The rest of the weekend felt like a tall glass of gloom mixed with a shot or two of bliss. Everywhere the girls went brought back memories of college and times spent with Johnny.
“I had no idea that crying could be this exhausting,” Caroline admitted, unwilling to move from the couch.
Tracey glanced at her through bloodshot eyes. “Tell me about it.”
“I don’t want to go back home tomorrow.”
“I know. I hate that you’re leaving. I miss you so much.”
“I miss you too. You have to come visit soon, okay?”
Tracey peered back toward her.
“Pleeeeease,” Caroline begged.
Tracey let out a fatigued laugh. “I will.”
Chapter Three
Caroline’s alarm didn’t go off when it was supposed to. When she finally opened her eyes and saw the time, she yelled, “Tray! Get up! Crap, I’m going to miss my flight!” Caroline jumped out of bed, did a super-quick makeup job and threw on a semi-cute top with her jeans. It was five in the morning and she could only care so much about stuff like this while she was still half asleep.
“Tray!!! Come on…UP!” She ran over to her sleeping best friend and shook her.
“I’m up,” Tracey responded without opening her eyes. “All I have to do is drive you. You’re the one who has to get ready.”
“I am ready! Come on.”
The last thing Caroline wanted was to miss her cross-country flight. The girls drove the short distance to the airport and barely spoke two words. Caroline was both emotionally and physically exhausted, and she knew that Tracey was too. When they arrived at the unloading zone, Caroline gave Tracey a hug, told her she loved her, and quickly rushed to the airport counter to check in her bag.
The middle-aged ticket agent moved far slower than Caroline would have liked and it took everything she had not to show her impatience. She shifted her weight, looked at the clock on her cell phone constantly, and breathed uncomfortable sighs. The woman at the counter knew Caroline’s plane left soon, yet nothing sped up her process.
Caroline couldn’t stand it any more. “I don’t mean to be rude, but my flight is leaving soon and I still have to get through security. I really can’t miss it.”
The woman stopped instantly, forced a smile and cocked her head to one side. “Dear, we have flights that run all day long. If you miss this one, we’ll get you on another.”
Caroline fumed. Why did this woman think her time was so invaluable, because she was young? She wanted to reach over the counter, grab the lady by her dark blue vest, and violently shake her. But she knew that was probably a bad idea.
Instead, she lied. “I have meetings all day that I’d really prefer not to reschedule. I’m sure you can understand that, dear?” She mimicked the woman’s head tilt and half smile.
The woman dropped her smile and her tone turned cold. “Where are you headed?”
“San Francisco,” Caroline responded in kind.
“Last name?”
“Weber, with one ‘b.’”
“Caroline?” the woman inquired, clearly annoyed.
“The one and only,” she smirked.
“I’ll need to see some ID.”
Caroline handed the woman her driver’s license and the woman abruptly handed her a ticket. “Gate A2. Enjoy your flight.”
Caroline raced toward security, dreading the ordeal. She placed her black sandals into a bin and made sure her pockets were empty. After a wave from the TSA agent, she walked through the security scanner without a beep. She smiled, grabbed her things in a rush, and sprinted toward her gate.
When she arrived, she was relieved to see her flight was delayed thirty minutes. She headed over to a small restaurant and grabbed a bite to eat before walking back toward the gate. The airline didn’t assign seats, but her boarding number assured her that she would be one of the first passengers on the plane. When it was time to board, she walked all the way to the back of the plane and took a window seat.
Caroline listened to music on her iPod and glanced up every so often to see people walk past. As the seats filled up, no one sat in either of the two next to her. She actually started to wonder if she smelled bad or had something on her face. She leaned her nose into her arm and gave a quick sniff. Definitely do not smell, she thought to herself.
She almost laughed at her ridiculous behavior, when something internal told her to look up. Her heart raced and she almost choked on her gum when she saw an Adonis walk down the aisle toward her. He was tall, tan, and wore a baseball hat backwards that covered his short, dark brown hair. His deep blue eyes locked onto hers and she was certain her heart stopped beating for a moment.
He couldn’t take his eyes off of hers as he walked toward her row. His full lips turned up slightly in a sexy smirk before he said, “Hi,” and threw his backpack onto the floor of the aisle seat.
“Hi,” was all Caroline could manage in response. He was unbelievably good-looking and she couldn’t help but stare. His shirt fit tightly on his chest and his sleeves strained to contain his upper arms. That’s what perfection looks like, Caroline thought to herself, her lips pursed together.
“Is anyone sitting here?” a teenaged boy asked, interrupting Caroline’s mental assessment.
“You,” said the hot guy. “But hold your horses, kid,” he added as the teenager attempted to squeeze into the middle seat. “I’ll scoot over; you take the aisle.”
“Are you sure?” the boy asked.
The stranger looked over at Caroline and smiled. “I’m more than sure.”
Caroline couldn’t help but smile. As the teenager sat in the aisle seat, she tried to sneak a glance at the hot guy who sat next to her. He turned and caught her looking at him and a wide grin crept across his face. Caroline had a weird thing for good teeth and thankfully, his were perfect and bright white. He set fire to feelings she hadn’t experienced in years; things she had completely forgotten about when it came to anyone other than Clay.
