by Harmon, AJ
“So, you’re not all up with your ex?”
“No! Why do you think I am?”
“Janie came to your office and she overheard you telling Beth that you wanted to fuck her raw cuz Janie wasn’t your type.”
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Matt slammed his fist down on the desk. “She heard that.”
“Yeah, she did. And it broke her heart you asshole!”
“She heard it wrong! I was being sarcastic. I actually told Beth I never wanted to see her ever again. I didn’t even want her saying Janie’s name! I love…that isn’t what I meant at all. Is that why she told me she was sick?” Matt was now sick, physically ill. He hit the desk again and gritted his teeth.
“Yeah, it is.”
“Is that what that talk was about yesterday? Telling me it was all a fling and she was glad to be leaving?”
“Matt, tell me how you feel about her? Is it just a fling for you? When Janie told me you hadn’t reacted with relief, I needed to talk to you, to ask you whether or not you were just screwing her for fun.”
“God, no!” Matt spat. “I was ready to ask her…I wanted to tell her that…I didn’t want her to leave.” Matt ran his hands through his hair and leaned back in his chair. “I really fucked up.”
“Matt, she only said that stuff cuz she knew that’s what you wanted. You told her that’s all there was. She was just protecting herself,” Katy sighed. “Is that what you want?”
“No! No, it’s not. I’m in love with her.”
“Well then, yes, you really fucked it all up!”
*****
Janie sat in the lounge in Denver just staring at nothing. She had texted the boys to say she was on her way back and she would let them know when she landed at PDX. She texted Katy to say her flight was expected to land twenty minutes later than scheduled. Katy responded by saying she would pick her up curbside. Then Janie just sat, sat looking at nothing for two and a half hours. She was despondent, there weren’t even any tears left to cry. She must be dehydrated from crying all the way from New York to Denver. The poor woman next to her must have thought she was mentally unstable. And to be fair, she felt unstable.
She made her way to the gate and handed her boarding pass to the gate agent. She boarded the plane and sat in her window seat, staring out at the activity on the tarmac. She heard the rustle next to her and looked to see a dark grey suit. Her breath hitched and her eyes looked up to see a grey bearded man sliding into the seat next to her. She turned back to the window and just desperately wanted to be home.
*****
Matt sat in his office, staring out the window, as he had done for most of the day. The sun was now setting and a soft glow was appearing over the city as lights began to flicker. In his hand he held the blue box, wrapped in a white ribbon with a perfectly tied bow. It was a gift for Janie. A gift he had not given to her before she left.
“Matt!”
Mark’s voice caused him to swing around in his chair.
“You look like shit,” said Mark.
“Good! I feel like shit!”
“So she left today?” Mark’s eyebrows were raised.
“Yep.”
“And you didn’t tell her how you felt? You didn’t stop her?”
“Would it have made a difference?” replied Matt.
“You’ll never know now, will you?” Mark was obviously irritated with his brother.
“She’s too good for me. She deserves much better.”
“Go get her Matt!”
The End of First Class to New York
Matt and Janie’s story continues in
First Class to Portland
http://www.firstclassnovels.com