She’s caught off guard for what could be the first time in her entire life, and I revel in that feeling of her scrambling because of me. Soon enough, she regains her composure and falls into my touch. Her whole body goes limp in my arms, leaving me to hold her up. I can’t help but think about the fact that I may be the first person she’s ever allowed to do so.
When we pull away, the world comes back into focus: emerald eyes, fiery red hair, tailored eyebrows, swollen lips, and the cutest nose I’ve ever seen.
“I knew you’d be a good kisser,” she says simply before slowly lowering herself back into her seat. We’ve kissed before, but nothing like that. “Even before Christmas.”
“What else do you think I’m good at?” I ask with a laugh. This cheeky question causes her to laugh alongside me, and soonwe’re back to where we were before, meeting halfway across the table laughing and kissing the night away.
The soundtrack of the guitar picker and the unruly conversations of the bar hoppers lulls away any determination I may have had to tell Raleigh…well, whatever it was that I planned on telling her tonight. Her lips are too distracting and the feel of her hand on my neck has knocked any and all sense out of me for the rest of time.
Chapter 33
Raleigh
AS SOON AS THE tires of the plane slam into the runway, I’ve got my phone pulled out. My heart beat picks up as the notifications start to flood in. I purposefully chose not to connect to WiFi on this flight so I could put work out of sight and out of mind for a bit, but now with over 100 different alerts, I’m kicking myself.
Groaning, I quickly scroll through to see if any catch my eye as we taxi to our gate. I answer an email and make sure none of the pressing matters are from Mae directly. I reach Dalton’s texts near the bottom when the seat belt sign extinguishes and the aisle immediately floods with people from far behind me racing to the exit. Reluctantly, I click off my phone and rise to stand with the rest of the crowd.
I’ve been through this regional airport dozens of times, but not recently, and not via a commercial airline in a good many years. It’s easy for me to meander to the two baggage claimcarousels on the bottom floor. This gives me the time to turn back to Dalton’s texts. A fury of butterflies soars through my stomach when I think about our last few days together.
Dalton:Text me when you land.
Raleigh:Hey, I’ve landed. I’m grabbing my bag and then I’ll be heading home. *skull emoji
The response is almost instantaneous, which causes my heart to leap again.
Dalton:I’m glad you’re home… even though I wish I was with you. It’s weird that I miss you so much already.
Raleigh:Really? Because I don’t miss you at all.
A lie.
Dalton:I know you’re lying.
Raleigh:And how would you know that?
Dalton:No emoji usage is a telltale sign.
I scoff out a laugh which garners a mean look from a mother of three. I can’t blame her, I’d be irritable too after a flight with three little ones. Turning my back on the rowdy family, I step closer to the baggage claim which has begun to spin.
Raleigh:You caught me red handed. *Stop emoji’
Raleigh:Hey I’ve gotta grab my bag and then think of three thousand different outcomes for tonight’s dinner so I can prepare.
Dalton doesn’t respond right away which makes me fear that maybe I shouldn’t have brought up my plans with Grant and my family. He’d seemed so supportive and okay with everything when I finally broke down and explained the situation to him that night after the bar.
Thinking about how close we got that night has heat crawling up my neck. Not wanting the mother beside me to find anotherthing to be annoyed by, I tuck my phone away and move forward to select my bag.
From there, I find my way outside where my driver is already circling. He parks and collects my things with no more than a pleasant greeting. To my surprise, I find myself wishing it was Dalton driving me around instead. My imagination gets the best of me because in my state of make believe, my driver has opened the door for me and is now standing there awkwardly waiting for me to move.
“Sorry,” I mumble. “Jet lag.” With the flip of my hair, I shuffle into the back of the Escalade and ease back into the cool leather. As the car pulls away, I tell myself not to look outside, to focus on my phone, and hold onto the Nashville landscape as long as I can.
It’s been too long since I’ve been home to Arkansas, and I know that the moment I give into the hidden beauty of it, the sorrow of missing it will hit me like a truck. Wanting to protect my peace as long as possible, I swallow a bit of homesickness and turn back to my screen. The unease builds when I see a new message from Dalton. I tap it and it all washes away.
Dalton:Is one of the outcomes that your mom breaks into that rendition of Ring of Fire you told me about?
Dalton:If it is, I’d like to put my money on that one.
This coaxes a smile out of me, and I’m bummed that Dalton can’t be here to see the way that he calms me. I should just tell him these things, but I would hate to not be able to see the way he would react to a truth like that in person.
