We break away, collecting air that we've lost from the amount of time we were kissing. I put my head on his chest and stay like that. He runs his fingers through my soaking wet hair and it just feels like a perfect moment, in a perfectly imperfect time.
The rain stops, and the clouds disappear slightly. I start to remember what I'll have to deal with when we get back to the house; Dakota, and whatever Austin and I. I also suddenly remember Cassidy, and I pull myself away from him and sit down in the passenger seat.
Austin's face turns into confusion, "What's wrong?" He asks.
"What about Cassidy, and Dakota." I say.
"I-I don't know." He says shaking his head.
I keep my focus on the window, and the old rain drops that are sticking to it, and shiver.
"I'll just talk to Cassidy, it will be fine." He says and puts his hand on my shoulder, "It's not like we're even going it, I was just using her as a distraction; as terrible as that may sound." He says.
"Are you sure? You can be with her if you want…" I say.
He turns to me, "You're joking, right?" He asks.
I just shrug, and he puts his hand on my cheek and makes me face him, "You are the only one I want to be with." He says.
"What do I do about Dakota?" I ask him.
"Well, your dad will be home soon, so we can hide it from her until then." He says.
It's true; my dad will be home in four days, I think we can handle this until then. I just don't know how I'm going to handle her until then. At least I'm staying in the guest room now, so I won't have to be around her much. What I do know is, I'm not going to apologize to her, and she doesn't deserve it. If anything, I'm the one that she owes an apology to. I reacted to her being a horrible friend, and it was long overdue.
I sometimes think to myself that I should have went with my dad on this trip, but then I wouldn't have reconnected with Austin, and that's something I don't regret at all.
Austin starts the engine and we drive off, towards his house. I start to panic; I'm not ready for this. What do I say, what do I do? The drive there is too quick, and Austin gets out of the truck, but I stay still; frozen. He walks over to my side and opens the door, "Come on Ally. You have to face this." He says.
I know he'd grab my hand, or carry me in, or anything. But we're at his house now, and that would be showing too much closeness between us. I get out of the truck and walk slowly behind him. He opens the door and his parents are sitting on the couch, and there is no sign of Dakota.
"Where have you two been?" She asks. She doesn't seem mad, just curious. I guess she doesn't know what happened between Dakota and I, which means I'll have to act different with Dakota around them too.
"Ally went for a walk and got caught in the rain, so I went and got her." He says.
I nod at them, confirming his lie, "Well dear go take a warm shower, because you look freezing. Dakota is at James house until late." Mimi says. I nod again and run upstairs. Austin went straight for the kitchen, which didn't surprise me much. When we're here, I'm just his little sister's friend, but only for four days. I can handle this.
Of course Dakota is at James house, sweet, more important than I, James. She probably couldn't stand the thought of having to be around me, even though I am staying clear of her. I jump into the shower, and stand in there for a while, soaking in the warm water. I was pretty frozen, and the warm water is more than amazing. When I'm done I go into my room and get dressed, and then go downstairs, my stomach is growling.
When I get down there, Austin is in the living room with his dad, and Mimi is in the kitchen finishing up baking some cookies. I look in the fridge, trying to find leftovers, "There is left of lasagna in there. But Austin just had some, so good luck getting a good amount." She says with a laugh.
I laugh back and find the container; I put it on the counter and grab a plate, "Well, he actually left me some." I say.
"That's great news. You can grab a cookie after too." She says with a smile.
"Thanks." I say with a smile.
I hear the door open and shut, and Dakota walks into the kitchen. My smile disappears almost instantly and I keep my focus on scooping piles of the lasagna on my plate.
"Hey there, there's leftover lasagna is Ally leaves you some." Mimi teases.
Dakota goes into the fridge and grabs a can of soda, "I ate at James'." She says, and with that, she went upstairs.
Mimi's face turns into an odd expression, "That was weird." She says and walks out of the kitchen. I stick the plate in the microwave and lean against the counter and wait. Austin walks in and grabs a soda from the fridge and leans against the counter next to me.
"Did Dakota see you?" He asks.
I shrug, "Yeah, I guess. She just grabbed a drink and went upstairs." I say.
He rolls his eyes, "That's her for you."
"I don't care. I just want to go home." I say.
The microwave starts beeping and I take the lasagna out of it. I grab a napkin and a fork, and Austin's just looking at me, "I guess I'm going to go eat this in my room… You can join me if you want." I say
"I got to watch something with my dad, but I'll be up later okay?" He says and winks at me.
I smile at him and head upstairs. Dakota's blaring music in her room, that happens to be next to my guest room. She's probably doing it on purpose, but I don't care. We have the same taste in music, so how is it going to bother me? I sit down on my bed and chow down on my food. After I'm done I bring the plate downstairs and wash it quickly, and then go back to my room.
I lie down on my bed and close my eyes, and drift to sleep, until I hear a light knock on my door. I run over to it and open it to see Austin standing there. The lights are off in the hallway so everyone must be asleep. I let him in and he jumps onto my bed. I giggle at him and lay down next to him.
"What's up?" He asks.
"I am just laying here." I say and giggle at my seriousness.
"Were you sleeping?" He asks me.
"What? No." I say.
"That's why it took you like ten minutes to finally hear my knocking?" He asks with a smile.
"I don't know what you're talking about." I say and cross my arms, and try to hide a smile.
"Is that so?" He says.
He rolls over towards me and starts tickling me, "Hey!" I yell at him.
"Shh." He says, but continues to tickle me.
He won't stop, so I roll over on top of him and pin his arms down. I know he's just letting me win, because there is no way I'm stronger than him. My legs straddle his waist and I keep my hands locked on his wrist, "I win." I say.
"You wish." He says.
"Is that so?" I ask him, and I take one hand and start tickling his tummy. He starts laughing hard, and tries to stop me but I roll over and dodge his attack, but I roll over to far and fall right off the bed onto my back with a loud thud. I hold my breath, afraid that my noise is going to wake his parents. He jumps off the bed and runs over to me, "God Ally are you okay?" He asks.
I sighed dramatically, "No, I need mouth to mouth." I tell him. He laughs at me and lays down next to me on the floor.
"This is comfy." He says.
"I really like the rug." I say, agreeing with him.
"So, you still need mouth to mouth?" He asks with a smile. I nod fast.
He rolls over on top of me and kisses me, supporting himself on his hands. He only kisses me quickly and rolls back over, "That's all I get?" I ask him.
"You know it." He says.
"That's mean." I whine.
I get up and jump back on the bed, leaving him on the floor, "That was mean." He says.
"You were mean first." I say.
"True." He says.
Then we hear a noise from the hallway, and then a voice, "Austin?" They call, its Dakota. Austin jumps up, says a swear word and opens my door a crack, peaking out. He waits a minute and then creeps out and I guess runs to his room. I hear him and Dakota talking for a moment and then there's silence, and he doesn't come back to my room. I sigh, she ruins everything.