Page 82 of Substitute for Love

“No,” was all Gabe said. His heart beat so fast, it was going to burst any second. The woman before him, the beautiful, wonderful Avery, was staying here in Phoenix, and he was leaving.

Avery turned away and shut the trunk of her car. Gabe reached for her, causing his luggage to tip over. He leaned forward to straighten them, then stood to find Avery already at the driver’s side door of her car.

He had missed her. Missed hugging her. Missed telling her how he really felt. His heart sank to his shoes.

“I’m going to go park the car, then meet you inside for a proper goodbye!” she yelled, slamming her door as the airport patrol honked at her.

He watched her drive away, sighing in relief. So there was time. They were meeting inside. Okay, good. That was better, anyway. Gabe gathered his luggage as he mustered up his strength, trying to figure out what he should say when their proper goodbye played out.

Thankfully, the line to check his bags wasn’t too long, though he kept looking over his shoulder for Avery to appear. It was his turn next. He brought his bag to the scale and showed his passport and ticket.

“Final destination?” The ticketing agent asked.

“Egypt,” Gabe said, equally excited to go, as he was sad about leaving Avery behind.

“Woah.” The ticketing agent clacked on the computer keyboard in front of her. “That’s a long way.”

“You have no idea.”

Now with only a carry-on, Gabe walked away from the desk and made his way toward security. Where was Avery? Did she take the time to park and come inside, or had she figured good riddance and left?

He went to pull out his phone, but then he heard his name. He nearly had a heart attack.

“Gabe! Over here!” Avery waved, emerging slowly as a crowd of people around her dissipated. Gabe hurried toward her, stopping a few feet in front of her.

They locked eyes, Gabe reaching out to pull a piece of hair from her face. “Thanks for the ride,” he said. Short, shallow breaths were all he could take, his lungs barely holding any air.

“Anytime,” she said.

He smiled. “You trying to get rid of me?”

She put her hands on her hips. “I will get first pick of all the sub jobs from now on.” The words were probably meant to be playful, but the end came out flat. Was she serious? Or hiding how she really felt?

“Avery, I … “

She held up her hand, stopping him. “I’m going to miss you, Gabe.” She looked down at her purple tennis shoes, then up into Gabe’s eyes. “You’re going to have a grand adventure. So forget about me and do your thing. Promise?”

No, Avery, I can’t promise that.Gabe turned his head, his mouth turning down. “I’m going to miss you, too.”

All words left his brain. He had a whole speech planned, but clearly Avery wanted him gone. “Thanks for helping me get this gig. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Avery breathed in, her whole body standing straighter as if preparing to run. “Anytime, Gabe. You’re a good guy, you know.”

A good guy. That’s all he was to her? All their time together, the sparks, the kisses, the laughter, the connection. That was it? He couldn’t mask his disappointment for long. If he was going to frown like a sad clown he’d have to get through security now so he could pout at the gate.

“Well, I’d better go. Goodbye, Avery,” Gabe said, opening his arms. At first she hesitated, opening her mouth like she was about to say something, then she came toward his embrace. They wrapped their arms around each other, hugging for what felt like days but only seconds at the same time.

Avery pulled away first, her voice shaky. “Have a good time, Indiana Jones.”

He offered a weak smile. “You’re something special, Avery Williams.”

Avery blinked a few times, pursed her lips and waved. Then she turned and disappeared.

Chapter 26: Avery

Friday September 11, 6:00 AM

Of all the dumb things Avery had done in her life, that had been the dumbest. Okay not really, but in the moments between leaving Gabe behind and trekking back to her car, her heart broke into a million pieces.

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