“Right. Are you busy?”
I looked down at the blonde who was growing very impatient. “Never too busy for you. Lyla here was just explaining to me how gifted I am.” I winked.
“She’s right. You’re amazing. I tell you that all the time,” Allie mumbled through the phone. Her tone was off, and I almost felt bad for how much it excited me to think that things hadn’t gone quite the way she’d planned tonight.
“Hold on, Allie.” I covered the speaker with my finger so I could deal with the beautiful blonde in my room.
“Rain check?” I asked, sliding back into my shorts.
Her mouth fell open. “Are you serious, Colton? You’re going to pass on sex with me for a phone call?”
I sucked my bottom lip between my teeth and cocked my head to the side with a shrug. “It’s important.”
Lyla shook her head in disbelief. “She must be,” she said, righting her clothes. “How am I gonna get home?”
Fuck. “Just go wait for me downstairs, and I’ll take you when I’ve finished.”
“Forget it. I’ll call a Lyft. Call me if you change your mind.”
After the door clicked shut, I lifted the phone back to my ear. “Sorry ’bout that. You okay, Al?”
“Colton Fowler! Are you with someone?” she asked, aghast.
I laughed. “Not anymore.”
The line went quiet. “You got rid of your date to talk to me?”
“It wasn’t a date.”
I heard the cluck of her tongue. “It sure sounded like a date to me.”
Ever the busybody. “It was an almost blowjob and maybe some casual sex. It wasn’t a date. I don’t date.”
Alex gasped. “Oh my God. Oh my God, Colt. That’s what you meant by gifted.” She giggled. “Was she stroking your ego?”
“Among other things.”
There was another quiet pause, and I thought I heard her crying. “Allie, are you all right?”
“He asked me to marry him,” she offered quietly.
Fuck! Son of a bitch. It was one of those times I really hated being right.
“And what’d you say?”
ALEXIS (AGE 20)
AS I WAITED TO board my flight to Los Angeles, I’d never wished I was old enough to drink more. It was my first time flying, and I was a bundle of nerves. The acid in my stomach churned, and I felt like I was going to vomit.
My phone dinged. I slid my trembling finger across the screen and couldn’t help but smile.
Colt: Hey, Allie. I can’t believe you’re really coming to spend the summer with me. I can’t wait to see you. You’re doing the right thing. Love you. Xoxo
Colt: P.S. Stop freaking out. You’re not getting in my car if you smell like puke.
I laughed aloud as I typed out my reply.
Alex: If I die, you’ll regret your last words, ass.
Colt: You’re not going to die. But just in case...fine, you can ride in my car...but you’ll have to ride naked.
Alex: I have extra clothes, idiot.
Colt: Why do you always have to take the fun out of everything?
Alex: We’re boarding. See you soon.
Colt: Love ya, Al!
I filed into the plane, and after putting my carry-on in the cubby, I curled into my window seat. I put my earbuds in and shut my eyes, attempting to relax.
The plane jerked and started taxiing, and I squeezed my eyes tighter together, praying for God to just let me live through this.
A hand squeezed my knee, and I jumped. I opened my eyes to find the once empty seat beside me now occupied by an older woman. She must’ve been at least seventy years old. Her dark brown skin was wrinkled, and her long hair was solid white. “Virgin?” she croaked.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“You’re a virgin, dearie. I can tell.”
Was this woman serious? “Not that it’s any of your business, but I am not a virgin. I haven’t been for a very long time now.”
She laughed ’til tears dripped from her weary eyes. “Oh, child. I meant that it’s your first time flying. I couldn’t care less who’s been between those legs.” She shook her head. “You’re cute.”
My cheeks flamed. “Oh.” Now that I’d just made a complete idiot of myself, I didn’t know what to say. I turned to stare out of the window and watched the city getting smaller and smaller beneath us.
“I’m off to spend the summer with my son and grandbabies. You?”
“That’s nice,” I said, smiling sweetly. “I’m spending the summer with my best friend. He goes to UCLA. A basketball player. He’s really good. We haven’t seen each other much in the last few years because he’s always practicing.”
“Ah,” she said, giving me a knowing smile. “Don’t waste this chance.”
“Chance?”
“That’s what this is, right? A chance to make him fall in love with you? To choose you?”
I shook my head. “Nah. You’re wrong about this one. We’re just friends...have been our entire lives. I actually have a boyfriend...well, had. I don’t know what we are now.”
She nodded. “What happened with the boyfriend?”
“He, ummm. He proposed, and I’m just not sure I’m ready for that, you know?”
“Have you been dating a long time?” she asked.
“A few years. I thought it was what I wanted...but when he asked, I just...I don’t know. I just couldn’t say yes. I told him to give me the summer to think about it.”
“Can I be frank with you...?” she hesitated, waiting for my name.
“Alexis.”
“Don’t marry that boy, Alexis. If he were the one, you wouldn’t have hesitated. A few years is enough time to know how you feel about a person. Trust me, he’s not the one.”
I laughed nervously. “And you can come to this conclusion after spending only a few minutes in my company?”
“Darlin’ I’ve lived a long life. Take it from a woman who’s been in your shoes. Marry the one you’re running toward...not the one you’re running from.”
Her words struck a chord because I knew that she was right. I’d loved Colton for all of my life; I just never knew what to do about it.
“Thank you...?” I looked at her expectantly.
“Gertie. Name’s Gertrude, but muh friends call me Gertie.”
She showed me pictures of her grandchildren, and we talked like we’d known each other our whole lives. Gertie was an insightful woman, and I think I’d finally met my match. She barely stopped to catch her breath between stories.
Before long, the plane was taxiing, and I’d been so absorbed in her world that I hadn’t even realized when the sick feeling in my stomach left. I thanked her for distracting me then we exchanged numbers. And as I drew closer to seeing my best friend, that awful nausea was replaced by a fluttering of butterflies. I was nervous and excited.
And I was on a mission.
When I reached the baggage claim, Colt was already there. My God, he was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. Tears pricked my eyes as I ran into his waiting arms. Colton lifted me a good foot off the ground, swinging me from side to side as he hugged me close.
I reached up and ran my fingers through those golden brown curls I’d missed so much, and he leaned down, placing a kiss at my temple.