Page 16 of The Amazing Date

I gulp. She wasn’t supposed to see the bear. At least not yet. “Wait, what are you going to do with Mr. Fluffernutter?”

“He’s going to go on an adventure. A trip to the landfill.”

I reach for the bear, and she pulls it behind her back. A hand appears behind Rylee, snatching the bear from her grasp. We both look up—Caitlin.

“Oh, he’s cute. Are you two fighting over who gets to cuddle with him on the flight?” Her smirk lets us know she finds the entire thing the opposite of cute.

“Hey, Roberto.” Kelly appears next to her friend. They are wearing matching race outfits, tight-fitting white tank tops with the words “Thing One” and “Thing Two” on them. Kelly is apparently fine being the second banana.

Rylee hops up from the ground and steals the bear from Caitlin. Rylee leans around her, directing her comment to Kelly. “His partner is here too, Kelly.” She stuffs my bear into the plastic bag with the toiletries. “I’ll be right back; I’m going to toss all this crap.”

“Hold up, Rylee. That’s my stuff, one of my favorite pairs of pants, and I can’t sleep without Mr. Fluffernutter.” I pout and jut my bottom lip out, hoping for a reaction.

“Aww,” the blondes chime in unison.

“That’s so sweet,” Kelly says and hooks her arm into mine. “If you have trouble sleeping, maybe I can help out.”

Rylee’s face twists, and she hops across my open backpack on the floor, landing next to me, her body bouncing into Kelly and forcing her to take a step back. “Boundaries, Kelly. I thought you had your claws digging into Adam.”

Caitlin laughed. “I think they may still be working on that puzzle. Those two put the R in the word ‘argue.’”

“I guess you’ll have to put everything back in my pack and take it with us to San Fran.” I clap my hands together in victory.

Kelly looks down at the bag. “That’s a lot of stuff. Rylee has a point—carrying all that extra baggage is going to slow you down.”

Caitlin leans on her friend’s shoulder. “She’s right. But there’s an easy solution.”

Rylee’s eyes fill with interest.

“Season four, a team had the same issue. They bought a cheap piece of luggage, stuffed everything in it, put their contact information on it, and left it on an arrival carousel. The airline contacted them the next day, and they had everything shipped to their home free of charge,” Caitlin spits out the solution with Kelly nodding, verifying the strategy.

Rylee twists in my direction. I can read the hesitancy in her eyes.

“Howdie ho, the gang’s all here.” I turn to see the slow approach of the older African American couple. “Thanks for the tip back there. Name’s Ron, but I prefer Ronnie—makes me feel younger. This here is the best partner in the world, my lovely wife, Thelma. We didn’t stick around much last night to meet many people. The shift in time zone wreaked havoc on our clocks.” This close, I put Ronnie’s age at midfifties, younger than I initially thought. His gaze is filled with warmth and experience, and I take an immediate liking to him.

I reach out and shake their hands, and everyone introduces themselves. Thelma points down to the plastic bag that Rylee is still holding by the drawstring. “Dearie, that’s not going to travel too well. Do you not have money for a backpack? Let us help you out.”

“That’s okay, ma’am. I got it.” Rylee floats me a look. She wants to know if it’s okay to toss the bear and the rest of my things. She doesn’t have a clue. I slowly shake my head. “I’ll be right back.”

“We got it,” Kelly chimes in, her hand on Rylee’s shoulder. “They’re about to board. Fill out the contact slip.”

Right on cue, the speakers blare, “Thank you and welcome to Delta Airlines service for flight 245 at gate 12, heading to San Francisco. At this time, we will begin early boarding. Passengers requiring assistance or additional time may board at this time.”

“They’re playing our tune,” Ronnie states to his wife.

Thelma slips her hand into his. “Is it your turn or mine?”

He leans in and gives her a quick peck on the cheek. “Mine. I think I’ll go with reconstructed hip this time.”

“Oh, that’s my favorite. Work it, babe.” Thelma swoons as Ronnie shifts his hips wide with each slow, methodical step he takes.

You’ve got to be kidding me.

He shoots a smile over his shoulder at us. “We’ll be on our second cocktail by the time you board. Remember, it’s all a game. Make sure you take time to enjoy the moments.”

Caitlin continues to stare at Ronnie, and for a moment, I wonder if she’s moved on to targeting them as their biggest threat. Before I can speak, an out-of-breath Kelly reappears, holding a cheap cloth duffel bag with the LA Dodgers emblem across it. “This is the cheapest I could find. Are we doing this?”

I glance toward the gate. Ronnie and Thelma are already checked in, their smiles telling me rules are meant to be bent.

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