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Annie hefted her suitcase into the trunk of the Lexus, grinning quietly to herself. The day had turned out to be crystal clear, frost and snow glittering madly in the early morning snow, and she could barely contain herself. When Jeff had approached her outside the study room a week ago about making up their ‘rain checked’ ski trip, she hadn’t been able to say yes fast enough. While their relationship was fairly new and she knew they were both hesitant to rush into anything serious, some good ol’ fashioned alone time was sorely needed.
As she slid into the passenger side, grateful for the heated seats and the fact that Jeff had thought to blast the warm air, she couldn’t help but think about all the near misses they’d been forced to explain recently. The embarrassing haunted house endeavour, that freaky storm, a very interesting life drawing class, Rich showing up again, and then the whole supply closet debacle...plus a somewhat disappointing New Years...they really needed this trip.
It was their first chance to spend time together totally removed from their wacky family. Now, if only Jeff would finish up with the snow chains, they could hightail it for their special weekend. Annie tried to tell herself it was just a coincidence Valentine’s Day fell on their last night, but she couldn’t completely push down the feeling of warmth and excitement. Her rumination was cut short when Jeff opened the door, allowing a swirling breath of frosty air to settle on her skin.
“All set?” He turned to face her, wry grin belying his own excitement.
“Definitely.” She wasn’t about to let anything ruin this for her.
They settled into a comfortable silence as the Lexus wove through the light traffic and onto the highway toward Breckenridge. Eventually, she felt a lazy hand resting on her thigh and she reached down to entwine her fingers with his. It was only a two hour drive, but her anticipation made her antsy. Somewhere along the way they began discussing a slightly touchy subject, considering Jeff wanted to start looking for apartments they could share after the semester ended.
“Jeff, you know I love you, but I’m not ready to leave 303. It’s my home, as crazy as it can be sometimes, and I want to give Abed and Britta plenty of notice.” She reasoned, not liking the way his mouth turned down at the corners.
“If you leave, there’s a very high chance we won’t find someone new, the rent won’t be made, and Britta will end up homeless again.” A steady voice came from the backseat.
“Exactly.” She harrumphed.
Annie paused. Annie shrieked in surprise. Jeff accidentally swerved into the other lane, mumbling a string of curses Annie was glad she couldn’t quite hear. She turned around, grabbing a blanket laid across the backseat that pulled away to reveal a surprisingly limber Abed.
“Abed, what the hell, man!?” Jeff shouted, voice slightly higher than he would have liked.
“You guys are spinning off.” The younger man said matter of factly. “It’s not cool to spin off without letting your friends know.” Annie groaned.
“Abed, we are not ‘spinning off’! We just need some alone time. Alone. By ourselves!” She turned to give him her best glare, to no discernible effect.
“Oh. Cool.” He said simply. “Cool cool cool.”
***
The rest of the drive had been completed in stony silence, Jeff and Annie communicating mostly through a series of facial expressions and subtle hand gestures that Abed found completely indecipherable. As they approached the resort, Jeff had surprised everyone by veering off course, taking a series of seemingly random turns before arriving at a seemingly random location.
“Abed.” He killed the engine and turned to face the stowaway. “Annie and I are going to have our weekend.” Abed simply nodded in affirmation. This seemed to frustrate Jeff further. He looked to Annie, who gave him a more assertive nod. Jeff rolled down both his and Abed’s windows.
“Look out there, Abed. What do you see?” They all looked out, into the glowing lights of Breckenridge Cinema. “Look, Kick-Puncher! It’s like fate! Go knock yourself out!” Jeff motioned for Abed to exit the car, satisfied he had done his job.
When the door shut firmly, Jeff wasted no time in peeling out of the parking lot, internally congratulating himself on his ingenuity. Meanwhile, Abed stood alone, buffeted by a single blast of exhaust.
“Finally,” He said, looking up at the marquis, which read ‘Kick-Bruncher: Turning A New Leaf’. “Some subversive fucking cinema.”
It couldn’t have been a coincidence that this was the only theatre within a hundred miles playing the controversial finale to the renowned series.