ON THE WAY

Sadly, Aurora hadn't gotten Joel Miller the way she wanted him. He got whisked away from her grasp by Tommy to help put out a minor fire her father had started when he tried retrieving a sausage that had fallen into the barbecue, that he then dropped onto a pile of napkins with a lump of hot coal. Poetic really. The burning of the napkins matched the burning desire she had for him, as well as the burning anger she had every time they got interrupted.

The past two nights the fantasies have gotten out of control. Thoughts of him taking her in the kitchen when she had her shirt off, taking her when they were getting the beers, sneaking off to his room during the firework show, and even back to the night in his living room. She had never touched herself over someone she knew. Let alone, her dad's friend, her neighbour.

She couldn't stop. It had barley been 48 hours, but the image of it being his hand or mouth instead of hers drove her over the edge each time. She sadly hadn't seen him since before she left when he was saying goodbye to everyone and clearing up his garden. She wanted to stay and help, hoping that they would end up somewhere together. But her father had dragged them all back to their side of the fence, wanting a shower and then to sleep. Why that meant they all had to go home, Rory did not know.

The next day she caught a quick glimpse of him in his yard clearing up some final things he missed the previous night. But she didn't catch him the rest of the day. She could already feel a loneliness forming in her chest which she would roll her eyes at over. Because why was she so caught up on him? Nothing had happened. She had known him for, like, forever. And yet now she is like this for him.

It's her birthday today. She had woken to her mother singing happy birthday and then handing her a plate of pancakes. "My baby's all grown up." Darla kisses her forehead. Rory's nose scrunches under her mothers touch.

"Thanks, mom."

"You've got to clean your room. Cora is going to sleep in here tonight. Just for tonight, because then she's going back to Nebraska tomorrow. You'll be staying over at the Miller's, I've already cleared it with Joel." Darla drops. Rory's eyes widen.

A night in the Miller's. On her birthday. What a gift.

"Why can't she stay over there? What happened to the friends house she was staying in?" She fake protests. She can't have her mother knowing she'd happily accept this all of a sudden when she'd usually fight against it.

"She has a flight in the morning, she needs a proper bed. You've stayed over there before, Joel offered to have you. And her friend has gone on a vacation with her own family." The fact Joel had offered to have her stay at his house both shocks and excites her. It also feeds into her delusions making her mentally slap herself for thinking a 34 year old would want her.

Her morning is spent was spent organising her room, or more so putting her laundry into a different drawer and her clutter slightly more organised on her desk and drawers. She then opened the few presents she got from her family. A couple items of clothing from her parents, a 'Roxette' CD from her sister, a journaling book and pen with her name on it from her brother. She had money in her cards from other family members and friends, making her excited for the next time she goes to the mall.

Knowing she had the bonfire later tonight, she chose to wear her best bra and new blue tank top that hugged her chest gorgeously. She was dressing for herself, it's her birthday she wants to look good and feel good. Definitely no other influence and or reasoning for her little choice of clothing. She also wore the same shorts she wore on July Fourth. In her mind, something the same as that night meant this tension would continue. And that's what she craved.

Now, by bonfire, what Rory really meant is that her father, some of his friends and whoever else needed something burning, would come together and set it all alight in a pile. All that she has ever learnt from these nights is that men are the same they have been since the start. Excited by fire. No literally. The whole 'uhg, fire, woah, pretty fire' is the perfect way to describe the men surrounding the burning pile right now.