Clay? At this point, she could barely remember Clay at all.
To be honest, Caroline wasn’t sure if she’d ever encountered feelings like this before. She was instantly attracted to Clay because he was so handsome, but this stranger ignited something new inside of her. In a way it was almost primal…she literally felt pulled toward his body. It was as though some invisible cord connected them.
Her body wanted to do things that her mind had to fight off. She stopped herself, more than once, from resting her hand on his thigh, as though that was the most natural place for it to be. She could feel beads of sweat starting to drip down the front of her shirt. He made her nervous and she struggled to stop herself from shaking.
The attraction between them lingered in the air. They looked into each other’s eyes for an uncomfortable amount of time before the teenager interrupted.
“Are you two dating?” he asked politely.
Caroline nodded and before she could say a word, her handsome stranger tossed his arm around her and pulled her close. “We are,” he answered and then quickly kissed the side of her head.
Caroline’s insides were unhinging. What had she gotten herself into? She could pretend she didn’t enjoy the fact that his lips had just touched her skin, but that would be a lie. Before she could think another thought, he leaned near her ear and whispered, “I’m sorry about that. I don’t know what came over me.”
She turned and looked into his eyes. “I didn’t mind.” Her words made him smile and she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from turning upright in return.
Caroline fumbled underneath her seat for her purse. When she found it, she pulled it onto her lap. Her new “boyfriend” watched her every move with curious eyes. When she reached inside and pulled out her camera, he smiled in approval. She handed her camera across him to the teenager and asked, “Can you take a picture of us, please?”
Hot Guy scooted his body as close to hers as he could and she felt tiny prickles of energy all around her.
It reminded her of when one of her body parts woke up after it had fallen asleep. With her cheek pressed firmly into his, her body buzzed with an unfamiliar feeling, a feeling so foreign and strong, it almost made her jump out of her seat. But the hot guy didn’t react at all, so Caroline figured it was all in her head.
“I like it when your face touches mine,” he whispered, right before the picture was taken. Her cheeks flushed with warmth.
She thanked the teenager while the stranger looked at the picture and deemed it worthy of keeping. “You look gorgeous. I look like a schmuck,” he told her with a scowl.
“Shut up! You look amazing. Your eyes—they’re gorgeous.” She ran her finger across his face on her camera screen and looked at the blue eyes staring back at her.
He gently took her face in his hands and looked into her soft green eyes. He moved his face toward hers as her heart pounded and her mind felt muddled. He kissed her softly above her ear. “You have beautiful eyes, too.”
Heat instantly rushed through every pore of her body. Clumsily, she grabbed her purse and shoved the camera back in before telling him, “Thank you,” for the compliment.
“Any time, babe.” He winked and she felt lost as she looked at him.
“Excuse me, sir, you have to turn your phone off,” the flight attendant told him.
“Yeah, hon, turn off your phone,” Caroline smirked. “I’m sorry. He always does this.” She rolled her eyes toward the attendant.
He gave her a quick glance and threw his arm around her waist, pulling her into him, “Oh I do, do I?”
His arms were muscular and his chest and shoulders were hard, but Caroline didn’t mind. She couldn’t remember the last time she was so intensely attracted to someone. Her entire body was aware of his. She briefly thought about Clay, but only to compare the differences between him and her new friend. She told herself to stop touching this stranger, stop flirting, stop doing everything she wouldn’t want Clay to be doing. But her body and emotions had their own agenda. And on that agenda was a five-hour meeting with this new, attractive stranger.
When the plane started to take off, she realized immediately how tired she was. She yawned and fought to keep her eyelids from closing when she heard, “Did you want to sleep, babe?”
When he talked to her like they were a couple, she got a rush of jittery emotions. “Maybe just for a little. Don’t let me sleep too long, though.” She looked up at his seemingly chiseled features before her hand brushed down the side of his face. What was she doing? She didn’t know this guy; why the hell did she touch his face like that? This was inappropriate and she knew if Clay were doing this, she’d be livid.
But she couldn’t stop herself. Everything about this guy intrigued her. She wanted to be near his body. She wanted to touch him. Her hands wanted to be all over him. She had to fight the urge to kiss him every time she looked in his direction.
He bent down, reached into the black sport bag under the seat, and pulled out a faded gray sweatshirt. He folded it into a loose ball and placed it between his shoulder and her head. Then he gently pulled her body toward his and kissed the top of her head. As he stroked her long blonde hair, she reminded him, “Not too long. Promise me.”
“Sure…but why?”
“Because I don’t want to waste the whole flight with you sleeping.” She nuzzled into his neck and felt his cheek pressed against her head. Unable to keep her eyes open any longer, she stopped fighting the sleep that came for her. Her last waking thoughts were how the sweatshirt pillow smelled just like him and she drifted off while she breathed him in.
Caroline opened her eyes as the jarring movements of airplane turbulence forced her awake. She lifted her head slowly, but kept her arms wrapped around his body. She didn’t move her leg, either, which had somehow become intertwined with his.
