Up in the Air

Chapter 7

Dedicated to CloakedShadows because I feel like Nate needs some lovin' too :)

Jenny Smiles (Molly Quinn) in the sidebar.

Chapter 7

A combination of getting in past midnight and my love affair with sleep got me waking up right before lunch time the next day.

Adam left a note and text saying Ginny had already left and that he and Becca were picking up our parents at the airport.

Before I could decide what I wanted for breakfast, I heard the familiar sound of my truck pulling into the driveway. I stepped out just as Louis was stepping out of my truck.

"Hi," I said as I took my keys from him.

"Hey, Sara," he paused. "Nice, uh, pajamas."

I couldn't help but laugh at the awkward look on his face.

My choice in sleepwear has been deemed inappropriate for public viewing by most everyone I knew. Jenny and Allie have tried to make me try on a pair of Victoria's Secret sweatpants but I always chose to sleep in clothes that were old and worn. The ratty old sports bra, over-sized wife beater and drawstring shorts I had on now were comparably more decent than most things in my pajama drawer.

Figuring Louis was in dire need of a change in topic, I asked about what happened after I left the dance last night. Basically, nothing much. Plus, Louis wasn't always much of a talker. He left a little while after that.

Before I could step back into the house, I heard someone calling out my name.

"You really should put on more decent clothes if you're going to step outside." Though Nate had on a friendly smile, there was a hard look in his eyes.

"I wasn't going to stay out for long." After a some silence, I asked him if he needed anything.

"I saw Adam and Becca drive off a while go. I came by to see if you needed company."

I didn't really but he was making an effort to reconnect so I waved him into the house.

He followed me through the foyer and into the den-slash-kitchen and smiled after looking around a bit. "Your house never changes, does it?"

"Unlike your parents, mine aren't obsessed with interior decorating. The only things that change are the photos in the frames."

I looked at a picture frame on the kitchen counter next to the phone. It used to hold a picture taken on my twelfth birthday. I was biting into a cupcake while Nate laughed at the frosting on my nose. After freshman year, I swapped it out for one of Adam and Becca at the beach.

If Nate had noticed anything different about the picture frame, he didn't say anything about it. "So what do you have planned for today?"

I settled into the couch with my bowl of Koko Krunch. "What do you mean?"

"Aren't you hanging out with Jenna and Annie?"

I sighed.

"Jenny and Allie. They're the only two people I hang out with and you don't even know their names." Then again, why would he?

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Anyway, aren't you guys hanging out today?"

"Nope," I popped the 'p' and shoved a spoonful of cereal in my mouth. "We don't see each other much on the weekends." Jenny went out with Louis while Allie had piano and violin lessons on Saturdays. If we did see each other on Sundays, it was because we were doing homework.