“Friendship, huh?” she asks, grabbing another bag of gummy bears from her bag and tearing it open, tipping it in my direction.
“You bet.”
She smiles at me, and it lights up her whole face. “You say that, but the way you’re looking at me doesn’t exactly scream friendly.”
“And how am I looking at you, Mystery Girl?”
She gives me a sly smile. “A little bit like you can see directly into my head and you want to devour me whole.”
I huff out a laugh because she’s not wrong. “Noticed that, did you?’
“It’s kind of hard to miss. Your eyes give you away.”
With my eyes on hers, I run a finger over her hand to test the waters, and she inhales sharply, goosebumps breaking out over her skin. I feel just that tiny contact everywhere. “Something here, Mystery Girl,” I murmur. “Some big something here.”
Amelia shakes her head, tugging her hand away. “It’s cold in here.”
“Is it?” I ask. “Or is it possible that maybe we were destined to meet right here on this plane.”
Amelia narrows her eyes but unbuckles her seatbelt and turns more fully towards me, tucking her hair behind her ear. “That’s pretty woo-woo, my guy.”
I shrug a shoulder. “My grandma is super woo-woo. Believes in the universe making things happen, and she has full conversations with my dead grandpa over breakfast. I’ve absorbed enough of that over the years to believe that some things are written in the stars.”
“And you think we’re written in the stars?” Her voice drips with skepticism.
“Maybe yes, maybe no,” I say casually, even though I’m one hundred percent sure the answer is yes because no way does this kind of thing just happen. I unbuckle my own seatbelt and turn so we’re facing each other fully. “But either way, I think this is the best airplane ride of my life, Mystery Girl.”
Amelia doesn’t say anything, she just looks at me for a second, and then digs into her bag of gummy bears, pulling out a handful of red ones and dropping them into my hand.
My stomach swoops at the gesture, and I think I may be in just a little bit of trouble.
Five hours, four bags of gummy bears, three Diet Pepsis (for her), four Cokes (for me, because Pepsi is the devil’s sauce), endless conversation, and six different spots of turbulence I was grateful as fuck for because it meant I got to hold her hand longer, we make our way through the Boston airport to baggage claim. We’re walking side-by-side, and we’re not touching but I can feel the heat of her next to me and I’m drawn to it, like my body recognizes hers.
The five-plus hour flight felt like five minutes. My head is racing, trying to figure out a tactful way to ask her for her phone number. If I can take her to dinner. A movie. Literally anywhere if it means I get to spend more time with her.
Falling head over heels for a girl on an airplane definitely does not fit into my orderly existence, but the idea of walking out of this airport and never seeing her again is freaking me the fuck out.
“Doctor Wyles!” I stop walking and turn at the sound of my name, coming face to face with one of my grad students walking quickly through the terminal, straight towards me.
Fuck.
“Jen, nice to see you.”
She comes to a stop in front of me. “I’m so glad to run into you! I had a breakthrough on my thesis over break. I was planning on emailing you when I got back, but here you are!”
I glance over at Amelia, hoping to conveyI’m so sorry; the only person I want to talk to is you, but she’s staring at me like she’s never seen me before, her eyes wide, jaw slack. I don’t know what’s going on, but whatever it is, I don’t like it.
“I’m so sorry,” I say to Jen. “I’m actually here with someone, but I’ll have office hours next week if you want to drop by to talk about your thesis.”
“No, no,” Amelia says. “You should talk. A grad thesis is really important.” Her words are jerky and a little fast as she hitches her tote higher on her shoulder and grabs the handle of her carry-on. “I’ll just head to baggage claim.”
“Oh, my god, thank you so much,” Jen says, beaming at Amelia, completely oblivious to the current of energy running between us.
“Wait,” I say as Amelia turns to leave. I reach out and run a hand from her shoulder down her arm, feeling the same electric jolt from the plane. My stomach clenches at the thought of her walking away from me. This. Us. Shit. I’ve never felt anything like the way I feel now, and it’s making me a little crazy.
“Seriously, Elliot, it’s cool,” she says, taking a step away and giving me a weak smile that definitely doesn’t reach her eyes. “Ihave to go anyway. I checked a lot of luggage, and it’s probably already down there.”
“Wait for me at baggage claim, and I’ll help you with it.” I can’t keep the desperation out of my tone. I don’t try very hard. “Please.”
