Page 98 of No Place Like You

I nod. “Yeah. One day at a time.”

“I can’t believe you’re leaving already,” Nat whines while she drags my suitcase behind her.

I smirk, hooking the strap to my tote bag over my shoulder. “You’re leaving for Kauai in the morning, and I have a home to get back to.”

Nat pouts and Hayden stands by her side with his arm draped over her shoulder. The white gold ring on his ring finger glints in the light, and Nat slips her fingers through his, her own ring sparkling in unison.

“I’ll call you when we’re back,” Nat says sadly, pulling me in for an embrace. “Maybe I can fly you out or we can visit you over Labor Day weekend.”

“Yeah, that’ll be fun,” I tell her, squeezing her back. I pull away and reach for my suitcase from her. She reluctantly hands it over as if her keeping an iron grip on it would prevent me from leaving.

“It’s good both of your flights are at the same time,” Hayden comments, gesturing toward Dexter standing next to me with his own suitcase in his hand.

Dexter nods, his steps already leading to the cab waiting in front of the hotel. We mused over whether or not we should be sharing a cab, wondering if it may appear a little suspicious, but ended up not even caring. We even threw in a little fib saying we found out during the rehearsal our flights were leaving around the same time.

Our flights weren’t leaving at the same time. In fact, they were hours apart, but that didn’t stop us from wanting to leave the hotel at the same time. Anything so we could get a few extra hours alone before parting ways.

Carmen already left early in the morning, and I said my goodbyes to my parents up in the hotel room where they were packing too, their flight leaving later this evening.

“Text me when you get home,” Nat instructs. The attendant takes our luggage, helping the cab driver load everything into the trunk of the cab.

“I will.” She pulls me in for another short embrace before we both stubbornly part.

“We’ll see you back home?” Hayden asks Dexter.

Dexter nods. “When you guys get back,” he says. “We’ll catch up.”

Nat pulls Dexter in a quick embrace, and I change places and hug Hayden too, prolonging our farewells for as long as we can. I enter the back seat, with Dexter close behind. He closes the door, and we hear Hayden thump the top of the car. We continue our waves and sad smiles through the window until the cab curves down the road and Hayden and Nat disappear.

I turn to face Dexter, and we both smile.

“Do you wish you would have stayed a little longer?” he asks.

I shake my head. “I wanted to see you off at the airport anyway.”

He nods and lifts his arm for me to fit under it, letting a satisfying hum rumble through his chest.

We spend the cab ride to the airport with comfortable small talk. Like how much I’m going to cuddle Jeremy when I get home or the beautiful purple scarf he got for Janet from the gift shop. When the cab comes to a stop in front of the airport, we exit and check in. Once we’ve made it through the security check and walked to a part of the airport where foot traffic isn’t too heavy, we sit on a row of chairs in front of Dexter’s gate.

“I have some vacation hours saved up,” he announces, his fingers linked through mine. “I can try to take a day off for a long weekend and fly out to you.”

I smile at him with sad eyes. “That would be really nice.”

We stay quiet for a moment longer. An announcement sounds on the intercom, announcing a boarding call from Honolulu to New York City. Dexter looks down at his ticket, where his seat call is marked, and we both stand.

“Text me when you’re about to board. I might not get it until I land, but still, I’ll feel better knowing you did.”

“I will,” I agree.

He takes my hand in his, lifting it so he kisses my knuckles, and his arms wrap around my waist. I let out a small sob, and I bury my face into his shoulder.

“We’ll see each other soon,” he tells me, the same tightness in his voice as mine. “And I’ll call you every day. And we can FaceTime and text. There’re so many things we can do to still be a part of our everyday lives.”

“But I won’t get to touch you,” I cry. It’s then a lone tear slips down my cheek, and he swipes it with his thumb. “I won’t get to kiss you or come home to you.”

“I know.”

Another sob slips through, and I feel so silly. So silly for crying over a goodbye like this, with someone who I’ve only really gotten to know over the past few months. Someone who I never thought I would have to say goodbye to in a drafty airport surrounded by hundreds of weary travelers. “I’m sorry,” I whisper, ducking my head and wiping more tears. “I’m making such a scene, and it’s so embarrassing.”

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