I headed through the lobby without even looking around and taking in everything one last time. I hadn’t actually canceled my lease yet or done the final cleaning out of my apartment, but Lilith had surprisingly agreed to help handle that once I was gone so I wouldn’t have to rush to get everything finished.
It was colder outside than I expected, so I flipped up the hood on my hoodie and almost didn’t see Lilith until she was right on top of me.
“Hey, loser,” she said. “I was going to give you a ride.”
“Oh. I already called an Uber.”
“Whatever. I didn’t want to drive you there, anyway.”
“I mean, I can—”
“No. It’s fine.” Lilith hesitated. She looked to the side and rolled her tongue across the inside of her cheek. “Look. I’m going to miss you, even though you’re an idiot.”
“I’m going to miss you too,” I said. I stepped forward and gave her a tight hug. The last time Lilith had allowed me to hug her was all the way back in middle school when I’d found her crying by herself in the girl’s bathroom. “But you know I’m coming back,” I said over her shoulder. “It’ll just be two years.”
She slowly brought her arms up and gave me a small squeeze. “Yeah, whatever. I’ll be, like, counting the days on my calendar.” Her voice was laced with sarcasm, but when I pulled back, her eyes looked a little watery. “I’m leaving. Better things to do than sit around here and let you fondle me.” She took a step away, paused, then gave my shoulder a little punch before heading back to her car and driving off.
I got in my Uber just in time to see Bruce and Natasha Chamberson walking out of my apartment building. I squinted in confusion, but was sure it was them. Natasha pointed after Lilith’s car, then Bruce nodded. He looked down at his phone and started texting someone. I was still trying to figure out what that could’ve meant when my driver started heading for the airport. He was the professional kind of Uber driver—the kind who had water bottles and all kinds of snacks and hand sanitizer available for his passengers. He had papers plastered everywhere about how much he appreciated good reviews. Thankfully, he also wasn’t the talkative type, as I was more in the mood to stare out the window and feel sorry for myself.
Tomorrow, I could shift gears and focus on how awesome it was that I had this opportunity, but I was designating today as my mopey day.
I sat up straighter a few minutes later when I could’ve sworn I saw Ryan’s roommate standing on the street corner. He was chatting with three girls who looked like tourists while shadowing a football throwing motion.
“I know a quicker way to the airport from here,” the driver said. “We’ll save five minutes. Guaranteed. You can write about that in your review.” He looked up in the rearview to give me a wink.
I sat back in my seat and watched the city pass by for the rest of the drive. It was strange thinking about how long I’d be away from New York, which had been such a huge part of my life. When I’d called my parents and given them an update yesterday, they were encouraging. Still, I couldn’t fight the lump in my stomach that made me feel like I was getting it wrong.
I got out of the car at the airport, grabbed my luggage, and thanked the driver. I made it through the airport without any incidents, except seeing a couple I could’ve sworn was William and Hailey Chamberson in one of the gift shops. I did a double-take, but I was on one of those walking escalators and didn’t have time to get off and go look to see if it was really them. Besides, William and I had left off on an awkward note, so even if it was him, I doubted he’d have been glad to see me.
When they called for us to board the plane, I guiltily stole a glance behind me. Some dumb, romantic part of my brain hoped I’d see Ryan come running through the terminal to stop me from boarding the plane. One last, desperate act of love. I heard a commotion in the distance and actually stopped, letting a few people pass me in line. My back straightened and I strained my eyes to see what it was.
William Chamberson was running and laughing at the top of his lungs as two out-of-shape security guards tried to catch him. He was holding an “I Love New York” t-shirt in his hand that still had the tag on it. He turned a corner and the sound of his laughter trailed away. A few seconds later, I saw Hailey following with her arms crossed and an embarrassed look on her face.
I turned back to the line with a heavy breath, gave my ticket, and boarded the flight.
At least I had a window seat, even if the majority of my view was going to be the ocean. I’d never even flown internationally before, so that was exciting. Sort of.
I was just getting settled in my seat when I heard something thud into the window. I looked, expecting to see a bird falling away, but didn’t see anything. A second later, there was another thud, and I saw bright orange frosting smeared across my window.
18
Natasha, Steve, and William
One Hour Earlier
Natasha
We waited in the lobby of Emily’s building not long after our top-secret meeting in William’s apartment. I felt giddy with excitement.
“This is so cool. It’s kind of like Ocean’s Eleven, you know? Except instead of stealing a fortune we’re helping Ryan steal someone’s heart.”
The corner of Bruce’s mouth twitched in amusement. “That’s one way of looking at it.”
“What’s another?”
“That Ryan could’ve much more easily just called her and asked her to meet for a few minutes so they could talk.”
I sighed. “Where would be the romance in that?”
“It would be practical.”
“Maybe you could use a lesson in romantic gestures,” I said a little flippantly.
He cocked his head at me and grinned. “Maybe if you hadn’t decided to talk about the roleplay in the bedroom in front of everyone earlier, I’d be more open to the idea.”
