"Sushi date tonight?" came the text from Mel. He was back earlier than she anticipated, and she was embarrassed to admit she'd missed him. She wasn't sure if it was going to be weird after so much time together. Maybe he'd met someone at Burning Man. Had sex with them. Was no longer interested in her.
It was possible.
He was waiting to pick her up in the back alley again, leaned up against his second vehicle. It bumped around like the back wheel was about to fall off at any moment. She laughed as they went around the corner to hop on the freeway.
They were waiting at a stoplight and the car in front of them suddenly put their car in reverse and back into them. He got out of the car and yelled a little too loudly and the lady who was clearly not from the country. She had a strong accent and didn't seem to understand what the problem was. It was a weird interaction but eventually they were back on their way and he seemed to cheer up.
He was full of Burning Man stories, from this year and year's past. He seemed tired but happy. Everything felt like it was on the right track again with them, and she smiled at him over wasabi and other amazing and spicy fish.
They were too tired to see a movie, again. It didn't matter, they were both okay with how much time they'd spent together. He was still decompressing and tired, and she forgave him. The kiss was still just as passionate as the first time, and she looked forward to the future.
