“Hey, Vickey. Yeah, I got your messages. I'll check on flights. Hopefully I will be able to get home today.
“Yes, it’s been great.
“Okay, I’ll shoot you a text and let you know when I can be there.
“No it’s fine. Honestly. Yep, talk soon.”
Chelle replaced the phone in her purse and started picking her clothes up off the floor, completely ignoring him. He didn’t want to pry, but it seemed that if he was going to find out what was going on, he was going to have to.
“Who was that?”
“My supervisor,” Her tone sounded flat, “Three nurses are out with the flu and the floor is full.”
She pulled on her shirt and underwear and sat at the desk as she turned on her laptop computer. “Lots of people having babies. I’ve gotta get the next flight home.”
“Back to reality.” He repeated the words that she had used the night before. They caused a sharp pain in his chest.
“Yep.” She said curtly nodding her head, just once.
He stood and pulled on his shorts, crossing to where she was sitting at the desk. “Why don’t you start getting packed up, I’ll take care of getting us home.”
She shook her head and continued typing away, going from site to site, looking for flights. “No thanks, I can book my own flight.” She sounded irritated by his request.
He didn’t want to be the cause of her becoming any more upset than she already was. Honestly, he just wanted to take care of this for her.
He put his arm on her shoulder and he felt her tense under his touch. He removed his hand. He did his best to make his tone come across as reasonable, without seeming patronizing. He just wanted her to relax and listen. “Look I have to get a flight anyway, and you have a lot more stuff to pack up than me. So let me take care of the flights and you get ready to go.”
She slumped in her chair, “Fine, but I’ll pay you back for the ticket.”
He wasn’t going to argue that point with her now, but there was no way in hell that was going to happen.
He closed his eyes sadly as reality began to truly hit home. He had just spent the last three days in a fantasy. They had been the best three days of his life. Now, he was buying his own plane ticket straight back to reality, and it was the last place he wanted to go.
She stood and quickly went into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her and clicking the lock. Clearly he wasn’t invited.
He heard the water start and flashes from the night before started popping into his head. How drastically things had changed in less than twenty-four hours.
--- ~ ---
Just as he was putting the finishing touches on breakfast, he heard the bedroom door open. Chelle walked out, her carry-on draped over her shoulder, rolling a large suitcase behind her. She didn’t look up at him, didn’t smile, but merely placed her luggage by the front door.
When she joined him in the kitchen area, she still looked one hundred percent closed off. The ‘do not disturb’ sign was firmly in place.
He wanted to grab her and kiss her until she melted. He wanted to pick her up and take her back to the bedroom, strip her out of her clothes and toss her on the bed. And he wanted to keep her there, naked and smiling.
But he couldn’t do that. That was over. They were over.
“Any luck?” She asked as she straightened up some things in the kitchen. Not that it needed it. She just seemed determined not to look at him.
“We fly out of SFO in three hours.” He said.
“Great. Well, we should probably get going. Traffic is crazy in this city.”
“We have enough time to eat. Do you want OJ or coffee?”
He wanted his Chelle back. Even on the day he had arrived, after a week of doing nothing but eating and drinking alone, she had seemed happier than the girl who was standing in front of him now.
“Neither, and I’m not hungry. I’m gonna call a cab.”
“I already did. It'll be here in twenty minutes.” He couldn’t help himself, he had to touch her, even though she was clearly giving signals that she wanted to be left alone.
He stepped closer to her, cautiously testing the waters, and she raised her face to him. She looked into his eyes for the first time since she had picked up her phone that morning. He saw tears brimming, and her eyes were slightly puffy, making him think she had just spent the last hour crying.
The sight made him feel like someone had kicked him in the balls.
Without waiting for permission he grabbed her and pulled her into his arms. He held her tightly. She felt good there, perfect. It seemed like that’s what his arms were created for, to hold her.
Finally, she relaxed and wrapped her arms around him. He let out a breath he hadn’t even known he had been holding in.