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“Hope you have a lot of fun.” She winks obnoxiously, licking her lips at Theo.
I flash her a thumbs up and immediately wonder why I do the things I do. I have officially had enough of this awkward encounter and practically drag Theo down the accordion hallway to board the plane. It doesn’t register Theo is feeling restless until he pulls me back and I crash into his rock-solid chest.
“Cate.” He breathes.
I look up at him. “What?’
“Are you alright?”
“What do you mean?”
He rubs a thumb over my chin. “You seem more rattled than I am.”
It finally hits me; I am dragging him toward a plane without any care or feeling and he’s dreading the flight with each and every step he takes.
“I’m sorry,” I breathe. “Peggy is pretty much the biggest blabbermouth in Seattle and by noon tomorrow I’d be shocked if the entire city didn’t know about us.”
“Why do you care so much about what everyone else thinks?” He asks as other passengers maneuver around us to get to their seats.
“I … I don’t…”
“I know you said you aren’t still in love with him,” Theo’s hand trails down my arm to my fingers. “But you still have a chance to change your mind.”
I shake my head. “I already told you. You’re stuck with me, Théoden.”
He nods, but he’s not smiling. I chalk it up to the cylinder tub filled with hundreds of people we’re about to trust to fly us across the ocean to paradise.
“Alright,” I exhale and summon an encouraging smile. “Let’s get on board. There’s a karaoke bar in Hawaii that has my name on it.”
That renders a smile from him, and he follows me to our seats in first class. The rest of his family are all seated, taking up most of the front section of the plane. Our two capped chairs are behind Caleb and Sarah and in front of Tess and Liam.
As we buckle ourselves in, me in the window seat and Theo in the aisle, Tess leans above the row and jokingly whispers, “I’m not trying to tell you how to live your lives, but if I catch up two making out on this airplane, I will buzz the flight attendant to make it stop.”
“You’re worried about us when you’re traveling with the human equivalent to a Golden Retriever,” Theo lobs back. “If he starts drooling come snack time, I’ll be pressing the call button myself.”
Theo and Tess crack up. Tess glances back at Liam who already has headphones on and a sleep wrap around his eyes.
“I think we’ll be safe,” she winks. “But I make no promises.”
The crew of flight attendants prepare us for take off and it hits me that I know everyone working the trip. I want to sink deep in my seat, and I am not entirely sure why. I am traveling with the most gorgeous man I have ever seen and I’m on my way to Hawaii for a very much deserved vacation.
But they all know Derek. They all know we…
I had considered a transfer after the break-up. And nearly went through with it when Derek and Mindy announced they were officially a couple. Most of the flight attendants and pilots felt they had to pick sides, as if their parents had divorced and they had to decide which one they wanted to live with.
It was a pretty even split, if I am being fair. Working with most of the crew, they didn’t mention it. But then I started having trips with Mindy and it became harder to avoid the situation.
What hurt more than Derek dumping me for her was that I was the one who helped her acclimate to life in Seattle, introduced her to other crew members at our base, and even had Derek drive her home after their late turns together so she didn’t have to Uber.
I often wonder how many of my co-workers knew they were seeing each other behind my back. Or how many of them suspected it and ignored it.
It solidified in my mind that Eve and Tommy were the only ones I could trust. Neither of them really flew with Mindy or Derek. And I know without any doubt in my mind, if Ma or Pa had even an ounce of suspicion, they would have kicked my bedroom door in to talk to me about it.
Derek is a lot of things, but stupid isn’t one of them. He would have been extra careful not to slip up around Eve and Tommy. A piece of me wonders if I hadn’t befriended Mindy if this would have happened. Maybe Derek and I could have found happiness if she hadn’t shown up.
Theo’s hand finds mine on the center armrest and my head whips from staring out the window like a pensive emo kid to meet his gaze.
“You’ve been really quiet,” he whispers. “Is everything ok?”
