Why did he feel he had to hide his phone from me?
What’s he doing that’s so important it can’t wait?
And how do I ask him without sounding way, way more needy than our fledgling relationship could possibly justify?
I sit there mulling all of this over, but a minute passes, and Alex doesn’t return. Two minutes pass, then three. At the five-minute mark, Rita and Gerald appear, both weighed down with duty-free bags, and a few minutes after that, Julian and Alice join us, just as the flight starts to board.
“We’ll wait with you, love,” says Rita, seeing the look on my face as our fellow passengers all flock to the gate, hoping to get on first. “I’m sure he won’t be far away.”
“We’llallwait,” agrees Alice. “We’re still the Crone Crew after all; at least until we reach England.”
I smile weakly at them all, but by the time the final boarding call is announced and Alex still hasn’t reappeared, even Gerald is starting to look worried.
“He’ll be here,” says Rita brightly. “Of course he will.”
“He bloody better be here,” says Gerald. “Or he’ll have me to deal with.”
“And me,” adds Julian.
“The swine,” declares Alice, looking like she might try to fight Alex if he does turn up. “The absolute swine.”
“Come on, love,” says Rita, patting me gently on the arm. “We’re going to have to go. The plane won’t wait.”
“You go,” I tell her, trying not to cry. “I’ll just give it another couple of minutes. Just to be sure.”
She looks at me doubtfully, but goes shuffling off with the others towards the passport control desk, leaving me standing there alone, frantically scanning the departure lounge for any sign of Alex.
I can’t believe he’d justleave. Even if he had changed his mind about us, he’d hardly go to the trouble of changing hisflighttoo, just to avoid me, would he? Surely not even I could have the misfortune toget dumped at the airport, by a man I’ve been seeing for less than 24 hours?
Could I?
No.
I shake my head determinedly. Alex isn’t like that. He’s not a liar, like Jamie. He’s on his way. I know it. All I have to do is wait here and trust that he’s going to come back.
“Miss? We’re about to close the gate,” says a member of the airline staff, approaching me with a sympathetic look on her face. “I’m going to have to ask you to board now, if you want to catch the flight.”
“I just need one more minute,” I tell her, looking over her shoulder to where Rita and co. are all standing waiting for me just inside the air bridge. “Just one more minute.”
“I wish I could,” the woman starts to say, but before she can continue, we’re interrupted by the sound of running feet, and Alex suddenly comes barreling out of the crowd, a huge smile on his face.
“Summer! Summer, I got them!” he yells, coming rushing up to me and thrusting the phone in my face. “I did it! I got them!”
“You gotwhat? What are you talking about, Alex? And where have you been?” I hiss, not knowing whether to be relieved that he’s here, or annoyed that he let me think for even a second that he wouldn’t be.
“Sorry,” he says, his eyes twinkling with excitement. “The Wi-Fi was so slow here it was practically unusable. I had to go all the way to the other end of the terminal to get online, but I got through just as I was about to give up. Look!”
He holds up the phone again, but I’m so aware of the multiple sets of curious eyes that are trained on us both right now that even when I peer at the screen, I can’t quite figure out what I’m looking at. Surely it’s not..? I mean, it can’t be?
“Two tickets to see Taylor Swift,” says Alex triumphantly. “Decent seats, too. You have no idea how hard it was to get these.” I feel my mouth drop open as I stare at him.
“Are… are you serious?” I stutter, my voice sounding weirdly high. “You got me Taylor Swift tickets?”
“I gotusTaylor Swift tickets,” he says, grinning proudly. “I only know one of her songs, but I figured you could teach me the rest of them before we go.”
“I… I don’t know what to say.”
I look from Alex to the phone in his hand, and the back again, before throwing my arms around his neck and kissing him right on the lips.
