topic.
• "Of course," he replied as he turned on the audio.
• "Wow, I haven't seen a person used a CD player in so long," I noted at how his truck still had one of those old CD players attached to it.
• "I preferred them over digital. I like their quality better," he answered.
• As the music began to play, I soon recognized the intro that was playing. It was the song "Yellow" by Coldplay. I liked this song, and my head slowly nodded into the rhythm of the music.
• "Look at the stars, look how they shine for you, and everything you do, they were all yellow," Ryder started singing to the song, and a small smile escaped my lips.
• I braced myself.
• "Your skin~ oh yeah your skin and bones, turning to something beautiful," I joined him at the chorus. He turned to me with that smile again, and we started to sing louder as we finished the chorus in harmony.
• "Not bad, you a Coldplay fan?" Ryder said.
• "Are you kidding, who would not like Coldplay?" I responded.
• “Their older stuff is the bomb,” he commented.
• “I know,” I nodded furiously. “The newer ones are blah,”
• “I agree with you one hundred percent!”
• The song went to the chorus again and we continued singing until the song ended. And then we found ourselves laughing as we ended the last note in perfect harmony.
• "Nice!" he gave me a high five. I tapped his hand awkwardly.
• "So, what other music do you listen to, other than Coldplay?" Ryder asked.
• "Umm, I like a lot of indie bands… like The Temper Trap, The Boxer Rebellion, Of Monsters and Men, The Lumineers..." I found myself trailing off. "Do you know any of them?"
• "Honestly, no," he let out a short laugh.
• "Well you should, they're great," I replied.
• "Alright, I’ll believe you," he said again.
• There was an awkward silence again as I ran out of things to say. I was uncomfortable with this silence and I was desperate to make the situation better.
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• - - - - - To be continued - - - - -