Set in Stone

Chapter 8

Leaving for a two week circuit was a mixed bag of emotions for Grace. On one hand, being on the road for two weeks was going to be a serious drag. However, that was more than offset by the fact that she was meeting Roman at the airport.

It had been more than a day since she had seen him, when he had departed her house after staying the night, and most of the next day. Even though they had messaged each other a lot, going a day without seeing him had been awful. It couldn't have been avoided though, for he had spent the day with Layla. When he had told Grace about what a great time they'd had, it had truly warmed her heart.

Approaching the terminal entrance at Orlando's airport, Grace told herself to keep herself under control. Seth and Zelina were joining her and Roman for the flight out to Raw. She had already gotten a message from Zelina to say that the three of them were there waiting for her, so she could hardly throw herself at Roman at first sight, even though she wanted to.

Walking into the terminal, she could see no sign of her man - that was a strange and exciting thought - or her friends. Checking her phone, Grace saw that a WhatsApp message had come in from Roman a few minutes ago.

We've gone for coffee, usual place. I'll get you a chilli dog if I can. x

Grace's eyes lingered on the 'x' for a moment, and she smiled. It was the first time Roman had ended a message in that manner. The chilli dog line amused her, since she knew full well that the coffee place they frequented didn't sell hotdogs.

Pulling her case along behind her, Grace walked to the coffee shop. Entering, she found Seth and Zelina sitting opposite each other at a table for four, leaving her to sit opposite Roman. That was perfectly fine with her. There was a coffee ready and waiting for her on the table.

"Hey!" Zelina called out, seeing her walk in.

Roman turned around to look at her, and the smile he gave could have melted her heart.

"Hi, guys. How are you all?" Grace asked, approaching the table. The group's cases were stashed behind Seth and Zelina's chairs, so she added her own to the collection.

"Doing good," Zelina said. "Got you a coffee. You're easy to order for, you always get the same thing."

"Got to have my Mocha," Grace chuckled as she sat down. Mindful that she wasn't going to let on about having spent time with Roman during the few days off, she looked at the two men across from her and asked, "How are you guys?"

"Yeah, good," Seth said, not elaborating. His attention was on savouring his coffee.

"I'm good too. Spent the day with Layla yesterday," Roman said.

"Oh! How is she?" Grace asked. The pretence was weird. She felt like it would get old very quickly.

"She's great, thank you. How was your weekend?"

"Good," Grace said, smiling partially at the fact that he knew she was thinking about their night together, and she knew he was thinking about it. "I had a girlfriend over for Chinese takeout and a bottle of wine last night. It was a nice catch-up. Now back to the grind."

"You know that," Seth muttered, showing Grace that she wasn't the only one not thrilled about being away from home for two weeks.

With that, the group settled into the usual comfortable conversation. Only Grace noticed the slight element of mischief in Roman's eyes, for good reason. She was the only one he intended to notice it.

Sitting next to Roman on a flight was nothing unusual for Grace. It was a routine they had been in for the past few weeks as friends, before there had been any romance between them. That was good, as it would not look out of the ordinary to anyone, she found herself thinking.