KISS: Road Trip

Ch 4: Let's Get Going (Peter)

I woke up to someone kicking me in the ribs and rolled over to find Ace sprawled out on the floor next to me, still fast asleep. Grinning, I slapped his foot away and kissed him. "Hey, wake up Space Ace, we got stuff to do," I teased. He blinked, sitting upright and running a hand through his hair. "Mmphwhat?" he mumbled. "Don't you remember last night?! We're taking a road trip!"

He blinked again, staring blearily at me before a slow smile spread across his face. "Oh! Oh yeah! Let's go find the rest of them then!" he said, jumping to his feet and grabbing my hand. "Wait hold on one thing first," I said, pulling him into another kiss before heading downstairs with him.

Bruce was standing over the stove, frying eggs while Paul made waffles and Eric sat with his head resting on the counter. "Bruce I'm dyinggg," he moaned, but Bruce only raised an eyebrow. "What did I tell you last night?" he asked. "Don't drink a lot." "And what did you do last night?" "That," Eric said with a sigh, screwing his eyes shut.

"Dude you had like five beers. How are you this hungover?" I asked, sitting next to him and accepting a plate from Bruce. "That would be because he's a total lightweight who still tries to keep up with the rest of us," Paul teased, sliding Eric some waffles. "Shut up Paul," he grumbled, lifting his head  just enough to start shoveling breakfast into his face.

I ate a few bites of a surprisingly good meal before looking at the rest of them with a smile. "So are we gonna take a road trip?" There was silence as the four of them shrugged. "I don't see why not. It would be fun, and as long as it doesn't conflict with anyone's schedule I think it'd work. I mean I don't start working as a physical therapist until September, and Eric's freelance so he works on his own terms," Bruce said after a pause. 

"And my season for football doesn't start until February anyway, so I'm fine," Paul said, flipping Ace a waffle. "And I don't have a job yet!" Ace said cheerfully, giving me a smile. Rolling my eyes, I squeezed his hand. "And so yeah I manage my garage so I don't even have to be there. So all that checks out!"

"Yeah, the only issue is that it would be kind of expensive. Like we'd have to buy gas and rent motel rooms and stuff," Paul muttered. I grinned, shrugging. "Yeah but Paul. You're filthy rich. And Ace has money and so do Bruce and Eric and I have money too so we'll be fine!" "Yeah that's true. But we also don't know where Gene is or if he even wants to see us. The last address I have is the one he gave me at the end of senior year, and I don't even know if he still lives there."

"That's the risk we'll have to take. Worst case scenario, we don't find him and we get to chill in Cali. Best case scenario, we get to see Gene. I mean come on, why not give it a try?! It'll be fun!"

"I say we do it," Eric mumbled, eating another waffle. "Yeah I'm down." "Me too." "I mean...it would be really nice to see him again," Paul said slowly. "So let's do it! Let's get our stuff packed and head out!" I said eagerly.

"What, like today? Like now?" Bruce asked, looking at me in surprise. "No he's got a point. We wanted to get together to have fun this summer, let's do it!" Paul said, giving me a smile. "I've got the nicest car so we'll take mine. It's also easy to drive, which means we'll be able switch off, because there's no way in hell I'm driving the full 3000 miles."

"Sounds like a plan! I'll help you clean up the dishes then I'll take Eric home and we'll get packed up and meet you back here," Bruce said, nudging Eric who had gone to just sleeping on the table. "And I'll do the same with Ace! We wanna meet back here at like two?" Paul nodded, setting the pan in the sink. "That'll work!"

I grabbed Ace's hand, walking with him to my car once he finished breakfast. "Aw man I've missed your car! I've missed the orange," he said, patting Beth on the hood. "Yep, she still runs like a dream," I said, turning the keys in the ignition and heading to his apartment. He was about to get out of the car before turning around, kissing me. "So we're dating again, right?" he asked, eyes shining. I grinned, running a hand through his hair and kissing him back. "Mmhm. As long as you wanna date, that is!"

"Oh you bet I do," he purred, running a hand along my shoulders. We made out a bit longer before he slid out of the car, giving me a parting wave. "I'll catch you in an hour babe!"

By two, we were all back at Paul's house, throwing our stuff in his car after me and Bruce parked our cars in his garage. "Okay so I guess we'll just start driving and see what happens. We don't have to necessarily take the fastest route, we can do like fun things on the way too," Paul said with a grin. I nodded, leaning against Ace's side. "Yeah! This is gonna be fun!"

"I call shotgun because I'm the tallest," Bruce said with a faint smile. "What? Nooo that's not fair! I was gonna call shotgun!" Eric protested. I patted him on the head, extremely relieved to see that even though he had grown a lot I was still taller than him. "Sorry, short stuff. You can join me and Ace in the backseat."

"Mm perfect I get to sit in the back with the two lovebirds," he teased, sliding into the backseat with a grin. We all got into the car and Paul started the engine, heaving a sigh. "Alright well...I guess this is it. Either we see Gene or we don't." "Hey Paulie relax, we'll find him! We'll see him again, it'll be fine!" Ace said, slipping an arm around my waist and pulling me closer against his side. "Yeah. I hope so," he muttered, before driving off.

It was almost 2 in the morning by the time we made it to the first motel, and everyone was pretty much on the verge of falling asleep. "Alright cool, everyone wake up and let's go I guess," Paul said with a yawn, shutting off the car. Eventually, we had all grabbed our bags from the trunk and shuffled into the room that Bruce had rented over the phone like less than an hour ago. There were two queen-sized beds and a couch, and it was pretty obvious just how the beds were going to be divvied up.

"Mm okay I'm going to bed and you're coming with me, my dearest," Ace mumbled, kicking off his shoes and grabbing my hand, falling into bed. "With pleasure," I replied, sliding under the covers and immediately wrapping myself around him. 

Paul crumpled onto the couch, falling asleep before he even had the chance to take his shoes off while Bruce joined Eric in the last remaining bed. "I'll see you in the morning," Ace murmured, kissing me. "I'll see you in my dreams," I whispered back, and he smiled in the dark.