New Beginnings

10 - I Love LA?

The whole family drove me to the airport. We made an adventure out of it for Connor. I didn't want him to be sad, like he had been the night before. We were having dinner and he started crying because I was leaving. It broke my heart. I had to promise to come back soon to get him to stop. We had different definitions of "soon". To me, it was as soon as I could schedule a break for myself. To him, it was next week.

I watched the city fade into the clouds as we ascended. Tears fell to my cheeks and I wiped them away before anyone noticed. The sunset was absolutely breathtaking and distracted me for a short time. Soon my thoughts turned to Minhyuk. We both knew that those moments we shared were just that... moments. We weren't dating and we weren't committed to each other in any way. It was just an affair. A hot affair for sure.

I had a 4 and a half hour flight ahead of me. I was prepared with Netflix on my tablet, my music, 2 books, and my neck pillow. I was in business class, so the seats were a little more comfortable than coach. I had eaten in the airport with the family and packed a few snacks for later. After we were able to take off our seatbelts, I put in my earbuds and turned on some music. I opened my book and picked up where I had left off a few nights before.

It was a romantic thriller and it was not the best one I had read recently, but it was bearable. I was curious how the author was going to get the lead characters together, so I kept reading it. My playlist was on shuffle and I had an eclectic mix of styles on it. Bass tones sounded in my ears and caused me to stop reading. Ella's voice soon followed. I was taken back to that night in the piano bar, and the events that followed.

I felt flushed all over and my body reacted to the memories. I squirmed in my seat and fanned myself. I excused myself to the restroom and scooted past the person next to me. I patted my neck with a wet paper towel and looked in the mirror. What was that? I asked myself.

When I returned, the flight attendants were passing out snacks and beverages. I got a bottle of water and a glass of wine. I finished off the wine quickly. I was tempted to get another, but I decided to wait until later. I just wanted to relax a little, not get buzzed.

I finished my book, which improved a little as I got further in, but still wasn't one I would recommend to a friend. I tried watching a movie, but lost interest. I took a short nap. I broke out my other book. After what felt like an eternity, we began our descent. It was a little after 11pm LA time, and after 2AM in Atlanta. I had hired a car to take me from the airport to my apartment. I didn't want to make my friends have to drive that late, and Mom didn't want me to Uber. She didn't trust them.

I crossed the threshold of my door and it was like walking into a foreign place. One would expect a feeling of comfort coming home, but it didn't feel like home. That was definitely my stuff... my wall of framed Connor art, my glass figurines collection, my basket of unfolded laundry. My plants were alive, but a little sad looking. My friend had come over and watered them for me, but they were lonely. Even with all these familiar things, it felt like a stranger's home, not my own.

With a sigh, I wheeled my suitcase into the bedroom and fell back on the bed. I texted everyone that I had made it home then changed into my sleep shirt and shorts and washed my face. I unpacked a few things and went to bed. I was wide awake. I had been so sleepy in the car on the way that I expected to crash as soon as I walked in.

Instead, my mind was going 100 miles an hour. Thoughts of Mom and Dad, Connor, Clara, Kyunnie, and Minhyuk... Minhyuk? Really? I knew we had an intense encounter, or few encounters, but that was all. It was done. He was out of my system now. Wasn't he? Yes. He was.

I got up and made a cup of chamomile tea and picked up my phone. I had gotten several texts and photos in the group chat with the guys after we landed and I was planning to look at them the next day. In them were the photos we took at the dance. I was floored at how handsome they both were. I thought about Kyun and wondered why we hadn't had that kind of chemistry.