“Hold on, mom.” I say as I step closer. “I need to ask when my flight to Boston will be rescheduled.” I hold the phone against my chest and smile at the agent. “Do you have any idea what time the flight will be rescheduled? Will it be for tomorrow?”
“No clue. Would you like a discount voucher to the Marriott across the street? It’s ten percent off and a shuttle can take you there and back.”
“No, thanks.”
“Okay.” She shrugs. “Next!”
“I wasn’t finished.” I shake my head. “I’m not trying to be a pain in the ass, but I’m sure this type of thing happens pretty often here. So, when can I expect the flight to be rescheduled?”
“Your guess is as good as mine, ma’am.” Her voice is flat. “All I know is that all flights are grounded and you’re currently holding up my line. Maybe tomorrow? Maybe next week? They usually call and let you know.”
“How can there be a snowstorm if there’s no snow falling?” I point at the window behind her. “And you all had to know that this storm was coming before today! Are there no weather channels in this part of the country? Do you not have cable?”
“Next!” She motions for me to get out of the way.
“No, no, no. Wait.” I sigh. “I’ll take the hotel voucher.”
She happily rips a sheet off a pad and hands it to me. “Happy New Year’s. Next!”
I move to the other side of the counter and pull my laptop from my bag.
“Are you still there, mom?” I hold the phone up to my ear again.
“Oh, I’m here alright. Where are you, if you’re not in Boston right now?”
“Washington DC. There’s a storm—supposedly, so they’ve grounded everything.”
“Are you going to sleep in the airport? Did I tell you I saw a story about a nest of roaches in a terminal last week?”
“Mom…”
“Actually, you deserve to be crawled on a few times after the way you’ve handled this whole Adrian thing.” She changes her tone. “Do you need me to cover your hotel stay for tonight? David said he wired you money, but it won’t be in your account until tomorrow.”
“You’d do that for me?”
“Of course.” There’s sympathy in her voice. “Go ahead and pre-pay for it online. I have my card ready.”
I pull up the Marriott’s website and type in the dates. The second I click “reserve,” the words “SOLD OUT” appear on the screen.
“It’s sold out, Mom.”
“Just look up another hotel, hon. They can’t all be sold out.”
Twenty minutes pass and I realize that they can be. They are all, in fact, sold out.
Across from me, a family of five starts to set up camp on the floor. Airport employees are handing out pillows and blankets, and there’s an announcement about discounted snacks at all the magazine shops.
“I’m just going to stay here.” I wave at a man walking down the aisle, signaling for him to throw me a pillow. “It may give me inspiration to finally write something.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, it’s not that big of a deal. I’ll call you in the morning.”
“Wait, Paris. Wait.” She hesitates. “I invited Adrian over to talk. He should be here any minute, so if you want, I can put you on speaker phone and maybe be the mediator between you two. I think you’re going through something, and you’re just blaming Adrian for—”
“Goodbye, Mom. I love you.” I hang up. I should’ve known there was a reason she wanted to keep me on the phone. She and I hardly ever talk for more than three minutes.
I grab my things and walk down the aisle, searching for an empty spot. I need to be alone for a while.
For half a second, when my mom had mentioned Adrian wanting to talk, I’d felt a lump crawl up my throat. In the past—whenever Adrian would hurt me or do something selfish, I would let that lump build and build until the tears came. And then I would cry until I couldn’t cry anymore.
Not today.
I find an empty bench in front of a window and place my pillow on its edge. Before I can get comfortable, I hear a familiar voice behind me.
“Do you need a place to stay tonight?”
I look over my shoulder and see Blake smiling that flawless smile, looking more perfect now than he did on the plane.
“No, I don’t. Thanks for the offer, though.” I turn around and fluff my pillow.
“Paris...” Blake walks in front of me and kneels, grabbing my hand—making my body react against its will, with that one simple touch. “I don’t think its safe for you to stay here overnight.”
“I’m pretty sure it is. Everyone here has had to go through security, so I doubt anyone has a weapon. Plus, there are cameras every few feet. Oh, and since TSA thought I was extremely suspicious hours ago, they’re probably watching me right now. I think I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t.”
“Who cares?”
“You should stay with me tonight. I don’t think you’ll get much sleep here.”
As if on cue, a woman takes a seat on the bench across from me and rocks her crying newborn.
“Do you not remember what you said to me on the plane, Blake? Do you honestly think what you said should make me comfortable enough to go home with you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it didn’t. You saying that my lips were fuck-able—”
“They are.”
“And that you would be screwing me against the seat if we were alone didn’t inspire confidence. It told me to run far, far away. And that’s what I plan on doing. Now, go away.”
He looks into my eyes, giving me a look of complete sincerity. “I only said those things because I honestly thought I would never see you again.”
“So, that makes it okay?”
“No, and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you at all. I’m not very good at light conversation.”
“Clearly!”
“They’re closing all the restaurants here, so you’ll only be able to buy junk food. The restrooms are going to be crowded at every gate, and it’s going to be noisy because there are no enclosed rooms. You shouldn’t stay here.” He looks concerned.
“That was a very compelling and persuasive argument, Blake. I can tell your years in law school were well spent. That said—”
“What do I have to say to get you to come home with me?”
“There’s nothing you can say. I don’t know you, I don’t trust you, and I’m also not having sex with you.”
“I didn’t ask you to have sex with me tonight.”
“But you will in the morning, if I go home with you, right?”
He blinks.
“Oh my god! No, just no.”
“I’m not going to ask you to have sex with me, Paris. I’m not even going to ask you to share my bed. You can have the guest room to yourself.”
“Does it have a separate bathroom?”
“It does.”
“A door that closes and secures from the inside?”
“Yes.” He locks his eyes on mine.