Kids In Love (Short Story)

Chapter 7

The morning sun woke me up to find that Katie was no where near me. I didn't give much thought to it as I stretched my arms over my head and sighed as my muscles began to loosen. I heard the sound of a car door shut and pulled my body up slowly to see what it was.

"Well you're finally up. I was beginning to think you died or something," Katie teased from the end of the trunk, her feet hanging off of the edge.

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair, pushing it out of my face. I really didn't want to be awake right now. I turned to Katie when she laughed.

"You look exhausted. Do you want me to drive back for you?" Katie offered, pulling her legs up and holding them against her chest.

I shook my head, "No, I'm fine to drive."

"Just know that if you kill me, I'll haunt you for the rest of your life," Katie smirked, hopping out of the van with an expectant look on her face.

Did she really want to leave right now? I groaned and she giggled.

"Come on, the day is wasting away!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms over her head dramatically.

I rolled my eyes and rubbed them roughly before finding the willpower to pull myself from the extremely comfortable position that I had once been in. I really didn't want to drive right now.

"Alright," I sighed, adjusting my jeans after climbing out of the trunk.

I heard a car door shut again and turned to see that Katie was already in the passenger seat, buckling her seat belt. I chuckled and shook my head.

As I was driving out of the mountains, I glanced over to see that Katie could barely keep her eyes open. I smiled when she would begin to doze off, but snap her head back up quickly when she had woken herself up.

"Go to sleep," I ordered, reaching behind the seat to pull one of the many pillows to the front for Katie.

She took it gratefully and reclined her seat, curling into the seat as she got comfortable. I chuckled and shook my head, stopping for the red sign before turning and heading back towards the city. I wasn't sure of where Katie wanted me to take her.

I turned on the radio quietly when I saw that Katie had finally dozed off. Glancing at the dials and guages in front of me, I realized that I would also need to stop for gas on the way back sometime.

I glanced at Katie's sleeping figure beside me before turning my attention back to the road. I wasn't sure about how I felt towards her. My initial response is to just think, "No. You're not living here much longer. It would be wrong to start something with her."

On the other hand, maybe it would be good for me to just have some fun while I was here. I was never the type of guy that got into serious relationships; for some reason I couldn't keep one going very long.

Katie groaned in her sleep and I glanced at her, seeing that she had adjusted to a more comfortable position than the one she had previously been in. I smiled, but quickly returned to my straight-faced composure.

I didn't want to make any decisions at the moment. If something happens, it happens, but I'm not going to force it.

I unwillingly woke Katie from her nap when I stopped at the gas pump. I was going to go inside and I didn't want her to wake up scared and confused if I wasn't there.

Katie groaned and swatted at my arm with her hands as I gently shook her shoulder.

"Katie," I spoke softly, continuing to move her arm.

"What?" Katie finally groaned out. I laughed at how annoyed she looked, earning an eye roll.

"I'm going in for a few minutes to pay for the gas. Do you want anything while I'm in there?" I asked, pulling my wallet out of my back pocket.

Katie smiled softly, "No, but thank you for asking," she answered, closing her eyes once again.

I chuckled and shook my head, but let her sleep; she obviously needed it.

By the time I had finished pumping the gas and was back in the van, Katie was wide awake. I smiled when I saw her.

"You look like you're in a good mood," I noted, turning the ignition on.

Katie smiled and nodded, "I got a lot of sleep."

"You sure did," I teased.

Katie laughed sarcastically at me and turned up the volume of the radio. I watched as she sung along to every song that she knew on the radio. She was so carefree. She acted as if she had nothing to worry about, and that made me think of what troubles she had in her life.

"So what do you want to do today?" Katie wondered, breaking me from my thoughts.

 I shrugged, "Doesn't matter. Did you have plans?"

"No..." Katie trailed off thoughtfully. "I can make some if you want," she added, giving me a questioning look.

I let out a short breath, "Yeah, if you're up for doing something," I answered.

"Cool! I'll figure something out," Katie replied, taking out her phone to text someone I assumed.

 Once we arrived back into town, she gave me directions to her house so that I could drop her off. She had told me that she was fine walking from the pier, but I wasn't going to make her do that.

"It'll be the first one on your right," Katie directed, pointing to a house with light blue trim around the windows and more than a necessary amount of lawn gnomes in the front yard. I parked in front of the house and glanced at Katie.

"Thank you for the ride and for letting me talk to you about... well, everything," Katie spoke, a small smile etched across her lips.

I nodded and pulled the right side of my mouth up. She leant in and gave me a quick hug, her arms wrapping around my neck. I held her back with my left hand and hugged her, trying to feel if she was going to start crying. She didn't.

"I'll let you know if I make any plans," Katie spoke after pulling away from our embrace.

I nodded, "Alright." There was a smile on my lips that I couldn't get rid of no matter how hard I tried.

"Are you going to be free all day or is there a certain time that I should make plans for?" Katie wondered.

"I'm free all day," I answered, watching as Katie placed her hand on the door handle.

I didn't necessarily want her to leave yet, but I knew that she probably wanted to shower and do some other girly things since it was 10 o'clock in the morning.

"Cool. So I'll text you later then?" she offered with a half-smile. She was very pretty when she smiled, and I had never seen her genuinely smile until now.

"Sounds great," I replied, my smile not ceasing to fade from my lips even after she had gon inside and I was on my way back to the motel.

I did exactly what I didn't want to do. I had started to get feelings for Katie. In my defense, it was hard not to. She was spontaneous, caring, and always was ready to do something fun. Not to mention the fact that she was just beautiful.

Oh Katie, what have you done to me?