“I’m going to get a coffee before we board the plane. Do you want anything?” David asks.
I shake my head, even though I’d actually love a cup of coffee, but I need a little space from him more than coffee.
“I’ll head toward the gate and meet you there,” I respond.
He nods in acknowledgment, and then we head our separate ways. I instantly take my phone from my purse and call Macy.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” I say, panicked, as my hello.
Her sigh into the phone is all I need to hear to know she feels my pain. “I take it, it’s too late to fake being sick?”
I let out a sharp laugh. “Believe me, I was very tempted to do just that the entire way here. Why is this so hard?”
“Do you want my honest opinion?”
I sit down on one of the chairs at our gate and rub my eyes. “Depends on if I’ll like what you have to say …”
“I think you really like this guy, and that’s why this is so hard.”
“I like the guy I was talking to on the app. I don’t like Work David.”
She laughs, making me drop my head back. “You do realize that they are the same person, right?”
“No! In my head, they are not!” My voice cracks.
“I’m sorry to say it, but they really are. Give the guy a chance. You might see how they are the same person.”
“But what if I do and he still sees me as the person he hates?”
“I really don’t think that will be the issue.”
I look up and see he’s picking up his coffee from where the barista set it and heading my way.
“He’s coming toward me. I have to go.”
“Just do me a favor and stop freaking out. This trip is happening for a reason. Let the universe guide you.”
“You know I hate you, right?”
“Love you too! Call me once you land.”
I laugh under my breath as I hang up the phone and tuck it in my purse before David sits next to me.
“It’s a long flight. I got you a muffin, just in case you got hungry. Chips or those Biscoff cookies can only hold you over for so long.” He hands the paper bag to me.
I take it and force a smile, feeling like an asshole.
Have I really always missed how considerate he can be, or is this all an act?
“Thank you. I wasn’t even thinking about that,” I honestly say.
My mind was so stuck on having to be on the trip with him that I didn’t even think about food.
“I guess you’ve made this flight a time or two, huh?” I ask.
He looks at me quizzically. “I didn’t know you knew I was from there.”
I internally kick myself.
