"I can't believe I'm going to finally see Gethin and Ronan!" I was practically dancing with excitement as Teddy put the bags in the car. "And Matty again, too!" I put my arms around his neck and squeezed him as I kissed his cheek. "Thank you thank you thank you for this!"

    He hugged me back, though not with quite as much energy. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I don't get what the big deal is, though. You just saw them a few weeks ago. They're just not that exciting, are they? I mean, I see them all the time. I don't see the allure."

    I hit his chest. "Don't be mean. I've missed them desperately. Matthew too. And who knows when I'll see them after this? You four are the closest thing to a family I've ever had.

    "And I get to see Wales, too. This will only be the third foreign country I've ever visited in my life."

    "Wales isn't exactly exotic, though," He commented, shutting the trunk. "I mean, it's not as though we're going to Madagascar or anything, is it?"

    "Hey, you," I called to him as I opened my door, "get off of my cloud." I got in and shut the door.

    He got in and grinned at me. "You do make me laugh, I must admit."

    "Well, I'm just happy, so stop pissing on my joy, okay?" I grinned back at him. "What exactly is the problem, anyway?"

    He put the keys in the ignition. "I don't know. Maybe I'm jealous? You just seem so happy to see them."

    "So? That doesn't mean I'm unhappy to be with you," I said reasonably. "If the situation were reversed, and I were with them, and we were going to see you, believe me, I wouldn't be able to contain myself. I wouldn't have been able to wait this long."

    He turned the key and started the car, but didn't put it in gear. "Really? Because I know it makes me sound a complete wanker, but I think that's what's bothering me. I feel like I've been trying so hard to see that you're happy, yet you're dying to go and see them. Is that terrible? To just want you to myself? To feel like you just want to be with me?" He wouldn't look at me, a sure sign that he was really bothered.

    I reached over and turned turned off the car. "I do just want to be with you. Do I want to see the boys? Yes, I do. Would I want to go without you? No way, not at all. The fun of this trip was that we could go together. I've been so looking forward to the car trip, with you, to watching Geth play soccer, which I know fuckall about, with you, to sightseeing in Cardiff, with you, to spending time with the boys, with you, and to driving back, with you." I put my hand on his arm.

    "You have done an outstanding job of seeing that I'm happy, as you put it. I've never been happier. Look at me, please." I squeezed his arm, and he looked over. "Seriously, look at me. Have I ever looked happier to you? Did you know that random people on the street just smile at me? That's never happened to me before in my life, and I don't think it's because the people here in England are just more friendly than people in California, do you?"

    I climbed over the console to sit on his lap, facing him, not knowing if I'd even fit, or if I'd end up sitting on the steering wheel and blowing the horn; luckily he saw me coming and slid his seat back as far as it would go.

    I put my hands on his shoulders, and he put his large hands around my waist, looking into my eyes with a combination of embarrassment and a bit of shame, maybe? "You have no reason to be jealous of anyone, ever, especially any of the boys," I said, looking back into his glorious eyes. If he needed building up from time to time, then it was my job to provide it, just like he provided confidence to me whenever I needed it, as often as I needed it, no questions asked.

    "I want to be with you, always, more than anything, okay?" I said softly. "And if that isn't clear, then I'm doing something wrong, and you just have to let me know." And I leaned forward to hug him, turning my head to rest it on his shoulder. His arms came around me, his hands resting on my head.

    "I never want to be this person," he said. "Jealousy is such an ugly emotion. It doesn't show how much you love someone, it only shows how insecure you are."

    "Margaret Meade," I responded. "I guess you were paying attention in anthropology class, Mr. Shelley." I turned my head to kiss him in his hair, somewhere north of his ear.

    "Really? That was Margaret Meade?" His voice held amazement. "Jeopardy!, Birdie, I'm telling you." He gave a small laugh, and the mood in the small car was restored.

    I sat up to look at his face, and saw his dimples, as I'd hoped. I leaned forward to kiss them, sticking my tongue out the tiniest bit to just barely touch each one as I did so. "Wish I could just live in those dimples," I murmured, smiling at him.

    "So, are we going to Wales so we can watch our redheaded friend play some game I know nothing about, or should we just go back in the house and have sex for the next five days? Hmm?" I asked, mussing his hair.

    "Well, as truly tempting as that sounds, they are expecting us, and I did make one hell of a huge donation to UNICEF to get us these seats in the VIP section next to Ronan and Matty, and it is a gorgeous day for a drive, so let's get this road trip started, shall we?" And he laid a wonderful, fabulous, romantic, deep, kiss on me, holding my hair and my face. Swoon. He patted my bottom as I climbed back over the console, pulled his seat back up so he could reach the pedals, and said, "Avanti," as he had once upon a time at a concert in Japan, putting the car in gear and pulling out of his driveway and into the mellow late August sunshine.

    He had braided my hair and put his own hair up in a bun so we could make the trip to Cardiff with the top down, and the drive was unforgettable, burned in my mind like bunch of still frames; Teddy with the wind blowing the short hairs around his face, looking over to smile at me a million different times, the two of us singing "And We Danced" by the Hooters, "Tempted" by Squeeze, and "Start Me Up" by the Stones at the top of our lungs.

    The weather was perfect for driving, and whenever there was a pretty place to pull over, we would, so I could admire the gorgeous view and we could take a selfie or two, usually of us just arm in arm, or of him kissing my cheek. Even though it was still August, there were hints that autumn was on its way, kisses of brown, red, and yellow starting to tinge the foliage along our route.

    Sometimes there would be fans, and of course he would stop for photos with them, or to sign something, but they seemed to understand that he didn't want to linger, and no one kept him for long. Most of them knew who I was, and no one was openly disrespectful to me, not without a monitor to hide behind, I guess. Some of them were friendly, waving hello, or even calling out "Hello, Tinker Bell." I always waved back, or said hello, or whatever. A few wanted me in their pictures with them, which shocked me, and I demurred strongly, but Teddy thought it was a good idea, and I finally gave in. Teddy would put one arm around the fan and the other around me, making me feel as secure as he could. It was beyond me why the girl would want his girlfriend in the shot.

    We were listening to the radio, which was difficult, because we kept driving out of range of the various stations, and a song by Tom Odell called "Grow Old With Me" came on as we were pulling out of a photo stop. Teddy put the car in neutral and reached over for my hand, turning it up first. We just sat and listened to it, with him squeezing my hand, looking straight ahead.

    'Grow old with me

    Let us share what we see

    And oh the best it could be

    Just you and I'

    He blinked rapidly, like he did when trying to stave off tears, and I found myself doing the same. The beautiful fall day, being with him, the lyrics, the gorgeous melody, carried on the piano, which was my instrument, in beautiful, light, carefree G major, were overwhelming to me. I willed myself to take an emotional picture with my heart, somehow, so I could remember this perfect moment forever. When the song was over, he didn't say a word, he just plugged in my iPod and let the car idle for a minute. He finally leaned over, cupping my face with his hand, smiling an incandescent smile, kissing me over and over.

    "Sometimes a song just says it so much better, you know?" He said in a soft, emotional voice.

    I grabbed his hand from my face and kissed it before kissing his mouth again. "Yes," I said, just as softly, very moved by the song. And I decided I could let the grammatical error in the last line of the chorus go, just this once.

    Our lung busting sing-along continued, with classics by Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Prince, Journey, Fleetwood Mac, and modern classics by Eminem, The Lonely Island, Mika, Guster, Bruno Mars; we'd sung ourselves hoarse by the time we got to Geth's gorgeous house on the outskirts of Cardiff in the late afternoon.