Priya screams so loud that I glance around, hoping that none of the flight crew heard that. I’d hate for them to know I'm not exactly used to living the lifestyle of the rich and famous.
“You've been sent for?” Priya asks, her eyes wide.
“I have,” I say, stretching my entire face into a grin so big it almost hurts. “He would have come himself but he’s had to make some last-minute changes toThe Fire of Knights. He’ll be done by the time the plane lands.”
“Oh my God, that's so romantic.” Priya clutches her heart with both hands.
“To be honest, I'm not sure if it's romantic or not yet. I'll find out when I get there.”
“What? He sent a plane for you. That is firmly on the romantic side of the spectrum.”
“Or is it just a rich guy booty call?” I ask. The awful, yet familiar, tightness in my stomach comes back. It’s come and gone every few minutes since Pierce texted with the flight details.
“No way. A guy doesn't fly a woman halfway around the world just to have sex. There are probably thousands of women within a two-mile radius of his house that would gladly hop into bed with him.”
While the thought of thousands of women clambering to have sex with Pierce isn't exactly comforting, she makes a good point. If this was just a fling, would he really go to all this trouble?
I've been doing my best not to hope for more than the right here and now—well, more likethereandin a few hours, I suppose, but you get the idea. I've been miserable without him but I'd be a fool to think that he’s going to ask me to spend the rest of my life with him. He’s not that type of man and according to Oprah, when someone shows you who they are, you should believe them. “Honestly, Priya, when someone's got the kind of money he has, they can afford to be picky. He knows we have a great time together, and that he can trust me to be discreet. It really might just be a few days of shagging.”
Her face falls. “Don’t you think you should have found that out before you left? It’s been hard enough for us to get over him the first time.”
Rolling my eyes, I say, “For you maybe. I’ve been doing really well.”
“Seriously? You actually believe that?”
“Okay,fine. It would be nice to know if this is something in the long-term territory, but I’m tryingreally hardnot to go in with unrealistic expectations. Could be that he wants some sort of long-distance arrangement where we meet up whenever one of us has time off.”
“Or, he's flying you all the way there so he can ask you to marry him,” Priya says, looking hopeful.
“Not him. Trust me,” I say, shaking my head. “But that's okay. Maybe this will be the start of a sophisticated, mature relationship—one that allows each of us to be independent and have our own lives, but still get together every couple of months to have some fun as a fabulously unconventional globe-trotting power couple.”
Priya screws up her face, looking very skeptical. “Is that really the kind of relationship you want?”
“Maybe. I won’t know until we havethe talk. But I think I’d be fine with that.” I nod firmly, trying to convince myself. “Besides, isanyrelationship perfect? I think not.”
“Yeah, I guess so…” she says, sounding completely unconvinced. “But, most of the time you just hear how hard the long-distance thing is. One person usually gets more attached and wants to live in the same place but the other one refuses so they break up.Orone of them moves so they can be together, then winds up resenting the other one for ruining their otherwise great life, and they end up miserable, which means they either break up or just live together with a simmering hate between them.”
“Wow. Thanks, Debbie Downer,” I quip.
“I’m just trying to help. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“Well, as much as I appreciate it, I think Pierce and I need to define things for ourselves. We’re not like other people. We don’t need all the traditional stuff everyone else thinks is so important. This could work for us quite nicely.”
“Okay, two things come to mind. Number one: you just said ‘for us,’ which clearly means you're expecting this to be more than just a long-haul booty call. Number two: what you're describing doesn't sound like sharing your life with someone. It sounds more like just chronically missing him with a few days of relief and shagging here and there.”
“Okay, well,thanksfor the advice. I should let you go so I can get back to enjoying my flight,” I say in a hard tone.
“Sorry for wanting you to be happy,” Priya says sarcastically.
“Iwashappy until I talked to you.”
“Being in denial and being happy are not the same. I want you to be happy for more than just a few days, but if you don't think you're worth more than that, I guess that's up to you.”
“What’s this obsession with ‘being together forever’ that people have?” I ask, feeling completely irritated. “So, this may not fit into your definition of the perfect relationship. So what? The only thing that matters is what Pierce and I think.”
“Hey, I'm not trying to ruin your fun or anything. I'm just worried about you. But if you think this is really what you want, then I'll get behind it.”
“This is really what I want.”
