All of Me

twenty five • sleep it off

• • •

It's nearly seven when Liam and I make it back to South Lakes on Sunday night. I miss his house already. I was only there for a couple of days, not even a full forty-eight hours, but I want to go back already. I miss Daria's feistiness, even if she accidentally embarrasses me; I miss Allie welcoming me like I was her own child.

"You should come over for Thanksgiving," Liam says after I express for the hundredth time how happy I am to have met his family.

"I can't," I say. "Not actual Thanksgiving day, anyway. Mom's really big on it, probably even more now that we have stuff to be thankful for. But we have the whole week off, right?"

"Nine glorious days," Liam says. He sails past the Theta Chi Theta house, then slows. "Hey, d'you want to stay tonight? It's getting late."

"Not tonight. Mom's expecting me home. She wants to hear all about this weekend, and I want to hear about hers too. And Gray's," I say. "It's been a big weekend for the Sovanonos."

"The ... Sovanonos?" he asks, then the wheels turn and the cogs click and his face clears. "Ah. Sovany and Ono. That's cute."

"That's Mom," I say, scrolling through the latest messages in the group chat. Mom has sent a few artsy shots of Tad standing in front of the lake; he has sent some of her. Gray has commented on each one. I snap a photo of the sign that reads South Lakes University and a couple of minutes later, Liam pulls up outside Navya's house.

I'm reluctant to kiss him goodbye, even though I'll see him tomorrow and probably every day this week. It's been such a great weekend, a million times better than I expected, that I don't want it to end, even though I'm ready for my own bed.

"See you tomorrow," Liam says, pulling me across the center console for another kiss. "Thanks so much for coming. Love you."

"Love you too," I say, only letting go when I have to. Liam doesn't drive off until Gray emerges from Navya's house, then he waves and heads back to the frat house. Gray nearly knocks me over with a hug.

"Hey! Good weekend?" he asks, and before I can answer he says, "You and Liam are so freaking cute. Those pictures were adorable."

"Amazing weekend," I say. "His family is awesome. His mom loves me. And thanks." I push his shoulder. "You and Navya are pretty damn cute."

He grins. "We are, aren't we?" He throws me my keys, which he kept safe for me, and hauls his bag onto my backseat. "Nav would have come out but she's having dinner with her parents. They think I was only over for the afternoon."

"Ah. Do they know you're, like, official?"

"Not exactly," he says with a laugh as we get into the car. "So, Sovanono, huh? D'ya reckon that's your mom's way of saying she and Dad are engaged?"

I snap to him, eyes huge. "What?"

He shrugs. "I don't know, I was just wondering. They looked so happy and I didn't see your mom's left hand in any of the pictures. I thought maybe they got engaged. Maybe that's what the trip was for."

"Oh. Wow. I didn't even think that," I say, a strange feeling rolling through me. I can't put a finger on it. It's not a bad feeling. I just don't know what it is. Nostalgia, maybe. Time seems to be flying so fast.

"You don't think they'd tie the knot?"

"Not yet," I say. "They've only known each other for five months."

"I think it's different when you're older," he says. "They've both been married before. They know what they want. And they're, like, always together. They're totally in love. I wouldn't be surprised if they got engaged."