Plane Ticket To You

Chapter 32

LUCIA

My mouth fell open. "A double date? That is the worst idea I've ever heard, and it's coming from someone who is notorious for bad ideas."

Orion chuckled, tossing another plum slice into his mouth, which earned him a withering stare from our mother.

"Sorry, ma, just practicing my hand-eye coordination," he said, flashing her a classic Orion grin that I knew melted her insides.

I leaned back against my chair. "Orion, things between me and Elias are still kind of brand-new. Going on a double date now with you and Nadine would be... weird, to say the least. Especially because of how you reacted to us dating when we were in India."

"Oh, c'mon, don't be a buzzkill," my brother whined. "Things are alright now.  I promise I'm not mad anymore. It was just a knee-jerk reaction to seeing my best friend and my sister together. That's all."

"Speaking of your relationship with Elias," my mother said, staring me down. "How are things going in that department?"

Butterflies tickled my insides as I thought about our private moments over the past few days. My name on his lips and his hands in my hair. 

"Please-"  Orion held up a hand, "spare me the details."

"You're gross." I smacked his hand lightly. "Ma, it's going great. Do you think this double date thing is a good idea?"

"Yes, for once I agree with your brother."

"We would just, I don't know, walk around downtown, grab some boba. Nothing overly serious," my brother assured.

My shoulders sagged. "Fine. But I swear to God, if you bring up any, and I mean any, embarrassing details of my toddler or pubescent years, I will not hesitate to show Nadine your hideous fifth grade photo."

Orion shuddered. "Deal."

The doorbell rang at that moment, and I rose from the table to answer it, half-expecting it to be Elias.

I opened the door, and my heart rose to my throat. 

It was Katie. Her light brown hair was tied into a French twist, a light sunburn reddening her freckled cheeks.

Why did she look like that? Why did she look so... genuine, and sincere? My guard was up immediately.

This was the girl who had pretended to befriend me when Aaron and I had dated, then promptly cut me off when I had left him. The girl who had been helping Aaron blackmail me for months.

"H-hey," I said, my voice hoarse. "What-- what are you doing here?"

She looked down at her feet, clad in a fashionable pair of Doc Martens. "I heard about what happened. How you stood up to Aaron. I just wanted to say that-- I, gosh, it was pretty damn brave."

My mind reeled. "Katie. Don't pretend you were innocent in that. You helped him blackmail me. Also, why the sudden change of heart?"

"Lucia, he..." She took a deep breath. "I helped him blackmail you because he was blackmailing me, too, and I was forced to do it. I don't expect your pity, at all, but I just want you to know why I did what I did. You don't know this, but last year I was dating a guy that I really loved. One night, I got really drunk and... I slept with another guy."

I winced. "God.  And... and Aaron had proof of that?"

Katie wrapped her arms around herself. "Yes. That's what he used to blackmail me with, because I didn't want my boyfriend at the time to know what I'd done. But a few weeks ago, I realized how dumb I had been, and I wanted to make things right. I cut off all my ties with Aaron and his other friends. And I admitted to the guy who I was in a relationship with what I had done. He broke up with me, but I knew that I couldn't keep being with him with that secret over my head."