Page 89 of Not the Plan

“Isa. Don’t you dare get off that plane. You aren’tleavingme. The timing just sucks. But I will be fine. I’m not on my own.”

“I can still cancel.” She wrestled her work phone back into her purse, scooping the straps to shove back on her shoulder.

“Isadora. Think for a second, please. Your mother will make your life miserable if you don’t go.”

She sighed. “Maybe I’ll be a better friend if I’m there for you in the next couple of weeks rather than fighting off her rage, huh?”

“Exactly.”

The tears welling up caught her off guard.

“I’m sorry,” she said, sniffing. “For all of it.”

“I know. Me too.”

“I love you, RJ.”

“I love you too, babe. Have a good flight and say hello to Sexy Pants for me.”

She shook her head through a sad chuckle. “Bye, RJ.” She hung up and took a deep breath. Karim arrived at the seat next to her, his smile fading when he saw her face.

“Hey. You okay, beautiful?”

“Hey. The amendment you drafted didn’t impact the dates to vote for senate officers, right?” she asked.

“Not at all. I took a lot of time with that. I’m sure it doesn’t modify those statutes.”

“Good,” she said. “RJ just freaked me out for a second.”

“How is he?” Karim asked, sliding his bag under the seat.

She shrugged. “As well as can be expected.”

He nodded, getting buckled in. “Did he get my email about the amendment?”

“He did. He was getting ready for next week, and he thought he might have mixed something up, but he wasn’t sure.”

The bang of the cargo hold being closed shot Isadora to the side of her seat. Talking to RJ had distracted her from the fact that she was on an airplane. The anxiety that had been at bay came rushing back. When Isadora jumped, Karim did too.

“Is everything all right, Isa?” he whispered.

Okay. Guess I can’t hide it anymore.“Well, um…there’s something I haven’t told you.” She didn’t know what to do with her hands. “I don’t like to fly. Like, I seriously don’t like to fly. Actually, that’s not it. I just get really anxious. It’s really only the beginning. And the end. And the middle if there’s any turbulence.” The words flew out of her mouth as a continuous stream.

“Oh…that explains it,” he said.

“What?”

“The day we met. When we were on the plane, there was a moment you sort of shut down. I thought things were going well. It was the first time I’d been able to flirt in years. I was really enjoying it, then you stopped everything when we hit turbulence. You were terrified, weren’t you, Little Kite?”

She nodded.

“God, you’re amazing,” he said, taking her shaking hand in both of his.

“Why?”

“I had no idea you were afraid. Is it like this every time you fly?”

She nodded again.

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