Coincidentally

Chapter 7 • Her Honeymoon

E M I L E E

By the time we had walked off the second flight, my entire body ached.  No amount of stretching seemed to be helping.  On top of my pained right ankle (which is now almost double the size of my left), I feel as though I am falling apart.

"Are you sure you're okay to walk to your car?"  I turn to see Hodge eying my injury again.  He tugs his unruly black hair with worry.  "Seriously, it looks bad.  You should get it looked at while you are here.  You need x-rays."

He is much more worried about this than I am.  I've had many sprains over the years with being a runner.  I just need to elevate it.  The same position for twenty-five hours on a plane did not help it one bit.  The last thing I need is a medical bill in Bali while I'm paying for a wedding that never happened.

"I'll be fine," I nod to him and grab my plum-colored suitcase from the circling conveyer.  "You picked the wrong fake profession.  You should have chosen a doctor or something."

Hodge's lips curl up into a gorgeous smile as his blue eyes catch mine.  "Maybe I'll choose that next time."

We both laugh at our ridiculous game.  For someone who started off by pissing me off, he took my mind off of the flight.  So I guess for that, I'm thankful to him.  I still think he's weird for buying a random plane ticket to Bali right after we ran in to each other.  Again, I'm just glad it sold.  I need to remember to thank him for that on the plane ride home.

Ngurah Rai airport is large and already sets the mood of the trip. Ornate decorations, statues and fountains, gift shops and fast food options line the walkways.  Without being anywhere near the doors we are able to see that it is a rainy day here in Bali, as we can see and hear it hitting the all glass ceiling of the building.  The ceiling appears to look like a wave, it's stunning.  There's already so much to see just here in this airport that I'm not ready to leave it yet. 

Hodge keeps his walking slow as I limp towards the main doors to take an airport Taxi to my resort.  He could just leave me and begin his vacation, but I don't even argue it.  I had planned to take this trip with Cody, and I'd be lying if the thought of me being here all alone didn't scare me a little bit.  I'm not exactly one who enjoys trying new things, Cody usually had to do them with me the first time for me to feel comfortable.  Even using a new drive-through would give me anxiety until I did it once.  But, today before getting off the plane I gave myself a little bit of a mental pep-talk to focus on enjoying this trip and focus on healing myself.

I can do this. I can enjoy myself without Cody. 

Once we are outside, I push the handle down on my luggage and sit on it, tossing my backpack down beside me.  The rain begins to let up a bit but we are in a covered area.  Hodge bends down in front of me and picks up my aching foot.  Just being outside for ten minutes in this heat has us both sweating.  It's so muggy out with the rain.  His forehead glistens and he swipes it away with the back of his arm, returning his attention to me.  His touch is gentle as he runs his hand down the ankle to the foot.  There's a certain spot on be top of it that makes me flinch and my leg jerks.

He looks up to me and shakes his head with pursed lips.  "I think you broke a bone in your foot and twisted your ankle.  Your ankle isn't healing because you're babying the foot."

"I swear, I'll be fine."

I know he doesn't believe me, but he gives the foot one last rub and sets it back down to the ground.  "Lose the thongs."

"Flip-flops!"

"Whatever," he laughs and stands.  "Did you bring tennis shoes?"

I nod yes.  I did, but I'm not wearing sneakers on the beach.  He's crazy.  I brought them for the volcano hike.