Behind The Scenes

[Chapter Twenty]

Chapter 20

The only bits of information that Ryan had given me regarding our trip had been that we were boarding an airplane after the premiere and it would be taking us to a relaxing weekend away. Other than that, I had no idea what our getaway would entail, and in all honestly, I didn't have a clue where we were headed. I figured we were at least staying within the country, as my passport hadn't left the bottom of my handbag since I'd carelessly thrown it in there while packing.

Having fallen asleep almost as soon as the plane set flight, I wasn't able to coax our destination out of him, and before I knew it, I was being jostled awake by Ryan hours later.

"Zoe, wake up."

I'd been partially aware of him calling my name a few times now, but finally, the words were starting to register in my head as I hazily slipped into consciousness. I battled against my better judgment to force my eyes open to realize that my head was rested against Ryan's shoulder. Blinking my eyes into focus, I lifted my gaze to meet his. "What time is it?" I asked groggily, realizing that the only light around us came from the light that had been switched on above our seats.

"You look cute when you're confused," he mused, causing a flush to spread down my neck, "And it's just past three. We've just landed."

No wonder I was so tired. I'd gotten less than three hours of sleep, all of which I'd been hunched over in an airplane seat, and now I was being forced awake. "In the morning?"

Ryan smiled, nodding. "Yeah," he said, "Now come on, we have to meet the driver out front. It's a little bit of a drive to get to where we're going."

"And you're still not going to tell me exactly where that is?"

"I'll give you a hint," Ryan said, standing up from his seat once most of the first class passengers had left the plane. He tugged our bags from the overhead compartments. "We're at the Seattle airport."

"Seattle?"

He nodded in response, a knowing grin playing on his lips. "Yes, Seattle."

"And what exactly is in Seattle that's worthy of a weekend getaway?" I asked, yawning in the middle of my sentence. I lifted a hand to rub my eyes, trying to awaken my body a bit more as I stood up and shuffled my way into the aisle. We were the only ones still left on the plane and the flight attendants were watching us impatiently.

"You'll just have to wait and see."

The airport was, surprisingly, more packed than I'd expected for such an early hour of the morning. The workers didn't look too happy to be there and the customers arriving with us looked unmistakably tired. While most people surrounding us headed off towards the baggage claim, Ryan pulled me to his side, making sure to keep his head down while steering us towards the pick-up parking lot. With everyone otherwise preoccupied, we were able to make our way outside without being noticed.

"I expected a quiet town, not a big city," I said as we stepped through the doors of the airport. The night air was chilly and although my hoodie did a sufficient job in blocking the wind, I was itching to route through my bag for my jacket.

"Just because we're in the city now, that doesn't mean we're staying here."

"What?"

He shot me a mischievous smile; thoroughly amused at the way my eyebrows drew together in confusion. "I told you that you'd be relaxed this weekend, and I'm keeping my promise," he said. "We still have a bit of a car ride until we get there though."

I nodded, hearing the familiar beep of his phone. "Right, what time is it now?" I asked as he pulled his phone out to read the new message.

"Three-thirty."