Missed Me, Missed Me, Now You Gotta Kiss Me

The Cookout

  "Hmmm....." Lulu had rolled up the bag of chips. "The guy's a dick. I've already told you you should ditch him."

  "Yeah, I know." But I still wondered what was wrong with him, why he was acting the way he was. It was like he was a whole different person than the David I had left in Arizona .

  Now, though, I chased those thoughts away. It'd been a long night and it was sure to be an exciting day. Due to killer homework-and finishing my drafts of the Liam report for Monday-I hadn't really seen Liam that week except for quick hellos and passing by waves. Who knew I could miss that annoying cowboy? Or maybe I just missed his house-it was the only reason I was friends with him, after all.

  "Carol!" Auntie Kim yelled joyfully, coming around from the back.

  "Kim! Oh, it's so good to see you!" my mom said excitedly, hugging her old friend.

  I hung back in the back seat of the Suburban so Auntie Kim could have space to catch up with her old friends. As soon as I opened the door, a wonderful smell wafted up my nose. Uncle Scott's barbeque. I never like barbeque, even when I was little, but I really loved the smell. Weird, huh?

  "Oh, Piper, honey!" Aunt Kim exclaimed, enveloping me in a tight hug. "You look even prettier than you did last time! Lordy, I just can't get over how beautiful you are!"

  I smiled sheepishly. "Stop it, Aunt Kim. You're embarrassing me!" I teased.

  "Get used to it, your uncle Scott's gonna embarrass the far outta you!"

  I smiled. "Dad's already around back seeing him, huh?"

  Aunt Kim glanced over her shoulder and, sure enough, saw no sight of my dad. "Well, we'd better join him. Everybody else is round back. C'mon, girls!"

  We walked around to the backyard, Aunt Kim and Mom catching up while I hung to the back of them, listening to them talking with a smile.

  "Oh, honey," Auntie Kim said to me. "I had Uncle Scott cook you up some turkey dogs and veggie patties."

  I smiled. "That's why you're my favorite, Aunt Kim."

  "She's your favorite?" bellowed an oh-so familiar voice. "An whatta bout your Uncle Scott, hmm?"

  I grinned like a kid as we reached the backyard. Uncle Scott, in all his salt and pepper hair and mustache, grinned at me from ear to ear. Uncle Scott was a typical southern guy. He kept his hair natural and went without a haircut for a little too long, but he looked great, even now. He was a little heavier-considering he was like a stick when I was a kid-and had the complimentary gray speckles in his dark hair and thick, Tom Selleck-like mustache.

  "My goodness!" Uncle Scott said with a whistle. "You got taller!"

  I rolled my eyes. "Well, I had to some time or another!"

  Uncle Scott laughed, squeezing me in one of his infamous bear hugs. I missed his hugs. "How're you, sweetheart?"

  "Good. I missed you!"

  "Course ya did; everyone misses me," he teased with a laugh.

  Uncle Scott was always the incurable prankster and jokester, especially to Auntie Kim; though he did it out of love, obviously.

  When we pulled away, and I was finally let able to breathe, I noticed the little carrot head girl. Well, not little, really. She definitely looked her age, though I was relieved to see she wasn't wearing a Justin Beiber or Jonas Brother T-shirt. She wore a plain aqua blue shirt and skinny jeans-which looked really skinny, being as though she was the tiniest thirteen year old I'd ever seen.