Keanna

 

I am not exactly thrilled with the idea of snow. Sure, it’s pretty to look at, and I’ll happily assemble a puzzle of a snowy house set on a hill surrounded by the white stuff, but when it comes to spending actual time in these frigid temperatures? Yeah, that doesn’t sound very fun.

I’m warm blooded. I like Phoenix, Arizona where it’s frequently over a hundred degrees outside. I like Texas when the humidity is low and the sun is shining and I’m getting a tan. Anything else makes me shivery and cold and uncomfortable.

Every time I step into Jett’s bedroom that he keeps unbelievably cold, I’m always reaching for a blanket to wrap around my shoulders. And that’s only like sixty-eight degrees. I can’t even imagine snowy weather.

I sigh.

It doesn’t matter what I feel about the cold, because that’s where we’re going. Denver, Colorado in the middle of winter. My parents and Jett’s parents first brought up the idea over Thanksgiving dinner. They wanted to go on a vacation for Christmas instead of spending it at home like we always do. They said we could buy each other small gifts that fit into our luggage and we’ll take a fun vacation that will be like a Christmas present to ourselves.

I, like everyone else at the table, had happily agreed. And then when it was all planned and ready to go, my mom told me we were going to a ski lodge. I’m still happy about the vacation, but I’m just a little bit wary because cold weather sucks.

We’ll be spending a week in a fancy resort in the snowy Colorado mountains. The best part is that since my parents and Jett’s parents have babies and we’re legally adults, Jett and I are getting our own room next to their two rooms. It’ll almost be like we’re taking a vacation by ourselves, except we’ll be spending all our time with our families.

I chuckle to myself and keep pulling clothes out of my REI shopping bags to relocate them to my suitcase. Mom and I have spent the last few days buying winter clothes and ski clothes and even new pajamas because it’s going to be so freaking cold there. I didn’t own a proper winter coat, or a warm pair of boots, because here in Texas you don’t need them. Most of the time when it’s cold here, you only need jeans and a hoody to keep warm.

Ski pants are bulky and huge and they make you sweat when you try them on in Texas. I fold mine up and shove them in my suitcase as well, even though I’m not exactly thrilled at the idea of skiing. It’s kind of terrifying to think about, even though Dad swears there’s easy slopes that aren’t scary.

“Keanna!” Mom calls out from down the hallway. I leave my overstuffed suitcase on the bed and walk out to find her.

“Yes?”

“Baby’s room!” she says, sounding frustrated.

When I find her in my brother Elijah’s room, she’s standing with her hands on her hips and throw up all over her shirt. “Do you mind watching him while I change clothes?” she asks.

I laugh because I’ve been in her position before. “No problem.”

My brother grins in his crib, no doubt happy about puking all over his mom. He’s only wearing a diaper, so I grab some wipes and clean him off, then get him dressed in some leggings and a shirt that says Little Brother. I bought it for him so it’s my favorite.

“He better not do that on the plane,” Mom says when she returns a few minutes later in a new shirt. She picks him up. “God, I hope you’re good on the plane.”

“I hope so too,” I say, making funny faces at him until he laughs. “I’d be super embarrassed to have a crying baby on a plane.”

Mom laughs. “Be glad you’re not going to be there or I’d tell everyone he’s yours.”

Tonight, my parents are flying out to Colorado, but Jett and I are staying behind one extra day. Jett got stuck doing a last minute Christmas themed motocross interview in Houston with his race team, Team Loco.

I didn’t want to fly without him since every time I’ve been on a plane it’s been with Jett by my side, so I changed my ticket with his for a later flight. We’ll join our parents at the resort tomorrow night.

After going through Mom’s list of stuff the baby needs, we confirm that she’s packed everything we will need for a week of vacation. It’s a lot of stuff for one person to go on vacation, but when you have a baby to bring, it’s all about diapers and formula and extra clothes. Together, our family of four has seven suitcases. Dad says he can bring my suitcase so that I don’t have to worry about lugging it through the airport tomorrow.

I play with Elijah while my dad loads up the suitcases into the back of his truck. Mom and I eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner and then I ride with them to the airport so I can drive my dad’s truck back home.

The airport is insanely busy. Worse than I’ve ever seen it on all the times I’ve flown somewhere with Jett for his races.

“Holy crap,” I say softly as we pull into the drop off area of the parking lot.

“Christmas traveling,” Mom says with a sigh. “It’s completely insane. I thought we might miss some of it since we’re leaving three days early.”

“Will you be okay driving home?” Dad asks me.

