AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Curiosity lighting her expression, she asked, “Did you like it?”
They spent the next moments talking about their experiences in France and Paris. Barry wasn’t sure if the conversation lasted for five minutes or an hour. All he knew was that time flew by too fast. When she set up a movie for herself, he found himself searching for the same movie on his screen even though he’d watched the movie before.
Usually, Barry didn’t like it when people talked during movies. However, he made an exception this time. They discussed the movie as it played on their respective screens. To keep from distracting other passengers, they spoke in low tones. In an attempt to hear her better, he edged closer to her. At one point, the aisle seat was half-empty because Barry was practically camped out in the middle seat next to Xolani.
French ‘rapper’ chose that moment to go to the washrooms. When she came back and saw the half-empty aisle seat, she shot Barry a look that was so venomous it should’ve put him six-feet under.
Not that he cared.
He was too engrossed with Xolani and what she was saying.
“I didn’t like that one,” Xolani responded to his question about another movie that they’d both watched. “I liked the end-credit song though. Hurts put their foot in it.”
“Hurts?” His brow furrowed. “What is that? A singer? A band?”
“What?” Her eyes almost popped out of their sockets. “Don’t tell me you don’t know who Hurts is.”
‘I don’t know him, her, or them.”
She gasped. “Blasphemy!”
Barry chuckled. “Hey, it’s not my fault they’re not that popular.”
“Prepare yourself.” She grabbed her phone and earphones. “I’m about to turn you into a cult member.”
What followed were several minutes of her playing him the band’s best hits, after which Barry realized that he loved her taste in music. He got her to show him what else she had on her playlist.
While they were listening, her phone flashed to indicate that her battery was low. Unfortunately, she hadn’t carried her charger with her. Lucky for her, Barry had the same brand of phone. After hooking her phone to his charger, they happily continued to listen to and trade music.
Time flies when you’re having fun. The hours flew by so quickly that when the pilot announced that they were about to land in Michigan, Barry was shocked. Panic set in as he realized that they were about to land, which meant he and Xolani were about to go their separate ways.
Barry believed in chemistry, but this was the first time he’d experienced it in all its glory. An eight-hour flight and neither of them had slept or even halted the conversation? If that wasn’t chemistry, then he didn’t know what was.
It would be tragic to leave that kind of chemistry on a plane. If they were this good together as strangers up in the clouds, they’d be fantastic on the ground.
I have to get her number. The sentence played over and over in his head as they prepared to disembark. I have to get her number.
He figured that the best time to ask for it was while they were waiting for their luggage. But that was a miscalculation. As soon as they were off the plane, Xolani’s phone began to ring.
It was as if there was a long line of people just waiting to reach her. He couldn’t even get a word in between calls because at times there would be someone calling while she was talking to someone else. He even had to grab her suitcase for her after she almost missed it while chatting on the phone.
He thought they’d get a second to chat while they were leaving Baggage Claim, but that also turned out to be a bust. There were people waiting for her. Not one or two people… a group of people.
“Xo.” One member of the group yelled out when they spotted her. That started a whole round of feverish waving and calling of her name by the rest of the group.
In that instant, Barry was forgotten.
“Heeey!” Xolani excitedly rushed toward her group.
Barry thought of following her, but he realized that that would be creepy and desperate. Who would he even introduce himself to the group as? He could only watch in disappointment as she walked away.
“Barry!” someone called out, drawing his attention away from Xolani. He turned to see a tall, well-built man with shoulder-length hair waving at him. The man was his friend, Nigel.
Damn! Barry had even forgotten that he’d asked Nigel to pick him up.
Before heading toward his friend, Barry cast one last longing look at Xolani, but she wasn’t even looking his way. He sighed in disappointment.
There went all that great chemistry… sucked right back into the ether.