I laughed. “Come on. You have to admit their reactions were funny.”
“Emotionally scarring, yes. Funny, no.”
“Agree to disagree.”
He looked at his watch. “Isn’t she supposed to be—”
“There!” I said. “Shh. Act discreet.”
Bruce stood as still as a statue, which, admittedly, was probably his best attempt at being discreet. I half-turned my face and watched her from the corner of my eye.
“Okay!” I whispered once she left. “She’s outside, we’ve got to follow!”
“What?” asked Bruce. “Our job was just to text when she left.” He pulled out his phone like he was about to text and I tried to swipe it from his hand to stop him. He easily dodged my hand, which made me lose my balance. My arms pinwheeled and I ended up face planting into the floor. At least I would have if something hadn’t caught my jacket and had me floating half an inch from the floor.
Bruce lifted me up by the back of my jacket and placed me back on my feet. “Any reason you were trying to knock my phone away?”
“We have to make sure she gets in the car!” I tugged on his arm and made him come outside with me. I just had time to see Lilith getting in her car and pulling away from the curb, but the way the sky was reflecting off her window made it almost impossible to see if Emily was in the passenger seat.
“Try to get a look and see if she’s in there!” I said.
Bruce and I moved toward the street but couldn’t quite get an angle on the car. I sighed. “Fine. You can text that she left.”
Steve
I put a hand against the traffic signal and grinned at the tourists. They were cute. The middle one was my favorite because she was nailing the whole church girl gone bad look. But the other two weren’t slouches, either, and as a bonus, they were all tourists. Something about girls on trips together seemed to be a sure-fire sign that they were down for threesomes or foursomes.
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m basically a step away from making the roster. Just a few injuries at the right time, and boom. I’m there.”
“Wow.” The church girl gone bad
batted her eyelashes. “I can’t wait to tell all my friends we met an NFL quarterback.”
The other two bobbed their heads in eager agreement.
Some guys would say it was too easy. Not enough of a challenge. But what the hell did they know? If I was going fishing and I had to choose between a fishing rod and a grenade, I wasn’t about to waste my afternoon pulling them up one by one. Hell no. You pull out the big guns and you let those puppies roar.
“They say I’ve got one of the quickest releases they’ve ever seen,” I said, shadowing my drop back and passing motion. “But that’s just on the field,” I added with a smirk. “When the lights are off, I’m kind of known for how long I can last before I release.”
They all giggled.
In the back of my head, I felt like I was forgetting something, but I couldn’t really be bothered to remember. All I knew was that I was about to score. Three times.
William
“This is the worst gift shop I’ve ever seen,” I said.
Hailey gave a little shrug. “I don’t know. These little guys are kind of cute, don’t you think?” She slid a Yankee’s cap on her head and did a little pose.
“The model is fantastic,” I said, stepping in and squeezing her ass despite her embarrassed glances over her shoulder. “But the selection? Not so much.”
She put the hat back and moved to look at a display of mugs with names on them. “Time to see if they have my name…”
“If they don’t, we burn the place down.”
She gave me a sharp look. “You shouldn’t joke about things like that, because I still haven’t figured out when you’re being serious and when you’re joking.”
I plucked a fake statue of liberty torch from the shelf and acted like I was holding it to a stack of postcards. I gave her a suggestive wiggle of my eyebrows.
She turned around, unimpressed.
“Should we be keeping an eye out, or something?” she asked.
“No. Bruce texts Ryan. Ryan texts Steve. Steve texts Ryan. Ryan texts us. That’s the order, and we haven’t been texted. That means the eagle has not landed.”
“What if there’s some kind of technical glitch and the text doesn’t come through?”
“Well,” I said. “Then Mr. Romeo is going to have to sit his over-dramatic ass on an airplane and go to Paris, isn’t he?”
She glared. “Aren’t you the one who orchestrated this whole thing in the first place?”
“I am the evil genius that gave birth to this monstrosity, yes.”
“Shouldn’t you maybe be more involved in helping fix it then? Or at least act like you care?”
“I did my part. I ignited the flames. Sometimes it’s just not meant to be, Hailey. Not everybody is as magnetic as you and I.”
She rolled her eyes, but gave me half of a smile. “Yeah, you’re magnetic all right, because you stuck to me and I can’t seem to find a way to get you off.”
I turned her to face me and tilted her chin up. “That’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“Oh?” she asked, biting her lip.
“Yes, now I’m going to need you to check my pole to see if it’s charged.”
She shook her head. “I wish I knew enough about magnets to tell you if that was even a good or bad pun.”
“You’re getting me all excited with your sass. I’m either going to have to take advantage of you, or steal something.”
“We’re supposed to be doing a job,” she said. “What if I promise you as soon as this is over—”
“Nope,” I said. I gave her a quick kiss. “I’ve always wanted one of these t-shirts, you know.” I pulled an “I Love New York” t-shirt off the rack and gave her a dangerous grin.
“No, William. Seriously. We’re supposed to—”
“Don’t be a tight-ass. I’m going to give it back if they catch me. And if they don’t, I’ll totally reverse-steal it.”
