“Paris?” Blake’s voice suddenly gets my attention and I realize he’s holding my door open. “You are catching a flight today, right?”
“Right. Sorry.” I slowly climb out and take my bag from him. “Um...Thank you so much for letting me—”
He slips an arm around my waist and kisses me again, making my knees go weak. “You’re welcome.”
Holding back a smile, I murmur “thank you” and head inside.
I look over my shoulder to get one last look at him, but I realize that he hasn’t gotten back into his car. He’s following me.
“What do you think you’re doing, Blake?”
“I’m making you sure you get there safely.”
“There’s really no need for that. I think I’m perfectly capable of getting on a plane myself. There aren’t too many ways that I can f**k that up.”
He crosses his arms and I know this is a lost argument, so I ignore his presence and walk up to a desk agent.
“How may I help you today, Miss?” She looks up.
“I’m here for my rescheduled flight to Boston.” I slide my license across the desk. “Paris Weston. Would it be possible to have a window seat?”
“I’m sorry ma’am. That flight was canceled fifteen minutes ago.”
“Fifteen minutes ago?”
She nods. “You should be receiving a phone call or a text notification any minute now.”
As if on cue, my phone begins to vibrate and I hold it up to my face. It’s a text: “This is a message for all passengers who have flights booked out of Reagan International for the next five days. All flights have been indefinitely grounded due to concerns from the National Weather Board regarding the snow storm that is set to move to the area over the next week. Please check with your specific airline regarding refunds, rescheduling, and hotel affiliate reservations.”
“Five days?” I glare at her. “Are you f**king kidding me?”
“Ma’am...”
“No, are you f**king kidding me?” I notice a security guard walking over out the corner of my eye and lower my voice. “I’ll still have seven days left after the weather passes, right? Can you book me on the next available flight please?”
“Did you purchase flight protection?”
“No.”
“Well in that case...It’ll depend on the number of passengers that are already scheduled for that flight and open availability. Customers with flight protection will receive the first tickets.”
I try to stay calm. “Well, can I fly somewhere else then? Somewhere that costs the same amount?”
“All US Airways tickets are nontransferable, Miss Weston. Would you like a refund for that portion of the trip?”
“Are you saying that I’m stuck here?”
“I didn’t personally say that but...Given the number of stranded passengers and the fact that you didn’t buy flight protection...” Her voice trails off. “Your return flight to Nashville won’t be affected at all. In fact,” she says, tapping on her keyboard, “I changed it so you won’t have a layover in Atlanta this time. It’s a direct flight now. Would you like a refund for the Boston portion of your trip?”
“No, I would not like a f**king refund. I would like for you to—”
“She’ll take the refund.” Blake covers my mouth with his hand and gives me a look of sympathy.
I bite my tongue, preventing myself from telling him to stay out of this.
“Here you are, Miss Weston.” The agent hands over a check. “I also refunded your first flight in light of the circumstances. I really am sorry for the inconvenience.” She has the decency to look halfway sincere.
“Thanks.” I sigh and let Blake lead me out to his car. There’s not a single f**king snowflake falling from the sky and I’m tempted to run inside and demand to speak to the CEO.
“Are you really that upset about missing your flight?” Blake speeds off onto the highway.
“Of course I’m not upset. I buy flight tickets with no intention of flying all the time.”
“I meant to imply if you were upset about spending more time with me.”
My eyes widen as far as they can go. “Excuse me?”
“You’re more than welcome to stay with me until after the storm passes.”
I burst into laughter. He’s out of his mind.
“Is my hospitality that funny?”
“It is.” I take a deep breath. “No offense, but I don’t really trust you.”
“You could if you wanted to.” He smiles. “Stay with me.”
“No thanks.” I shake my head. “I mean, we were only together for a few hours yesterday and you were assaulting me with your tongue, so I can only imagine what you would attempt to do with even more days.”
“I assaulted you?”
“That’s what I said.”
“I don’t recall you asking me to stop.” He looks over at me. “As a matter of fact, you looked disappointed when I did. And if I was sensing things correctly, I think you wanted me to take things further—a lot further.”
My cheeks redden and I focus my attention on the buildings that are whirring by my window. Staying with Blake for over a week would definitely be the most spontaneous thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I can’t bring myself to admit that out loud.