Page 36 of The Rival in South Africa
He shrugged, a blush creeping up his ears. “I wanted you to have something—aside from photographs—to remember the trip by.”
I leaned over and kissed his cheek, slipping the bracelet on my wrist. “Thank you.”
We arrived at the airport and gave a flurry of hugs and handshakes to Thomas. Alex and I had discussed the tips in advance, and Alex handed the envelope to him as we said goodbyes.
After a brief check-in, we were seated at the gate. Alex nudged me.
“There’s Wi-Fi here,” he said, gesturing with his phone.
I glanced down at his phone. “Back to reality?”
Alex looked down too. He took a deep breath. “Yes. Back to the real world, with a job and a work schedule and not enough free time.”
I pulled out my phone, queueing up the connection. I nodded, decisive. “Let’s do it.”
“Wait, wait.” He wrapped an arm around me pulling me close to him and ducking to meet my lips. The armrest of my seat dug into my ribs, but when Alex kissed me, I could have been on fire and wouldn’t have given a whit.
After what was probably indecently long for a public kiss in an airport, we broke apart.
“One last kiss before we go back to the real world.”
Right, the real world where Alex is a Very Busy Person.
He turned his attention back to his phone, and I almost shouted out, “No! Wait! Stop! Let’s just run off into the African savanna and never return again.”
But of course, I didn’t. Real life called.
And the pings started to come in on Alex’s phone. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair, beginning to scroll through the messages.
I turned back to my phone and tapped Connect. It vibrated, messages coming in too. Not nearly the backlog Alex had, but enough.
We sat in silence, scanning messages, typing out responses, and carried on like that through the flight and while I walked with Alex to his gate in Joburg. Alex’s brows furrowed more with every step we took toward home.
“Take a seat,” he said, gesturing to the waiting area. “I have to make a call.”
I took his bag and settled in. He typed a few moments on his phone and then turned and walked away, holding the phone to his ear. “Hi, Mum.”
Rather than turning back to my phone, I watched Alex. He paced near the washrooms, talking animatedly to Natasha, tucking his hand into his pockets while he listened and then pulling it out to gesture as he talked. I bit my lip, trying not to laugh. He looked up and caught my eye, giving me a lopsided smile that made my heart melt a little. An uncomfortable feeling I still wasn’t used to having around him.
“So, I’ve got a bit of a problem,” Alex interrupted me as I scrolled through my Instagram notifications. He took a seat next to me, tucking his phone back in his pocket.
I set my phone on my lap. “What’s happened?”
“There was a bug discovered in some of the mobile application coding, and it’s…well, it’s screwed up a big project of ours for the software update coming out in four months. They’ve been working on a resolution, with the team staying late a lot. Mum’s even been involved since I’ve been gone, but she’s got a conference on women in technology later this week, so she really needs me there.” He let out a big sigh, leaning back against the chair.
“You’ll be busy, basically,” I said.
“I will be busy. But we’ll figure it out. I’ll be able to take some time off next weekend, I hope,” Alex said, harried.
“Hey,” I said, placing my palm on his forearm. “I’ve got stuff to do too. I’m pretty self-sufficient, you’ll find.”
Alex looked doubtful. “It’s not just this week, unfortunately. I’m busy a lot.”
I rolled my eyes, picking up my phone. “Alex, I’ve known you for years, and in this case, you’re the spitting image of your mother. I have plenty to do, but my schedule is more flexible. You just let me know when you’re free, and I’ll adjust.”
He blinked at me. “What do you do all day? You clearly have me sorted out, but I must admit your life right now is a bit of a mystery to me.”
“Oh, you know.” I waved it off, feeling guilty for the first time. “Photo editing and Instagram.” It wasn’t a lie, but it was a half-truth.
