Valentine from a Soldier(9)

The plane ride back to Chicago gradually began to dull my memories, though. I knew we’d had an amazing night together, knew that the physical feelings had been real, but I was now certain that any other feelings between us were something that I’d imagined. Maybe he’d come to see me someday, months from now, and we’d realize what a mistake it had been. That our night in San Francisco had been just that—one night, and not something that we could carry on into any kind of future or long-distance relationship.

Morgan and Josh were waiting for me when I exited the plane. I was surprised but realized I should have expected it. Although they didn’t make it a habit of picking me up at the airport since I traveled all the time, we had a lot of last-minute wedding planning to do. There was a final dress-fitting for Morgan this afternoon, plus the bridesmaid dress-fittings for the other girls and me. I’d also promised Josh I’d help him pick out something to give Morgan on their wedding day, an outing Morgan knew about but pretended that she didn’t for his sake.

Morgan ran over to me excitedly, her long dark hair billowing out behind her. She threw her arms around my neck and gave me a big hug. “Sarah! I can’t believe you couldn’t make it back last night. The bachelorette party was amazing! I’m so sad you weren’t there.”

“I can’t believe I missed it either after all that planning,” I said with a wry smile. “I’m glad you had fun though.”

“So what’d you do in San Fran last night?” Josh asked as he sauntered over. With his light brown hair and boyish good looks, I’d always thought that he and Morgan made an especially cute couple. He hooked one arm around Morgan’s shoulders as she eventually released me from her embrace. “I keep hearing all about this amazing night you planned, and you couldn’t even bother to show up for it?” He gave me a teasing smile, and I playfully punched him in the arm.

“Very funny. Do you think I waited around the airport for hours yesterday just for fun?”

“It sounded like a fun night judging from the text you sent me earlier,” Morgan said flashing me a smile.

“It sounds like there’s a story that I’m missing here,” Josh said, glancing between the two of us.

“It’s just girl talk,” I reassured him. “Nothing you’d want to hear about.”

He raised his eyebrows doubtfully, and Morgan laughed. “Don’t worry, Sweetie. I’ll tell you all about it later.”

“No need to do that,” I interrupted, abruptly changing the subject. “Don’t we have a dress-fitting to get to?”

After spending a few hours in the bridal shop with Morgan and the rest of the bridesmaids, I met Josh at a jewelry store around the corner to help him pick out a special gift. He was eyeing large heart-shaped lockets, which were cute, but something I thought Morgan would have liked more if she were a teenager and not a grown woman walking down the aisle.

“Picking out something for your girlfriend?” the saleswoman asked as she approached us.

“Oh, I’m not his girlfriend,” I said.

“I need something for my fiancée,” Josh explained.

“Congratulations!” the woman loudly exclaimed, giving me a big smile.

“I’m not his fiancée either,” I said with an amused laugh. “He’s marrying my best friend.”

“Oh, I see,” she replied, the smile never leaving her face. “Let me find something you both think she’d like.”

Josh and I looked at trays of earrings and necklaces. He was completely clueless when it came to jewelry, and I was actually glad that he’d invited me along, for Morgan’s sake. They’d picked out her engagement ring together, and after seeing his taste, I understood why. I was able to offer a few suggestions on what I thought Morgan would like, and in the end he selected a beautiful pearl necklace for her. We left the jewelry store with Josh excited about his gift and me more than ready to finally head home.

Josh thanked me for helping him and dropped me off at my apartment building late Saturday afternoon. He offered to carry my suitcase in, but I told him it wasn’t necessary. As I finally rolled my suitcase into my bedroom and tossed my other belongings down on the bed, I realized that I’d never turned my phone back on after my flight. I’d been busy with Morgan and the other bridesmaids for most of the afternoon and then was so busy shopping with Josh that I had completely forgotten about it. As I powered it back on, it immediately beeped with a new message.

Hope you had a safe flight. Miss you already. Ryan

A warm feeling surged through me, and I smiled. We’d said we’d keep in touch and see what happened, but I didn’t expect to hear from him so soon. Didn’t guys have a three-day rule or something before calling or texting the girl they’d gone out with? And really, technically, we hadn’t even gone out on a date together, just had a one-night-stand—something I never, ever did. Maybe I was far enough away that it felt safe for him to contact me. It’s not like I could expect him to ask me out to dinner on Friday night. Plus he was still back in San Francisco, enjoying his vacation. Once he returned to work and resumed his normal life, I was certain that I’d be out of sight, out of mind. I was still pleased to hear from him though, and I quickly typed a message back.