Not Enough

79

Evander

I end up making a fool of myself for the rest of the drive as I attempt to horribly sing along to every following song that plays, but I don't regret any of it as I get to watch Nya smile and laugh and even sing along with me at times.

When the map on her phone says that we've arrived at our destination, I reach forward to turn off the radio, looking up to see the large, intricate mall now in front of us.

Nya takes us through the various streets and turns until we're in the parking lot, attempting to find a space close to the front entrance, but is unsuccessful considering that the entire place is practically filled with cars. Her next option is to take us through the large parking structure to the side of the mall—to which it's still surprisingly full—but eventually we're able to find an empty space on the third floor.

Once she's turned off the car, she unbuckles her seat and grabs her phone, now using her thumb to scroll through what I'm able to tell is her messages. I don't say anything when I notice the small twitch of her lip, indicating that something, or someone, isn't making her very happy.

Even though I don't necessarily have to, I find myself waiting for her to be done looking at her messages for me to get out, and she seems to notice after a few more seconds. She shuts off her phone and shoves it in her pocket, rolling her eyes before I see her reach up and grab the hood of her sweatshirt, bringing it over her head and then reaching down to pull up the zipper.

She begins tugging at the strings of the hood, tightening it so that nothing but the skin on her face is exposed to the air, and I can't help the mild confusion at the fact.

"What are you doing?"

When she turns to look at me I nearly laugh at the sight, and she seems to notice this when she gives me a—surprisingly playful—roll of her eyes.

"I'm not about to leave my hair exposed in this humidity. Plus, it's raining. I don't need it getting wet with that nasty sky water."

I nod with her sentence, but the smile on my face refuses to go away as she continues to stare back at me.

It doesn't take long before she decides enough is enough, opening the driver's door and stepping out of the car. I quickly do the same, and once she's locked it she puts the keys in her pocket, beginning her way towards the stairwell at the other end of the parking structure.

I'm not far behind as we make our way down the flights of steps, and once we're at the bottom I notice how she tightens her grip on her sweatshirt. I look forward and notice that the mall entrance is not that far away, but we'd need to cross the wide road to get there.

"Are you gonna try to run?" I can't help but tease her, lightly bumping her shoulder with my elbow.

Her lips turn up into a small smile.

"Shut up."

That's all it takes for her to begin her light jog, and I decide it would be best if I copy her idea of covering my head with the hood of my jacket, making sure to stay right behind her as we run through the pouring rain. Luckily both of our jackets are thick enough to prevent either of us from getting wet as we finally reach the large overhang of the mall that goes around the entire outside.

She doesn't waste a second before entering one of the sets of double-automatic-doors, and once we're inside we're immediately greeted by the sound of chatter and footsteps and the smell of the various restaurants of the food court somewhere nearby.

Luckily this particular entrance we chose—which I now know is on the rear side of the mall—doesn't have many people walking near, giving me the chance to have a quick look around.