by Locklyn Marx
And before he even realized what he was doing, he was flying out the door of his apartment, praying to God that he could catch her.
***
The woman at the ticket counter was starting to piss Kenley off.
“No, you don’t understand,” Kenley said for the third time. “I want to change my ticket, not start a whole new ticket.”
“But you’re not the one who bought this ticket,” the woman said, looking down at it with a confused look on her face. “So how can you change it?”
“I didn’t buy the ticket,” Kenley said. “But I am the passenger.” She tapped her nail against the paper where her name was printed. “ And I know for a fact that the passenger can change their ticket without being the one who bought it, because I’ve done it before.”
It was true, too. One time a few years ago Kenley and Melissa had gone on vacation with their mom to California. Kenley and Melissa had decided to come back a day early because Melissa had gotten into a fight with their mom, something about how she’d never supported her dreams of being an actress, which was kind of ridiculous since Melissa had never even –
“Fine,” the woman said, sighing like Kenley was really ruining her day. “But I’ll have to get a supervisor.”
“Thank you,” Kenley said, not really meaning it. She hated when she had to thank people just for doing their jobs.
“So if you’ll just step aside, then…”
“I’ll wait right here,” Kenley said firmly. She knew all about stepping aside.
Once you stepped aside, you were done. You ended up waiting there forever, missing your flight, getting angrier and angrier, only to end up being told that there was nothing they could do for you anyway.
“Ma’am,” the woman said, sighing. “I can’t have you holding up – “
“Kenley.”
She turned around. It was Chad. He was standing there, behind her, looking a little out of breath. His hands were shoved in his pockets, and he had a sheepish look on his face.
“What are you doing here?” she blurted. Her heart leapt at the sight of him, that he was there, that she was seeing him again when she had thought that she would never see him again.
“I came to get you.” He took a step toward her. The ticket agent’s mouth dropped open as she took in the scene in front of her.
“Yeah, well, I’m kind of in the middle of something.” She turned her back on him, needing all her willpower to do it.
“I need to talk to you.” His voice was strong, commanding. She felt herself weakening, wanting to say yes, to hear what he had to say, to hope that maybe he was going to beg her not to go. But no. She wasn’t falling for that again.
“Chad,” she said. “Please go away.”
“No.”
“Chad,” she whispered, turning to him. “Stop, you’re going to wreck everything.” Was he stupid? Didn’t he know that if something happened at the airport, in public, with people watching them, that the word might get out that she wasn’t really his girlfriend? He hadn’t signed the deal yet, probably wouldn’t until tomorrow or the next day. Their pictures were already on the internet, all they needed to do was lay low until he signed. A big airport fight might blow their cover. Already people were starting to stare.
“Fuck the endorsement deal,” Chad said loudly.
Oh, Jesus Christ.
“Come,” Kenley commanded, picking up her bags and leading him around the corner so that at least they weren’t making a scene in front of everyone in line. Of course, they were in one of the nation’s busiest airports, so it was going to be hard to find a place that was completely private, but still.
“Okay,” she said, once they were around the corner. She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you want?”
He moved in close to her, his eyes on hers. She tried to take a step back, but she was suddenly frozen in place, mesmerized. All she wanted was for him to kiss her.
“I want you,” he said.
Kenley shook her head, mustering up what little strength she had left. “No,” she said. “I’m sorry, but I’m not for sale.”
“Not like that,” Chad said. He shook his head. “For real. I want you to come home with me.”
“What do you mean for real?” she asked. Her heart started to beat hard, to start to believe, but Kenley forced the feeling down, not wanting to believe it until she could be sure.
“I mean, no more of this fake stuff. I mean, for real. You and me. Seeing if we can make this work.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“Kenley, I’ve never felt this way about anyone, ever.” She opened her mouth to protest, but Chad put his finger on his lips, silencing her. “And it’s not just about the sex.
It’s about you, the way you make me feel.”
He leaned down then, kissing her softly. Fireworks exploded through Kenley’s body, and she felt the kiss all the way down to her toes. When Chad pulled away, he leaned his head against hers, and it was just the two of them, in this moment, together.
“Come home with me?” Chad asked.
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
“For how long?”
“As long as you’ll stay.”
She hesitated, looking at him, and she could tell by the look on his face that he was being sincere. She nodded. Chad kissed her again, and the sound of applause echoed through the airport. Kenley turned around, surprised to find a bunch of people taking pictures of them. She’d been so caught up in Chad that she hadn’t realized they were making a spectacle.
“Well,” Chad said, grinning. “I guess this means they got their picture.”
He picked up her bags, and Kenley linked her arm through his. They walked like that all the way through the airport until they got to the traffic circle.
Kenley climbed into the waiting car as Chad put her bags in the trunk.
“Ready?” he asked when he climbed in. He took her hand.
“Ready,” Kenley said, and rested her head against his shoulder.
“Where to?” the driver asked, glancing at them in the review mirror..
“Home,” Chad said.
The car started heading toward Brooklyn, and Kenley snuggled closer to Chad as she watched Manhattan slide by through the window. Home, she thought. That’s exactly where I’m going.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
