Long Before

Sara’s POV

A knock on my bedroom window made me jump in my seat, but I didn’t even have to turn around to know who it was. I put my pen down, turning to find Kristie grinning widely through the window screen.

“Let me in, it is boiling outside!” I heard her muffled voice yell.

“Why didn’t you go to the front door?” I asked, getting up and heading to the front hall.

"Amma, Kristie is here! I finished studying!” I lied as I passed the kitchen. I let her in, and she flicked me off subtly before my mom popped up.

“Kristie, how have you been? How are your parents?” Kristie took her shoes off, making sure to place them neatly by the door next to ours.

“They are good, aunty.” She replied awkwardly. Even after multiple years, she still felt a little odd addressing my mom in such an intimate way. But my mom loved it when she did so.

“Make sure Sara behaves on the trip. Let me know if she does not do any chores.” My mom wagged her finger at me, and it took everything in me not to get defensive. Of course, I would do anything I needed to and more on this trip. I was a guest, but still close to the Howells.

“Yes, ma’am.” Kristie nodded. We waited for my mom to return to the kitchen before heading to my room, where I had haphazardly packed a suitcase for a one-week trip to the mountains in North Carolina.

“Sara, this is not enough. Also, you need to bring a bikini.” I groaned. I hated both dressing up and dressing down.

"Why?"

“Daisy is practically camera-trained now. We have to make this spring break so Instagrammable that we can have content for the next two months.” Kristie was bent on picking up sponsors for her growing social media, and she wanted me to get in on it as well. The problem was that my social media debut was slow-coming. I had only recently set a new profile pic. It was easy for Kristie to gain new followers and sponsorships; she was undeniably gorgeous. Short, light brown hair with the perfect manageable wave, and freckles splashed across her face. She was the definition of cottage-core, with a dose of beach babe.

Kristie and I had been friends since middle school, but I went out of state for college, so our long-distance friendship was forced upon us four years ago. This was probably the last spring break we would have together- before graduation, and then Corporate America. Kristie had big dreams; she wanted to go to the Big Apple. We weren’t sure where her Marketing degree would take her, but she always had this social media thing to fall back on. She was getting good at it.

“Let me take a look at your closet,” Kristie was putting together outfits, moving clothes out of and into my suitcase, and I was going to let her. I closed my GRE practice book and placed it in my backpack when she wasn’t looking. I wasn’t sure what my plans were after graduating with a Computer Science degree, but I was looking into master’s programs. And for that, I would need a good GRE score.

“Okay, are we ready now?” I laughed, seeing a completely new wardrobe packed away for my “Influencer in NC” era. Kristie nodded, wheeling my suitcase out. I shouldered my backpack, grabbing my headphones on the way out the door. My parents were waiting at the front as we put our shoes back on. My dad leaned close to my ear.

“You brought your practice book, right?” I sighed and nodded.

“Bye, guys,” I gave them both hugs, and they followed with hugs for Kristie.

“Have fun,” My dad replied earnestly. My mom nodded approvingly. “But not too much,”

“So, how have you been?” Kristie said as we pulled out in her car to head to her place. I shrugged. “Computer Science is a lot of work. All of those internship applications, and I still only got one interview.”

“Yes, but you got the position, didn’t you?”

“It’s all the way in Massachusetts, though.” I had gotten an internship position with the Toyota Research Institute, but having lived in Florida my whole life, I wasn’t sure I would be able to make such a drastic change. Going to school in Texas was hard enough.

“That is so close to New York, don’t you want to be close to me?” Kristie turned to me, pouting when the light turned red. I nodded.

“Yes, I know. I shouldn’t be ungrateful about it. A lot is just up in the air. We’ll see. Let’s not talk about school and stuff. We are about to be mountain stompers for the next week.” I chuckled at the name I came up with on the fly.

“‘Mountain stompers’ is crazy. I’m using that for a caption.” Kristie laughed.

“They’re here!” Daisy, Kristie’s 13-year-old sister, hollered from the open garage as we pulled into the driveway.

“Get the baby, Lester!” Their mom, Tina, yelled, shuffling outside to greet me.

“Sara, you are looking so beautiful. So great to see you!” Tina gave me a big hug as I got out of the car and grabbed my suitcase. “Kristie, I need you to move your car to the right. I’ll pull out the van, and you can pull into the garage.” She told her daughter. Kristie groaned.

“I really need to pee, can’t Tate do it?” Tina sighed as Kristie handed her the keys. Tina handed them to me. “Be a doll and go get Tate for me, please? I need his suitcase as well.” I opened my mouth to protest, but she was already on her way over to Daisy. I nodded to myself, putting my suitcase by their trunk and heading inside. I internally screamed as I walked through the house with my shoes on, but that was just how it was over here. Lester greeted me, but he was chasing around their two-year-old, Francis. I made my way over what used to be “the forbidden corridor.” Tate Howell, the oldest son, basically had his own wing of the house growing up. He was a notorious late sleeper, often zombie-walking his way to the kitchen and back in the afternoon. But that was many years ago, and now he had a remote job that paid well but forced him to get up early. Such is life as a financial consultant.

I knocked lightly on the door. “Tate?” The door swung open, and I took a step back.

“Damn,” He simply said. “Sara?” He asked quizzically. It was true, I hadn’t seen the man since four years ago, but he was still recognizable. Surprisingly, he had not lost his varsity soccer bod, and now he had bigger arms. I was not expecting that from someone with such a stressful job.

“Yes, it’s me. Your mom wants you to move Kristie’s car and take your suitcase out. I can help,” I quickly forced myself to snap out of it, trying not to wonder why his first words had been ‘damn.’

“Sara Aachari? There’s no way that’s you.” He said again, opening his door wider. I peeked around his frame, also surprised to see such a mature and well-kept space.

“Well, hate to say that it is. I can take your suitcase,” I handed him the keys, moving towards the bag just inside the door. I caught my breath when his body moved to block me from entering, his hands settling firmly on my shoulders to stop me. They slid behind and around my back, and down my arms to my elbows before they returned to his sides.

“I’ve got it,” His voice was different, smoother. I nodded silently. “Of course,” I turned around and quickly headed towards the garage again, my body felt like it was on fire. It was definitely Tate, but my body had never had such a reaction to my best friend’s brother.

“Mom, you know I can’t sit in the back, I get so car sick,” Kristie complained as we all stood around to discuss the seating arrangement.

“I called middle first!” Daisy whined. I cleared my throat. “I’ll sit in the back seat, I really don’t mind. I like being able to stretch out anyway.” Tina and Lester looked at me, not convinced. I didn’t wait for their approval, sliding around the middle aisle to reach the back row of the minivan.

“I’ll go too.” I heard Tate say, before I found myself squished up against him. I moved from the middle to the left side, giving him a sideways glance.

“What?” He asked, acting like my look was accusing him of something.

“Nothing,” I replied. The rest of the family piled in, Daisy turning around to wave ‘hello’ to me before helping her mom buckle Francis in.

“Are you sure you’re okay back there?” Kristie asked, apologetic.

“Golden,” Tate replied, smirking at me. I gulped. This was going to be a long trip.