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“I know,” she sighs, pulling away to grab her bag from the floorboard. She slings the bag over her shoulder before staring back at me with sad eyes. Her bottom lip trembles, like she’s trying so hard to hold in her emotions.
“Hey,” I say calmly, reaching for her hand. I intertwine our fingers, brushing my thumb along her soft skin. “I’m going to be fine. I’ll see you tonight. It’ll be there before you know it. I’ll be extra careful. I promise, angel.”
“Okay,” she breathes out, her voice a shaky whisper.
“I love you,” I rasp. “More than all the stars in the sky.”
She responds by threading her hands through my hair and slamming her mouth to mine. I groan as she parts my lips with her tongue, slowly licking into my mouth. Heat settles low in my belly as we kiss for what feels like an eternity. I pull on her bottom lip, sucking and nibbling the swollen flesh until needy whimpers fall from her throat. I dip my head, placing a long, parting kiss to her lips before we say our goodbyes.
Five minutes later, I’m watching Skylar approach the double doors leading into the airport. Seconds before she walks inside, she stops in her tracks, turning to look over her shoulder as a sweet smile stretches across her face. Her chestnut hair blows in the wind as she wiggles her fingers at me in farewell.
God, she’s so beautiful.I lift my hand to wave back at her and mouth “I love you.” I don’t drive away until she disappears into the airport, already counting down the seconds until I see my girl again.
TWENTY-FIVE
Skylar
After a smooth two-hour flight, I’m walking through the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport towards the passenger pick-up area. While we were in the air, I finished a book on my Kindle, ate an entire bag of sour gummy worms, and walked up and down the cabin at least five times. People probably thought I’m going out of my mind, and they would be correct in thinking that because I feel like I am.
I’m having to keep myself busy, or else I start thinking of all the things that could go wrong during Everett’s drive home. I texted him from the plane right before take-off, and he immediately texted back wishing me a safe flight. When I saw his text come through, I was able to take a deep breath before switching my phone to airplane mode. But ten minutes later, I was already in my head worrying about him again.
I’m distracted from my thoughts as a traveler rams into my shoulder.
“So sorry!” They yell over their shoulder while running full speed ahead. “Trying to catch my Uber.”
“No problem,” I mutter, more to myself because the person is already out of sight.
I realize I should probably send my sister a text since she’s the one picking me up from the airport. I’ve been so focused on trying to navigate through swarms of people while exiting the terminal that I haven't had a chance to check my phone. I find a vacant bench near a wall of windows, deciding to sit down before I get trampled by hurried passengers.
I take a seat, sighing an exhausted breath as I pull my phone from the front pocket of my bag. I cross one leg over the other, trying to get comfortable as I scroll through an endless list of notifications. Since Kara has a twenty-minute drive from her apartment to the airport, I decide to shoot her a quick text before I check anything else. After I hit send, I roll my eyes when I notice thirty notifications from Elliot, an annoying cluster of calls, voicemails, and texts. My brows pinch together in curiosity when I realize that most of them were sent within the last hour. Just to humor myself, I tap on his name and open up the never-ending message thread.
Elliot: Skylar, are you okay? I’ve been trying to call you.
Elliot: Please call me.
Elliot: I need to talk to you.
Elliot: Please, this is important.
Elliot: Answer your phone.
Elliot: I just need one minute. Please call me back.
Elliot: Where are you?
Elliot: I know you’re mad at me, but I need to talk to you. Call me.
“Pathetic,” I mutter under my breath. I roll my eyes, shaking my head as I swipe left and delete the messages. I have nothing to say to him right now. This is prime time for him to try and weasel his way back into my heart, and I refuse to entertain that idea.
No amount of groveling could change my mind about him. Looking back, our breakup is about so much more than him cheating on me. How canI hold that against him when I also cheated on him? It’s about the fact that he’s treated me like a distant friend for the past three years. It’s about the fact that he was never there when I needed him to be. When it comes to Elliot, everything is and will always be about what benefits him. I think about how this might be the first time in his life that someone has truly rejected him. They say you don’t know what you have until it’s gone, and unfortunately, he’s learning that lesson the hard way.
I scroll down to the next message, a smile lifting the corner of my lips when I see that Gabe texted me. I didn’t realize how much I would miss him. It’s true when they say that your co-workers become your second family. Gabe is basically my own personal therapist. Every morning when we get to work, we spend the first hour drinking coffee, talking shit, and filling each other in on any juicy drama we may have missed overnight. God, do I have a lot to tell him next week. I tap on his name, bursting out in laughter at his text.
Gabe: Where the hell have you been, loca? I’ve tried calling you like five times.
It’s no secret that Gabe loves Twilight as much as me. Quoting lines from the books and movies is like our secret language.
Me: Sorry, I was on a flight. I just landed in Dallas!
