The Hookup

Ninety seven

Hero

The choice to leave the terminal gate that would take me home to London wasn't a hard one. Not at all. Since I had been cooped up a the hotel, mindlessly working on whatever I could do work-wise to keep myself busy for the last week, I figured why the hell not go home for just a while. That way, I could effectively give Josephine the time she said she needed, to work out everything within herself. The fact that my sister, Piper had her mid-semester showcase for her fashion design class was an added bonus. And I could support her for that.

But all of those thoughts and plans seemed to fly out the window once Jo called me, just minutes from boarding the plane. She sounded frantic, frazzled and every other adjective alike I could think of as she spoke over the phone. And when she asked that I not get on the plane, and that she was on her way, I didn't even look back as I walked away from the gate.

That was twenty five minutes ago. And I've been standing outside the airport now for ten. Craning my neck to catch sight of her as soon as she arrives. Around me is a cluster fuck; people either speed walking or outright running in and out of the airport, anxious to get wherever they need to be. I suppose I'm anxious too. Only, I would wait until forever for her.

Just as I'm about to pull my phone out of my pocket to check the time yet again, something tells me to look to my left. There's a sea of people, but my heart almost stops when I focus in on one.

Jo's weaving her way through the mob of travelers, her blonde hair hanging over her shoulders underneath a light grey beanie with a little poof-ball on top. She's bundled in a cream colored pea coat with a red and cream striped scarf wrapped around her neck.

I don't know why, but my feet make no move to walk or even run towards her. Instead, I stand like a deer in headlights, watching as her eyes dart from side to side, over the top of and around the people in front of her. Little white clouds coming from between her light pink lips. You'd think I was seeing an angel descend from the heavens, awe struck by its' beauty the way I can't take my eyes off of her. It's been a week, but it feels like a lifetime since I've seen her. And I'd do anything to replace the last vision of her in my mind; exhausted and sobbing in the middle of her kitchen, telling me to leave.

The fact that it's twenty five degrees and I've been standing outside for close to half an hour is the last thing on my mind as Jo raises her head and her eyes clash with mine. I feel this tightness in my chest, my hands itching to reach out and touch her as she stops suddenly, only a few feet away, her chest heaving with her mission to find me. We both stand still, while everyone else goes by, neither of us making a move. Not yet.

Jo licks her lips, and mindlessly I do the same, the pulse in my chest amping up in watching her do so. She looks better than when I left her. Like she's finally been able to sleep. Her eyes are bright and shining. Her skin still as flawless as I remember. And I can't tell why, but something in her aura seems lighter. Like she's no longer weighed down.

After a beat, and I swear a mental pep talk, I watch as she slides around the person who stopped right in front of her to check their phone, nearly pushing him out of the way to get around him. I would laugh, but instead, I brace myself, because in the next moment, she's throwing herself into me, her arms tightly wrapped around my neck as she stands on her tiptoes  to reach. I drop my carry on bag to the concrete and embrace her around her waist just a tight.

I'm sure there are sounds around us. Horns honking, people talking, voices through the speakers. But I don't hear any of it. All I can hear is her breathing into my neck, choppy and fast, like she just ran a race through the city.

"Hi," she whispers and I hold her tighter against me. Goosebumps breaking out on my skin that aren't at all from the chilly weather.

"Hi," I say and smile into her hair. Inhaling the faint smell of coconut and vanilla. Her favorite shampoo.

We stay like this for nearly a minute, until I can feel her breathing beginning to slow down. She's shivering and I contemplate dragging her inside, just to warm her up, but before I can even move to, she pulls back and looks up at me.

"I'm so sorry," she says and I take her hands in mine, just to keep her close.

"It's o—"

"No," she cuts me off and stands a little taller. "Please just let me say this."

Instead of speaking, I nod, wordlessly telling her to go on. I stand there, rubbing my thumbs over the tops of her hands, giving her my full undivided attention, as if she hasn't had it all along.

"I'm so sorry for what I said to you. For how I've treated you. All the stuff of my past you've had to deal with." She let's put a shaky breath, clouding the air between us. "From the time that I very first met you, and even before that, I had so much I had yet to deal with from my past that I thought would just go away over time if I never had to face it. It wasn't fair to you. You uprooted your entire life and moved here for me. You made sure I was looked after and cared for and loved. You've been the best boyfriend I could have ever even asked for, and I think I was just always waiting for the other shoe to drop. Always worried that one day, you'd get sick of constantly having to prove to me how much I mean to you and that you're a man of your word. And you'd find someone else who didn't have that kind of baggage and who would give you everything you deserve."

I have never, would never think of those things. And It breaks my heart to hear it. But I don't move to say anything, I just watch as her eyes become glossy with unshed tears and her nose becomes a deeper shade of red. Knowing that saying all of this, getting out in the open, is exactly what she needs.

"You are the best thing that's ever happened to me. And there hasn't been a day in the last six months that I haven't thought that. You're so patient, and so kind and so thoughtful and I can't believe some days that it's me that gets to have you. I know I asked for space but I can't go another day without you. I want to wake up next to you every morning and fall asleep next to you every night. I want to have Law and Order marathons every weekend and eat too much take out and drink too much wine," she hiccups into a laugh as a tear cascades down her cheek, not bothering to wipe it. "I want to make a life with you and give you all of me. Every single piece. It's yours."

My heart gallops in my chest at her words. Words that are so sweet to my ears, I'm afraid to even blink. All I ever wanted Jo to see was her self worth. To know that I love her for her and never worry if I'd walk away. That I wasn't like her ex or every other person out there who could potentially ever hurt her.

Without a word, I release my grip on her hands and slide them around her neck, using my thumbs on her jaw to tip her head up to me and I kiss her deep and slow. She relaxes in my hands, and sighs against my mouth as my lips slide against hers over and over again. I feel as her hands come around my wrists, holding on as I continue to kiss her, not wanting to pull away just yet.

We're both breathing heavily as our mouths separate. And I lean my forehead against hers. "I love you," I whisper with a smile and she lets out one of her own.

"I love you too."

"Let's go home, yeah?"

Jo nods, her forehead still against mine.

I kiss her once more and move to pick up my bag next to me, all while holding her hand.

"Wait!" She pulls me back just as I'm about to hail a cab. "What about Piper's show!"

"She'll still get an A without me," I laugh at her confused face. Her cheeks flushed red from the cold. "She'll have another one in a few months. One that's bigger anyway."

At her worried expression, I stop in front of her and pull our hands up to kiss her knuckles. Letting her know there's no way I'm getting on a plane back to London right now. Not in a million years. I have everything I could have ever asked for standing right in front of me. And by the look in her eye, I think she does too.