One Week Later
“Mom, it’s going to be a fun time for me to get away and spend some quality time with Aaron,” I explained as Aaron finished packing my bags on the tour bus.
“Shelby, you lost to a bet so you’re driving across country. You’re giving up school and moving up here, I know it,” she muttered.
“Mom, I am not,” I sighed. “I’m going to be taking my classes online. I already talked to the Dean and he said it was perfectly fine. And right when I get back, I’ll be in North Carolina. I swear.”
“You better be safe! And you better call every chance you get!” She exclaimed. I could tell she was crying. I knew I didn’t have time, or the patience, for this right now.
“I promise I will. Look, I have to go. I’ll call you when we get there,” I said as I glanced at Aaron and Nick laughing together about something. “I love you.”
“Love you,” she cried. “Bye.” I said ‘bye’ and hung up with a sigh. I had to smile at the interactions going on between Nick and Aaron. Currently, Nick had Aaron in a headlock.
“Some things never change,” I laughed and folded my arms across my chest as I walked up to them.
“Hey Shelby,” Nick smiled and laughed at his younger brother.
“Let me go!” Aaron yelled and tried to punch Nick in the gut. He didn’t have much luck. Nick finally broke him free and enveloped me in a hug.
“So, you’re tagging along with the kid?” Nick laughed. I nodded and smiled. “Good luck. No one’s traveled with him in a long time. He can get kind of messy.”
“Oh, no worries. I’ll clean up after him,” I laughed and smiled at Aaron. He seemed to be blushing. “Well, are we ready to hit the road?” I asked and he nodded. Nick went in the tour bus behind ours. I walked on and smiled at how neat and tidy everything was.
“Uh, you can have this bunk right here, if you want,” Aaron pointed to a bunk bed on one side of the wall. “I’ll take this one right next to it.”
“Sounds good to me,” I smiled. I thought it might be awkward, but not this awkward. The bus got started and the driver let off the brake. My equilibrium wasn’t quite ready and I fell forward. I grabbed for anything in my reach, which happened to be Aaron. “S-Sorry.” I choked out, as he helped me find my balance and let go.
“It’s okay, you get used to it,” he shrugged and walked towards the couch. I frowned and he immediately spun back around, correcting what he was going to say. “Uh, I mean, not the falling girls…I don’t get used to that. I meant that you get used to the abrupt stopping and starting.” He tried to cover.
I laughed and rolled my eyes. I stole the remote from his grasp. “Abrupt? Using big words nowadays, Carter?” I laughed softly. I saw him give me the “evil eye”. I should have known what was coming next. His fingers found the sides of my stomach in a matter of seconds. “No! Stop!” I shrieked in a fit of laughter. “Stop!”
“Take it back!” He yelled, laughing at how hard I was laughing. I continued to squirm under his grasp. “Take it back, Shell. Or else the fingers will continue to work their magic!”
“Fine! Fine!” I surrendered. “I take it back!” I yelled, loud enough for the whole bus to hear. He smiled in victory and sat up, taking the remote back. “I didn’t want it anyway.” I joked. He shook his head and laughed and threw his arm over my shoulders.
Old habits never die. I snuggled into his shoulder and realized how good he smelled. What was I talking about? He was my best friend. It was too awkward to just sit there, so I stood up and walked into the bathroom. My stomach continued to flutter and I realized it had all started when Aaron started tickling me. What was happening? Good Lord, I was attracted to him.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks for the two reviews I got on the previous chapter! I'll comment back to those tomorrow sometime. Please keep the reviews coming!
