AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Collecting my trash, I toss it in the garbage and set my bag on the counter. “Let's get this over with. I won't be coming back here late today. I promised to take Enrico home and I intend to be a man of my word.”
Antonio pushes off the wall, leaving the room first, and we follow behind him. Customers enter the double doors as we exit and the bright sun has me quickly sliding my sunglasses over my eyes. We all get in the car, Phillip beating me to the passenger seat to sit next to Antonio. The drive is mostly quiet until Phillip plays music from his phone. “Call Me Maybe” comes blaring from the speakers and I'm tempted to throw myself out of the back door.
When we finally arrive, the music stops and my ears are thankful for it. Phillip and Antonio exit the car first and I stay behind to send Enrico a message.
Me: Not long now.
The dots dance along the screen and stop. My phone finally vibrates when I step outside.
Enrico: I know. Open the trunk.
Wrinkling my lips, I walk around to the driver’s side and push the button underneath the steering wheel, popping open the trunk. When I walk around the car, I jolt when Enrico steps out into the heat.
“Miss me?” He beams at me, straightening his clothes.
“What are you doing here? You're supposed to be at the club.” My words shake, my annoyance clear.
“I am. Tyson is making sure no one suspects otherwise”.
“Of course he's in on this too.” Closing the trunk, I sigh in defeat. “Looks like you're coming along then. We'll need to—”
Before I can finish my sentence he holds up his phone, showing a ticket. “It's already been handled. To Miami we go. This is our what…second trip as a couple now?”
I rush after him as he quickly walks toward the airport entrance. “We weren't together in Mexico.”
“Okay, Mr. Denial.” He opens the door, allowing me to walk in first.
“So are we not coming back home today?”
“I think they can handle their trip alone. We can return tomorrow,” he says, walking ahead of me once we're both inside. Antonio and Phillip already made it past check-in and are waiting by the bathroom.
“Everything good?”
Phillip tosses his bag over his shoulder and nods. “Yeah. Plane boards in ten minutes.”
“Perfect timing then.” I point toward the cafe. “I'll grab you a bottle of water if you need it.”
“Antonio already took care of me.” He wiggles his brows, pausing when his eyes land on a curious Enrico. “Where did you come from?”
“Sometimes it's better not to ask questions. Regarding all situations.” Enrico's eyes dart between Antonio and Phillip.
The announcement about the plane starting to board offers us an out from the current conversation and I gladly take it, looping my arm in Enrico's. Glancing around me, I notice no one's paying attention and drag him closer. Enrico is choosing not to allow fear to run his life and I'm learning to do the same right along with him. We'll always have to be careful but in some places we can let go a little too.
Waiting between the crowd of people, we chat amongst ourselves about who will be coming home when. At first Antonio isn't very happy about our choice to come back later, and I don't know if it's because he's worried Enrico won't have enough security covering him or because he'll be coming back alone with Phillip.
Boarding the plane, Enrico holds on tight to me. He hates cramped and crowded areas. They trigger his anxiety more now than they used to. It's the reason he avoids walking out into the club during work hours as much as he can. My hand lightly strokes his back as I guide him in front of me. “Almost there,pequeño. Our seats aren't far away.”
“Can I have your window view?” he asks, glancing behind me with an unsettled expression on his face.
“You can have whatever you need.”
He reaches his hand out behind him, grabbing on to mine. He doesn't let go of my fingers even when we reach our seats. We are a few rows away from Antonio and Phillip, and each row sits two. Relaxing back into the seat, dragging his hand on my knee, I'm grateful for the small time alone.
My thumb runs circles on the inside of his palm and he faces the window to focus on the outside view, his breaths evening out over time. “Look what I brought.” Enrico lifts something from his pocket and I laugh when a book of crossword puzzles lands in my lap. Opening the small booklet, I flip to a random page and grab a pen from the back of the plane seat. I circle the first word I find before handing him the pen and we pass the book between each other a few times, helping one another along the way in between laughs.
After we are allowed to remove our seat belts and move around on the plane, Enrico mentions needing to go to the bathroom and his jaw tightens as he rises from his seat. His anxiety is back. Based on his sweating and trembling, he needs more than a few touches to relax.
As he's walking toward the back of the plane, I check my messages. One takes priority over the rest. Clicking on it, I can't help but smile.
