Chapter Text
Sunday at Noon
The female voice didn’t stop announcing flight information, urging people to rush to their check-in counters, which distracted Devi from the tenseness in the pit of her stomach.
She picked up the kitschy snow globe she had stared at for the last ten minutes. The plastic felt cool in her hand as she brushed her thumb over it. This would be a good present. A memory to cherish. So he won’t forget about her.
The man at the cash register offered her a selection of moisturizers he had put on sale, to buy them with the souvenir for her trip home, as he said. But Devi crinkled her nose—the creams smelled much too sweet. The convenience store at the airport didn’t have the good stuff. And she wasn’t even the one going home. She quickly paid for the globe and walked back to the check-in counter where she had left Paxton.
She scanned the winding line of travelers waiting to drop off their luggage, but he wasn’t there anymore. Crap! Her heart skipped a beat when she couldn’t make out his face in the sea of people moving around her, pulling their suitcases and pushing their carts. She heard fragments of conversations—some excited to go on a trip, others worried about the flights, and a few with breaking voices, having to say goodbye to loved ones soon. Yet, nobody called her name.
Paxton wore jeans, but what was the color of his jacket? Wasn’t it similar to her sweater? She cursed when someone bumped into her from the right. Except that he also wrapped his arm around her and kissed her on the side of the head. “There you are.” Paxton’s breath brushed with warmth over her cheek. “For a moment there, I thought you left.”
“Same here.” Devi turned to him and stole a kiss. It was so nice that she could just do that—now that they were together officially.
After their lips parted, his grip on her loosened. “Sorry. Dropping off the suitcase was faster than I expected, so I went ahead to find the location of the security checkpoint.”
“Oh, I could’ve told you.” She took his hand and guided him in the direction. Without thinking about it, her fingers interlocked with his.
Rolling his shoulders, he readjusted his carry-on backpack. First, he was pacing faster, but then he matched her speed. “I’ve never seen you walk this slow.”
“Yeah... it’s selfish.” She looked at him sideways.
A moment later, his gaze met hers, and he smiled. “Works for me.”
They ignored the surrounding chatter, the sound of footsteps and items being heaved and carried—just people doing their thing—while Devi and Paxton stole glances at each other, until his forehead wrinkled. “What’s in the bag?” he said.
“Oh.” Devi became aware again of the plastic bag dangling from her wrist. “That’s a little surprise for you.”
She saw he wanted to ask, but she shook her head. Then it wouldn’t be a surprise anymore, right?
“I have a surprise for you, too. Well, more of a suggestion.” He frowned. “Offer? Invitation!” He nodded when he finally found the right word.
She cringed. “I’m sorry. I’m not making out in a bathroom here. This morning had been too sweet. I want to remember it that way.”
He grinned at her. “Not that I don’t like the way you think,” he pursed his lips, “but this is about what I said to yesterday. That you’re welcome to visit me at ASU.”
She squeezed his hand. “I would love to.”
Paxton came to a stop when they reached the entrance to the security checkpoint. His fingers went to her cheek, caressing it.
Devi leaned into the touch. “I’ll just have to check my schedule,” she said.
“Actually, I have a particular weekend in mind.”
“O-kay.” A lot of her exams and final assignments were coming up soon. She definitely couldn’t miss any classes. Maybe if Lisa would make notes for her in Monday morning lit...?
“So, there’s a swim meet against one of the best college teams in three weeks.” He lowered his hand to take hers into both of his. “I would really like you to be there.” He shrugged with a smirk. “It would mean a lot to me. But only if you want to. No pressure.”
“I definitely want,” she blurted, but her voice betrayed her doubts regarding the timing.
“Plus, the guys from my swim team would like to meet you.”
Devi swallowed and took a step back. “They know about me?”
“I might have vented about Ben Gross saying you both were engaged.” He avoided her gaze. “And showed some pictures of you for context. They all think you’re really cute.”
She blushed. Out of all the people in the world, he kept choosing her. “Maybe we are equals now in this relationship.” She scoffed softly. “Except that I don’t believe you if you say not a single girl—any person—showed an interest in you.”
“Yeah, okay.” He shifted his weight to the other leg. “There’s this woman from the basketball team that keeps hitting on me.”
“What?!” No! Why had she asked? That was stupid. Devi gulped.
Paxton shook his head. Instead of saying something, his hands were back on her sides, pulling her close, but then he stopped. His gaze met hers. “Please, Devi, don’t diss our vibes.” His voice was gentle and yet serious. “They’re alive and well, and no outsider will ever change that.”
Her heart felt like it was glowing. “Okay.” As she said the word, she bridged the final distance and started to nibble on his lower lip. She realized she may bite a little harder than she wanted and softened her touch. When she parted her lips, he quickly deepened the kiss, but then pulled back. “Maybe let’s cool down a bit in public.”
She panted to fill her lungs with air. “That didn’t stop you yesterday.”
He flashed his eyebrows seductively. “You liked that, huh?”
“Maybe.” She was sure her brown skin was turning a shade of red. Her head came to rest on his shoulder, where she caught a whiff of the smell of coconut. She had blessed his body with her shower gel again this morning. “I’ll miss you so much.”
“Me too.” He sighed. “Hey, you know, it’s okay if you can’t come to the competition. We’ll arrange your visit to match both our schedules.”
“No.” She lifted her chin. “I can do all my studying before the weekend. I’ll come to the race! For sure.” Her palm ran over his back. “I want us to work.”
“But don’t neglect your studies for me, Devi.”
“I won’t. I promise.” She moved to look up at him. “We’ll support each other, okay?”
“One-hundred percent.”
“So you don’t think I’m way too good for you, right? Like you said in the closet at Sherman Oaks?”
He laughed. “No, Lil’ D, you’re just right.”
She stepped back to put more distance between them, which made him frown. “Are you gonna shake my hand now?”
“No.” She chuckled and held up what she had bought in the store. “I want to make sure you’re not forgetting about me.”
“Never.” The plastic bag rustled as he took out the snow globe. “Oh, I like these.” He shook it to move the pieces inside. As he looked closer, his eyes widened. “That’s the Empire State Building.”
“Well...” She lifted her shoulders. “Because...”
This time, Devi let him give her a hickey. Yet, most of the other travelers were too busy to glance at her as she walked to the station at the airport. The train would bring her back to Fabiola and Lisa, who were still at the conference, where she had also left her suitcase.
Her phone vibrated, and she took it out.
Paxton: We’re starting to board.
Devi felt a pang in her heart. Send me a message when you landed. I don’t care how late it’s going to be.
Paxton: Will do. Already planning what we’ll all do when you come to ASU.
Can’t wait. Her thumbs hovered over the keyboard. Would it be too cheesy to write the next thing? She was usually very conservative with the L-word. Whatever. I love you, Pax. Her finger tapped on the heart emoji twice and then sent the message before she could change her mind.
Her focus went back to the walkway, noticing the colorful advertising on the walls, the still annoying announcements, and hectic people. Anything but thinking about the phone in her hands. Then it vibrated and her gaze darted down.
Paxton: It clearly had its ups and downs, but this was the best week I had in years. Definitely since we dated. I love you, Devi!! Followed by a kissing emoji.
The warmth was back in her chest and she must be beaming because more people were looking at her now.
Only three more weeks...
