"You are so fucking stupid, Anastasia, I hope you know that," Ben paces the front of her bedroom, tugging nervously at his thick brown hair.
Ana huffed in response, plopping onto her back. She pulled her comforter over her head, "I know."
"He was basically confessing his love for you and you-"
"I know."
"You let him go. No, correction, you told him to leave."
"I know, Ben! I probably feel worse than you do!" She finally exclaimed, popping her head out from underneath the covers. "I feel so stupid, but what else was I supposed to do? Let him win? No, hell no."
"Either your stubborn or extreme," Ben thought with a tilt of his head, "Both."
Ana propped herself upon her knees, her arms wildly thrown through the air as she explained, "He was jealous and he has no right to be! He was angry and yelling and his face was all red. And I get that I did something similar but, like, mine was way less extreme and his was just blatantly rude!"
Ben sat down on the edge of her bed and grabbed her by the shoulders. "You're still fucking stupid."
She shrugged him off, "Well there's nothing I can do. He's on his flight to Los Angeles for the next six months and I have a wedding to shoot in two days."
Ben snorted and faced away from her with crossed arms.
"What?" Ana inquired. He shrugged like a child. "What?"
Ben whipped his head around, "His flight doesn't leave for another two hours, idiot."
Ana felt her head float up, her eyes glaze over with affectionate hope that only hopeless lovers with souls too far swelled could feel. Butterflies, no, a hurricane in her stomach lit fires across her skin.
Why was she so suddenly excited?
"Well," Ben stood, "I've got a show to go perform. Call me if you've decided to throw yourself off a building or chase him down at the airport to confess your undying love."
"You can't just leave me!" Ana jumped off of the bed and in front of her door, which Ben was reaching for.
He scoffed, "Five seconds ago you were cursing his name."
"Yes because I didn't think there was any chance-"
"And now there is. I see."
"Hey, dont hate the player. Hate the game," Ana popped a hip with a smug expression on.
"I can hate whoever I want so long as you understand you're running out of time." Ben smirked in response.
She grabbed his wrist and glanced at his watch. It was exactly 12:30. And his place left in one hour and fifty two minutes.
"How long is a can to the airport?" Ana asked as she began shedding her pajamas.
Ben leaned against her dresser as she tugged on a pair of jeans. He responded while he picked through different blouses for her. "Well, either one hour or an hour and half. Depending on the traffic. It's a Sunday afternoon so the traffic will be moderate. Just average New York traffic, ya know?"
"Ben," Ana ripped a shirt from his hands, "I love you. Ya know that, right?"
"Mhm," He cheekily grinned, "I love you, too. Go get him girl."
Ana pulled the blouse over her head and slipped into her Vans that were sitting by her door. Ben followed her to the front door as she gathered her purse, phone, keys, and a jacket.
"Good luck!"
"Bye!"
—
"Ugh! This traffic is moving so slow!" Ana cursed under her breath, her knee bouncing with anticipation. Her hands felt sweaty and her face was hot with stressful-sickness. She was nervous and excited but overall frustrated. Ben had lied.
Moderate, my ass, Ana thought as the can inched further. They were two miles from the airport, and it had taken them an hour to get there. There was no way she was going to be able to walk or run all the way there, but she was beginning to think that was a better idea.
"Got a flight to catch or something?" The cab driver caught her eye in the mirror. It was an elder women with graying hair, but cocoa skin which made her look like she was still in her thirties. Her hair was tidy under her Yankees ball cap and she wore printed leggings and a cab-service t-shirt. Ana felt comforted in her presence and they made small talk throughout the ride.
"More like a person to catch." Ana laughed. She felt like crying hysterically, but she knew she couldn't because she'd look psychotic.
"A little Love, Actually action, I'm guessing?"
She snorted, "Yeah, I guess so."
"Well, traffic's speeding up now. So, that's a plus." The driver offered.
Soon enough, they were pulling into the parking lot. The cab driver luckily left the cheesiness out of their goodbyes and simply wished her luck. She took that with her in her pocket and jogged to the ticket station.
"Hi, can I please buy a ticket to Los Angeles?" Ana pulled her wallet from her pocket, careful to not spill the luck, with a pant.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, the last flight to Los Angeles took off early and the rest are cancelled due to a storm approaching. I can book a flight for Tuesday at 1 am." The receptionist didn't meet her eyes as she articulately typed.
Ana huffed, "No, no it's fine."
She stepped away from the counter, her heart stinging her chest so must that she felt like vomiting. Ana drug her feet out of the airport, tears tugging at the edges of her eyelids. She hailed down a cab, and the ride back into the city seemed to go quicker than before. That was her luck.
Ana couldn't believe that the single best thing in her life had been taken away from her because of a rainstorm. She knew she could text or call him, but who knew if he would understand her over the phone. Or if he would even have time for it.
It had begun raining when the cab pulled into her street, so she popped up her hood and prepared for the thunder to roll off her ducked back. She rubbed at her swollen eyes after handing a wad of cash to the cab driver containing a tip too large.
Ana pushed open the heavy door and stepped out into a huge puddle. She kept her head down right until she reached the door of her building.
"Ana-"
Rain ran down her face when she looked towards the sound and she gasped when she saw Jeremy, dripping wet, waiting outside her building. His suitcase was lone beside him, and despite the shivering of his skin, he smiled at her.
"What're- what're you doing here?" Ana stepped forward, her hands shaking from nerves and the freezing cold.
Jeremy stepped closer, too, "I couldn't leave. Not yet. I know you needed to tell me something."
Ana's lips quirked up, "I just got back from the airport. They said tour flight left early, so I thought I hadn't made it in time."
"Ben told me, over the phone," he added in response to the smallest quirk in her brows. "I missed my flight for you, so please don't keep me waiting in anymore anticipation."
"I know, I've done enough." She giggled over the sound of the rain pouring down on the sidewalk around them.
Jeremy reached his hands out and rugged her closer by the waist, "I think you know what I was trying to say the other night."
"Yeah," Ana's hands willingly traveled to his face, cradling it ever so gently. "I love you, too."