The Lift

11

So Preston went off to Joshua Tree, leaving David and his friends for a whole 5 days. David pretended he didn't notice a difference with her gone, throwing himself even more into his videos now that he had some extra time, but his friends knew he missed Preston. He brought her up in most conversations and Josh caught David more than once scrolling through his text threads with her.

Preston was off the grid, and she'd told David her phone would be on airplane mode the whole time. He'd tried not to look too disappointed at that, and his face was almost enough to convince her to do otherwise. But she had a tradition to uphold: personally cutting herself off while camping. She was posting professionally on the GoPro Instagram and story, so David followed that religiously, always hoping to catch a glimpse of Preston, which he did every now and then.

She also hoped she'd have time to figure out how to navigate the rest of the friendship; Joshua Tree was a much-needed break from that internet world. Really she just came back missing David more than she expected.

A week after the trip to Joshua Tree, Preston and David were as inseparable as ever. Everyone else noticed a change, though they kept it to group chats excluding the love birds.

Everyone was hanging out at David's house on a Friday night. The weather was perfect for sitting around the fire table. Surprisingly, no one was drinking, which put Preston in an extra good mood. Scott and Todd were kicking a soccer ball around; Jason, Matt, and Brandon were sitting on the lounge chairs; Preston, Kristen, Corinna, and Mariah were at the fire table; Carly, Erin, and Bruce were inside organizing pizza on the island; Zane and Heath were playing pool, though really they just wanted first dibs on the food; and David was still inside finishing up his vlog.

David came outside with his camera, clearly almost done editing, to film his outro.

That's it for today's vlog. Thanks for watching, Beth. Make sure to like and subscribe. Tweet me @DavidDobrik. Anything else to add friends?

Toddy: Finish the damn vlog so we can eat some pizza!

Everyone cheered and Preston started a "pizza" chant.

David stopped recording and ran back inside to actually finish editing. Everyone else gathered around the pizza while David sat on the couch, occasionally taking out an earbud to yell at his friends to make sure they weren't eating all his favorite pizza. Each time Brandon gave him the middle finger in response. Back outside everyone went to eat and watch the sunset.

Preston slouched in her chair with her feet up on the side of the fire table. She was as relaxed as she had ever been in California. With the Joshua Tree trip over, it was time to start figuring out her next project. Things with GoPro were winding down, and she was currently lining up some shoots with some other outdoor companies, though nothing was set in stone yet. There was a possibility she'd be heading back to Colorado, at least until her next job. She was trying not to think about that and she definitely hadn't brought it up with David or anyone else. With the last project just barely finished, she was taking some time to relax, and luckily her hotel room was paid for through the end of the month.

Eventually David came outside with a plate of pizza. He took a seat next to Preston in the chair recently vacated by Kristen. He moved it closer to Preston, leaning his knee against hers, smiling wide as he took a huge bite of pizza. Preston smiled softly back at him.

David simply sat back and observed his friends talk and interact. The day's vlog had been a doozy to film and edit; staring at the computer was exhausting sometimes. He was just happy to finally be done and eating while it uploaded. As per usual, he found his gaze fixed on Preston as she talked with his friends. Well, they were her friends now too, actually.