One Wish Left

CHAPTER 1: DISASTER

This could not be happening. Laura rarely did anything out of the box, so of course the one time she did, this would have to happen. Unbelievable.

"I'm sorry ma'am. It's protocol. You're setting off the scanner, so we're gonna have to pat you down," the TSA agent said.

"What does that involve?" Laura winced, thinking she might be in for a strip search.

"It's just an extensive pat-down," he explained. "Don't worry. You only have to remove your outerwear."

That was exactly the problem. In an effort to surprise her boyfriend when she arrived, she wore a new black lingerie set—and only that—under her trench coat.

"Um, excuse me," she whispered leaning closer to him. "That's going to be problematic."

He sighed and rolled his eyes. "Look, you have the right to have someone of the same gender do the pat-down in a private area and to have a law enforcement officer present in the room."

It didn't sound like she had much of a choice. Again, just absolutely unbelievable.

"Yes," she decided. "I would like to have a woman do the pat-down with an officer present, if I must."

"Great," he said flatly. He used his radio to ask someone to do "a female pat-down with security ASAP." He directed her into a small room and instructed her to wait for the agent and guard. She could leave her coat on until they arrived. Lovely.

She stood in lonely awkwardness as a clock ticked the seconds by interminably. The room was freezing even with the coat on. Even better.

Finally, the female TSA agent entered and headed straight for her while a law enforcement officer slipped in and quietly stood against the wall opposite her. He trained his eyes on the wall just over Laura's shoulder.

Shit. He was handsome. Why did she request the officer again?

"Ok, miss. Just need you to remove the coat and place it in this bin so we can scan it. Then I'll proceed with the pat-down. Any questions?" the agent asked.

"No," she gritted her teeth. She removed her coat quickly and tossed it in the bin. The agent's eyes widened at the attire, but she recovered quickly, handing the bin to the officer.

"Would you pass this out to get scanned?" she asked him.

He took it without reply. Laura breathed a sigh of relief thinking the worst was over, but the agent didn't move.

"Um, are you going to pat me down?" she asked.

"Can't. You requested the presence of an officer."

"It's really okay. I'd rather you do it before he gets back."

"Sorry. No one is here to serve as a witness to this request."

"Oh."

More seconds ticked by.

"Nice... outfit," the agent said lamely.

Laura took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose. Finally, the officer returned with the coat.

"It's clean," he said to the agent. He briefly made eye contact with Laura but quickly averted his gaze back to the spot above her shoulder.

As the agent started to pat her down, Laura stared at the officer, daring him to look at her. If he had to be here, then she wouldn't let him see how humiliated she was feeling. Plus, there was something about him that was familiar, but she couldn't place it.

"You're Australian," she blurted.

He finally looked straight at her. Surprise registered on his face.