“You okay?” he asked, without moving. She smiled and the attraction between them was like lightning in the night’s sky. He took a quick breath and confessed, “I want to kiss you so bad,” as he tucked a long blonde strand of hair behind her ear.
She wanted him to do it. Her lips screamed at her to let him. But the reality of her situation, and Clay, was something her conscious mind couldn’t get past.
“I…have a boyfriend,” she stuttered. It was the truth, but at that moment she wished it wasn’t. It was the first time she had spoken those words and felt nothing but disappointment. What was wrong with her? Clay was not the type of guy a girl was disappointed to have.
“I’m truly sorry to hear that. He’s one lucky guy,” he informed, still holding her.
Caroline’s mind drifted to thoughts of kissing this stranger. Touching him. Allowing her hands to roam all over his body. She wondered how bad could it be? She could kiss him and never speak of it again. It was the perfect scenario for a hookup—a plane flight across the country surrounded by strangers. No one would be the wiser. No one would ever know. She sighed softly and thought to herself, I would know. I could never live with myself if I did that to Clay.
She inched away from his secure arms and leaned her head into the seat. As they faced each other she said, “I’m so attracted to you. I really want to kiss you, but I can’t. It’s not right.”
“I understand. I respect you for that. But I’ve still got four hours or so to change your mind,” he teased.
“I’ll make you a deal. If this plane goes down, I’ll let you kiss me the whole way,” she told him laughing.
“I’ve never wanted a plane to crash so badly in my life.”
Caroline was keenly aware that this flight would come to an end, this guy would walk out of her life, and she’d be forever changed from it. She felt things stronger than most people. Sometimes she felt it was a curse to feel things so deeply, but other times she felt it was one of her best qualities.
The two of them talked for hours. She kept her legs tangled in his and he acted as if he wouldn’t take his arms off of her if someone paid him to.
“So what do you do?” she asked.
He paused for a moment, as if unsure of how his words would sound. “I’m finishing up business school in the city, and I work on my parents’ farm.”
Her face lit up with surprise. “A farm? In New York? What kind of farm?”
“It’s upstate…a dairy farm. We have some orchards, too. I like to help out my dad when I can.” He smiled at her and cocked his head in the most charming way.
“You’re way too hot to be a farmer,” she flirted.
“Oh, really? How many farmers do you know?”
She laughed, then shrugged. “Counting you?”
“Sure. Counting me.”
“One.” She smiled and her face crinkled up. “Do you like farming? I mean is that what you want to do?”
He laughed at the simplicity of her question. “I do. The farm has been in my family for generations and I want to keep it that way. That’s why I’m taking these classes. We have to keep up with the times, you know?”
Caroline warmed, the heat of desire and respect coursing through her veins. “I love how proud you are. And respectful. It’s very attractive.” He blushed and averted his eyes. She continued to compliment him. “You’re smart, passionate, and determined. I really respect that.”
He smiled gently. “Thank you.” Longing to change the subject he asked, “What about you? What do you do?”
“I’m a marketing assistant for JD Walters,” she said proudly.
He cocked his head. “Am I supposed to know who that is?”
She laughed and shook her head. “Not in your line of work. He’s one of the best print ad photographers in San Francisco.”
“What does that mean? Print ads…like magazines, billboards, and stuff?”
“Exactly. Guess you’re not all body and no brains after all,” she teased.
“Oh, no no no. I’m definitely all body.” He smiled at her.
“My best friend, Bailey, works there too; I’ve known her since high school. She got me the job, actua
lly.”
“You have good friends.”
“The best,” she smiled.
“Is that where you’re from?”
“Where? San Francisco?” Her expression soured. “God, no. I’m from Southern California. I just moved to Nor Cal for work.”
“That’s…” He paused as he struggled to find the right word. “Convenient.”
“I guess so.” Caroline smiled. “When’s your birthday?”
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “January 17th. Why?”
“Just wondering,” she said while her shoulders lifted. “So, what does that make you? A Capricorn?”
He nodded. “I think so. When’s your birthday?”
“July 2nd. I’m a Cancer,” she informed him.
“Yeah, you are,” he responded playfully.
“You’re the cancer! You’re like a growth or something.” She crinkled her nose at him.
He laughed at her cheekiness and mimicked her response before asking. “So why were you in New York?”
“I had to go to a funeral.”
“I’m sorry. How did you know someone from New York if you’re from California?”
She smiled at his handsome face and stunning blue eyes. “I went to college there. I just moved back to California a few months ago, after graduation.”
“Oh. So whose funeral was it?”
“His name was Johnny. He was one of my closest friends. A really good guy…you would have loved him.”
“I bet I would have.”
Caroline knew he didn’t try to be charming, but every word this gorgeous farm boy spoke was nothing but.
“More importantly,” she smiled, “he would have approved of you.”
He leaned toward her and kissed the top of her head again and the attraction pulsed throughout her veins. She had to fight off the impulse to tilt her head up and allow him to kiss her lips.
Caroline reminded herself constantly that it was wrong. Even though every fiber of her being screamed out for him, she allowed her conscience to win the battle.
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