Autumn Leaves and Teenage Dreams

50. Sleepover

I awkwardly stand on Aurora's porch with my duffel bag, hoping my parents don't drive down this street and see my car parked outside her house in the next sixteen hours. But they have no reason to, and they don't walk Fry the same route as I do, so I suppose that realistically, I have no reason to worry.

"Callie, you're here!" Aurora exclaims as she opens the door. She greets me with a close hug and lets me drop off my things in her room. Her cats are already approaching me, nuzzling against my legs, even though I just saw recently. I kneel down and give them a few chin scratches before Aurora asks if we want to start making dinner.

We decide to make our own homemade pizza, and as we cut up vegetables and slices of mozzarella cheese, we put a movie on in the background. It feels strange not having her parents in the house with us, but I enjoy the privacy. Here, we can act like ourselves. Even though we're more confident in public, I'd never kiss her cheek this much or hug her from behind while she cooks.

"Stop distracting me. I could cut my finger off, you know," Aurora says. My arms are wrapped around her stomach, and my head is shoved into her back. She, meanwhile, is busy cutting up tomato slices.

"But you're so cute in an apron," I murmur behind her.

We cuddle on the couch while the pizza bakes, though it devolves into more of a kissing session about ten minutes in. I squirm underneath Aurora on the couch as she nibbles and sucks on my neck. My hand is grasped tightly onto her shirt, and I can feel the sweat already starting to form, but then the oven goes off, and whatever moment we were lost in dissipates.

"Ah, sorry, might have gotten carried away," Aurora admits as I reach up to feel the stinging bite she left on my neck.

"You're lucky I brought make-up with me," I grumble.

My stomach growls, and we leave the couch and movie behind to happily eat. We chat about our classes, how finals are going, and end up eating about half of the pizza. I expect some time to digest, but Aurora is already grabbing her car keys, suggesting we go out and look at lights now before people turn them off for the night.

I crawl into the front seat, smiling warmly at her as we begin our drive. She has already scouted out the neighborhoods with the most impressive light displays already, so I sit back and watch the multiple gleaming lights and glowing animatronics on people's lawns as we drive around on a cold December night. It's when we're on our way to our next house that I start a conversation finally.

"It was around this time last year I realized I was falling for you," I admit. "During the tree lighting."

"For real?"

I nod. "When did you realize you liked me?"

"Probably a little bit later. January? Definitely by February," Aurora recalls. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have kissed you on Valentine's Day."

"Fair," I say. "I was so upset last December, but I think it helped me finally acknowledge who I was, so...in a way, you helped me with that."

"Well, same to you! I didn't even know I liked girls before I met you," she admits to me. "I'm glad you're here tonight."

"Me too." There's a pause. "Do you want to stop for some hot chocolate so we can drink it as we drive around?"

Aurora nods. Two peppermint hot chocolates from the local coffee shop later, and we're driving around once more. The peaceful sound of Christmas music on the radio, the glowing lights, and Aurora's gleaming smile all create a calming atmosphere for me, and for a moment, I forget I'm right in the middle of finals season. I realize this truly was the break I needed.