Page 109 of A Game Plan for Love

“Very handsome.”

He smiles, and it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever witnessed. So bright, and unguarded. Full of joy, and wonder, andhope.

It’s a smile I’ll chase for the rest of our lives.

CHAPTER 32

Everything I Did To Get To You – Ben Platt

Declan

Atwhatageisa person too old to have a leash attached to a backpack, and would it be socially unacceptable to buy one for my fully grown girlfriend?

Nora has given up on walking through the airport and her legs bang against my side as she holds onto my back like a spider monkey. Her sparkly pink backpack sits on my front, and I push a carry-on suitcase in front of me while I try to catch up to Addie, who was convinced we're going to miss boarding.

We’re two hours early for an eight a.m. flight.

“Where did Mommy go?” Nora asks.

“I don’t know,” I grumble, weaving through the crowd and narrowly avoiding a collision with a teenager walking with their head down.

You learn a lot about a person based on their airport habits, and this is a new crash course on Addie, who becomes neurotic the moment she steps into an airport. She was a drill sergeant at security, barking orders for our shoes to come off and to empty our pockets.

I’ve never felt such pressure in my life.

A head of copper hair appears from one of the small shops in the terminal, and Addie barrels toward us with arms full of snacks, drinks, and books.

Oh, shit.

I don’t have any more space to carry anything.

“Mommy!” Nora waves wildly, and Addie’s smile brightens as she reaches us.

“What did you buy?” I ask, though it seems like she bought everything they sell, and probably had to take out a personal loan to do so.

She falls into step with us, and we find a few empty seats by our gate. Nora slides off my back, and Addie drops her plunder onto the ground and flops down beside Nora.

“There are plane snacks, and drinks. I got this for you.” She lifts a fantasy book, a dagger weaved in vines on the cover. “And this for Nora.” She hands Nora a small coloring book with markers. “And this for myself.” She holds up a fancy eye mask and a king sized Kit Kat.

My lips quiver to hold back my smile as they both go through the snacks and divvy them up by person. Nora gets the Cheetos—because a kid covered in neon orange dust is just what we need—Addie gets the canister of sour cream Pringles, and I get the beef jerky and massive bag of gummy worms under the conditions I share with them both.

It’s not a fair deal, not by a long shot, but I let them have it.

Addie helps Nora pick a page from the coloring book, and they work together to draw in the lines of the jungle as I crack open the fantasy book. By the time I’ve made it to the part of the book where the character realizes they’respecial,the flight attendants are starting to board the plane.

I gather our belongings and shuffle the girls toward the gangway. I’ve been hiding a teeny, tiny secret from Addie about this leg of our trip, and as we greet the flight attendants, I stop at the very first seats of the plane. Nora falls into the window seat without protest and peers out the window, but Addie watches confused as I slide our luggage above the seats, and guide her into the window seat on the other side of the aisle.

It’s only a few-hour plane flight to Orlando, and this allows her to relax a bit on her own before the chaos of a vacation with Nora and me.

“What?” Addie asks, adorably confused as I shove her down by the shoulders, drop her Kit Kat and eye mask in her lap, and place a kiss on her lips.

“Enjoy your few hours of peace and quiet,” I say, kissing her one more time before I settle into my seat.

She stares at me from across the aisle, and I wink, which causes a soft flush to hit her cheeks.

“Can I have my coloring book?” Nora asks, and I dig it out of her bag and wedge her bag of markers between our seats so they don’t spill on the floor.

Nora draws quietly and I continue to read, a wave of excitement washes over me. She’s asked an uncharacteristically small number of questions, too caught up in the new experience to question why we’re on a plane or what we’re doing in Florida.

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