Still not into you - Charlotte Byrd Page 0,70

the check-in line, I hear someone say my name.

“Alice.”

At first, I think they must be talking to someone else. I’m not expecting to see anyone I know here. So, I ignore the voice and keep making little trips for all of my bags.

“Alice!” the man’s voice says louder. “Alice!”

When I finally get all of my bags to the place where the check-in line begins, I am covered in sweat and out of breath. I turn toward the direction where the voice is coming from and see…Hudson.

“Hudson?” I ask cautiously. I am actually so physically and emotionally drained that I don’t quite believe my eyes. I am seeing bright spots all over the place; maybe the Hudson before me is also a figment of my imagination.

“Alice,” he says again. He’s dressed in a casual pair of jeans, a plain t-shirt, and he’s holding a bouquet of daffodils—my absolute favorite flowers. His hair falls slightly into his eyes and he pushes it out of the way with his free hand.

“What are you doing here?” I ask.

“These are for you,” he says. He hands me the daffodils and I can’t help but inhale their sweet scent. They smell of hope and springtime.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“Alice, I’ve thought a lot about what you said yesterday and I’ve come to the conclusion that you’re wrong.”

“I’m wrong?”

“Yes. That happens sometimes, you know,” he jokes. “Alice, I want you back. I want to be with you. I love you and love is all we need. What else is there that matters?”

“But how is this going to work?” I say, shrugging my shoulders. “You’re going home to the Bay Area…”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I’m not,” he says. He tilts his head, exposing a mischievous smile.

I stare at him. I have no idea what he means.

“I’m coming back to LA with you. On the same flight as you,” he says, holding up his ticket as proof.

I don’t believe what he says. I look into his eyes. It feels like minutes pass before anyone speaks again. He gives in first.

“I’m going to live in my parents’ old house in Calabasas.”

He lived in that house since he was born until his senior year in high school when his parents moved to the Bay Area. It’s only fifteen minutes away from my parents’ house. It’s a place where we made a million memories. It’s a place that I will always associate with being his home.

“I thought they had sold it,” I say slowly.

“No, they just rented it out. They owned it for so long that they barely had a mortgage on it and you know Calabasas, the prices went through the roof. They’re getting a ton of money for it in rent.”

I don’t know why he’s telling me all of these details when all I care about is why he’s going back to the LA area.

“Anyway.” Hudson catches himself babbling. “You don’t care about any of that. The only thing that’s important is that the renters just moved out and they were going to put it back on the market, but I asked them if I could stay there for the summer.”

“So, you’re coming back home?” I ask. The word “home” feels both strange and familiar in my mouth. I don’t mean to say it, but Hudson just smiles at me and gives me a wink.

“Yes, I’m coming back home.”

He comes a few steps closer to me.

“That way you don’t have to worry about us being apart this summer, Alice. I want to be with you and I want to spend the summer with you. I love you.”

I inhale slowly. For some reason, tears start to well up in my eyes.

“I thought that you had left without saying goodbye,” I whisper. “I was so mad at you.”

One lonely tear rolls down my cheek. Hudson takes me into his arms. He wipes my cheek with his thumb. His touch sends a warm sensation throughout my body.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m such a jerk.”

“You are,” I say. “But I am, too.”

Slowly, he bends his neck forward. Our lips are so close together that our breaths intertwine. He smells of mint and lavender.

“I love the way your hair smells,” he whispers. “Honey.”

I smile. It’s my new shampoo.

We stare into each other’s eyes. Everyone else in the airport ceases to exist completely. I feel like we’re in one of those scenes in the movies where the whole world spins around the couple and the couple stands still.

Then, just when I can’t wait any longer, Hudson slowly