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He tipped his imaginary hat at us, let out one more forlorn sigh, and exited the plane. I turned to Jess and kissed her, pulling her in toward me so that I could feel her body pressing against the length of mine. I could feel myself stiffening right there, and the urge to take her only grew.
“Woah there, big boy,” Jess said, pulling away from me quickly. “I know it’s called the cockpit, but don’t get yourself too carried away, okay? Technically, we’re at work. Where it would be totally inappropriate for us to do anything close to what I can tell is on your mind.”
“All right, fine. Spoil my fun. But if we aren’t going to fool around, let’s get out of the airport, okay? You know how much I—”
“Hate to hang out in the airport during layovers?” she asked, finishing the thought for me. “I definitely do. I have to say, though, I’ve flown into Los Angeles before, but I haven’t ever spent any time in the city itself. I never bothered leaving airports unless I was spending the night. Not before I met you, that is.”
"Don't worry about it," I answered as I pulled her in for one more kiss. "I've got that covered. Just follow my lead, and everything will be fine."
“You sure about that? You promise?”
“I promise.”
That was how we wound up strolling through a little-frequented park in a part of Los Angeles not well-known by the majority of the tourists. It was one of those late afternoons, bleeding into the early evening, in which everything seemed to be perfect. The soft breeze had the faintest chill, making outside feel like the perfect place to be.
Because of the timing of our layover, we happened to hit the park right at sunset, and that only made things better. The entire sky looked like it was on fire, a fire suspended over our heads and making everything around us look slightly surreal. It was a little bit like stepping into a Dali painting, and it made my heartbeat speed up and my mind spin.
I put my arm around Jess's shoulders and pulled her closer to me, wishing I had the words to explain what was going on inside of me. I didn't. Not even close. But when she rested her head on my shoulders and sighed, I was filled with the certainty that she understood me, anyway.
“This is seriously beautiful, you know?” Jess said.
"I'm glad you think so. I try to come to this park anytime I have a layover in this city. I like to find the parts of a city that make it worth going to. It helps me remember that the places I'm flying to are real and not just blips on a map."
"I like that. No, I love that, actually. I love that idea. And you totally changed my opinion on Los Angeles. Emma has always wanted to come here for some reason, and I've always put her off. Maybe now, she'll get her wish."
I laughed. “I bet she’ll be over the moon about that,” I said, envisioning exactly what kind of reaction she would have. “You’ll be up for the mother of the year award.”
“Me? Are you kidding? No, she’ll just file it away as more proof.”
“Proof of what?” I asked.
“Proof of how you’re the most amazing guy on the planet.”
“I sincerely doubt that,” I said.
"Well, you shouldn't. Seriously, Drew, she really likes you. She talks about you all the time. I'm not trying to freak you out or anything, but since you started coming around, she's been so happy. She was so glad the picnic didn't turn out to be a one-time deal. She likes that you come hang out at the house. She likes that you don't treat her like she's a baby. Those are her words, not mine."
“She’s a good kid,” I said thoughtfully, staring out across the city. “I like her, too. I’ll be honest with you, and I don’t think this will come as a major surprise, kids haven’t really been my thing.”
She laughed. “Oh, is that so? I never would have guessed.”
"Very funny. Yes, that's so. I haven't had a lot of kids in my life, and I haven't wanted them there, either. Getting to know Emma, though, it's sort of changed my mind. She's a smart girl. A kind girl, too. And she doesn't treat me like I'm a total asshole, so I like that, too."
“That’s because you’re not an asshole. Emma hasn’t gotten to meet the few guys I’ve dated since her father passed away, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have any opinions of them. She told me, right before I met you actually, that I needed to stop dating bad guys. I think she’s happy I found you.”
I should have been happy to hear it. I wanted to be happy, except that there was a cloud hanging over my head, one that had to do with my almost canceling on the Fourth of July picnic. It had been almost a month since that had gone down, and the reason for my behavior had never come up. I had tried to pretend it didn't exist, even to myself, but hearing her now, I knew that wasn't an option.
“Jess, I need to tell you something.”
“Um, okay. Not what a girl likes to hear, but okay.”
“It’s about the Fourth,” I said. “About why I almost didn’t come.”
“Okay.”
“It was about a girl.”
“I don’t understand,” she said.
