It was entirely possible I’d never see him again.
“Paging passenger Margaret Walsh. Margaret Walsh, please report to the desk at gate E4.”
The announcement jarred me out of my haze, and I straightened up in my seat, not sure if I’d heard them right. A quick glance at the message board behind the counter verified it, however, and I shouldered my backpack, approaching the counter with a very confused look.
“Um, I’m Margaret Walsh. Is there a problem?”
The attendant looked up at me from her computer, her hair coiffed into a perfect French twist beneath her navy blue cap. “No, there’s no problem. May I see your boarding pass, please?”
I slid the paper across the counter, worried I was about to get booted from the flight. Her fingers flew across the keyboard with an abnormally loud clickety clack, which was followed by the buzz of a printer behind the desk. A minute later, she handed me a new boarding pass.
“There was a slight overbooking in coach, so we’ve upgraded your ticket. You’ll see your new seat assignment is in first class, so make sure you find the right one when you board.”
My jaw flopped open. “First class?”
“Yes, ma’am,” she smiled and turned away, her radio squawking to life with news the plane was ready to unload. “Have a pleasant flight.”
I’d never flown first class before. What weird twist of fate had made that possible?
It was more than a little awkward to board the plane with a bunch of people in nice business suits, but none of them gave me any haughty looks or anything. Most of them were too buried in their phones to pay any attention to a girl that clearly didn’t belong there. My awesome new seat was even by a window, so I wasn’t about to complain. I settled in and scrolled through my phone, sending off some last text messages and social media posts about leaving while the rest of the plane filled up. Checking the time, we were about ten minutes from pulling away, but the seat next to me was still empty. Maybe I’d caught an even bigger break and could stretch out the whole way there.
“And this is you,” the stewardess said as I stared out the window. “Have a nice flight, sir.”
“Thanks, I’m just glad I made it. Almost didn’t.”
I jerked in my chair and whipped around at the sound of his voice. Zach didn’t even acknowledge me at first, busying himself with stuffing his carryon into the overhead bin and a backpack under his seat while I gaped at him.
He fastened his seatbelt, grinning to himself.
“What are you… How are… Did you upgrade my ticket?” I tried to get three questions out at once, but the third one was all I managed to finish.
“Oh, that’s right.” He reached back under his seat again and rummaged through his backpack, coming up with a square, wrapped box. “I did. I forgot to give you your going away present.”
He set the yellow wrapped package in my lap, his smug smile unwavering.
Nothing made any sense. “You boarded a plane to Paris just to give me a present?”
He chuckled. “My, you do think highly of yourself. Of course not. I’ve had my ticket since March. I just upgraded yours to give you your present.” He leaned against the armrest, incredibly pleased with himself. “And maybe to ensure I had a beautiful woman to sit next to the whole way across the Atlantic.” His expression faded a little. “Wait… Are you not excited about this?”
I rubbed my forehead, confused. “I… no, it’s not that. I just… Why are you going to Paris? And why did you never mention this before?”
He sat back in his chair and considered it. “It’s funny, you know. Over the course of the entire summer, you never once asked me where I was going to school in the fall. For someone that made a seriously concerted effort to learn every little thing about me the last few weeks, that’s a little disappointing.”
“How is this my fault?” I said, stupefied. “Of course I would assume you were going to some Ivy League school or something. Are you seriously telling me you’re going to AUP?”
“Bien sûr. Je ne aurais jamais vous mentir.”
I smacked his arm. “A lie of omission is still a lie, jackass.”
He burst out laughing. “Why do you always get mad when I do nice things for you? I thought you’d be ecstatic. Do you have any idea how many times I’ve wanted to tell you?”
“What about all that crap about just enjoying what time we had together? I spent I don’t know how many hours trying not to count how few days we had left. That’s a horrible thing to do to a person.” I crossed my arms and scowled at the seat in front of me.
Some of his amusement ebbed away, his voice quiet. “You were counting?”
“I was trying not to.”
His fingers hooked my chin, turning my face back to him. “Why?”
“Why do you think? That’s a dumb question,” I grumbled at him.
“It’s not, Margie.”
My arms dropped to my lap. “Because I have a weak spot for lost causes.”
As his palm rested against my cheek, I pinched my eyes shut, trying not to cry. Was this really happening?
“I might’ve been drunk when I said it, Mighty Mouse, but you know I love you, right?”
I sniffled. I was definitely going to arrive in Paris with puffy eyes and makeup running everywhere. Stupid Zachary Robinson, ruining everything again.
“You were supposed to be a jerk,” I whispered, my throat tight. “You weren’t supposed to be…”
“Supposed to be what?”
I leaned my forehead against his. “You weren’t supposed to be the person I’d want, out of anyone, to sit next to on this plane.”
“I guess I’m just full of surprises.” He brushed away the tears that slipped down my face. “Did you know that Paris has forty-nine footbridges?”
I bit down on a smile. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“I ask,” he said against my mouth, “because I want you to know something else.”
My breathing hitched, and I was barely able to think past the fact that he was actually there with me. That, for some reason, I didn’t have to wake up from the best dream I’d ever had. “What’s that?”
“That you’re not allowed to leave Paris until I’ve kissed you on every last one of them.”
When I pressed my lips to his, it was a first kiss all over again. Zach was more than I’d ever given him credit for being. We may have started off rough, but what we’d become felt like something we’d worked really hard to earn. I was his reward, and he was mine. I didn’t need a bridge over the River Seine to know how much he meant to me. The stuffed Mighty Mouse he gave me on the plane, the one that would sit on my bed in my dorm room at college, was a cute reminder of what we’d come through, but it was impossible to forget anyway. It’s funny how the things in life that we think are set in stone, turn out to be something else entirely. Of all the things I’d thought Zach was over the years, that he might be the best thing that ever happened to me never crossed my mind. But after that summer, I couldn’t imagine my life without him.
And, thanks to Paris, I didn’t have to.
About the Author
A geek of all trades, Starla Huchton has been crafting stories in various genres since 2007. She is a three-time finalist for Parsec Awards for her podcast fiction work, and was the first place winner for Science Fiction & Fantasy in the Sandy competition in 2012. Her work spans Science Fiction, Fantasy, New Adult Romance, Young Adult titles, Steampunk, Contemporary, and various other varieties of stories. She is greedy and likes all the genres!
When not writing, Starla trains three Minions, a black lab, and a military husband whilst designing book covers for independent authors and publishers at http://www.designedbystarla.com.
Connect with the author on the Starla Huchton Author Page on Facebook, @starlahuchton on Twitter, or at http://www.starlahuchton.com. To be notified only for new releases, sign up for the mailing list at https://tinyletter.com/SAHuchton.
Other Books by the Autho
r
As Starla Huchton
The Antigone’s Wrath Series
Master of Myth
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MV4D93I
Master of Machines (Coming soon)
Flipped Fairy Tales
Shadows on Snow
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OLHRYIE
The Stillness of the Sky
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RLU4ORM
Ride The Wind (Coming soon)
The Dreamer’s Thread
Available in ebook, paperback, and audiobook podcast
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0057QOCBU
* * * * *
As S. A. Huchton
The Endure Series
Maven
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D5JOC8O
Nemesis
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ES4IFT2
Progeny
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H17FJBA
The Evolution Series
Evolution: ANGEL
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ITS86H4
Evolution: SAGE
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K575U58
Evolution: HEX
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LKBMB4G
Lex Talionis
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00U6GT05Y
My Bittersweet Summer Page 23