Dandelion

Ten

"Good morning, sleepy head!" Eli's voice filled Briar's ears and she slightly started to wake. She blinked her eyes open and then smiled lazily.

"Morning, snaggle tooth," she giggled as she wrapped Eli up in a hug and yanked him under the massive comforter.

"Nana made breakfast, are you hungry? It's chocolate chip pancakes," he said excitedly.

"Super hungry," she yawned and snuggled Eli as her eyes drifted close once more. Last night felt like a dream, maybe it had been, but it was a dream Briar never wanted to wake up from. The sky went from beautiful and starry to stormy so quickly, but that just made the moments after that much sweeter. Greyson James kissed her. That freaking gorgeous, hunky, man kissed, her! A little small town waitress nobody, and it was most definitely the best kiss she ever had.

"Mama, wake up, it's breakfast time!" Eli giggled as he lifted Briar's eye lids. She snorted and pretended to try to bite him. Eli squealed and laughed as he wiggled to get away, but Briar held him close and began to tickle him. After a few moments she finally kissed his forehead hard and let him go.

"Alright, alright, I'm awake. I'll be in the kitchen in a second, gremlin," she laughed as she finally sat up. Eli smiled and ran to the kitchen happily singing the pancake song down the long hallway. Briar laughed and shook her head as she moved to get out of the bed, still in a daze. After Greyson kissed her, they rushed to get their picnic stuff up and ran to his truck. They climbed inside and somehow, they began to talk like they had known each other their entire lives. Greyson let her talk about Eli, about her mother, and he talked to her about his life. The ride back to the diner seemed shorter than the ride to the field, and it hurt her heart to think the date was over, but then Greyson took her pitiful flip phone and put his phone number in it. He wanted a second date, but only when she was ready. Briar had wanted to kiss him goodnight, and there was a moment, where they both had leaned in, but then her phone rang and she knew it was time to go.

The night was tearful, funny, and everything she could have wished for and everything she was sure a first date wasn't supposed to be. On the way home, Briar was in a daze. She went to bed with a smile and now she was smiling. As she meandered down her hall like a love drunk fool, she could hear her mother and Eli singing the pancake song.

"Pancake, Pancake steamy and hot! Eat 'em when you're standin', eat 'em when you squat! Blueberry, chocolate chip, banana too... I've got pancakes, how bout you!" They sang together over and over. However, the closer and closer Briar walked to the kitchen the more she heard another humming. Though it would be hard to sour her mood, it wasn't a total delight to see Jane-Anne sitting at the table when Briar turned the corner.

"Jane? What are you doing here?"  Briar paused in the doorway.

"I heard some yummy gossip from mama about you and one mister Greyson James, and I thought, no, not my sister? But, seeing how your face went from love drunk to annoyed in three seconds, I could be wrong," Jane-Anne shrugged. Briar rolled her eyes.

"I'm not love drunk. I went out on one date with the man, not that it's any of your business..." Briar muttered the last bit and Jane-Anne waved her hand dismissively.

"Whatever you say, sis. If you don't want me sticking my nose in your love life, maybe not date someone who's a rising superstar," she paused and sipped her water before she looked over to Briar at last.

"Don't give me that look," Jane-Anne giggled annoyingly.

"Nana, what's a love life?" Eli asked.

"Nothing you need to worry about until your fifty," Cordelia chuckled as she walked over and placed a stack of pancakes on the table. Briar sighed as she walked over to the round table and sat next to Eli.