I nod confidently even though driving these big trucks is kind of scary. I’ve driven Jett’s a few times now, so I think I’ll be fine. I help them take out their luggage and then it’s time to say goodbye.

Elijah reaches for me while Mom holds him on her hip.

“I’ll be there tomorrow,” I tell him, kissing his little head. Now that he’s eighteen months old, he has a lot of fuzzy light brown hair and he makes a ton of facial expressions that are always making me laugh.

“Have a safe flight,” I tell my family as I hug them all. It feels silly to be sad that they’re leaving. I’ll be joining them tomorrow morning, so it’s not really goodbye at all.

On the drive home, I get a text from Jett and I wait until I’m at a red light to check it.

 

Jett: omg I miss you so much

 

I grin and type a reply.

 

Me: you’ll see me later tonight you dork.

Jett: doesn’t matter. Still miss you.

 

I can feel my face flush hot as the light turns green. Jett is in Houston right now, and it’s a little over an hour away. He’ll probably get home around midnight because these TV appearances always seem to run longer than you want them to. It’s not that big of a deal. I’ll wait for him at his house and fall asleep in his bed and whenever he gets home I’ll see him.

But then I get a better idea…

Sure Houston is an hour away, but it’s not like I have anything else to do right now. The Track is closed all week for our family Christmas vacation and everyone at home is already gone. I’ll be bored and alone at home so I might as well do something fun.

I take the next exit and drive my dad’s truck to Houston, the radio blaring my favorite songs.

I have to use the GPS on my phone to get me to the Hyatt hotel where Jett said they were recording. At least, I think that’s what he’d said. I don’t text him anymore because I want this to be a surprise. I find a place in the back of the parking lot to park my dad’s impossibly huge truck, and then I try to calm my nerves before walking in. It doesn’t help though, because every time I’m about to see Jett, I get excited in this nervous way. All this time of being together, and I’m still fluttery and lovesick over him.

The hotel is very tall with mirrored windows on the outside. The whole place is swamped with people, probably visiting for the holidays. It doesn’t take long to see people who look important, dressed in suits and holding cameras, and I follow them down the hallway to where the conference rooms are in the hotel.

The biggest room is set up with Team Loco banners and lots of those studio lights to make the guys look better on camera. There’s a sign near the open door that says VIPs only, but I ignore it and slip inside without being noticed. I find Marcus, the manager of Team Loco, standing off to the side talking to a few important looking guys in suits.

My eyes scan the room looking for Jett. There’s two large blue couches set up in front of a big banner that has fake snowflakes on it. It must be the background set for where they’ll do the interview. A TV crew mulls about, setting up cameras and lighting and tossing cables all over the floor.

A tatted up guy with a shaved head and lots of muscles catches my attention. Clay Summers, one of the Team Loco guys. He’s standing with Aiden Strauss and Zach Pena, all of the new guys on the motocross team, except for Jett.

I walk over to them.

“Hey girl!” Aiden throws his arms around me in a hug. He’s the only guy I knew before Jett joined this team because his older brother Mikey Strauss was a famous motocross racer before he went to jail for drugs.

I hug him back.

“I didn’t know you were coming,” Clay says, stepping up next to give me a hug. Unlike Aiden’s bear hugs, Clay is kind of standoffish and he barely wraps an arm around me in a quick movement. I don’t think he’s very comfortable giving hugs to anyone.

I shrug. “I didn’t know either. But I got bored and I was already on the road so I figured I’d stop by.”

“I think Jett went to the bathroom,” Clay says, glancing over the crowd of people. He’s tall enough to see a lot more than I can.

“Man, no one cares about Jett,” Zach says in his southern Tennessee twang. “She came to see me, right Keanna?”

He gives me this goofy grin and I roll my eyes. “Yep, I totally came to see you.”

The small talk goes on for just a few more seconds and then I start to notice it. The attention. All of the women in the room, even the older ones who shouldn’t care about young motocross guys, suddenly feel like they’re staring at me. It makes me feel important, even though it’s kind of stupid. Girls always wish they could date the motocross guys, but they usually just stay away and admire them from a distance. If they really want to know these guys, they should just come say hi.

Still, I think about how it’d be if I were in a different position. If I hadn’t met Jett back when I had no idea who he was, I’d probably have trouble talking to him. If the first time I’d ever seen Jett was at one of these TV show things, I’d probably stay a mile away.

Luckily, my life didn’t go that way. I realize I’ve been standing here in my own little world and the guys are still talking to me, telling me stories about what happened earlier today when they did another interview.

“I love you guys,” I say sweetly as I interrupt the conversation. “But where’s my boyfriend?”