Juniper scanned her ticket and waited at the door of the jet bridge. Rowan scanned hers and they walked together to board the plane.
“No, not cryptic. I’ll explain when we have time to get into it.”
???
Partner? My partner, Juniper Banks?
Had Rowan meant to say that? Did she meanpartnerpartner? Or did she just mean presentation partner?
It seemed silly to Juniper now that they hadn’t already had that very simple discussion. They’d confessed their love for each other, and more than that, Juniper hadfeltit. What they’d had before might have just been deep platonic love thenteenage infatuation compared to what it really felt like to be in love with and be loved by Rowan. No, she wouldn’t minimize what she’d felt then to bolster what she felt now. She didn’t need to. And both could be true.
Still, Juniper’s mind nagged her. Whyhadn’tthey discussed it? If it really was that simple.
Juniper shuffled her way down the aisle until she reached their seats. She buckled herself in and tried to push away those thoughts so that she could make mental space for excitement to bloom over her fatigue.
Rowan pulled her book out again, but it didn’t take long for her to put it back away, thread their fingers together, and rest her head on Juniper’s shoulder. Juniper smiled as she also dozed off.
Then her eyes shot open as she startled awake at the abrupt landing. The flight was too short to really chip away at the tiredness she felt down to her bones. She looked over at Rowan who had woken up before her at some point.
“Sleep okay?” Rowan asked quietly.
Juniper rubbed her eyes and yawned. “Finally, after you fell asleep on me.”
“Aww, I’m like your weighted blanket,” she teased.
But she was right. That’s exactly like what she was.
That’s what she’d always been to Juniper. Juniper was tired of longing for something she couldn’t definitively call her own, and she didn’t have to do that anymore. Juniper knew what she truly wanted, what she knew was meant to be hers. Why wait around?
As the rows of people on the airplane in front of them started to funnel out, a certain panic gripped her heart. Her heart pounded in her ears.
“Earlier, you called me your partner,” she blurted out, just as Rowan stood to get their overhead bags out of the bin.
What an inopportune time, Juniper.
She closed her eyes in self-admonishment. That damn impulsivity. Well, she’d done it, might as well see it through.She opened her eyes.
Rowan pulled Juniper’s bag out and set it in her empty seat as she shifted her eyes to Juniper’s. “I did?” She asked.
Maybe it wasn’t intentional? Maybe she’d meant it the other way?
The rows were getting progressively more cleared out. She resolved herself to find the answer either way.
“You did. When you answered that phone call earlier.”
Juniper tried to conceal the disappointed tone that crept in as she spit the words out. Rowan leaned across her seat to cup Juniper’s chin. Her face was unreadable, but then she placed a tender kiss on her lips.
“I think that was my subconscious telling on me.”
Juniper’s heart fluttered. “Yeah?”
“Excuse me–,” the man behind Rowan grunted and rudely gestured toward the empty aisle in front of her.
Rowan ignored him as she opened her mouth to speak again.
“Let’s go!” The man grunted louder.
Rowan stood abruptly. Like a lawyer conferring over the most consequential moment in their case, Rowan’s tone toward the man was dark and decisive. “Give us a minute.”
