Chapter Nineteen
. . .
Thanks for inducting me into the motion of the ocean club.
“May I get you anything?”
I smile at the flight attendant and shake my head. “No. No, thank you.” She then asks the gentleman next to me, who orders a soda before she walks away.
Truth is, I should’ve asked for something and made it a double because there’s nothing worse than five hours alone with your thoughts.
Especially when every single one keeps ending the same.
Which is why I’m watching the plane door like I’m in a rom-com, just waiting for three familiar faces to race onto my flight and tell me they’re coming with me.
I know how ridiculous the thought is.
I know that I’m wishing for something that will never happen and that I’m living in a fantasy world. But still, I can’t take my eyes off the fucking door.
Because maybe they woke up and saw my note, then read between the lines when I said in the middle, “Thanks for inducting me into the motion of the ocean club. I’ll never forget it.
Beats the mile-high club every day of the week,” and understood that I meant I don’t ever want to leave.
So they bought tickets and rushed through security.
I stare, chewing the inside of my cheek, watching person after person load onto the flight.
The flight attendant materializes in the line, handing the soda to my seatmate, blocking my view for a second.
But the moment she moves, I blink and see there’s nobody left.
I sigh. Damn.
The last person passes me by as I drop my eyes to my hands. Two more seconds…that’s all you give yourself to mourn this.
The pilot comes over the intercom, telling the flight attendants to prepare for takeoff. I take a deep breath, grabbing my seat belt to put it on.
But I hear, “Oh! We have three more.”
My head whips up as my pulse kicks up a notch. But a woman with two small kids rushes onto the plane.
“We made it,” she says, smiling at her kids.
I’m so fucked. I have to look away because two more seconds might need to extend a little longer, like maybe the whole flight.
The sound of the cabin door closing is the nail in the coffin of my hope, so I turn my phone off and close my eyes because maybe if I sleep through the flight, this’ll all feel like it was just a dream.
I yawn, covering my mouth with the back of my hand as I hold my phone. I’m waiting for my messages to populate now that it’s turned on again. A man pushes in front of me, making me draw back before I file onto the escalator.
The flight was long, not that I noticed since I slept through all of it. Which sucks because I bought five hours of reprieve so that now I’ll be up all night thinking the thoughts I want to avoid.
I adjust the bag in my hand as I look at my phone before I glance to my right at the adjoining escalator. A sweet couple hugs; the woman who’s up a step stares down at the man before she leans down and sweetly kisses the tip of his nose.
Fantastic. Looks like I’m at that part of feeling sorry for myself where I notice every happy person in the fucking world.
Gross.
I stare back down at my feet, feeling my phone start to vibrate, so I look at the screen.
“Jesus,” I whisper to myself, seeing a few dozen missed messages.
Did the world catch on fire?
I swipe them open as I lift my head. But the man in front of me has pushed past more people, giving me a clear view of the top.
And that’s when I freeze, my phone just hanging in the air, my brows drawing together. Because, as if I’m moving in slow motion, three familiar faces come into view.
Butterflies rage in my stomach, and I suddenly feel a lump in my throat.
I can’t even blink or breathe.
People in front of me begin to file off the escalator, but all I can feel is my heart skip a beat because Brody, Brooks, and Wells are standing at the top, smiling at me.
I almost knock the two people in front of me down as I rush off, my voice breathless.
“What are you doing here?”
Brooks immediately takes my bag. I hold up my phone to connect the dots between my fragmented thoughts and my mouth.
“Did something happen? There’s a lot of messages.”
Wells grins, shaking his head. “No. But you left us a note, Cherry.”
Brooks chuckles, calling my eyes to his. “Yeah, did you think you were gonna get away with that?”
Get away with it? What is happening? I shake my head, trying to make sense of them standing here. Because how are they here?
“So you came to say goodbye to me in person?”
Brody hooks a finger in the belt loop of my jeans, tugging me out of the way so I don’t get toppled by all the people getting off the escalator behind me.
“No,” he says, his eyes on mine. “I said, ‘Don’t leave,’ Margot. And I meant it.”
His words on the boat stand front and center in my mind. I can hear it as if he’s saying them again and again. But I thought that was for…
“Don’t leave. Stay right here.”
