That Summer (Completed)

Chapter 6

Uncomfortable.

I was so uncomfortable.

We were all sitting in Mom's car on the way back home. It was a five seater but the only problem was, none of us were children. I was sitting in the backseat squished between Jake and Miranda. I could feel his whole side pressed up against me. I tried not to think about how close he was but that just seemed to make it worse.

It was also blisteringly hot and I was sweating like I'd just finished a marathon. The combination of the heat and car ride was making feel nauseous and the stress was wearing away on me. I was halfway hanging out the window at this point but I didn't even care anymore.

"Um, are you ok?" Miranda asked, looking at me nervously. I couldn't even imagine how terrible I must've looked. I shook my head and shut my eyes trying to keep the nausea at bay. Throwing up on Jake would just be the icing on the cake, wouldn't it?

"Do you want some gum or water or anything?" Jake asked, leaning in. I shook my head and tried to think about how good a warm bath would feel once I got home. I think they realized I wanted to be left alone so they lowered their voices and talked amongst themselves.

When we got home I rushed straight to the bathroom and barely made it to the toilet before throwing up the sub I'd just eaten. When I finally felt like I wasn't going to gag anymore I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and sat down with my back against the tub.

"Head between the knees."

My eyes snapped open and I saw Jake standing there with his arms crossed, leaning against the door frame. I couldn't believe he was seeing me in such an ugly state but I was too drained to worry about anything right then.

"It'll help with the nausea," he said helpfully. I obliged.

"Thanks," I mumbled, not looking up.

"No problem, what happened?"

"I feel like I pissed Satan off," I offered.

I heard him laugh. "You did wear plaid Crocs for a solid year."

"We don't talk about the Croc days ok," I said, feeling myself smile.

This was such a weird situation, me sitting on the bathroom floor with my head between my knees and talking about my impeccable fashion sense with Jake.

"Plaid crocs, SpongeBob hoodie, hot pink baseball cap...you were just a walking fashion icon," he teased.

"Oh my God, I'm going to kick your ass," I said, looking up and laughing. "You're one to talk, remember your old sketchers and that neon green windbreaker you wore everywhere."

"God, I can't believe my mom ever let me out of the house," he said cringing. "I thought I was the shit."

I heard footsteps coming down the hallway and then Mom poked her head in. "Hey, how are you feeling hun?"

"Better," I replied, getting up. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Ok I'll make you some tea," she said, coming in and feeling my forehead. "Jake, you should change and freshen up, it's been a long day. People are going to start arriving soon."

They went downstairs as I got into the shower. I stood there letting the warm water spray over me and thought about my conversation with Jake.

That wasn't bad at all, if I did say so myself. I was clearly overthinking things as usual. As long as I didn't get too attached, I'd be fine.

******

The party was in full swing by the time I got ready and went downstairs. The shower and short nap had helped a lot. I felt much better and refreshed. I chose to wear a flowy dark blue babydoll dress that looked cute but was still very comfortable and loosely curled my hair.