Chapter 29
Apparently, the cleaners had cleaned absolutely everything. This meant that for the following days, there wasn't anything Ava could do besides wash the dishes they used instead of putting them in the dishwasher.
Sébastien was back to working in full force, leaving her alone for most of the time. And there were only so many walks in the park you could take before even that became boring.
When the front door opened early she felt relieved. Her boredom disappeared the moment Sébastien stepped through the door and she caught herself smiling stupidly just in time to wipe it off her face.
"Hey," he greeted casually while leaning against the wall in a relaxed manner. More relaxed than she'd seen him in weeks. "Hey," she replied while walking over to him. He looked as if he had some news to share by the way he looked at her expectantly.
"I finished up the merger deal," he started carefully. "We only have to work out some of the details, but I don't have to be present for that. I was thinking we could go back to the estate," he suggested.
He looked as if he was looking at her for permission, and she didn't know how to feel about that. At times it felt like he saw her as an equal, which she knew she was definitely not. Like always, he confused her at every turn.
"That's great," Ava smiled. She could see George and Lauren again. And even Everly and their little book club. "When are we leaving?"
"Whenever you want, there's a flight tonight and tomorrow morning depending on how much time you need to pack."
"I'm good with either one, I don't have to pack much," she admitted. Even if she did have more clothes than she'd arrived with it wasn't more than a large bag.
"Can you be ready in two, then?"
"Of course."
"Alright, we'll leave tonight, then."
She wondered what happened to the cars he kept leaving behind at the airport. Would someone else come to pick it up or did he just leave it until he came back? Neither would surprise her at this point as he was rich enough to not care about things like that at all.
He carried her bags through the terminals and even though she tried to convince him she could do it herself, he refused. They currently sat waiting to board and even though she'd flown before, she still couldn't feel but fidget with her clothes.
"Are you scared of flying?" he asked suddenly while looking over to her.
"No," she replied, avoiding his eyes.
"You're fidgeting," he observed.
"I'm just a little nervous."
"Why?"
"Sometimes planes fall out of the sky," she replied distractedly while eying one of the planes through the large airport windows.
"Cars crash into each other too," he pointed out.
"Yes, but those are already on the ground."
"Are you scared of heights, then?"
"Not particularly. Just afraid of falling from those heights," she admitted sheepishly. It was stupid seeing how she didn't have a problem with being on higher grounds, until she stepped too close to the edge and there'd be a danger of falling.
"I'm scared of the ocean," he offered up while shrugging. She looked over at him to see him indifferent of his confession. He didn't mind admitting he was scared of it, and she admired that.
"Why?"
"It's so deep and dark. You don't know what's down there and I'm always scared something will grab my ankles and drag me under," he told her while looking right at her. She couldn't detect an ounce of embarrassment, and he owned it.
She wished she could be as confident as him. Now that she thought about it, she'd never seen him be embarrassed about anything.
"So you never go to the ocean?"
"There are more fun places to be," he replied shrugging. She opened her mouth to ask him what those places might be when the attendants called their number to board. "Let's go," he said while standing up and picking up her bag again.
He didn't have one himself since he had everything he needed back at the estate, he'd said.
The plane wasn't too big and there were only rows of two so they only sat next to each other.
When they sat down in the small seats it became soon clear that their arms would touch every now and then, sending sparks up Ava's arm. She tried to distract herself by staring extra hard at the service dog a few rows in front of them.
The sweet animal sat there so polite, even as they lifted off he did not move and only had eyes for his owner.
Ava had always wanted a pet of her own, but her lifestyle didn't allow it. She could already imagine the looks she'd get from bringing an animal into someone else's home.
With a sigh, she pressed herself back into the seat and closed her eyes. Only two more hours to go.
Her eyes shot open when the plane suddenly shook to the right and the seatbelt lights turned on with a 'Bing!
'. She looked around at the other passengers but most looked indifferent to the situation.
After a few more panicked moments the pilot's voice announced that they were merely experiencing some turbulence and urged them to stay seated.
"Ava," Sébastien said, making her eyes shoot to him. "Relax. You're going to hurt yourself with that grip on the armrest."
"I'm scared," she admitted weakly while trying to pry her hand from the armrest. "The plane's shaking."
"It's just turbulence, we'll be fine."
He'd only just finished his sentence when the plane suddenly dropped for a second before righting itself again, making her gasp and grasp the armrest again. "I'm not ready to die," she whined to Sébastien.
The corners of his mouth twitched upwards at that but to his credit, he didn't laugh.
"Here," he said while reaching for her hand. She looked as he peeled her hand off the armrest and held it in his own. The nausea from fear was replaced by butterflies, but every time the plane shook it got reversed for a moment again.
After one particularly bad one she noticed the steel grip she had on his hand before quickly relaxing it. "I'm sorry," she whispered with wide eyes. She hoped she hadn't hurt him.
The gesture seemed so intimate, his hand was large and warm around hers and in any situation she could've gone insane from the sensations. But she was too scared and too distracted to fully pay attention to what she was feeling right now.
"It's fine, you're not hurting me," he replied earnestly, making her force a grateful smile on her face.
Holding his hand really did help calm her down, but it wasn't enough to fully distract her from the turbulence until his thumb started rubbing circles on the back of her hand.
That really did the trick as she completely forgot about the turbulence and the butterflies in her stomach went crazy. She didn't dare look at him, she was too cowardly for that.
They sat like that in silence for a while, while Ava put her full focus on the sensation of his skin against hers. His long fingers that she knew could play the piano so well felt calloused in a good way as they held her own.
She barely noticed the turbulence stopping until the seatbelt lights turned off with that same 'Bing!
'. For a moment, she feared he'd let go of her hand now that she didn't need it anymore but that fear dispersed when she saw him reach for his seatbelt with his other hand.
His soft grip on her hand didn't falter and she reveled in the feeling of their intertwined hands.
Before, the little clock on the screen moved too slowly but now she was afraid of how fast it went. She didn't want to land and she didn't want him to let go of her hand.
If only they could sit like this forever.