Chapter 11 The Song of Distance #3
He let go of his suitcase and backpack and pulled me into the tightest hug.
Without hesitation, his lips found mine, and I let him kiss me.
Warmth flooded my body, and the world went quiet.
His breaths slowed everything down. His hand rushed up to cradle the back of my head like we’d been a couple for years.
He held the kiss for three more seconds before burying his face in my neck. My heart skipped a beat.
“Thank you for picking me up,” he said, his words muffled against my jacket. “I couldn’t stop thinking about wanting to kiss you for days.”
He leaned in to press his lips against mine again, when the clearing of a throat behind us made my blood freeze.
I was so absorbed in Sebastian that I had completely forgotten about Jack. I slowly turned my head toward the sound, and, of course, there he stood, only a couple of feet behind us. Seb followed my gaze, loosening his grip on me as my breathing quickened.
Jack’s eyebrows nearly hit the ceiling. He lifted his right hand, showing off his phone.
“His name was Rami. And I guess, you’ve already found the person you were here to pick up.
” He held out his hand toward Sebastian.
“Hi, I’m Jack, a friend of this one here.
” He nodded at me. “And, uh, I figured I’d say hello. ”
His mouth hung open after he finished speaking. None of us moved at first, but eventually Seb reached out and shook Jack’s hand.
“Sebastian. Nice to meet you,” he said to Jack, though his eyes glanced at me, clearly looking for an explanation.
“We ran into each other a few minutes ago,” I said. “He’s here to pick up…?”
“Rami.”
“Rami, that’s right.” I nodded, as if I had any idea who that was.
Sebastian nodded, too, and finally let go of Jack’s hand. “And who’s Rami?”
“Someone from… work,” Jack replied, also starting to nod.
“So, um,” I said, but froze entirely. This was bad. “What exactly did you see, Jack?”
“Everything? Like, uh…” His index fingers swirled through the air, dancing around each other, before he brought them together with a kissing sound. “In my defense, though, it’s hard not to notice when people are smooching in a public place like this.”
An announcement blasted through the airport about a car that had to be moved, or it would be towed in five minutes, interrupting our conversation.
We all pretended to listen, as if it could have been ours, when in reality we were just grateful for a second to let the situation sink in.
Jack opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but then the announcement repeated, and he waited it out.
“Am I right in thinking that nobody was supposed to see this?” Jack asked. “The way you two greeted each other?”
I nodded, not daring to look at Seb. This situation was entirely my fault. If I had waited in the car, or at least told Seb we weren’t alone, our secret wouldn’t have gotten out already.
“There’s no need to beat around the bush now, is there?
” Sebastian said with a carefree laugh. “Would you mind keeping it to yourself for a little while? My parents don’t know.
Not even that I’m gay. And we…” He motioned between himself and me.
“…we didn’t even know we liked each other until recently.
We’ll tell them eventually, we just need… ”
“…a little more time?” Jack finished the sentence.
I finally looked up and found both of them with red cheeks.
“Don’t worry, guys,” Jack said. “I know how it is. I’ve been through it all, too.
I’ll keep my mouth shut. I just have to confess that Jason already knows.
He was on the phone when I saw you, and he definitely heard me gasp and then might’ve asked what was going on, and I might’ve already told him…
But don’t worry. He can keep a secret, too. I’ll call him right away.”
With that, Jack turned around, brought his phone to his ear, and took a few steps away.
Sebastian and I turned to each other.
“Who’s Jason?” he asked. “So much has happened in the minute since I landed!”
“One of the guys from the Halloween prank video I showed you,” I whispered, unable to look up. “I’m so sorry. When I saw you, I completely forgot that Jack had only stepped away for a minute. My brain completely short-circuited.”
“Hey…” Sebastian took my hands. “Calm down. It’s okay. He’s your friend, and he’s gay too, right? He’ll understand.”
“Aren’t you worried it’ll all come out?”
“I’m way too excited to spend a week with you to worry about that right now. I promise, everything will be fine. Trust me. Besides…” He pulled me into another hug, his hands flying to the back of my head. “…there’s nothing we can change about that now anyway.”
Something in his demeanor was almost too calm about all of this. I couldn’t make sense of it.
My body resisted his hug for a few more seconds, but then gave in. “I guess, you’re right about that.”
“I mean, my friends know about you, too,” he added. “There’s no need to keep secrets from friends, right?”
I looked up. His hands wandered to my cheeks as he took me in as if he wanted to kiss me a thousand times over.
“Welcome back to Seastone, I guess,” I said softly.
“Welcome, indeed.” He grinned and kissed me once more, not caring that Jack was still behind us, already gasping again.