Page 9 of All the way home

made it thru security?

A second text rolls through as Zach tries to figure out whether to answer Peacoat Boy.

did they find the bomb in your bag

He holds up a wait-a-moment finger to Peacoat Boy and texts her back, immediately:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

hello mr. fbi man reading this i don’t actually have a bomb

my friend just sucks

Peacoat Boy has not left, expectantly twisting the lid on his water bottle.

Zach realizes, with a jolt, that he’s still waiting for an answer. Clearing his throat, he resists the urge to wipe his hands on his jeans. “Sorry—what was your question?”

“Where are you sitting?” he asks, like it’s a super normal thing to ask a total stranger. “On the plane.”

“Um.” Zach shifts his weight, mouth dry. Even on an ordinary day, this would throw him off, but after everything else, the muscles in his back tighten with every passing second, a bowstring being pulled taut inch by inch. “17E.”

“You’re not.” Peacoat Boy’s whole expression changes, that disarming smile flashing across his face. Laughing carelessly, he runs a hand through his hair, then reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. A sneak glance while he unlocks it tells Zach that this guy has dozens of unread messages. “Look.”

Tapping the screen, he holds his phone out so Zach can see. On his ticket, his seat number reads 17D.

All Zach can do is blink at him.

“What are the chances?” Peacoat Boy extends a hand. “I’m Kieran.”

“Oh.” Abruptly, Zach feels exceptionally stupid. What else is he supposed to say? The handshake is good. Firm and confident, and if this Kieran guy notices that Zach’s hand is sort of sweaty, he doesn’t comment on it. “Zach.”

“Enchanté.” Kieran grins.

Mara texts him, which is a relief, because then he doesn’t have to think of something else to say.

i am deeply offended

🙄

The skin on the back of his neck prickles. Without checking to be sure, Zach knows that Kieran’s watching him. Somehow, he makes it not creepy. Even though technically he is staring, it doesn’t feel like it, and then Zach’s feeling all awkward, like he’s the strange one for being embarrassed.

And he is, for the record, embarrassed. Not just because this guy’s wearing a turtleneck and looking like a Baroque painting. He’s embarrassed because so far, the day has been nothing short of a series of minor calamities, and Kieran is a virtual stranger, and he’s hanging around like an errant asteroid when Zach has given him absolutely no reason to think that he should have gravitational pull.

“Girlfriend?” Kieran asks.

Zach makes a small, choked sound. “What?”

With a jerk of his head, Kieran gestures to Zach’s phone.

Zach shakes his head, a little nonplussed.

Girlfriend?

Kieran sighs and then pushes off the wall, like he’s being summoned somewhere, or like he’s got the message that Zach is sort-of-definitely freaking out. “Well, see you on the plane, then.”

“Yeah.” Zach’s hands are definitely sweating a lot now. He keeps his head ducked as Kieran walks away, even though he knows it probably makes him seem like an asshole.

Girlfriend? Really?