Sweetie You Had Me

Sweetie You Had Me Chp. 11

The school year was finally over. Three semesters had gone by and it was finally June. I had spent the whole month of May packing for the three month trip to Maryland. I was so excited. Jillian was coming on the trip too. Summer was going to be amazing.

Ryan called me up the morning of our flight. It was about 4 a.m. Our flight left at 6.

"Hey I'm on my way," he was coming to pick me up.

"I'll see you then."

I was excited that I was going to be seeing Ryan. We weren't able to hang out nearly as much as we used to. We hung out average three times a month. I was starting to miss him.

I waited by the door of my actual home for him to come. I was wearing my old maroon hoodie from years ago, with my blonde hair straightened from the night before. Luckily I didn't have to wait long for him. He came up to the door and knocked quietly, making sure not to wake my parents. I was thrilled they were letting me go. I love how they trusted Ryan. I opened the door and flew into his arms. He hugged me tight. I hadn't seen him at all last month. It felt like forever. We grabbed my suitcase and bags and threw them in the trunk of his car.

When we arrived at our flight gate, the rest of the band was there. Jillian ran up to me and we hugged. I hadn't seen her longer than Ryan.

I saw Brendon mouth something to Ryan. '... you ask... yet'? Ryan shook his head and Brendon got an annoyed look on his face. "Do it this summer," I watched him say. I had a good feeling in the pit of my stomach.

We each looked at each others tickets to see where we sat. We had the same seats through all our flights. The first flight was to Chicago, O'Hare, with a connecting flight to Maryland. We rode in one of the larger planes that had three rows with three seats in each and two walkways. It went Ryan, me, and some other passenger in one row. The row behind us was Jillian, Brendon, and another passenger. And in the row next to us in the center of the plane was Spencer, a random passenger, and Brent. The seats almost seemed coincidental.

We boarded our flight and found our seats which were pretty close to the front. Not quite first class. We all got situated in our seats and waited to find out who was sitting in the random seats of our rows. The flight was about to take off and we realized that the two passengers who were supposed to occupy the seats in ours and Jillian's rows didn't make it. What luck. More room for us. The passenger between Spencer and Brent came, though. It was a girl, probably the same age as us. I saw her eyes were glued to Spencer when she found out that her seat was right next to him. I could say he looked delighted as well.

After we took off and were at a good traveling height Ryan turned to me.

"Finally. We're on our way. You excited?"

"Absolutely. A whole summer with you guys. I can't think of a better summer."

He smiled and looked out the window. "Hey look."

I leaned across him and looked out the window. Clouds were piled high. Although, the plane turned just enough that we could see the sun rising over the clear horizon. We were that high up. "Wow. I've never seen a sunrise like this."

"What better way to see it than right here, right now."

I felt his arm wrap around me. He pulled me a little closer. I was smiling. Nothing was better than watching a spectacular sunrise with a boy I cared so much about at 14 thousand feet above the ground. I rested my head against his chest and closed my eyes. I remembered that one afternoon in my dorm. His chest rose and fell the same way. It brought me back.

I didn't fall asleep. I actually wanted to stay awake for awhile. Plus I was listening to Spencer talk to the girl next to him, and I had a good view.

"So are you staying in Chicago?" I heard Spencer ask.

"No, I have a connecting flight to Maryland."

I saw Spencer's face light up. "Really? Same. We're staying in a town 15 miles from the airport."

"I think I know where you're talking about. I'm staying close by with my grandparents. So what brings you to the state?"

"We are going to record an album."

"Seriously? Wow what's your band's name? What do you play?"

"Panic! At The Disco. I'm their drummer."

"That is awesome. I'm Laura by the way."

"Spencer."

I could tell they took an interest in each other. Laura is about my height around five foot and has dark brown hair. Mostly during the flight I heard them talk about music. They had the same taste in music. I could also hear that she was as much of a profanity user as Jillian. It looked like we were bringing another person into our chaotic world. I figured we'd be seeing her often in Maryland.

Ryan and I ended up falling asleep for most of that flight. We were wide awake on the second trip. We each had the same seats again. There was still an empty seat next to us and same in Jillian's row. Ryan and I talked for most of the flight. At some point I saw Laura resting her head on Spencer's shoulder. I peered through a small opening between the seats and saw Jillian and Brendon pretty much making out behind us. Poor Brent, I thought. All alone. I had Ryan, but we were at a friend basis. I wondered if he ever did think about dating. I remembered what Brendon had said to Ryan earlier that morning. I started to think about when he might ask me. If he would ask me. I could tell he wanted to. He seemed afraid. At some point when we were talking I heard Ryan say "Ow!" Brendon was flicking the back of his head. Ryan turned around and whispered "What?"

They were whispering about something that I couldn't hear. I heard Jillian joining in too. I kept hearing the words 'ask' and 'her' and 'do it' and 'now'. When Ryan turned back around his cheeks were starting to look red. His body was getting warmer. I pretended not to acknowledge the conversation. I'd only make him more embarrassed and uncomfortable. He would ask when he was ready.

We got off the plane now as a group of seven. Brendon and Jillian held hands walking through the airport. So did Spencer and Laura. I saw Ryan look at all their hands. I knew what he was thinking. I let my hand dangle as I walked next to him to see what he would do. Nothing.

We had to go to the car rental station to pick up the cars we each had reserved. Laura left with her grandparents and promised to visit us sometime. After we got our cars we drove 15 miles to our apartments. The guys had a one bedroom apartment with two bunk beds. Jillian and I were paying for our own apartment close by. It had two single beds, one bathroom, and a small kitchen and tv room. They guys' was pretty much the same. Their's seemed smaller with the four of them living there.

Despite the living space, I knew this was going to be a great summer.