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Lily doesn’t turn to face me; instead, she cycles through movies on the screen in front of her. “You were right. I needed a break.”
“I was what?”
Her face scrunches in confusion, and she repeats herself, louder this time. “You were right. I needed a break.”
I twist one of my fingers in my ear and lean closer to her mouth. “Can you just repeat that first part? I was what again?”
Realization dances across her pretty face. “For someone so smart, you’re unbelievably dense.”
We laugh together as she nudges me away. My knees bump into the chair in front of me as I stretch my legs. I forgot how small the seats are in economy.
It was impossible to resist changing my original flight. But she’s here, so I’ll gladly suffer a few hours in these sardine-can seats to be next to her.
Lily sighs and looks over at me again. “I’m a little nervous. I’ve never been out of the country before.”
“Wait.” I iron my face into a serious expression. “Joining handsome men on incredible vacations isn’t how you spend the majority of your time?”
Lily pretends to think about my question as though she is being asked to solve a string of faulty code. “There was one guy who took me to Aspen.”
“Aspen?”
“I’m not great at winter sports, but I am very good at being gifted cute snowsuits, being wined and dined, and of course, doing all the activities in between.”
I adjust myself in my seat, an intrigued smile not leaving my face. “So, I won’t be your first?”
“You’ll be the first to take me international.”
A rush of excitement floods through me. “I’m honored to be your guide, madam.” I stretch my arm into the air and fold my palm behind my neck. “It’ll be a blast, I promise you. We’ll do all the touristy things, and you can spend hours on the beach.”
“Sounds good. But, um…” Lily wraps the hem of her sweatshirt around her finger. “I hate to even bring this up. Look, I havesomesavings, but I may need help covering a few things here and there.”
“No worries. I got you.”
“Only until I can pay you back because Iwillpay you back. It may just take a little while. Is that okay?”
“If it makes you feel better, we can settle at the end of the trip. There’s no rush at all.”
“Thank you.” Her face relaxes. “So, how long’s the flight?”
“Sixteen hours, with a stop in Texas.”
“What?” Her giddiness drains immediately. “What am I supposed to do for sixteen hours?”
“I’m sure you’ll do better than I did on my first long flight. I was so restless, the flight attendant threatened to duct tape me to my seat.”
Whoever said it’s about the journey and not the destination must’ve not traveled much.
“They supply duct tape on international flights? Maybe I can borrow some to keep you from chatting my ear off.”
I lean toward her and hand her my unwrapped blanket. “I’d let you gag me if you didn’t like listening to me talk so much.”
“For sixteen hours?”
“Don’t worry, it’ll blow by.”
“I’m not making a huge mistake, right?” she whispers, her voice low with worry.A shrapnel of vulnerability I’ve never seen from her before.
“I’d never let you do that,” I promise.
