Finding my way to you.

Chapter 4

Lewis entered the airport with pride written all over his face with Zoe and the kids following behind him. His crew was waiting for him at the staff lounge as usual. He smiled when he saw Brian choking on his drink and the air hostess struggling to help him. "Good morning guys, I would like to introduce you to Zeb, Princess Zoe and Zack", he said casually even though he knew that he would not hear the end of it. 

After the formalities he took Zack and Zoe to see the planes land and take off, they were so excited Zoe wouldn't stop jumping and clapping her hands. "This is awesome Lewis, which one is yours?", Zack asked, he smiled and pointed to the plane that was in front of them. "Whoa! that is so cool", "Yes it is, she is an Airbus A321, but Brian and I call her Jill", Zack looked at him with a confused face, and he smiled. "It's just a name we gave her like when someone gives a name to their pet", he explained. Zack was more at ease now, as they were walking back Zoe was in awe of the air hostesses who were boarding their planes, Lewis saw the look she had, and a lot of people did the same. "They are so pretty", she said to herself in a very small voice but Lewis heard her and replied, "Not as pretty as you". She smiled at him, it was an adorable view that made him laugh, Zack was busy looking outside that he didn't pay attention to them at all.

He found Brian, telling a story about how they had travelled to a foreign country and got lost earlier in their career, everyone was laughing but it was one laugh that sparked his interest, it was so carefree and music to his ears, Zeb's. 

"You're such a terrible friend, why would you embarrass me like that?", "It's not embarrassing if it's true", Brian replied with a smile. Zeb told him that they had to leave and though he didn't want them to, he had to get ready for departure too. He hugged the kids and promised to meet them again soon. There was no way that he was letting this woman go. When it came to saying goodbye to Zeb, he took his time alternating between whispering sweet nothings and kissing her neck, he knew that would keep her busy until they met again, which he looked forward to now that he knew them a little better.

"What happened to 'getting someone safe'?", "She is 'safe'", Lewis knew exactly what his friend meant but he chose to ignore the topic, it was too early for him to tell if Zeb was worth the investment although everything with her seemed natural. Their chemistry was by far off the charts, he was able to be himself around her and she didn't look like the type that needed that much attention, but the fact that she was friends with Mellisa created some doubts, what if it was all an act? what if they were in on it together? he needed more time to get to know her not that he had time to think about what transpired between them. He was sure that he wanted her but taking that risk now was more than what he bargained for. "To be honest, I want her, no I need her, she just feels right. I can't think straight when she is close and now am just lost" he took a deep breath and continued, "What if she is playing me? what if she is like the rest of them? seeing me as some rich white guy that will fall in her trap and fill in for the baby daddy?", "With this Lewis, I think it's best to follow your heart, it's not like you are committing to marriage or better yet, using the distance to get to know her better, am sure you can use it to find skeletons in her closet if she has any, which I doubt, she looks like a typical badass single mother, and it's clear that she likes you too", "You think so?", "Hell yeah. Welcome to the love side of relationships", "Brian, am not in love with her, just chill", he let out a nervous laugh that made Brian smirk. Lewis knew that it was a lost battle but there was no way out, he had to face reality. He needed to be sure before committing to Zeb and this time around distance was going to help him get answers.

"H-hello?", "Hi beautiful. I miss you", Lewis could not believe that was the first thing he said to her after three days of radio silence. "I thought you forgot about me", there was sadness in her voice which made Lewis feel guilty, he had more than one opportunity to call her but he chose not to because he felt like he would look desperate, her response made him forget everything. "I would never do that, I was just all over the place and decided it would be best to call you when we are settled, we landed like thirty minutes ago, how are Zack and Zoe?", "They are ok, doing their homework", "Let me switch to a video call, I want to see them". He did not wait for her reply when she answered he could see that her hair was a mess as if she was trying to make it look better and failed miserably, it made him smile, she moved the phone so that he could see the kids better, they were busy writing until she told them to look up. They screamed when they saw him, giving him a bonus point for his ability to win them over. "Hi Lewis!", they said at the same time. "Hi guys, whatcha doing?", "Math, am done with mine but Zack is having a hard time", "Why aren't you helping him then?", "He didn't ask nicely", she replied with an annoyed face making Zeb laugh loud enough for him to hear. "Zack, am good at math, so let's make a deal if you ask Zoe nicely, I will teach you when I come there next time that way you won't need her help anymore", that answer made Zack more than happy that he rushed to asking Zoe with an emphasis 'please' at the end. "Ok guys, talk to you later", he replied and asked Zeb to turn the camera towards her, he wanted to see her once more just to memorise her features which made her look shy. He just looked at his screen silently until he saw her nervousness appear. "Do I make you uncomfortable?", he teased making her smile. "No, you're just creepy", "No am not, just memorising your cute face. Can you send me your picture?", "Why?", "Why not? I want you on my screen saver that's all, there you have it sue me", he made a crazy face making her laugh. "Ok, I will send it to you", "Now?", "Yes, now jeez you're so bossy", "That I am, and I can't wait to show you how bossy I can be", with that he blew her a kiss and hang up. He was happy, it felt right. Before falling asleep his phone beeped only to see Zeb's text with a picture of her on what seemed like a swing smiling at him. He replied with a thank you and set the photo as his screen saver. He fell asleep with Zeb on his mind and fewer doubts about her being a gold digger.