Page 24 of Cloud Nine Love

This was more than a rebound. Something that I couldn’t articulate, couldn’t understand, and could barely believe had transpired between us the night before. From the moment I saw her, it was like I knew her. There was an instant connection—an instant recognition that was undeniable, at least on my end.

I may not know her name, but I knew the way her lips felt against mine. I knew the way her body shook when she came apart. I knew the tiny gasp she made when I entered her.

My jeans began to feel tight as memories filled my head. I adjusted myself as we pulled up to departures. I got out and grabbed my duffle bag. The airport was busy, but not quite as crowded as it had been the day before. I got checked into my flight and headed to my gate.

As I walked down the corridors, I scanned the crowds using mental face-recognition software. I knew the chances of seeing Ana again were slim, but I just had this feeling that I would. That somehow our paths would cross.

When I reached my gate, I still hadn’t seen her, and I couldn’t help but feel defeated. Panic began to rise. I was afraid that I would leave this place and never see her again. Then I saw on the screen that my flight was delayed. I had another thirty minutes before boarding. I was still in the game.

I’d never really given much credence to fate or destiny. I’d always believed that there was no such thing as luck or karma. You get out of life what you put into it. Sure, things happened that were out of your control. Some were good, some were bad. But none of it was specific to you. It was just random.

But last night, with Ana, had me rethinking my stance. If meeting her wasn’t fate or destiny, if it wasn’t luck and kismet, then I didn’t know what the hell it was.

I was scanning the people seated, waiting for their planes, when I saw a familiar face. It wasn’t Ana, but this was the next best thing.

“Hi.” I smiled as I walked over and sat down next to Ruth.

“Hello there, Remington. I see you survived the storm.”

“Yes ma’am. How is your granddaughter?”

“Good, and so is my great-granddaughter.” Her face beaming with pride.

“And now you’re headed back home?”

“Yes, I’m going back to my husband. My Chester.” Her beaming only got brighter at the mention of her husband’s name.

“And you, are you headed home?”

I started to say no. Wishing Well hadn’t been my home since I was eighteen. But it has still always felt like home.

“Yep,” I responded.

“And where is home?” she asked as she turned her attention back to her knitting.

“Wishing Well, it’s a little town in Texas.”

“Oh, I’ve heard of it.”

“You have?”

“My most favorite actress from my shows moved there.”

“She did?”

Ruth nodded. “I saw it on her Instagram.”

Wishing Well was a small town. I wondered if I knew her or had heard of her. I talked to my mom once a week or so, and I kept in touch with a few other people in town. “What’s her name?”

“Sasha Nelson.”

“Sasha…” It took me a second, but then I remembered getting the wedding invitation. I hadn’t been able to make it because it was during fire season. “She married Beau Briggs.”

Ruth brightened. “That’s right. Beau Briggs, do you know him?”

“I do. His older brother is one of my best friends.”

Wyatt Briggs, Kane, and I had been inseparable growing up. We’d been part Three Musketeers, part Three Amigos. Wyatt’s wedding was another nuptial I missed just this last summer.

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