“Thanks, Christina.”
“Anytime. And keep me posted, okay?”
I stand, feeling slightly better about the situation. “Okay.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
David
I wasn’t supposed to fly home again until a few days before the wedding, but I changed my flight to return home with my family. I had vacation days that I knew I needed to use anyway, so I figured getting away from Zoe to clear my head was the best option.
My seat isn’t with my family since I changed my flight yesterday, so I say my goodbyes to them and make my way back to where my middle seat is. Knowing I’ll be stuck in the middle seat the entire flight just adds to my frustration, but it’s better than having to see Zoe all day at work, so here I am, searching for row twenty-seven.
Of course, the guy on the end is large and in charge.
I sigh and point to the middle seat. “That’s me.”
He’s obviously just as annoyed as I am, seeing the two of us have to sit next to each other. He stands and moves back in the aisle, giving me space to climb in.
“Sir, any chance you’d want to sit in front, next to a smaller-sized girl, so I can sit with my brother here?” Katie says.
I drop my head to my chest, not sure if sitting with her is worse than the large man.
“Gladly,” the man answers without a second thought, grabbing his bag from the overhead bin.
“Great. It’s row seven. You’ll see the empty seat waiting for you, next to my sisters.”
“Thank you,” he says to Katie, then gives me a nod. “Good luck.”
“Ha! See, even he knows I’m in for it this trip with you next to me,” I say to Katie.
The guy laughs as he walks away, but Katie doesn’t care one bit as she continues to stand.
“Do you want me to sit in the middle so you have more leg room?”
I stand as quickly as I can before she changes her mind. If I have to listen to her lecture me, at least I get to stretch out my legs. She tried to talk to me all day Sunday, but I wouldn’t have it. Now that I’m stuck with her for the next five hours, I’m sure she’ll get the opportunity to say whatever she wants.
She gets situated in her chair and, to my surprise, plugs her earbuds into the screen in the seat in front of her.
I glance at her, confused that she just went through all that trouble, only to go about her business, trying to pick out what movie she wants to watch instead of lecturing me for my actions.
We push back from the gate, and I settle in myself. If she’s not going to talk, then I’m totally fine with that.
While we taxi to the runway, all my mind can think about is Zoe. It was so cute how scared she was that first flight we took. When I placed my hand over hers, it really wasn’t supposed to mean anything—just a human being trying to comfort another human being—but that was the first time I felt more.
Just that simple touch did something to me on the inside. I only meant to comfort her for that brief moment, but when I felt it comfort something inside of me, too, I didn’t want to let go.
As our trip went on, little things like that kept happening. I started to see her in a different light that, at first, I tried to stop, but the more we hung out, the more it kept happening.
I close my eyes, knowing the exact moment I wished it were her from the app.
Knowing I need to admit something out loud, I drop my head to the headrest and turn to Katie. “I knew.”
She rips the earbud out of her ear, excited that I’m finally ready to talk. “You knew what?”
I let out a slow breath, gathering my thoughts. “I mean, I didn’t know exactly, but at one point on our trip, I wished it were her from the app.”
She sits up and turns as much as she can in her seat. “How did you know? Why would you just assume it was her?”
