There wasn?
??t a single cab in sight. Uber wasn’t on the road at all. And as luck would have it, the Blue Line trains had a derailment due to the ice and they were not pulling out of the station that was beneath the airport.
“That sounds like they are starting to clear things away.” My mom said hopefully. “Don’t worry, honey. We’ll keep Christmas until you get here. Even if it takes until July.”
“Let’s hope it’s not that long.” I joked. “I’ll call you when I’m on the road.”
I hung up the phone, took a deep breath, grabbed my suitcase with the wobbly wheel and headed to the food court. As anxious as I was to get home I really wasn’t in bad spirits. I had slept the entire trip from New York so it didn’t feel like it was four hours. I was comfortable and didn’t pack too much stuff so I wasn’t struggling with clumsy and awkward packages and luggage.
Christmas music was playing. There were twinkling lights and decorations all over the place. I had a good book in my suitcase. Plus, since I traveled on Christmas Eve taking the red-eye to save money there was practically no one in the airport. So, with a enough money in my pocket for a hot toddy and maybe an order of fries I moseyed over the nearest watering hole, a place called Flannigans, ordered myself a Cutty Sark with a cup of coffee grabbed my book and sat down to watch the skeleton crew at work while I read my book.
Just as I was in the middle of a terribly thrilling scene where the heroine was trapped in an old abandoned car while her tormentors were skulking just outside unaware of her presence I happened to look up.
I saw a face. I knew who it was. But I went back to my book as if it had been a dream. Did I really see what I thought I saw? I looked up again and there he was.
How many months had gone by since our tryst in his father's Bentley? How many times had I tried not to cry over the last phone call we had had.
If it hadn’t been for the exciting first semester at Columbia I may have lost my mind staying home dwelling on what happened and what could have been. But once I stepped off that plane at LaGuardia Airport I had very little time to think about Lucas Prine.
There were a number of very handsome men in my classes. I had a great roommate. Sandy called once a week and my folks of course called and sent care packages that were the envy of all the other girls in my dorm. Mom sent practical things like granola bars and ramen noodles. But dad had the great idea that I needed fashion magazines, dollar store jewelry always with a matching t-shirt, pepper spray and enough money for a couple of beers with friends and a cab ride home.
Nope. I hadn’t thought of Lucas Prine in several months. But there he was looking as good as ever. His shoulders looked broader and stronger. His hair was shorter than it had been giving him almost a military look.
I cupped my chin in my hand and waited to see if he'd notice me. I wasn't the one who had any reason to be embarrassed. I wasn't anything but nice to him. He was the one who thought I'd just drown myself in pills and alcohol because he shot me down. Well, won't he be surprised if he catches a glimpse of me now?
Plus, I had to admit that I was looking very cute in my new maroon colored yoga pants and a tight black turtleneck. School had also helped me tone up since each day I had one class at one part of the campus and it was inevitable that my second class was as far as possible from the first. Plus, you do a lot of walking in New York City. Cabs are expensive and running to the bus stop had become a kind of sport for some of my friends and me.
Yup. I knew I was looking adorable. I just wondered if he was feeling as confident about himself that he’d speak to me if he saw me.
Enough water had passed under the bridge I was really surprised that I wasn't more terrified of bumping into him. He looked well. I would like to ask him how school is going and perhaps even be bold enough to bring up the dreaded Jenna subject. I might even ask him why he thought he needed to be so mean to me in our last phone conversation. But that would let him know I was hurt and I wasn't going to let that happen. As far as he knew I had had a dozen other trysts with a dozen other guys and he was the only one to act like a brat afterward.
Still, I remembered the words he said. What kind of person I was and where I came from. But something inside was whispering that he had a reason for saying that and it wasn’t because he actually believed it.
I don’t know. Maybe it was wishful thinking on my part that a billionaire like Lucas Prine would be interested in a nobody like me. I mean, isn’t that what all the romance novels are about these days? Still, I remember talking with Lucas and I felt a connection. Maybe he didn’t. But I had faith that he did and chose to ignore it for one reason or another. Boys can be so silly at times.
I waited. Finally, he looked up from studying some magazine in a rack and our eyes locked. Without thinking I stuck my tongue out at him.
At first, he pinched his eyebrows together like he was looking at Crazy Mary the bag lady on 42nd Street who liked to expose her privates if you didn’t give her spare change as you walked by.
It was impossible not to laugh at him. As soon as I did I saw the light bulb go on over his head. He recognized me and blinked his eyes a few times while he just stood there like a dope. That made me laugh even more.
Finally, I came to his rescue and pulled out the seat next to me, patting it for him to come and sit.
For a second I was sure he was just going to shake his head and walk away. But he paid for his newspaper and magazine, slung an absolutely gorgeous leather carry-on case over his shoulder and headed in my direction.
My heart began to race inside my chest and I felt my ears and cheeks tingle with jolly embarrassment.
“Merry Christmas, Lucas.”
Chapter 14 – Lucas
I wasn’t in any hurry to get home. My dad told me in a text that Jenna had planned a huge party on the day I was supposed to fly in. It wasn’t a party for me. It was a Christmas party for her at my father’s house. He didn’t have time to give me a call. That would require he actually speak to me. He stopped actually calling me. Every time he did I asked if he’d dumped Jenna yet. I guess it bothered him to keep telling me no. So I didn’t get any more calls from home. He certainly couldn’t Skype. That was reserved for important business associates and politicians who needed donations. So I got the memo in less than 250 characters on her big Christmas bash one week ago.
Jenna ‘s family/friends coming to the house for X-mas. Your room still yours. CU then.
This was the only correspondence my father had had with me since I left at the end of May after graduation except for one other text when he asked if I had purchased a $1600 watch from Cartier. He wanted to make sure no one had stolen his identity. I simply replied YES.
Now here I was actually enjoying being stranded at the airport for a few hours while the roads get cleared. The longer I was here the less time I’d have to spend at home with Jenna and her family. I couldn’t quite imagine it.