On the eve of my first day at the new job, I remember a similar evening five years ago. It was mid-May 2009 and ostensibly I was flying out to Louisville to watch my friend's sister get married. That was the reason I told everybody at work at least. But the real reason was to see said friend. As opposed to previously, this was going to be for a whole week. It was going to involve spending a lot of time on the road together, a lot of time back at the hotel together, and a lot of time that wasn't going to be filled with small talk together.
I was nervous.
I remember thinking when everything started work itself out, and she and I really firmed up the connection we'd been feeling, that road trips are kind of the litmus tests for relationships. I don't know if it ended up being when I thought I could spend the rest of my life with her, but it very well might have been.
I just remember the soundtrack to that trip being the same 3 songs. "Fire Burning" being chief among them.