Dance For It

3

After dinner, I was getting ready for the bonfire, when I got a call from Amelia.

"Hey girl! There's gonna be a big bonfire tonight. Maybe you've already heard, I just wanted to invite you again."

"Yeah I heard about it," I admitted, as I was going through clothes in my closet.

"Awesome, so you'll be there right? Do you need a ride there?" she asked me.

"It's ok," I held up a shirt to my upper body before deciding against it. "Trouble Tyke offered to give me a ride earlier, so I accepted."

"Trouble Tyke? You mean my cousin Tyson?"

"Yeah, he works at the pool now, so he offered."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. In that case see you later! Can't wait to finally see you!"

I seconded the sentiment and we hung up. Focusing back on what to wear later, I just couldn't make up my mind. It wasn't that it really mattered, I just felt a little bit nervous to be seeing everyone after all these years. I decided on a black crop top with a cartoon sun on it, ripped jeans shorts, a plaid shirt to go over it, and naturally my cowgirl boots. Putting my hair up in a high ponytail, I did some light makeup, and was ready to go.

The problem was, I still had about 30 minutes before Tyke was supposed to arrive, so I simply went back down the stairs to talk to my mom who was still in the kitchen preparing a fresh batch of sweet tea.

"Look at my beautiful daughter," she gushed.

I rolled my eyes. "This isn't the prom, mom."

"I know, I know, I'm just so happy to have my baby girl home," she told me.

Going over to where she was standing, I gave her a tight hug. "So are you excited to meet all your old friends again?"

"I'm a bit nervous to be honest," I confessed, popping a strawberry from a bowl on the counter into my mouth.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. I'm sure everyone will be happy to see you."

Talking to my mom in this manner really did make me feel like a teenager again, but I didn't mind. It made me aware how much I had missed my mom.

"Do you want to take my truck?" she offered.

"No it's ok, Tyson is gonna give me a ride. He should be here soon," I informed her.

"I see. He's a good boy, but he sure runs his mouth sometimes," she stated.

Laughing I responded, "Oh I've already gotten to hear some of that today. It was funny, the last time I saw him he was a teenager, and now he's all grown up."

"That's right, he's Amelia's cousin, so I'm sure he was at a lot of family gatherings."

I nodded, when headlights shone through the window, signaling that Tyke was pulling up to the house. "Well there's my ride. Good night, mom."

"Have a good evening, sweetie. Call me if you need anything, and make sure you don't let that boy drive you back if he's had alcohol," she warned me.

"Alright will do."

Opening the front door, I stepped out to find that Tyson had stepped out of drivers seat. When he spotted me he said, "Oh, hi Piper, I was just about to knock."

"I saw your headlights through the window," I told him.

He nodded, as he got back into the car. I went around to the passenger side, and climbed in. It wasn't until I had gotten settled that I took in Tyke's appearance. He had gelled his hair out of face, and was wearing ripped black jeans and a black shirt. And was that the smell of old spice, my nose was sensing? He seemed way too young to be using old spice, I thought. "Well don't you look fancy," I commented, "are we going to the same party, or did I miss something."