“Oh, shut up and hand it over.” This is why Serena caught my eye in the first place. She may seem quiet and demure, but she’s also demanding. If my mom were here to see this, she’d call her my perfect match. As if that actually exists.
I hand it over and watch as she tries to figure out what it is. I don’t make her wait long for an explanation. “It’s a paper flower. I know you’re not home much, so real flowers were out of the question. This is just something to remind you of our next date. I want to be on your mind every time you see it.”
“I’m not sure if I should be offended or not,” she laughs. “It’s a thoughtful gift, but the fact that you think you’re forgettable is funny.” She slaps her hand over her mouth at the slip. It’s good to know that I cross her mind more than she wants to admit.
“We should catch that date after we land in Austin.”
A flash of regret crosses her face. “I can’t. I have a back-to-back flight.”
Damn it. “We’re going to have to figure out this schedule issue. I’m going to need more than a couple of hours after each flight. Especially if you’re going to fall head over heels.”
“There you go assuming again,” her lips quirk into a smirk. “I promise you’ll get your date, and we’ll make it happen. We’ll just have to get creative.” She winks and I can’t help the wicked thoughts that flitter through my head.
“I can get creative,” I wink back.
“You better get seated; we’ll be departing soon.”
I lean over and give her a quick peck on the cheek. It’s less than I want to do, but I have a suspicion she’d smack me if I went in for an actual kiss. “See you in the aisle.”
Another eye-roll before I search for an available seat. Almost all the ones where I normally sit are taken, and I’m kicking myself for not boarding sooner. It was worth it, though. I grab a seat close to the back of the plane and put my suitcase in the overhead storage. I’m going to spend the whole flight thinking of creative ways we can date from afar.
Fourteen
Serena
My phone pings with a message. It’s too early in the morning to be dealing with people. And…it’s my day off. My feet don’t have to leave the ground for three days. I can’t even remember the last time I’ve had such a long break. Usually it’s off one day and back in the air the next. I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, though.
I roll over and pull the pillow over my head, as if that will block out everything. No such luck. My phone sends the reminder ping right before it rings. Panic at the Disco, blares through the room. I really need to remember to put that thing on silent before I go to bed. There’s only one person who calls me, and it’s too early for her to even be up yet. Unless it’s an emergency. Or work, and that’s the only reason I don’t want to answer it. Just in case they are calling me to cover for one of the other attendants. Shit, I better get whatever this is over with.
I reach to the nightstand, my hand knocking over the glass of water I set there last night, until my fingers grasp the phone. I answer it before it goes to voicemail, not bothering to check to see who it is. “Hello, Hazel?”
“Guess again.” Bentley’s voice comes through the speaker and I can envision the smirk he’s wearing right this second.
“Ugh, why are you calling so early?” As much as I want to lie down while finding out the reason for his call, I can’t. The water I knocked over is dripping onto the floor, and each drop that hits the floor is a soft, but annoying, plop.
“I just finished my workout and thought I’d call you so we can figure out our date.” He doesn’t even sound out of breath. Who the hell works out and then carries on a conversation like they aren’t gasping for air? “I take it you aren’t a morning person?”
I swing my legs over the bed and sit up. “Not even a little bit.” My feet land in the small puddle of water. Groaning, I do a weird limp walk to the bathroom to get a towel, trying not to get water all over the floor.
“Are you okay? Maybe I should call back later.”
“No,” I sigh. “You’re fine. I spilled a cup of water when I reached for my phone. And I stepped in it.”
“Shit,” he mutters. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t intend to make your morning start off badly.”
“It’s all good. Nothing a towel can’t clean up.” Wait, he’s calling for information about our second date. How is that even going to happen when we are states apart? Last time I checked when we need to be in the same vicinity to go on one. “You were saying something about the second date? You realize we aren’t in the same area, right? Unless you somehow found out where I live and you’re stalking me. Which, by the way, is kind of creepy.”
He laughs, and I can’t help the way my body tingles when I hear the sound. It’s deep and full of life. When’s the last time I laughed like that? With complete abandon? Oh yeah, on our first date. He seems to bring out another side of me. “No, I’m not stalking you. Though, if I knew the area you were in, this would be a lot easier.”
“Yeah, probably.” I grab a towel from the shelf and wipe off my foot before heading back into the bedroom to mop up the rest of the mess.
“So, are you going to tell me?” His voice doesn’t hold any frustration. “I can always FaceTime you and try to figure it out.”
I glance down at the threadbare t-shirt I’m wearing with bleach spots all over it after a laundry incident. My hands go up to my hair, and I can feel the tangles as I try to run my fingers through it. “That’s going to be a negative. On the video call, not the other part. I live in Missouri.”
“Hm.” That’s his only response.
“What does that mean?” That makes me a little self-conscious. I’m not from here, but I didn’t think it was a horrible place to live.
