worth a shot. If I was even going to consider accepting Roderick’s second proposal, then I had to see Ethan first.
I broke all kinds of speeding laws driving to the airport and quickly made my way around the terminal loop, angrily honking at anyone in my way driving below the speed limit.
I parked and raced through the terminal and into the area designated for departing flights. I looked up at the monitor and, as expected, there were tons of flights headed to Florida. I had no idea which city Ethan was headed to, or even if the janitor had been right in the first place.
Not knowing in which direction to head, I remained still and looked around for his face. I looked for anything that might lead me to him: a scent, a sound, a stirring in the pit of my stomach, or even the tickling of the fine hairs on my arms as they stood on end. I didn’t have to wait very long.
“Alexandra?”
I turned around and sucked in a breath. It had been the longest I’d ever gone without seeing him and now he stood as satiation for my thirst. He was wearing a navy blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal his forearms, and casual khaki brown shorts. I looked into his eyes expecting to find anger or disgust, but neither were present. He just looked at me in confusion, no doubt waiting for me to utter something instead of staring at him as though he wasn’t real.
“Ethan. Hi.”
“Hi,” he echoed.
The words “I missed you,” were battling with the seal of my lips to slip out, but I didn’t want to make things awkward. After all, it was my fault that I could no longer find home in his arms.
“I have a question,” I began. “I won’t take up much of your time because obviously, you have somewhere to be.”
He tipped his head to the side. “Technically, but take your time.”
“Hypothetically speaking,” I started for a second time, “say that my grandmother’s punch really did what she claimed it could do. Could you be with me knowing that one day, the ‘potion’ could wear off and your feelings for me could disappear?”
His brows came together. “What’s the real question, Alexandra?”
I sighed and tried again. “I guess what I’m asking is, do you think what happened between us was real?”
His gaze traveled to every corner of my face before it was stolen by a distraction behind my head. Then, he tipped his head down and ran his fingers through his hair before meeting my eyes again. “I’ve thought about it,” he said. “I’ve thought about how intense everything seemed and how being with you caused me to do things that I always said I would never do.”
I slowly nodded. Being with him had also caused me to do things that I’d only ever dreamed of, act in ways that I had only envied, and find a comfort that was only rivaled by my closest personal relationships.
“As a doctor, I have to believe in logic,” he went on. “Logic says that our body cleanses itself. We only shared that pitcher one time, so the likelihood of whatever was in it being sustained in our system for months on end are slim to none. However, our brains are built for both logic and creativity. The other side of my brain says that there are things that cannot be explained by science, numbers, and formulas. It says that we are limited by what we know and what can be explained, although we experience numerous unexplainable things every day. That part of my brain believes that two people can be fated to each other. So yes, I do think that what we could have had would have been real.”
He lifted the handle of his suitcase, but I put up a hand to stop him.
“Ethan, I’m sorry,” I blurted out. “I realized that I never apologized for everything I’ve caused.”
“You didn’t make me fall for you.”
“But, I should’ve been up front and honest with you. I’m terrified about life outside of my window. Backing out now could ruin a lot of things, including Rick’s campaign and—”
I stopped as a slow, wry curve appeared on his face. Despite it being a smile, I could still sense the small flint of anger powering the expression.
“You’re still doing it,” he said.
“Doing what?”
“Asking for permission.”
“I’m not—”
“Yes, you are,” he interrupted. “Alexandra, just once, think about what would be best for you. Not best for society,