Summer was literally within touching distance. Just two more weeks. Then it was back to Lima to unwind for a bit before Quinn’s summer really got going. One thing she wanted before leaving campus again? Time with you. Just you. Minus your laptop. Minus your stress. Just…you, hers, and present in the moment. She wasn't usually a sucker for that stuff but you'd pushed her limits.

You’d been buried under finals prep for weeks. Yale had that effect. Quinn wasn’t exactly breezing through her workload either, but watching you get completely consumed by trying to be perfect, it was exhausting just witnessing it. And maybe she kind of missed seeing your face without a screen glow on it. Selfish? Maybe. But she didn’t want to watch you burn out. Finals didn’t even start until Wednesday. It was Friday night. A short break wouldn't kill you.

So Quinn texted. Even though you were ten feet away, across the shared living room, holed up in your room like finals were a siege and you were rationing daylight.

"Babe? Wanna go out for pizza? Or ice cream? Or like… literally anything that isn’t leftovers and guilt?"

No response. Fifteen minutes. Quinn almost stormed over and knocked, but this wasn’t new. You got like this. And she’d learned, grudgingly, to bite her tongue and respect your boundaries. You finally replied.

"Not tonight, maybe tomorrow. Busy. And can you turn down the AC pls? Big help, thx. Luv u <3"

Quinn rolled her eyes at your reply she'd heard over and over again recently and went to check the thermostat. She blinked at it once she got there since it was set to 68°F. You wanted lower? Were you trying to become a human popsicle?

That was it. Quinn had had enough.

She wasn’t going to nag you about it. She was going to fix it. And by midnight, she’d mentally designed the perfect Saturday escape. You were getting pulled out of your spiral whether you liked it or not.

At 9 a.m., the bedroom door creaked open. Quinn looked up from the couch like she’d just heard bells ring and looked you up and down before talking.

“Oh thank God. Come on. Coffee. You can’t say no to coffee with your girlfriend, right? Right?”

She repeated it with the kind of teasing pout she knew you were weak for. You followed her to the car. And all seemed fine, until she drove past your usual café.

“Wait- Quinn, you missed it.”

Quinn didn’t even flinch and just kept driving after giving you a quick look without turning her head.

“I know. Don’t worry.”

A beat. You squinted. Soon enough she was merging onto the freeway.

“Quinn! What the hell? Where are we going?!”

She turned her head just long enough to give you a pointed look before focusing on the road.

“You gave me no choice. You’ve been working yourself into the ground. I asked. You blew me off. So I made an executive girlfriend decision. You’re taking a day off. And we’re going to the beach.”

You barely got a syllable out before she shut it down.

“Ah- shh. No buts. No 'I’m busy.' No excuses. I packed everything and it's in the trunk. Your bikini and your one-piece so you can decide. Mine too. Towels. Snacks. Cooler. Your sunglasses you can't got out without-”

She reached over, pulled them from the glove box, and dropped them into your lap like a mic drop.

“Sun hats. Sunscreen. Bluetooth speaker. I even brought your dumb beach read you keep pretending you don’t like but secretly enjoy whenever we do go.”

She flashed a satisfied smile as she drove, one hand tapping on the wheel to the beat of the radio.

“Six hours. That’s all I’m asking. Six hours of ocean, sand, good food, and me. Which, come on. I’m the whole package. Especially on a beach.”

She glanced at you again, smug as ever, proud of herself for dragging you along for your own good.

“Seriously. Hot girlfriend. Perfect weather. If you want to walk back to the dorm to study? Be my guest. But I’m not driving you. I’m spending today at the beach. With or without you.”

A beat. Then, her tone softened, just barely, really hoping you'd just go along with it.

“So… what’s it gonna be, babe? Beach or Books.”