“Hello to you, too.” he rolled his eyes playfully. “And no, I live near Nashville.”
“Oh.” my heart was beating like mad.
“I hardly recognized you without your sunburn.” he laughed a bit.... “Some storm, huh?” he said, trying to fill the awkward silence. My awkward silence.
“Oh. Uh. Yeah. Our flight had trouble landing. It uh... Yeah.” Why was it suddenly so hard to talk to him?
“Well I'm glad you landed safely!” he said politely. “Where's Maggie?”
“Oh, the bathroom.” I allowed a little laugh.
“Same with Sky.” he chuckled. “Hey we've got a couple seats over here if you guys wanna join us.” he motioned toward a few empty chairs.
“That'd be awesome.” I replied, fighting to keep my voice steady. “I hope this lets up soon, I don't exactly like the idea of spending the night in an airport.”
He laughed. I found myself caught up in his smile, studying his face. When he laughed, his whole face lit up.
'What are you doing!? Snap out of it.' I thought to myself. I followed as he led me towards the seats, then let out a large yawn. He raised his eyebrows, looking amused.
“Tired?” he asked.
“Incredibly.” I answered truthfully. I hadn't fallen asleep until one last night I was so anxious. And two hours of sleep wasn't cutting it.
“Look who I found!” I somehow managed not to jump as Schyler zoomed towards us, Maggie in tow. “Oh, you found them too!” she smiled at me.
“You didn't tell me they lived here!” Maggie said accusingly.
“How was I supposed to know!” I argued. “And they don't!” She just gave me a look and plopped down in the seat I had been headed for. I rolled my eyes, but let her have it. Sky took the other seat.
“So do ya'll have any idea how long this storm is supposed to last?” she asked, stretching.
“No clue.” I said, feeling resigned. She yawned.
“Well I'm going to take a nap.” she turned to Maggie, who was happily sipping a coffee that was likely caffeinated. “Wake me when we know something.” Maggie nodded.
“You wanna try to find some seats?” Colton asked, turning to me. I was in the middle of a huge yawn, so I held a finger up. I was about to speak when another yawn took over. He laughed. “I'm gonna take that as a yes. I think I saw some over towards the plane entrance.” I nodded and followed him.
Colton was right about the seats, for the most part. It was actually just one big bench seat. But it was big enough for two, so I wasn't complaining. I gratefully plopped down on to one half of it, sleepiness filling me and making my brain feel fluffy. There was a cool breeze coming in from the door, and I made a mental note to remember a sweatshirt next time. I shivered as Colton sat next to me.
“So how's the stage fright going?” he asked me casually. I fought back a laugh.
“I can't even sing in front of my kid sister.” my eyelids felt heavy. I turned to face him as he laughed, and was startled by how close he was. It made my skin tingle.
“You cold?” it sounded like a question, but he wasn't waiting for an answer as he shouldered his jacket off, brown eyes full of concern. He was such a gentleman.
I think I nodded, but I can't be for sure because I was starting to drift off. I felt him drape the jacket over me. It was still warm, and I snuggled into it. My head felt heavy and the drone of voices was starting to fade. And then it was all gone.
Chapter Three: The Delay
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