tired yet? ||cashby||

Chapter 12

"Ugh, Uncle Jesse," I sighed, giggling. "What a gun."

"Alan, you can't hit on other guys in front of me," he whined, and we both chuckled. It hit me how much I really missed him then, and how close his voice felt in my ear. Turns out, I really loved talking on the phone, which was something I'd never done too much of before.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "You're way better," I amended. He just burst out laughing, though.

"It's okay, baby, I know you were kidding." The nickname made heat crawl up my body, and I just sat there for a moment, internally giggling and hyperactively kicking my feet like an excited little girl. "Sorry, too soon?" he asked anxiously.

"No!" I blurted out. "No, I loved it. A lot." I smiled, pretty much just rolling around in the grass out of happiness by that point.

"Okay." He sounded like he was smiling. I laid on my stomach with my elbows propped up and swung my feet around in the air. If anyone could see me, I was sure they'd laugh for how many times I'd changed position. I couldn't help it; all the excitement gave me energy. The line went quiet, and we were just listening to each others breathing. I know it should've been awkward, but the silence was just so comfortable with Austin, I could feel my heartbeat slow down.

"I can hear the birds singing wherever you are," he murmured quietly, inhaling so soft.

"Mhm," I breathed, and, for a moment, it just felt like he was so close. A few minutes later, I sat up, restless, and stretched.

"I should go," I mumbled, and he sighed in return.

"Okay," he said sadly. "I can't wait to see you, baby," he said in a low voice, making my heart pound against the inside of my chest. It was like he had totally control over my cardiac activity.

"I can't wait, either," I replied, biting my lip. "Midnight," I promised.

"Midnight," he replied. An 'I love you' was on the tip of my tongue for some weird reason, so I shoved it down.

"Bye," I said quickly, and hung up.
Shaking the feeling away, I stood up and grinned. Energy was bouncing around my body like lightning, and I walked straight home to take a shower. I wanted to look good, suddenly. For him.

•••

God, waiting was like letting nails drag down my back. The house was so still and silent, like an empty stone temple filled with nothingness. For at least an hour, I sat in front of my mirror, flicking my hair back into place, tugging at my clothes until they looked okay, just being obsessive and stupid, but I couldn't help it! This feeling inside me, like balloons rising up, up, up into the sky, it was so infectious. My feet jittered across the space in front of my sitting form like pop rocks on your tongue; erratic, excited. Of course I knew this was the infatuation, the summer moon, the warm air. But that didn't lessen the fact that he was coming to pick me up, and I was ecstatic about it.

Staring at my phone like a crazy person, I waited until, at 11:58, a message popped up on the screen.

Austin: driveway :)

There's my cue to squeal and jump up and down. I grabbed my phone and camera, shoved them in my drawstring bag and tiptoed up the stairs. It always really surprised me how dark and frozen everything felt in our kitchen at night without the lights; a thick blackness painted everything, and it made my chest tighten for some reason. Quietly, I headed out the door, my stomach swirling and turning in euphoric excitement.

His headlights were on the very lowest setting, sitting in the middle of our driveway like a cat's eyes. The moon stuck out in the sky, a few wispy clouds nipping at its edges like bottom feeders on a rock. My worn out Converse slapped against the ground as I walked to him, the night feeling warm. I was wearing a green flannel, rolled down and unbuttoned with a grey shirt beneath. The fabric was soft against my chest, and I hoped it looked at least mildy appealing. Austin's door opened, and he walked out as I approached the car, smiling in the moonlight. My whole body felt so light; I refrained from running to him.