"We're here!"

Jayla's cheery voice alerts me they've finally stopped talking sports. We retrieve our bags from the trunk and head to MawMaw's front porch. Jayla follows closely behind us, a small, wrapped gift in hand. I can hear Ella Fitzgerald belting out from the stereo inside. Sounds like the party's already started.

Dad opens the door without knocking and is immediately swallowed into a bear hug from one of his cousins. The next several minutes are a blur of hugs and greetings, whereupon we find out Uncle Anthony is still picking up MawMaw's birthday present.

"Procrastinator," Dad mutters.

"That boy is going to be late to his own funeral."

I recognize that voice behind me, effervescent as always with love and mirth.

I turn around. "MawMaw."

She envelops me in a warm embrace. The smell of corn bread lingers on her apron.

"Why are you cooking on your birthday?" I reprimand.

Her eyes crinkle with amusement. "Child, have you met me? Party ain't the same if I don't get to feed nobody." She holds me at arm's length to get a good look at me. "How's my future nuclear physicist?"

I laugh. "I don't think nuclear energy is the future, MawMaw."

"Never you mind. I'm still proud of you. Davis says you're a straight-A student."

"Yes, ma'am." Though not as straight as she thinks.

"Well then, you can be whatever you wanna be." She crushes me to her ample chest one more time before turning to greet the next person.

The small house is crowded, and it doesn't take me long to seek a little quietude. I park my butt on the bottom step of the staircase and lean my head against the cool wood banister.

"Mind if I join you?" Jayla sits down next to me without waiting for an answer. "So, I was wondering what you thought of the new head coach for—" She starts laughing when I groan. "Kidding! I'm kidding. So, nuclear physicist, huh?"

I can't help smiling. "MawMaw thinks 'rocket scientist' is too cliché, so she says nuclear physicist instead." I start waving my finger in the air the way my grandmother does. "Doesn't take no nuclear physicist to figure that out."

She laughs again. "You sound just like her." After a pause, she asks, "What do you see in your future, then, if not nuclear science?"

The question shouldn't surprise me, but it does. Somehow I've managed to spend most of my life with people telling me their problems and dreams. Few of them ever ask me about mine. "I think maybe aerospace."

"Ooh, I like it! You'd make a totally hot NASA engineer."

My stomach flutters. She's flirting with me, right? Then again, Lydia at school is always saying weird things like that to people, and that never feels like flirting. It's just part of her personality.

The music switches to Nat King Cole.

Jayla closes her eyes and sways to the music. "I love his voice. Like butter in my ears."

"Gross," I say with a laugh.

"Yeah." She wrinkles her nose. "I heard that too. I meant smooth. The man's voice is smooth."

"You're pretty smooth yourself." The words are out of my mouth before I realize it.

She opens her eyes. "You think so?"

I duck my head, fighting off a blush. What made me say that? Time to change the subject, and fast. "I heard the Falcons are going to trade one of their players to, uh, some other team."

She bursts out laughing. "You are so cute."

I feel my face getting hotter. Or maybe it's the house getting hotter. Something is definitely hotter around here.

Or maybe it's my readers! They are on fire with all the voting! :D