Light as a Feather

Chapter Twenty

        Annabelle and Tyler sat in the truck with the guy whose name was Rob. He asked where they were headed, and Annabelle told him. They were on the road in about ten minutes. The truck was not that big, and Tyler had to squish in the back with Annabelle. There was only one other seat that was long, but not long enough. Obviously, Tyler wasn't bothered by this, but Annabelle had her reservations. She wasn't actually sure if she liked him or not, and she didn't want to do anything that she'd regret later.

        Annabelle yawned. She hadn't really slept the night before, and in the car she had only had about an hour of sleep. Tyler looked over at her. "Are you tired?" he asked.

        "Yeah, maybe a little," she said. She scooted as far away from Tyler as she could and leaned her head back, closing her eyes. She probably would have been able to sleep like that if the truck had not have been bumping around so much.

        Tyler leaned over and said, "You can sleep on my shoulder."

        Annabelle opened one eye and squinted at him with it. "Um," was the only thing she could get out. That actually sounded nice. Comfy. But she would never admit that to him.

        "Come on, Anna. I know you're tired." He stared at her without much emotion.

        "I don't..." she began. But she didn't get any further with that sentence because he was still staring at her like he was trying to figure her out. If she leaned over, their lips would be touching. Annabelle resisted the urge to close that space and looked away. But Tyler didn't. "Why are you staring at me?" she asked, a little creeped out. 

        "Well, I could pull an Augustus Waters and say, 'Because you're beautiful', and although that would be true, I've always found that line a bit cheesy." He smiled at her.

        Annabelle grinned and laughed. She had loved that book when she read it because Charla recommended the novel. If Charla said a book was good, you knew it was because she hardly ever read. "Did you read that?" she asked.

        Tyler scrunched his nose. "Actually, no, sadly. But I saw the movie. So good," he said, smiling at her.

        Annabelle stared at him and pretended to be horribly hurt. "I can't believe you didn't read it! It was such a good book! And why did you go to see a chick flick?"

        "I had to take my little sister. She really wanted to go, so I took her to it, and actually liked it. And you've never struck me as the type of girl who would patiently sit down and read a book, Anna." He stuck out his tongue until Annabelle gave him a playful shove.

        "Well, I made an exception for this one."

        Tyler smiled and looked at the floor. They were quiet for a few minutes, Tyler playing with his hands and Annabelle leaning over and looking out the window. "My offer still stands," Tyler said, not turning to look at Annabelle.

        "Huh?" she asked.

        "Lie down on my lap or shoulder. Like I said, I know you're tired."

        "You do realize that that's really awkward," Annabelle said, biting her lip.

        He shrugged. "Only if you make it that way." Annabelle just shook her head. She ended up falling asleep, despite the bumps, but her head ended up falling. Right onto Tyler's shoulder.

                                                                                        *****