Bound to You

Chapter 33: Reunited

“Flight 289 from New York has now landed.”

Darcy fidgeted anxiously with her phone as she stood in the LAX lobby. The three weeks were up; the band was finally returning from tour. More importantly, Riker was returning. She quickly checked her reflection in the screen; the mark on her cheek had finally faded, leaving a barely noticeable red scar behind. She was sure nobody would be looking close enough to notice. Well except for….

She felt the device in her hand buzz loudly as the screen lit up, indicating she had a new message. It was from Riker.

‘we’re getting our bags. fyi…you’re all mine tonight ;)’

Darcy grinned. She had missed him. A lot.

“DARCY!” Rydel’s unmistakeable voice came echoing across the crowded airport lobby. Darcy whirled around and immediately began searching for the familiar blonde.

“Rydel?” A sea of faces surrounded her on both sides, making it difficult to pick out the ones in particular she was looking for. One face stood out from the rest; she noticed a bleach-blonde head bobbing up and down in the crowd, making its way closer to her. Her heart immediately began racing when she caught a glimpse of thick-rimmed black glasses.

“Riker!” She called out involuntarily. She quickly attempted to disguise the giddy smile on her face. It wasn’t Riker that she was supposed to be waiting for. She turned her gaze to the slightly shorter blonde beside him. Photographers were all over the airport. Chances were a few of them knew the band was returning & were looking for photo opportunities. Ross had to have her undivided attention, so long as they were still in public. 

She watched as Ross quickly elbowed his way through the remaining few people who separated them and sprinted over to where she stood. The flash of a camera alerted her that a photographer was somewhere nearby. She quickly plastered on a smile. Showtime.

“I missed you so much!” Ross called as he approached. In one continuous motion he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off of the ground.

“I missed you too.” Darcy said quietly, immediately burying her face in his neck. She knew if she were to catch a glimpse of Riker all bets would be off immediately. It had been a long three weeks. She felt Ross’s lips gently meet the skin beneath her ear. 

“There’s a photographer behind you.” he murmured.

She nodded discretely. “I know, I saw the flash before you came over here.”

He nodded in return, his unruly blonde hair tickling the side of her neck. “We won’t hang around long. I know you’d rather be spending time with Rydel anyways.” 

Darcy smiled wryly. Yeah. That was it.

She quickly pulled back and stretched up on her toes, allowing her lips to roughly meet Ross’s. Sean would want good photo-ops for the nearby journalists. It also provided a much needed distraction from her desire to jump Riker in the middle of the airport.

“And I can’t even get my real girlfriend to come meet me.” Rocky whispered bitterly as he walked past. 

Ross immediately pulled away and grabbed his brother roughly by his shirtsleeve. “Dude keep it down.” he hissed.

Darcy gently laid her hand on top of his, freeing Rocky’s shirt from his grasp.  “She’s in class, she told me to tell you she’ll be at the house later.” she said sympathetically. He nodded sullenly as he moved to stand with the rest of the family. They had all stepped to the side, allowing ‘Rarcy’ to have some space. 

“Have I told you how much I love you?” Ross asked, loudly enough for a few nearby photographers and gawking fangirls to hear. He pulled her in for another tight hug before she had the chance to respond.