Stay a Little Longer
Page 20
Caty’s face broke into a grin, and it was hard for him not to do the same. If this was their new way of saying goodbye, then he liked it far better.
She mouthed the words back to him before finally heading to the doors.
Elan drove away, and he had to stop himself from looking at the passenger seat. He was confident that this time, they were not saying goodbye.
He’d told her he loved her, and she’d told him she loved him.
The best thing was that he knew it was true.
epilogue
two years later
It was too early. The sky was a purple haze, the last remnant of night fighting to stop the sun from spreading its light.
She was awake but quiet, holding on to the arms wrapped around her. She’d always had trouble adjusting to the time difference when she was on the other side of the world, but she didn’t want to move. If possible, she wanted to stay forever in this room, live in this bed, in this moment, in this embrace. She listened to him sleep, heard his breath, tried to memorize every detail as if they were scraps of food to take home.
They didn’t see each other often. She still lived in a big city, and he’d stayed in his country. But he was always with her, wherever she was. She’d gone from someone who worried too much to someone who was secure in herself and what she had.
He gave her that.
In the dark, she felt his arms move, so she turned back to face him. They were both awake. They had awakened early, even before the sun, because they had no time to waste.
Elan tilted his head slowly to reward her with a smile. Caty had missed seeing his face, missed having him wrapped around her arms as much as she missed being wrapped up in his. He leaned in, grabbed her face, and kissed her hard. She returned his kisses with the same urgency and passion, because in that space, she felt most alive.
He slowed but lingered, nibbling at her lips until they were swollen and bitten. He left a trail of kisses on Caty’s shoulders and neck, whispered sweet things in her ear, kissed it, told her he loved her once, maybe twice, and she believed it all, kissed him back, and told him she loved him too.
She wanted to wake up to all of this every day.
They settled in bed, listening to the sound of the waves crashing into the shore.
“I don’t like being the bad cop, but it’s time to go.”
“No,” she pleaded. “Five more minutes.”
He craned his neck to check the clock. “You can sleep in the car.”
Caty squeezed her eyes shut and hugged the covers.
“You can sleep on the plane,” Elan suggested, pulling her hand.
“I don’t like sleeping on planes.”
“You can also sleep back home.”
She groaned but sat up. Home. Today was that day. She’d prepared herself for it as much as she could. They had worked for this day for so long, made sacrifices, waited too long.
Caty raised her arms. “Help me, please. This bed won’t let me go.”
He laughed and grabbed her by the waist instead. “Is this how it’s gonna be every morning?”
“If I say yes, would you change your mind?” She wrapped her legs around his hips as he carried her off the bed.
“Not at all.”
So they were ready. The bags had been packed the night before, and they only needed to shower and get dressed. Elan and Caty grabbed breakfast on the way and drove to the airport, where they’d be meeting Gia.
Gia was there when they arrived, and she welcomed them both with hugs.
“How was the beach?”
“Great,” Caty replied. Now she would be returning to the cold after her fix of sun and sea.
“Everything is packed?” Gia asked.
“Yes, we’re good,” Elan answered, putting the bags on the cart.
“Okay, then.”
He paused when everything was loaded. Caty took over and started to push the cart. “Checking in.”
Gia hugged her again. “All right, have a good flight.”
“Thank you.”
“We’ll see you soon.”
“You will,” she promised, and turned to Elan. Caty bit her lip and nodded toward the door.
“Be there in a sec.”
She headed toward the line of people approaching the gates. Elan turned to his sister.
She smiled. “Hand me the keys.”
He fished them out of his pockets and did what he was told. “Hand me the thing.”
“Give me a hug,” she demanded, and he did. He felt his sister’s hand slip into his jacket pocket.
“Nice.” Elan chuckled, letting go of her.
“You need to put that in a bag; the sensors will ruin your surprise.”
“Yes, I know. You should have put a note in here too, in case they insist,” Elan joked.
“So? Propose on the spot; then you won’t have to worry about hiding it,” Gia said, her eyes widening.
“Can we give her some time to process? She’s just moved out of her best friends’ apartment to live with me, in Philly, by the way. I think we need to space things out.”
“You’re giving her time to change her mind,” she joked. “Once she sees how you wash your clothes, she’ll be out.”
“I love you.” Elan pulled her back in for a hug. “I’ll call you when we land.”
She hugged him back, shaking her head softly. “That’d be nice, but don’t rush. And keep that box safe.”
Elan nodded, sticking his hands into his pockets.
“Take care of each other,” Gia said. “We’ll be fine. We’ll miss you, but we’ll manage.”
“I have no doubts.”
He waved goodbye and went to join Caty.
“You ready?” she asked him, handing him his passport.
They made it through the gates and metal detectors, sensors included. She had no idea he was carrying a ring all the way to Philadelphia.
Seated next to each other on the plane, her hand reached over to his, her fingers caressing his palm before finding their place between his own. He squeezed her hand as she laid her head on his shoulder, looking out the window.
It had been a long wait, but it was fantastic to look back at how much they had grown. She was no longer watering plants; she was doing what she loved, had slowly started to work on bigger pieces and bigger spaces again. He had endured an arduous process of getting into the school of his choice, applying for funding, moving his entire life to a new place. There were a few dents in their time line that frustrated them both, but they never gave up.
“I love this part,” she told him.
Elan closed his eyes and felt the ground move as the plane taxied faster. “Not scared?”
“Oh, I am.” She held on to him tightly, her other hand joining their clasped hands. “But it’s the good kind.”
They both breathed out a sigh of relief as the wheels left the ground. They knew that after all the days of waiting, the long calls, and the wishful thinking—
They were finally taking off.
author’s note
Stay a Little Longer is a product of a writing class held back in 2016, hosted by #romanceclass and Mina V. Esguerra. #romanceclass is a community of authors and readers who write and read English-language romance books by Filipino authors.
I finished the manuscript when the class ended in 2017 but chose to take my time in publishing it to work out its issues. It has been over two years of going back and forth: wanting to scrap it all and rooting for the story to be told. I am happy to finally say that it is ready and that it has found its place at Andrews McMeel Publishing at the right time.
The rest of the books that my friends wrote from the class are now published under the #romanceclass Flair imprint. If you wish to find out more about #romanceclass and adore stories of happy ever afters, chec
k out the website at: www.romanceclassbooks.com.
with love & gratitude to:
#romanceclass
Mina V. Esguerra
Layla Tanjutco, for the patience and for rooting for Caty and Elan.
Miles Tan
Jay E. Tria, for attending through multiple crises over this.
Inah, Jem, Kat, and Kate, for reading the very first drafts of this book. Your comments gave me the confidence to keep working on Stay a Little Longer.
Ilia and Maan
Patty Rice, Christine Schillig, and the rest of the Andrews McMeel team. Thank you for the guidance, patience, and hard work.
To everyone who has read and loved my previous romance titles, thank you for falling in love with the people I have created and the stories that I told. I hope you love this one too.
To my family and my friends, who didn’t know the full story but have listened to me go on and on about my fictional-people problems, thank you.
To J, the best friend I never met, thank you for the story.
Lastly, to you,
who could be waiting for the next call,
the next visit, the next embrace—
I hope this makes your wait a little bit more bearable.
Stay a Little Longer copyright © 2019 by Dawn Lanuza. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews.
Andrews McMeel Publishing
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ISBN: 978-1-5248-5417-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018966162
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