Getting picked up.

Of course, I had to put on a sweater and a waterproof jacket before leaving, but after that, I went downstairs with my backpack on my shoulder and made a quick stop by the living room, where my mom and sister were.

“I’m leaving now,” I told them.

Mom raised an eyebrow. “With this rain?”

“…My friend came to pick me up.”

Isabelle’s eyebrows shot up and she ran to the window to see the car waiting by the road. “That’s not Thomas’ car. Is that… Sarah’s!?” she asked, incredulous.

“Oh my,” mom chuckled. “Going out with a lady friend, Oliver? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You didn’t ask,” is what I wanted to answer, but instead I just laughed it off.

“A-Anyway. See you later!” I said, running off.

“At what time are you coming back?” mom shouted.

“I don’t know! Not late!” I answered back before running out the front door and hoping Isabelle wouldn’t put weird ideas in our mom’s head. She knew that if she did, I’d tell mom about her boyfriend, so I was safe.

I ran to Sarah’s car, which surprisingly was a rather large, black SUV. I quickly hopped in, the rain not giving me the luxury of being too worried about it.

“Good morning,” Sarah said, watching me take a seat.

“Good morning,” I answered with a sheepish smile. “Sorry you had to come all the way here.”

“It’s fine. I live far away from everything, so I’m used to driving a lot.” Sarah was also wearing a thick, purple waterproof jacket, even though the inside of her car felt warm. “Let’s stop by a convenience store, buy some snacks and then we go to my place. Do you want to stop by some other place?” I shook my head. “Then let’s be off.”

And so we were. Sarah got back on the road and drove off, leaving my house behind. I thought I could still see my sister at the window as we left. Didn’t know how to feel about that.

There was some silence between us on the way. Not entirely awkward, but more like… I felt Sarah wanted to say something, but wouldn’t. She had her eyes focused on the road and with a bit of a stern frown. I didn’t think pushing her to say it would be the right call, either, so instead I decided to ask a question.

“Um… This car’s pretty big. Do you like these?”

“Oh. Haha. Not much, actually,” she said, suddenly smiling. “I don’t have a preference for cars, but you need a big one when you’re the oldest of four siblings.”

“Oh wow. You have three siblings?”

“Yep. One’s ten, another one’s seven and the last one’s five. Big family. I have like five other cousins, too.”

“And they’re all at a family meeting?”

Sarah nodded. “We have a big get-together at least once a month. You know, a barbecue, games, drinking, catching up. It’s fun.”

I smiled. “You sound like a tight knit family.”

“We are,” Sarah said. “Problem is all my cousins are younger than me, so whenever I go I have to play babysitter.”

I winced. “Sounds rough.”

She chuckled. “Nah. I have fun there.”

“But… if you already had plans, then why…?”

“I always go to these meetings. Missing one is not a big deal. Besides, I wasn’t gonna let Grace and Mila have you all to themselves.”

I felt my face heat up. Sarah did want to spend time with me. Such a good feeling, that. To know someone enjoys your company.

We stopped by a convenience store, bought some chips, cookies and soda. Thankfully, the rain eased up a bit as we started making our way back to the car with bags in hand. Sarah asked if we should buy some beer, but I really don’t like the taste of it and didn’t want to get drunk after one or two.

Just after I finished putting the bags in the back of the car, however, Sarah tapped my shoulder and spoke.

“H-Hey. Are you really okay with this?”

“Hm? With what we bought? It’s enough, I think.”

“No, not that.” Sarah grunted. “Are you okay with going to my place? I was too pushy, wasn’t I? Going all the way to your house to get you, even.”

Oooh. Was that what she wanted to ask but wouldn’t? I smiled and shook my head.

“I was worried we would have to cancel today because of the rain. Yeah, I’m nervous about going to your house,” I admitted with a sheepish smile. “But I’m glad you invited me. I really did want to see you.”

I noticed in her shoulders how she relaxed. She smiled at me, stepped closer and, with a hand behind my neck, pulled me into a kiss. My body tensed, having been caught off guard, but when I felt Sarah’s tongue on my lips, my instincts kicked in and I kissed her back.

The rain and wind blew strong again, right over us. We didn’t want to, but we had to pull away. We shared dumb grins and ran to get inside the car.

“Ahhh. Now that feels like a proper greeting.” Sarah laughed. “I should know by now to trust Grace’s advice. Damn girl’s got a better eye than me for things like these.”

“Ah?” I tilted my head, curious about that last statement.

“Forget it, forget it. Sorry. Let’s just say I feel better now. Let’s go to my place, then. It may be my house, but we won’t lack things to do, believe me. Are you up for sweating a little?”

“Um… W-What kind of sweating?”

Sarah snickered. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Twenty minutes later, we were reaching the outskirts of town. Ten minutes after that, we made it to Sarah’s house.