Running back

Greetings

"Ahh the smell of Paris", I said to myself. I stood outside the airport waiting for an old friend to arrive and pick me up.

Ok I'm joking a little, the smell of Paris can be good or bad. It can smell like pigeons who just got ahold of a moldy piece of pizza, or it can smell like baked goods if your passing a bakery, or B.O. if your passing the gym.

But the main smell of Paris was the tar in the streets and the flowers letting their aroma float into the air.

One of my favorite places to be was the park, there were sidewalks I used to skate on as I smelled the crisp morning air in almost any season.

It wasn't a no brainer to know I like skating, I literally could skate before I could walk. But skating was never just skating, it wasn't just exercising, to me skating was a way to let go, be free, and connect to nature and other people better.

But competing? Well that was a whole different story, I hated losing. Losing anything really. From my phone to a bet. It drove me nuts.

That's probably why I had so much fun with Kim back before I moved, he knew how to push my buttons and egg me on, he even got me into a dress one time.

But then he owed me a lifetime supply of chocolate, oh yeah, he went broke.

I wonder if that offer still stands. I mean we bet on it so it should but Kim has a way of weaseling himself out of that kind of stuff.

As I was contemplating if I could call up Kim and ask for chocolate my favorite red head pulled up.

"Well well, look who's back!", Nathaniel grinned. I smiled back, 'hopping' into the passenger side.

"Nath I missed you!", I exclaimed, pulling the red head in for a hug. But not before I hit him in the face with my duffel back that was on route to the back seat.

"I missed you too", Nath replied, hugging me tight. After a few seconds I let go, him doing the same.

Nathaniel looked a little different, his hair was longer and pulled into a bun in the back which I found kind of hilarious.

I would have never imagined Nathaniel with a bun.

He was wearing jeans and a white tshirt so he must not have had anything else planned.

It was a pretty simple outfit but seeing Nathaniel driving... it made him seem so grown up.

I knew I wasn't going to come back and everything would be the same, but I guess I wasn't ready for everything to be different either.

I hadn't realized I had started laughing until Nathaniel, who had pulled out of the airport at this point, pointed it out.

"What's so funny?", he asked, confusion clear in his eyes when he glanced at me.

I tried to stop laughing but come on guys, Nathaniel...in a bun... CAN YOU IMAGINE!!!

I was practically rolling on the floor when Nathaniel rolled his eyes giving me a look that said, 'I'm giving up on you'.

That look alone snapped me out of my laughing fit and I straightened up.

"Your bun", was all I could say before the laughing continued.

His face showed complete and utter panic, like he'd seen a spider or something. He reached back for his bun, only making me laugh harder.

"What do you mean by 'my bun' Alix?!!" He frantically asked, trying to see in the mirror if his bun was alright.

I reached over pulling the hair tie out of his hair. I remembered when he used to do that to me, ha ha payback time.

He screamed.