Brody swallows, and I watch his Adam’s apple bob before he really makes it hard not to fold when he whispers, “We figured maybe you’d stay if you knew we’d follow.”
I’m trying to process. To catch up and understand. But this feels too unbelievable. They’re here, standing in front of me, asking me to stay with them.
Brooks cocks his head to the side and nabs my attention. I must look unnerved by what’s happening because with that charming grin of his, he says, “This isn’t some kind of declaration of love…”
Wells piggybacks on what Brooks said, “We’re not crazy. Just crazy about you.”
Brody smirks. “And that means we’re not ready for this to end yet.”
I’m surrounded, my eyes volleying between them.
“So what exactly are you asking me?” I say as my heart beats faster because I think I already know.
Wells chuckles. “Give us another week.”
I blink.
“Or two,” Brooks adds.
My lips turn up.
But Brody dips his eyes to find mine again, holding them as he says, “Or three.”
I giggle, the smile on my face unmistakable.
And even though I have no idea what I’m doing or if we’ll even like each other after another week, I bite my bottom lip before I say, “Wanna come back to my place?”
Because at the end of the day, I want to see where this goes.
They look at each other before releasing a collective breath.
Brooks chucks my bag over his shoulder as Wells takes my hand, and we turn to walk in the same direction. Brody fixes his hand behind my neck, saying, “If we’re gonna move in, there needs to be some rules.”
“Move in,” I choke out.
Brooks smirks. “Rule number one. We buy a bigger bed.”
I raise my brows, hiding my smile as I nod as if they aren’t the wildest menaces.
Wells clears his throat. “And forgive me, this is intrusive, but what’s in your fridge? Because rule number two is always keep the chef happy so we stay fed.”
“My fridge?” I laugh. “Nothing currently. Because I was on vacation fucking a bunch of stage-five clingers.”
The side of my palm is nipped by Wells as Brody presses a growly kiss to my temple, and Brooks says, “You love us.”
I definitely might in time.
Holy shit.
“But for real,” he adds, not talking to me, “we’re gonna need to hit up some food. I’m fucking starving.”
To say I’m in awe of my own happiness is an understatement because all I can do is smile as they fight over how Wells was too cheap when he chartered the jet because there weren’t even snacks, and over who’s sitting next to me in the car they apparently ordered.
But as the car doors close and the seat belts click, I let out a breath.
“Everybody ready?” the driver says, and I can’t help but think, Hell yeah.
Wells reaches across our seats and tips my chin to him.
“So? Where’s home, Cherry?”
I smile over the word home before I rattle off my address. And as we pull out of the airport, from under the cover of concrete, we’re hit with a sunset.
“Whoa,” Brooks whispers as we all stare out the front window.
Yesterday, I wished for us to chase this forever. And Moon was right: be careful what you wish for because dreams do come true.
Three hours ago
Moon: Holy shit. They chartered a plane.
Millie: WHAT!!!!
Eleanor: STFU
Samantha: Moon—wrong chat!
Moon: No…my sister never buys the WIFI. She’ll never see this. She’s always droning on about unplugging which is more my lane but convenient today.
Moon: You guys, when I say they were all licking their wounds. It was so sad face… but now the boys are gonna literally land fifteen minutes before her and declare their undying love.
Eleanor: Hold up. Are we worried that they’re already in love? Red flag.
Millie: Isn’t one of them a Gemini? Because that’s a fuck-ass sign for men and he’s probably love bombing. I take it back. I don’t like this.
Samantha: Moon’s being hyperbolic dumbasses.
Moon: Thank god one of you understands me. I just mean they’re gonna ask her to like keep fucking but mark my words…They’re falling in love.
Eleanor: Crew wants to know what the over/under is on “I love you.”
Millie: TJ and Nate got a thousand on “I love yous” happening in under sixty days.
Samantha: Cole says a thousand on thirty days. Alec says same amount for over six months. And Jace and Reed agree the guys are never moving out.
Moon: What am I? A casino? There’re programs for this. But by all means put your bets in ya bunch of degenerates. I’ll keep everyone up to date. xoxo