“William,” she warned.
"Sorry!" I kissed her one more time and took off for the exit of the gift shop, laughing maniacally as I went.
19
Ryan
I sat in my parked car by the bridge Emily was supposed to be crossing with my phone in my hand. I’d scrutinized every single car and was sure I hadn’t seen Lilith’s yet. Based on when Bruce sent his text letting me know Emily left, I should’ve already heard from Steve. I glanced at the time once more and then dialed Steve’s number.
“What’s up?” he sounded hesitant, like he knew he’d done something wrong.
“You tell me,” I said slowly.
I heard girls giggling in the background through the phone and my stomach sunk. “I got distracted, but I’ve been watching pretty good ever since.”
“So she might have already passed you?”
“I mean, anything is possible. She might be a lizard in a skin suit for all we—”
I hung up and narrowed my eyes. It was Lilith’s car. I turned the ignition and started to drive. The bridge wasn’t heavily trafficked, which worked in my favor because I was able to pull my car in front of her lane to block off the bridge while still giving her enough time to stop.
She still screeched to a stop with just inches to spare before hitting my car.
I got out, grabbed the cupcake from my back seat, and walked toward her car. I couldn’t see if Emily was in the passenger seat because of the headlights, but Bruce shouldn’t have texted if she wasn’t.
The driver-side door opened and Lilith stepped out with a confused expression on her face. Behind her, cars were starting to clog the bridge and honk. I hadn’t thought about the noise when I was imagining the perfect romantic gesture, but that was fine. I could apologize later.
“Emily!” I had to yell to be heard over the honking horns.
“Ryan!” Lilith yelled. “She’s not here, dumbass.”
“What?”
“She took an Uber. I guess she wanted to start off her new chapter all by herself, or whatever.” Lilith shrugged. “I was going to drive up there and just make sure her plane doesn’t explode on the runway, I guess.”
“Shit. When did she leave?”
“Right after me. Hey, is that cupcake for me? Because I skipped breakfast.”
I ignored her and ran back to my car, carefully putting the cupcake in the tray with the rest and then jumping behind the wheel. I drove as fast as I could to the airport.
When I arrived, I parked in the area that was probably going to get me ticketed or even towed, grabbed the tray of a dozen cupcakes I’d baked, and hurried inside. I tried to walk straight to the gates, but a police officer stopped me short.
“Sir,” he said. “I can’t let you in here with those.”
“They’re cupcakes,” I said. “And I’m kind of in a hurry.” I was trying not to lose my cool, but I knew Emily could already be boarding the plane, and I didn’t have time to waste.
“In a hurry, are you? Planning to blow something up? I could slap the gloves on and we could start with a cavity search.”
“Are you serious? You see a tray of cupcakes and your first thought is sticking your fingers up my ass?”
“It’s your choice.”
“Then I choose the option that doesn’t involve penetration.”
He spread his palms and watched me go with a self-satisfied smirk as I headed outside without a plan. I looked down at the tray, sucked in a breath, and then started shoving cupcakes in my jacket pockets. I only fit about seven before I was at risk of looking like I’d, well, shoved a bunch of cupcakes in my pockets. It was butchering the perfect moment I was envisioning, and definitely changing my plans, but it didn’t seem that I had a choice, so I swallowed my annoyance and headed back inside.
The same guard took a step toward me. “What happened to the treats?”
“Saw a hungry homeless guy,” I said. “Sorry, no butt stuff for you today, I guess.”
“Yeah, well maybe I’ll radio ahead to TSA and see what they have to say about that.�
�
I ignored him and pressed forward. I hoped he was bluffing, but given the luck I’d already had so far, I couldn’t really count on it.
I kept scanning the crowd for Emily as I half-jogged toward her gate. I tried calling William and then Hailey, but got no answer. Like the rest of my “team,” they were useless.
I waited impatiently in the line for security, and somehow managed to squeeze through without anyone wondering why I was standing so awkwardly. I could feel the icing staining through my shirt and sticking to my skin beneath my jacket, but I pressed on, even though my modified plan was feeling dumber and dumber by the minute.
I jogged as fast as I could without jostling the cupcakes loose or drawing the attention of more security. By the time I made it to her gate, the door was already shut and nobody seemed to be waiting to board.
Shit.
I scanned the area until I saw an airport employee dragging a luggage train and wearing an orange vest.
“Hey,” I said, tapping his shoulder.
He stopped and gave me a confused look.
“I need to get down to the runway.”
The man looked at me with infinite patience and nodded. He was in his early twenties and built like a lanky bird. “We have a procedure for that, sir. You wait for your flight, get on your plane, and then you’re on the runway.”
“No, I need to get my feet on the runway, as soon as humanly possible.”
“That’s not allowed.”
“What if I bribe you? A hundred dollars. Just give me your vest and show me a door I can take to get down there.
He pursed his lips. “I want those shoes. They’re nice, and you look about my size. Thirteen?”
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