Page 12 of Passions & Peonies

“So theywerebig.”

“He played baseball in college. Do your hands have to be big for that? If so, yes, his hands were big.”

“Love it. You didn’t mind him touching you, though? It would’ve irked me.”

“That’s what I’m trying to say. It was so natural. I’ve never been more comfortable with a guy.”

She nods slowly. “Who you didn’t know.”

I nod and eat the last pita square. “Right. What’s your point?”

“He had his sunglasses on the whole time? He sounds shady to me.”

“I asked him to take them off.”

She takes her own sunglasses off and leans forward. “And?”

“Better than I expected.”

I describe his eyes to her, then how we took a selfie.

“Wait! I can show you. Then you’ll see how much he looks like that other guy.”

I take my phone out and sift through my pictures. I took a bunch at the resort while I was waiting for Sky to arrive. My heart warms when I see the pictures of us. He’s so damn cute.

“This is him.”

She reaches out for my phone, then sits back again. “Holy shit. It’s scary how much they look alike. They say there’s a doppelganger out there for everyone. But this other guy might look completely different without the sunglasses.”

“True. But to see them on the same day? I wish I had a picture of him with his sunglasses on.”

“Wait a second. Why didn’t you tell me this when I first arrived?”

I put my empty cup next to hers on the table and shrug. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to tell anybody. I wanted it to be my little secret.”

“What for? It’s not like you joined the mile-high club.”

“I know. I wanted to avoid anything love related while I’m here, and then he got your empty seat. It couldn’t have been a bigger surprise.”

“Back up a second. You didn’t talk about where you lived or what you did for a living? Nothing personal like that?”

“No. It’s hard to explain. It’s as if we already knew all that stuff about each other. I wanted to kiss him like I did it all the time.”

“So how did you leave it?”

I tell her how we almost kissed toward the end of the flight. The awkwardness that followed.

Screaming and whistling from the pool grabs my attention. “It looks like volleyball’s getting out of hand with all that muscle, testosterone, and alcohol. Why aren’t there any women playing?”

“Who cares. Back to the story. So you separated and nothing else?” She presses her lips together and looks disappointed. “That kind of pisses me off. I would’ve expected more by the way you’re acting.”

“Chill. I’m not finished yet.” I tap my fingertips together and flash an evil smile.

She sits up in her chair again. “Spill it. Now.”

“I thought I lost him after customs. Then, get this!” I pause, remembering.

Her eyes widen. “What?”

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