Last Flight Home [completed]

✈ xxvi.

[ LOCAL TIME 12:20 ]

"Sir, you can't go any farther."

The flight attendant that blocks our path holds his hand out for my ticket, but I shake my head and look at the short line behind me. Deciding that I'd rather savor these last few moments with Nathan, I pull his arm and drag him over to the side.

"I don't want to say goodbye," I mumble, looking down at the same wedges I was wearing when we met on the elevator yesterday.

Nathan looks out of the large window that was adjacent to us and smiles at the plane that lands on the runway. He watches it circle the track for a moment, and then when he looks back at me his eyes lock with my eyes.

"I'll never be able to say goodbye to you," He starts, lifting my chin up so I can see his face instead of my killer shoes. "This is a to-be-continued, not a goodbye."

Nathan's strong hands cup my fragile cheeks and for the longest time I find myself lost in the man before me. Not because of the golden flakes sprinkled within his eyes or the light freckles that line his cheekbones, but because of the story before me. I was so agitated with not being able to get home that I forgot what that actually meant. Home doesn't always have to be a place. Sometimes, it's two eyes and a loud heartbeat. And even though I wanted to be home with my family to have a traditional holiday, Nathan needed me more than I can imagine. What I found in Nathan wasn't his strong build or his ruffled brown hair, but the broken soul before me that has somehow found a way to be whole. That's what made him irresistible.

CALLING ALL PASSENGERS FOR FLIGHT #2397 WITH NON-STOP SERVICE TO NEW YORK CITY. THIS IS THE LAST CALL FOR FLIGHT #2397. GATES WILL CLOSE IN TEN MINUTES.

As a reflex, I move to grab the luggage at my feet so I can catch my flight, but Nathan shakes his head. Before I can ask him what was going on, I feel him gently lift my chin up and place his lips on mine. The world around me ceases to exist and I find myself lost in a moment that I wish would last forever.

"I love you," Nathan whispers as his lips slowly leave mine.

Instead of slowing down so I can catch up, the universe makes up for the time shift and the world around me feels like it's going one-hundred miles a minute. People rush past me and loud announcements are made over the intercom, but the only thing I can hear are those three soft words ringing in my head over and over.

"I love you, too," I finally reply, feeling as if something heavy on my chest has finally been lifted.

I wrap my suitcase handle in my hands and Nathan gives me a hug goodbye. As I walk towards the gate and hand the flight attendant my ticket, I hear Nathan telling me to call him the second I land in New York City as if I wasn't planning on doing that anyway.

Before I enter the gate, however, I look over my shoulder and smile. Not because the distance between us is going to grow, but because someday I'll make my plane ticket a one-way.

[- ✈ -]

This isn't the end, promise! We're getting close though :)