Page 53 of Unexpected Boyfriends

And then it’s time to go. Hurriedly we pack up and throw ourselves into the car. I have to get Justin home before his grandparents realize he didn’t come home last night.

As before when Justin has stayed out all night with me, I drop him at the top of the long driveway. Out of sight of the house, we say our goodbyes. Kisses, gentle at first, more desperate later, a lot of gazing longingly in each other’s eyes. Hugs that hold each other so close it’s like we’re trying to merge ourselves into one being.

Finally, time runs out.

“I’ll see you at the airport,” I promise.

And three hours later, I do. I meet up with Justin and his grandparents on the other side of security, much to the Beecham’s surprise. It’s a taste of agony, maintaining a platonic distance while our remaining minutes together run relentlessly through our fingers.

Under some pretext, Justin and I move away out of sight of the gate lounge for a few minutes. I wrap Justin in my arms and kiss him. He holds on like he’s never letting go. Until we have to. Until we hear the boarding call, wipe our moist eyes and compose ourselves, and walk back to where the other passengers are already lined up for boarding and Justin’s family is waiting to say goodbye.

Chapter 19

Melbourne

JUSTIN

The plane lands at Melbourne Airport after the usual bumpy approach, and as we taxi to the gate, I pull out my phone to text Axel. But I have no service, which is odd. I turn off the phone, restart it, and try again. But still there’s no service.

The rustle of people standing up and gathering their belongings fills the cabin. I'm still sitting in my seat, frowning at my phone, which doesn't help at all.

People are starting to shuffle down the aisle and the person in the window seat next to me is giving me increasingly less subtle signals that they want to get moving. I scowl at my phone one more time, stand up and grab my bag from the overhead locker.

Looks like we're exiting from the back of the plane, so I slip my phone in my pocket before heading down the stairs and we all trundle our way across the tarmac. I’ll try again in the airport.

Then it occurs to me that I have a problem. How will I call my parents to let them know I’ve arrived and where to meet me?

That problem is solved as I enter the terminal. My parents are right there and from the expression on their faces, this is not good.

What has happened?

Chapter 20

Sydney

AXEL

It’s after 2.30pm when I notice that Justin hasn’t texted me to tell me he’s arrived. After he’d left, I’d thrown myself into work to distract myself, and I’d been so absorbed in the designs I’d been preparing for a client, that I hadn’t noticed the time.

He would have landed half an hour ago, if the plane was on time, but then again maybe it wasn’t. That wouldn't be all that unusual.

By 5 o’clock, he still hasn’t texted and I’m feeling uneasy. It’s foolish, but I check the online news just in case, and no, there hasn’t been a plane crash, an airport strike, a phone carrier outage or anything else that might explain why I haven’t heard from him.

Have I accidentally left my phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’? No, I haven’t.

Arrived?

I wait for an answer to my text. And I keep waiting.

My unease grows over the next few hours. I probably shouldn’t be letting myself get worked up about this. There are any number of reasons he might have got caught up… family, friends…

I can’t help feeling a little hurt though. After what we’ve shared, I thought we were close, like, really close. Finally, at 10pm, I shut myself in my room and call him.

The number is disconnected.

I don’t believe it. There must be something wrong with his phone.

I grab my laptop and fire off a short email.

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