“I’m tellin’ you, it was crazy. I was so traumatized, I couldn’t go on any good rides at Disney. Anything that spun too fast or had a sudden drop made me want to throw up, and just the thought of having to get in one of those metal tubes again to go home made me hyperventilate––”
A burst of laughter escaped Zuri. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh,” she said, boxing her lips.
“It really was terrible! I couldn’t even enjoy my vacation. And then on the way back, I had a complete meltdown at the gate—crying, screaming, clinging to the ticket counter when it was time to board. It got so bad, the airline wouldn’t let me board, and my dad had to rent a car and drive the two of us back while my brother and sister flew home with my mom. I haven’t been on a plane since. And that is why, while my family is laying on a beach somewhere in Saint Lucia right now, I’m here in Granite Falls.”
Zuri gave him a sympathetic look, even as her lips twitched with barely suppressed amusement. A giggle escaped anyway. “Sorry, I––” She bit her lip hard, clearly trying to respect his trauma while probably also picturing the scene of a desperate, screaming ten-year-old refusing to board the plane. “I don’t get it. Your family knows you’re scared of flying, yet they organized a vacation to the Caribbean for Christmas?”
Kyree was used to his siblings making fun of him, and took Zuri’s teasing with a grain of salt, even as he grinned at the memory of his father trying to drag him onto the jetway. “The sad part is that I’m the one who came up with the idea and organized the entire trip.”
Zuri’s laughter echoed through the park. “What possessed you to do that?”
“I don’t know… I hadn’t tried in a while, and I guess I thought I could handle it. My parents had always wanted to go to the Caribbean, so I surprised the entire family with tickets, took care of the hotel rooms… I even got my mom a new luggage set.”
“Did you start crying at the gate again, Kyree?”
“Nooo…” he said, good-humoredly at her teasing tone. “I didn’t even make it that far. I had a panic attack two weeks ago at the drugstore while I was shopping for travel-sized toiletries.” Kyree was ready for her to laugh even harder––just like Aaliyah had when she’d found out––ready for his heart to jump at the delicious sound, but her expression softened.
“Oh my gosh, Kyree! It’s really that serious?” Her voice was bathed in sympathy.
He shrugged. “Every man needs his faults.” And this fault led me to you. If it hadn’t been for that terrifying flight to Orlando, Kyree would be in Saint Lucia right now, missing out on meeting the amazing woman walking beside him. He realized now that he would take that flight again and again if it led to her each time.
“You know, therapy could help with that, or meditation, or hypnosis…”
“Oh, my first session with Dr. Griffiths is January 14th. I booked that appointment right after I canceled my flight.
“I guess you decided enough was enough.”
“Exactly. No way I can let them all go off without me again.”
She brushed a handful of braids over her shoulders. “You never know. They could be miserable fighting the heat and mosquitos and wishing they were back home,” she offered gently.
“Nah, they’re having the time of their lives. Here.” Kyree stopped beside a Juniper tree and reigned Princess in to sit at their feet. He fished his phone from his coat pocket and scrolled to the photo his sister had sent that morning—a selfie with the whole family on a sunset catamaran cruise, everyone holding a tropical drink. “My sister’s been sending me pictures of everything they’re doing,” he said, slowly swiping through the collection. “She says it’s so I don’t feel left out, but I think she’s just trying to rub salt in the wound.”
He looked at Zuri to find her studying the selfie of Aaliyah at Diamond Falls, the colorful mineral-stained waterfall cascading behind her through the lush tropical gardens.
Zuri placed her hand on his shoulder and leaned closer to get a better look. “Oh yeah… She does look a little smug in that one,” she teased, lifting her gaze to his.
Kyree pocketed his phone––her lingering touch sending heat radiating through his core. She removed her hand, tucking it into her pocket, but her eyes remained locked on his––soft and luminous and utterly disarming. He felt himself slipping, like he was falling into a dream.
Just when he thought the earth would tilt, Princess yapped impatiently at their feet, prancing in his booties.
Kyree groaned inwardly at the interruption, but Zuri simply sighed, almost wistfully––the white puff of air drifting into his face, carrying with it the sweet smell of wintergreen as they resumed walking, Princess trotting ahead with satisfaction.
His heart was just beginning to recover from the intensity of the moment when Zuri placed her hand on his arm––setting the chaos in motion again. She inclined her cute button nose toward a green wooden cart near a gazebo at a fork in the path ahead. “Want to get something and sit for a minute?” she asked.
“Sure.” Kyree cleared his throat and willed his pulse to return to normal. “We can get anything you want.”
Anything at all, Ms. Harris. He just hoped that they wanted the same thing.
* * *
With two hot cocoas in hand, Zuri and Kyree made their way toward an empty gazebo trimmed in garland and festive ribbons and settled on the bench inside. Princess immediately jumped onto Zuri’s lap and snuggled against her, tucking his nose into the folds of her coat.
“So, what about you?” Kyree asked, stretching his arm along the back of the bench behind her. “Is it just you and one brother?”
“Mhm. Just me and Devin. Although Soleil is like a sister to me.” She wrapped her fingers around the cup and blew gently into the lid’s opening before taking a careful sip.
“Soleil… She’s the one with the vlog?” His tone was deliberately casual, as though he hadn’t been up until 12:30 a.m., watching Soleil’s channel, trying to catch any and every glimpse of Zuri.
