Page 102 of Forever Yours

Disembarking from the plane with my small carry-on in hand, I headed up the jet walk… gangway… jet bridge… whatever the hell they called it. Why were there so many names for the ramp that passengers walked to get to and from the plane?

I slipped my earbuds in to block out the annoying staticky voice blasting through the airport terminal. I could’ve driven to Charleston faster; it was only a four-hour car ride from CU. There were no direct flights, something I should have asked Brad’s assistant about before she booked me a seat. I spent almost two hours laid over in Charlotte. Such a backward-ass route to take, in my opinion.

Once out in the terminal, I switched off airplane mode on my phone and was hit with dozens of messages.

Me: Just landed.

Immediately, my phone rang.

“About fucking time. I’ve been refreshing the tracking info every second.”

“He really has,” Griffin said in the background.

A few other voices chimed in, but I couldn’t hear what they said over the damn terminal announcement. It was so loud, yet no one could ever understand a word being said. Same with the pilot’s announcements on the plane.

I shoved a finger in one ear, hoping it helped. “How was the game?”

Julien’s voice was breathy, and the noise from the guys faded. There was a slamming of a door. “We won, two-zero. Okay, I’m back in my room.”

“Talk to me while I walk.”

I followed the signs for baggage claim.

“Can’t wait to get the Jessi treatment.”

Fallon was flying Julien down tomorrow morning. After six hours, including the stopover and time spent checking in and going through security, I was seriously kicking myself for not taking him up on his offer.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

Julien knew better than anyone the emotional turmoil I was in by being there. In a deep-down, secret place where that little boy I used to be still existed, there was a glimmer of hope that Mom and I could salvage our relationship. Bridge the miles-wide distance between us that was created because she didn’t approve of who I was. Hoping that, maybe, me supporting her new marriage and showing up to the wedding would help close that divide. But it was all bullshit lies, and I knew it. I just hadn’t fully accepted it yet.

“Nervous,” I replied.

Arriving at the baggage carousels, I found the one for my flight. The belt was already moving, so I looked for my bright blue case.

“I can barely hear you. Let me call you back when I get outside,” I told him just as my case dropped out of the chute.

I caught the “love you” he said before we hung up. Pocketing my phone, I gripped the handle of my case and put it on its wheels.

“Elijah Barnes?”

I looked up when I heard my name. A young woman about my age stood in front of me, hands clasped tightly in front her. Red hair, cute glasses that framed blue eyes, girl-next-door pretty.

“Yes?”

Her eyes falteringly flicked over me like she was trying hard for me not to notice that she was checking me out.

“Let me help you with that.”

She awkwardly came forward and took my rolling case from me. I took it back.

“I’ve got it, thanks.” She looked too young to be Brad’s assistant, Gabriela Patel, and her voice didn’t match. “Who are you?”

Her big blue eyes widened, made even bigger behind the lenses of her glasses.

“Oh! I’m so sorry. I’m April.”

She thrust a hand forward, and I shook it, even though I still didn’t know who the hell she was or how she knew me.

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